The HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 blends premium gaming features with audiophile-quality sound — and it’s compatible with Xbox, Switch, PS5 and more

The best gaming headsets can massively improve your gaming experience by immersing you even further, and the HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 is one such set of cans. Its dual 53mm drivers produce detailed lows, mids and highs, and the spatial audio is extremely customizable via new and improved companion software.

One of its biggest selling points though is its ginormous 250-hour battery life that upstages Razer, SteelSeries and Audeze. The Cloud Alpha 2 also comes with an RGB Base Station that doubles as a 2.4GHz dongle — it’s practical and visually appealing. However, for a headset that costs nearly $300, the Cloud Alpha 2 lacks active noise cancellation, and its cloth earpads aren’t the best in class.

Should you still buy the headset? Read my full HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 review to find out.

HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A wireless gaming headset delivering audiophile-quality sound across various game genres
• Who is it for? For anyone who wants a powerful set of cans with stupendous battery life
• How much does it cost? An arm and a leg! The HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 is available for $299 / £254
• What do we like? The innovative RGB Base Station, fantastic in-game audio, great mic quality, new and improved software, plus 250-hour battery life
• What don’t we like? There’s no ANC, the cloth earpads don’t feel very breathable, and the headset costs a lot

HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 review: Specs

HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 review: The ups

The HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 is a fantastic headset that makes games sound incredible, and it’s got a mahoosive 250-hour battery life that upstages its rivals.

Multi-platform compatibility

The HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 is the only gaming headset you need for your gaming ecosystem, thanks to its multi-platform compatibility. The included RGB Base Station (more on it shortly) serves as a 2.4GHz dongle, enabling you to connect to your device or console wirelessly, and there’s Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity too.

So, what devices is the Cloud Alpha 2 compatible with? Wirelessly, you can pair it with PC, macOS, Android and iOS smartphones, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. A 3.5mm cable is also included in the box so you can plug the Cloud Alpha 2 directly into your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S controller.

Innovative RGB Base Station

The HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 comes with an accessory that no other gaming headset does: an RGB Base Station. It’s similar to the Loupedeck Live S, and it enables you to customize the headset on the fly, which is fantastic. It also doubles as the 2.4GHz receiver and as I mentioned up top, you can plug it into your PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 4 to play wirelessly. It’s practical and it looks great. I thought it was a gimmick at first but it really isn’t — sometimes (only sometimes), I love being proven wrong.

Almost as big as my medium-sized hand, the Cloud Alpha 2’s RGB Base Station doesn’t take up a lot of space. It weighs very little too — just 6.24oz — but it’s fitted with grippy rubber on its bottom that keeps it from slipping and sliding about. Located around the back are a USB-C port and two 3.5mm line in and line out jacks.

There are six buttons on the RGB Base Station and a very big volume control dial — and all of these buttons and dials light up in, well, RGB colors. What’s even better is that every button is fully customizable via the companion software, and the Base Station acts as the command centre for changing the Cloud Alpha 2’s settings on the go, like adjusting the equalizer, switching between devices, and more. It’s much more practical than diving into software every time you want to, say, change the EQ.

It didn’t take long for the RGB Base Station to become one of my favorite accessories, and now I’m wishing every headset came with such a nifty device! It’s innovative and contributes towards justifying the Cloud Alpha 2’s steep price — and I certainly prefer this 2.4GHz solution over the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro’s ($249).

Audiophile-quality in-game sound

The HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 is a phenomenal headset if all you care about is in-game sound quality, as it makes games sound outstanding and immersive. HyperX has improved on the Cloud Alpha 2’s predecessor, the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless ($200), by upgrading the 50mm drivers to multi-layer 53mm Dual-Chamber ones. The result? Crisp highs, clear dialogue, powerful bass, and plenty of room to appreciate missable audio cues.

Using the companion software, you can enable spatial audio and I highly recommend doing so — it really enhances the user experience as I found in my testing. To test the Cloud Alpha 2’s capabilities, I played a few games on my PS5 Slim.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was the first game I turned to because it features one of the best soundtracks of all time, so it tested the Cloud Alpha 2’s ability to balance rock music against dialogue and battle sounds — and the headset didn’t disappoint. Whether a soft, acoustic track like ‘Lumiére’ or a power ballad like ‘We Lost,’ the subtler sounds of my party charging up their attacks weren’t lost.

Some enemy attacks can be parried based on audio cues in Expedition 33, and parrying can help you win crucial battles — especially as some enemies can one-shot you. I thoroughly appreciated being able to hear these sharp audio cues make their ting sound through the Cloud Alpha 2, even as ballads played loudly in the background.

The Cloud Alpha 2’s spatial audio worked great in Expedition 33 too. The directional audio meant that I could hear the enemy boss’ giant sword come down from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner and travel from one earcup to the other.

Alan Wake 2

Since spatial audio worked so well in the aforementioned game, I thought I’d see just how scared I could get by playing Alan Wake 2 with the Cloud Alpha 2 headset on. Needless to say, it terrified me. The directional audio worked excellently in Alan Wake 2. When enemies were lurking as I walked through the woods, I could hear them scutter behind me as the sound of their footsteps traveled from the left earcup to the right and then disappeared before I could turn around to look with my flashlight.

You can tell the lows, mids and highs have been fine-tuned by HyperX’s engineers, given how much detail is packed into them. The Shadows muttering “WAKE” under their breath was loud and the infected wolves letting out high-pitched yelps when I pointed the flashlight in their face was just as clear.

