Home
>
Guide
>
HyperX Cloud Alpha vs. Cloud Alpha S vs. Cloud II: What's the Difference? Which Should I Choose?

It contains affiliate links and Extrabux will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on Extrabux links.

HyperX Cloud Alpha vs. Cloud Alpha S vs. Cloud II: What's the Difference? Which Should I Choose?

Choosing the right headset will help you get better scores, especially if you’re into battlefield games. From the last few years, HyperX makes a reputation in the market with its high-quality gaming headsets. The Cloud Alpha, Cloud Alpha S, and Cloud II are three entry-level gaming headsets from HyperX and all are quite popular amongst gaming lovers because of good sound and mic quality at an affordable price range. As these three models are made by the same manufacturer and have the almost same price range, so you might be confused about them. Which one will be more worthy? What's the difference between them? Today I will make a detailed comparison between the HyperX Cloud Alpha, HyperX Cloud Alpha S, and HyperX Cloud II and tell you which one you should pick.

Cover Photo:hyperxgaming.com

HyperX Cloud Alpha vs. Cloud Alpha S vs. Cloud II:

Side-by-Side Comparison

	HyperX Cloud Alpha	HyperX Cloud S	HyperX Cloud II
Type	Over-ear	Over-ear	Over-ear
Enclosure	Closed-Back	Closed-Back	Closed-Back
Wireless	No	No	No
Noise Cancelling	No	No	No
Mic	Yes	Yes	Yes
Transducer	Dynamic	Dynamic	Dynamic
Weight	0.7 lbs	0.71 lbs	0.7 lbs
Clamping Force	0.9 lbs	0.9 lbs	1 lbs
Controls
OS Compatibility	Not OS specific	Not OS specific	Not OS specific
Ease Of Use	Decent	Good	Okay
Feedback	Okay	Good	Decent
Call/Music Control	No	No	No
Volume Control	Yes	Yes	Yes
Microphone Control	Mute/Unmute	Mute/Unmute	Mute/Unmute
Channel Mixing	No	Yes	Yes
Noise Cancelling Control	No	No	No
Talk-Through	No	No	No
Additional Controls	No	Bass Slider	Surround Sound
Sound Profile
Bass Amount	0.22 dB	0.71 dB	1.01 dB
Treble Amount	-2.4 dB	-2.89 dB	-0.97 dB
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling	No	No	No
Speaker Modeling	No	On/Off	On/Off
Room Ambience	No	No	No
Head Tracking	No	No	No
Virtual Surround	No App	Yes	Dolby 7.1
Test Settings
Firmware	No Firmware	4.1.0.4	No Firmware
Power	Passive	USB	USB
Connection	Wired	USB	USB
Codec	PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz	PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz	PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
EQ	No EQ	No EQ	Off
ANC	No ANC	No ANC	No ANC
Tip/Pad	Default	Default	Default
Microphone	Boom	Boom	Boom
Noise Isolation
Overall Attenuation	-11.06 dB	-12.35 dB	-15.97 dB
Bass	0.56 dB	0.97 dB	0.7 dB
Mid	-5.15 dB	-8.97 dB	-12.88 dB
Treble	-28.86 dB	-29.86 dB	-36.9 dB
Microphone
Integrated	No	No	No
In-Line	No	No	No
Boom	Yes	Yes	Yes
Detachable Boom	Yes	Yes	Yes
Battery
Battery Type	No Battery	No Battery	No Battery
Continuous Battery Life	N/A	N/A	N/A
Additional Charges	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total Battery Life	N/A	N/A	N/A
Charge Time	N/A	N/A	N/A
Power-Saving Feature	No	No	No
Audio While Charging	No	No	No
Passive Playback	Passive Headphone	Passive Headphone	Passive Headphone
Charging Port	None	None	None
App Support
App Name	No App	HyperX Ngenuity	No App
iOS	No	No	No
Android	No	No	No
macOS	No	No	No
Windows	No	Yes	No
Equalizer	No	No	No
ANC Control	No	No	No
Mic Control	No	Adjustable Level	No
Room Effects	No	No	No
Playback Control	No	No	No
Button Mapping	No	No	No
Surround Support	No	Yes	No
Wired
Analog Audio	Yes	Yes	Yes
USB Audio	No	USB Type A	USB Type A
Detachable	Yes	Yes	Yes
Length	4.40 ft (1.34 m)	3.50 ft (1.07 m)	10.10 ft (3.08 m)
Connection	1/8" TRRS	1/8" TRRS	1/8" TRRS
Analog /USB Audio Latency	0 ms	27 ms	11 ms
PC Compatibility
Analog	Audio + Microphone	Audio + Microphone	Audio + Microphone
Wired USB	No	Audio + Microphone	Audio + Microphone
Non-BT Wireless	No	No	No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog	Audio + Microphone	Audio + Microphone	Audio + Microphone
PS4 Wired USB	No	Audio + Microphone	Audio + Microphone
PS4 Non-BT Wireless	No	No	No
PS5 Analog	Audio + Microphone	Audio + Microphone	Audio + Microphone
PS5 Wired USB	No	Audio + Microphone	Audio + Microphone
PS5 Non-BT Wireless	No	No	No
Xbox One Compatibility
Xbox One Analog	Audio + Microphone	Audio + Microphone	Audio + Microphone
Xbox One Wired USB	No	No	No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless	No	No	No
Xbox Series X\|S Analog	Audio + Microphone	Audio + Microphone	Audio + Microphone
Xbox Series X\|S Wired USB	No	No	No
Xbox Series X\|S Non-BT Wireless	No	No	No
Base/Dock
Type	No Base/Dock	Wired USB Dongle	Wired USB Dongle
USB Input	No	Yes	Yes
Line In	No	No	No
Line Out	No	No	No
Optical Input	No	No	No
RCA Input	No	No	No
Dock Charging	No	No	No
Power Supply	No Base/Dock	USB	USB

