Headphone Showdown: HyperX Cloud Alpha VS HyperX Cloud II (2021 Revised)
This classic story of mine was originally published on Medium on Oct 8th, 2017. This is a new lightly edited version of the original text!
It’s Sunday, and it’s time for the headphone showdown!
The Cloud Alpha and the Cloud II are both legends in the gaming headset space, and maintain strong market positions and competitive price points in spite of their age. The Cloud II Wireless outdoes them both by a hair if you’re looking for the latest and greatest, but if you want a tried-and-true wired performer, for under $100 which one should you pick?
None of the links in this piece are affiliate marketing links, as I don’t believe in the practice. I bought both headsets featured here with my own money straight from retail.
OVERVIEW
Photo taken by the author.
Cloud Alpha (Official Site Here)
The Cloud Alpha is $99, and it’s the direct follow-up to the Cloud II. It takes a similar underlying design and adds a whole bunch of new and exciting things. New drivers, new ear cups, new pads, new visual touches, and a detachable cable.
It sounds exceptional and feels very good to wear. Occasionally, it gets a limited edition color release, but the standard color scheme is the iconic HyperX red and black.
Photo taken by the author.
Cloud II (Official Site Here)
The Cloud II is one of gaming’s most-famous headsets. It offers a ton of value for just $99. You get an extra set of ear pads, a virtual surround sound USB dongle, and a carrying bag. There’s also a few cheaper models out there if you don’t need the full set of extras, including the new Cloud Core + 7.1, and versions branded for both PlayStation and Xbox users.
The base headphone here underneath several HyperX tweaks is actually the Takstar Pro 80, an exceptional budget take on the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro.
It used to be the gold standard for a wired $99 headset.
The Alpha pad material has seen some small changes over the years. Classic launch pads pictured here. Photo taken by the author.
SOUND QUALITY
The Cloud Alpha sounds more neutral, dynamic, and clean than the Cloud II. This is thanks to a new dual chamber ear cup design which…well here, this is HyperX’s video about it.
Basically, it has a much lower distortion and much flatter frequency response. It still has the fun bass and detailed highs of the Cloud II…but without the slight midrange muddiness or grain in the high tones.
Now, I really like the sound of the Cloud II…I just like the sound of the Alphas that much more. Unless you were 100 percent in love with the exact sound of the Cloud II, it’d be hard to deny that the Alpha’s present a much cleaner experience overall.
Even the soundstage and imaging are a touch wider and more accurate.
WINNER: CLOUD ALPHA. And that’s amazing.
The Cloud Alpha has a slightly larger range of adjustment, and is better for larger heads than the Cloud II. Photo taken by the author.
COMFORT
The one knock that’s often levied against the Cloud II is that it doesn’t really work for the biggest heads. I know this from experience, as I have to wear mine almost fully extended.
That’s not a problem anymore with the Alpha. HyperX has increased the size of the headband and lengthened the adjustment forks. I now have three extra clicks of room. And it’ll still work great for smaller heads as well.
Combine that with the incredibly soft new ear pad material, and the same great memory foam that HyperX uses in all their headsets, and the Alpha is a total winner on comfort.
For years, the Cloud II was the most comfortable headset in gaming…and somehow the Alpha is better.
WINNER: CLOUD ALPHA
The classic Cloud II frame isn’t quite as loud or bold as the Alpha’s. Photo taken by the author.
DESIGN
The designs of these two headphones are very similar.
The Cloud Alpha takes the same overall shape of the Cloud II…but cuts some chunks out of the metal forks. The logo on the top of the headband is no longer stitched into the material. The ear cups are slightly less rounded than they were in the older model.
All of this is rather subjective…but I think I preferred the overall look of the Cloud II. I miss the headband stitching, and while the holes in the forks help with weight (and comfort), I don’t know that they really do a whole lot for me. This one is a narrow win for the Cloud II thanks to some of its little details…but that’s just my opinion!
WINNER: CLOUD II
Photo taken by the author.
BUILD QUALITY
Both of these headsets are built nigh-identically. They both have plenty of aluminum parts, and a durable and compact frame that should hold up tossed into a bag. The Cloud Alpha feels a touch lighter…but I think they’re both built really well.
WINNER: TIE
MICROPHONE
I can’t tell a big difference between the mics here. That’s actually a knock against the Alpha, in a way, since I was expecting a bigger leap in quality. But the rest of the headset is so much improved that I can live with it merely having a “fair” microphone.
WINNER: TIE
Photo taken by the author.
EXTRAS
This one will vary person-to-person depending on what you look for in your headset. Both headsets come with a carrying bag (though depending on which model of the Cloud II you buy, this isn’t always true). Both have detachable microphones. The Cloud Alpha has a detachable cable, and its bag is made from a nicer material.
On top of these basics, the Cloud II includes a USB sound card, and an extra set of velour ear pads with slightly stiffer foam.
Now, that sound card might be really useful to you. It provides decent simulated 7.1 surround sound. It’s not my favorite USB sound card in the world. If you want to know more about it, I reviewed the card on its own right here.
With the advent of Dolby Atmos/Windows Sonic, I don’t have as much of a use for dedicated USB dongles on PC these days. And while the extra ear pads are really nice to have…I don’t think they’re quite as comfy.
So, thanks to its removable cable and the nicer bag, I’m going with the Alpha. But you might totally want the other things the Cloud II provides.
Also, if you want an Alpha that’s upgraded with an even nicer set of pads, bass adjustment sliders, and a proper 7.1 dongle that I don’t dislike, check out the Cloud Alpha S.
WINNER: CLOUD ALPHA
Photo taken by the author in a simpler time when it was easy to sit safely in a coffee shop.
OVERALL WINNER: CLOUD ALPHA
The HyperX Cloud Alpha is a better-sounding and better-feeling headset for the same price as the old one. I’m not even sure how much longer HyperX is going to sell the Cloud II, and I wouldn’t blame them if they discontinued it soon. (EDIT March 2021: Hah wow. That sentence sure did age well didn’t it? The Cloud II is still on the market!)
HyperX really has set a new bar here…in spite of not changing up the microphone all that much. You can’t go wrong picking their new headset over the old model, and fortunately they haven’t charged customers a premium for it!