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is one of my favorite first-person games, and I love stealthily moving around, ambushing NPCs and silently taking down enemies. The Cloud Alpha 2 features a 10-band equalizer that can be customized via the companion software, so I spent some time experimenting with different frequencies to find the right setting that made footsteps sound more prominent, even over techno music.

I saved a few different profiles to the headset and then connected the Cloud Alpha 2 to my PS5, and used the RGB Base Station to cycle through the EQ profiles — and it worked like a charm. Being able to hear footsteps behind a locked door came in clutch and helped me strategize, giving me a competitive edge.

Ridiculously long battery life

One of the HyperX Cloud Alpha 2’s biggest selling points is its long battery life. Ridiculously long, even. HyperX claims this headset can last up to 250 hours. That’s bonkers! It blows its competition out of the water with such a wild number. For context, the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro lasts up to 70 hours, the Audeze Maxwell ($299) has an 80-hour battery life, and the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless ($350) tops out at 22 hours.

The second-gen model’s battery life is surprisingly worse than its predecessor though. The original HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless has a 300-hour battery life. Of course, to test the Cloud Alpha 2’s battery life, I’d have to play video games for just over 10 days — if I was playing 24 hours a day, that is. I tested the headset for nearly 30 hours and was left with 85% battery. Not bad at all!

Fantastic, detachable mic

Similar to the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro, the HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 comes with a detachable microphone with a flexible gooseneck for adjustment. It’s unidirectional which means it picks up sounds directly from the front of your mouth, making it great for gaming. There’s also a built-in mic which is omnidirectional, meaning it has a circular pickup pattern, picking up sound equally from all directions.

I first tested the Cloud Alpha 2’s detachable microphone without anything else playing in the background, and you can hear the sample clip above.

I then put an episode of Agatha All Along on my phone and played it at 100% volume to see if the Cloud Alpha 2’s mic isolated my voice. It’s great that all you can hear in the clip above is my voice loud and clear with Kathryn Hahn’s voice ever so slightly creeping in.

User-friendly companion software

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Accompanying the HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 is the new and improved Ngenuity software which is currently in its beta testing phase, but it can still be downloaded from the website. HyperX has made the new software more user-friendly with a clean interface, and it’s your one-stop shop for customizing both the Cloud Alpha 2 and the RGB Base Station.

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You can use Ngenuity to customize the 10-band equalizer and create presets which you can then cycle through with the RGB Base Station. You can also personalize the mic’s 13-band equalizer, enable spatial audio, adjust game/chat balance, and more. As for the RGB Base Station, you can customize its RGB lighting effect and remap the buttons. All of this is easy and quick to do.

HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 review: The downs

While the HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 is a very capable headset, it does have a few flaws, such as cloth earcups that tend to overheat and lack of active noise cancellation.

Earcups tend to overheat

A gaming headset needs to be, first and foremost, extremely comfortable so that you can keep playing all day long. The HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 is a comfortable headset, featuring a leather-padded headband that relieves any pressure on the top of your head. It isn’t very heavy either, weighing 12.16oz, making it lighter than the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro (12.9oz) and similar to the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless’ weight (12oz).

Then why am I complaining in the downs section, you ask? Because of the Cloud Alpha 2’s earcups. The earpads are made of cloth-like material which doesn’t feel as breathable as the BlackShark V3 Pro’s memory foam pads. In my testing, I noticed the Cloud Alpha 2’s earpads get quite hot after a couple of hours, and I could feel sweat pooling up. This isn’t great and not what I expected at this price point.

No active noise cancelation

The HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 doesn’t feature active noise cancellation (ANC). Now, I wouldn’t have normally marked a gaming headset for lacking ANC as it’s rare for a set of cans intended for gaming to feature it. But the thing is, the Cloud Alpha 2 is an expensive headset (more on that in a second) and its rivals in this price range do feature ANC — and highly effective ANC too.

The Razer BlackShark V3 Pro’s ANC is something to behold, as is the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless’. It is, then, disappointing that the Cloud Alpha 2 doesn’t come with ANC which could have made the gaming experience even more immersive. It passively blocks external noise but it doesn’t even come close to taking the BlackShark V3 Pro’s noise canceling crown.

Expensive

There’s no sugarcoating it: the HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 isn’t for the faint of heart, and its price tag will have some people shaking in their boots. The headset retails for a whopping $299 / £254, making the Cloud Alpha 2 $50 pricier than the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro — but still cheaper than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless.

For just under $300, I’d expect any set of cans — music-oriented or gaming-focused — to be perfect. I wouldn’t want to be dealing with the lack of ANC or the earcups’ tendency to overheat. Premium features cost a premium, though, so if you don’t mind these flaws, the Cloud Alpha 2 could be great for you.

HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 review: Verdict

As gaming headsets generally go, the HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 is an excellent set of cans. Its 53mm Dual-Chamber drivers are outstanding and they reproduce in-game sounds accurately. The lows, mids and highs are all extremely detailed, making you feel immersed in whatever game you’re playing. The innovative RGB Base Station is both practical and aesthetically pleasing, and the headset’s 250-hour battery life is the cherry on top of the cake.

But the Cloud Alpha 2 isn’t without its flaws. At nearly $300, the headset costs a pretty penny while omitting active noise cancelation and utilizing cloth earpads that tend to heat up quickly.

The Cloud Alpha 2 comes close to being the undisputable king of gaming headsets but it falls just short. Should you still buy it? Heck yes! Its pros outweigh its cons, and if it’s audiophile-quality sound you’re after, this headset will have you on cloud nine.