Where to Buy HyperX Cloud Alpha, HyperX Cloud Alpha S and HyperX Cloud II?

If you want to buy HyperX Cloud Alpha, HyperX Cloud Alpha S, or HyperX Cloud II gaming headsets, Sign up at Extrabux first，(What is Extrabux?), then book through the following website, so you can enjoy up to 5% cashback from Extrabux! Sign-Up Bonus: Free to join it & get a $20 welcome bonus!

Best Buy (Up to 1% cashback)
GameStop (Up to 5% cashback)
Newegg (Up to 2% cashback)
Tiger Direct (Up to 2% cashback)
Abt Electronics (Up to 4% cashback)
Walmart (Up to 4% cashback)
eBay (Up to 4.6% cashback)
B&H Photo Video (Up to 1.5% cashback)
Adorama (Up to 2% cashback)
Amazon (Cashback temporarily unavailable)

HyperX Cloud Alpha, HyperX Cloud Alpha S and HyperX Cloud II Review

| #1 HyperX Cloud Alpha Wired Stereo Gaming Headset

Google Users Rating: 4.5/5

The HyperX Cloud Alpha is a good wired gaming headphone. With the same build quality as the best HyperX headsets, airy comfort, and tightly-packed construction, it delivers above-average audio that defies its price range. Available in red and black, this gaming headset features an aluminum frame with leather tops. The HyperX Cloud Alpha oozes HyperX’s signature comfort with memory foam padding covered in pliable leatherette on the ear cups. Designed to retain their shape over time, they pair with a rugged aluminum frame and headband slider to fit all head shapes and sizes, even those on the larger end of the scale.

Source:bestbuy.com

When it comes to sound quality, it features a frequency response range 13Hz- 27 kHz, which is wide enough to accommodate various sounds. A pair of dual-chamber 50 mm drivers headline the HyperX Cloud Alpha feature set. It is a clever solution that divides the bass and the mid/highs into two separate optimally-tuned chambers to reduce distortion and promote a more distinct frequency spread. The headset still ships with a quality, detachable noise-canceling microphone and a detachable braided 3.5 mm jack audio cable with in-line audio controls that adjust volume and can toggle mic muting. Additionally, this headset is compatible for use with various devices, including PC, PS4PRO, PS4, Mac, Xbox One S, and Xbox One.

PROS	CONS
Solid and durable construction	Not very portable
Very well-built and comfortable design	No extra features
Good sound quality	Bass delivery varies significantly across users
Detachable noise-cancellation microphone
Fully removable cabling and smarter inline control placement
Compatible with multiple platforms

| #2 HyperX Cloud Alpha S Wired 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset

Google Users Rating: 4.5/5

The HyperX Cloud Alpha S is the best HyperX gaming headset with a wired connection. It’s most popular in the PC gaming industry for its noise-canceling mic, surrounding sound, and bass adjustment features. This headphone is incredibly well-built, with a flexible aluminum frame, a braided audio cable, and a boom mic that can be detached when you want a more casual look. It is lightweight, comfortable, and they come with a choice of leather earcup padding or cloth earcup padding. The HyperX Cloud Alpha S has vents along the bottom of each headphone to allow bass adjustment independently. As a result, users can enjoy detailed and powerful sound quality when playing online games or listening to music.

Source:bestbuy.com

You can connect it via both a 3.5 mm & USB type A cable with your PC and PS4. Activate the surround sound and adjust the game audio and chat balance by using their audio control mixer to bass adjustment and personalize your preferences. While the Cloud Alphas don’t feature as impressive of drivers, the dual chamber 50mm drivers that they do come with will be solid enough for the majority of gamers. Unfortunately, aside from the bass sliders, they don't offer any customization features since the HyperX NGENUITY companion software doesn't have an EQ or presets. But if you’re concerned about noise-canceling then It makes sense to buy Cloud Alpha S. The sound quality, build quality, and microphone is better than other HyperX gaming headsets.

PROS	CONS
Impressively comfortable	No in-line controls for console gaming
Plug and play USB functionality
Virtual 7.1 surround sound
Great audio quality
Comes with a mixer that allows users to separate game and chat
Noise-canceling flexible microphone
Dual-chamber drivers
Works on a lot of platforms

| #3 HyperX Cloud II Gaming Headset

Google Users Rating: 4.6/5

The Kingston HyperX Cloud II is a comfortable gaming headset with a brushed aluminum frame, accent stitching, and overall impressive build quality. The leatherette memory foam cushions are soft and luxurious but they can be replaced with velour models as well, while extras such as the carry case and airline adaptor are thoughtful and worthwhile, and rarely found on gaming headsets at any price. Comes with its own optional USB sound card, Its independent audio, and microphone volume control lets you adjust not only sound volume but also mic volume and easily toggle Surround Sound 7.1 or the mic sound on and off.

Source:walmart.com

HyperX Cloud II is Hi-Fi capable, with 53mm drivers for superior audio performance and rich sound quality with crystal-clear low, mid and high tones and enhanced bass via the sound card. Pro-gaming optimized, HyperX Cloud II is USB-powered for PCs and Macs and 3.5mm stereo-compatible for PS4 and Xbox One. In addition, HyperX Cloud II has a digitally enhanced, noise-canceling microphone with automatic gain control functionality and echo cancellation enabled through the USB sound card. It works with all of the major gaming platforms, including PC/Mac, mobile, PS4, and Xbox One (with an adaptor). Unfortunately, HyperX Cloud II has no software support for added customization options, unlike some of the other popular gaming headsets and with a very limited surround sound.

PROS	CONS
Superb comfort	Virtual 7.1-channel surround isn't effective
Solid build quality	No software support for added customization options
Detachable microphone
Good sound quality for competitive gaming
USB Sound card
Works with PCs and mobile devices as well as most modern game systems

Bottom Line

HyperX Cloud Alpha vs. Cloud Alpha S vs. Cloud II: What's the Difference? Which Should I Choose?

The HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II and the HyperX Cloud Alpha S are very similarly performing gaming headphones, they also have some differences as follows:

Compared with Alpha and Alpha S, Cloud II is slightly looser, and the artificial leather is slightly softer. But the sound characteristics of Cloud Alpha and Alpha S are slightly more accurate than Cloud II. In addition, the Cloud Alpha and Cloud Alpha S have a detachable microphone and audio cable. Cloud II has only one detachable microphone.

The headphone volume of the three can be adjusted on the device. However, Alpha needs system settings to change the microphone volume, Cloud II has a physical microphone volume control, and Alpha S volume needs to change the system volume or NGENUITY. The Cloud II and Alpha S have access to a 7.1 surround sound effect enabled by the sound controller. In addition, the Alpha S connects to NGENUITY, and it has mic monitoring and game-chat balance volume mixing.

The Cloud II and Cloud Alpha S have a USB sound card that can also be used as a volume mixer, but Alpha has a splitter. You plug the 3.5 mm jack plug into the sound cards and you can connect to consoles or PC via USB. To use the Alpha’s mic and headphones on PC, you’ll have to use the included splitter. This is problematic for laptops with only one jack.

In my opinion, The HyperX Cloud Alpha S is a better gaming headphone than HyperX Cloud Alpha and the HyperX Cloud 2. Not only does it feature a better design, but it also consists of exceptional sound quality with 7.1 virtual surround sound, bass sliders, and a mixer that separates the chat and game volume control. If you are looking for phenomenal gaming headsets within the $100 range, I will recommend the HyperX Cloud Alpha S for you.