The gaming sector from Kingston, Hyper X, have a new headset offering for us gamers to marvel in. It’s called the Cloud Stinger, it’s a wireless 2.4ghz headset, with upto 17 hours of playback, ear cups that rotate 90 degree so they can rest on your neck and it is compatible with both PC and PS4. We got one sent over and I’ve been using it while we have been playing Destiny 2 and Borderlands 3.
Unboxing
Within the box you get the headset itself, it’s associated USB dongle, a USB cable and some instructions. The headset is an all-black affair and thats the only colour available. This is an over the ear headset, with thick spongy ear cups and a soft memory foam cushion covering the metal (plastic covered) adjustable headband. The microphone is located on the left earcup, it swivels down over your mouth, which also turns the microphone on/off and it’s flexible, allowing you to bend the microphone to and from your mouth.
On the left earcup is the power on/off button, plus the USB port for charging and on the right earcup, is an up/down toggle switch, which adjusts the volume. Each earcup can rotate 90 degrees for flexibility but also to allow you to rest the headset on your shoulders comfortably. The headband is adjustable.
Overall, a very modest design for the Cloud Stinger. Plastic construction, single colour, subtle branding and no RGB in sight…
Performance
Before we talk actual performance, let’s talk spec. The headset has two 50mm drivers with neodymium magnets, freq response of 20-20,000HZ, an impedance of 32ohms, sound pressure level of 109dBSPL/mW @ 1kHz and an electret condenser microphone. It also weighs just 270grams, includes a battery life of up to 17 hours and is 2.4GHZ wireless with up to 12 meters range.
This is a wireless headset, so there is some set up required. I used the headset with my PC, so I had to insert the USB dongle into my PC, turn the headset on and wait for Windows to confirm it had installed the necessary drivers. I did charge the headset for a few hours prior to using it for the first time. Once installed, you need to bring the microphone down into position and you are good to go.
Three important factors to consider with any headset, audio and microphone performance, and how comfortable it is. First off, the audio performance was very good and I was pleasantly surprised with how well insulated these were, hardly letting any external sound in. There is no simulated surround sound on offer but that didn’t matter, as explosions boomed, gunshots were prominent and voiceovers were clear. Vocal audio from other players via Discord was also clear.
Microphone quality from what I’ve been told was ok, not great and not quite up to what I usually use (Sennheiser Game Zero) but that headset is more than double in price. That being said, my companions said it was clear, albeit a little quiet and there was very little background noise being picked up. Overall, they were happy with how I sounded.
As for comfort, I would typically game for upto 3 hours in one stint and as long as I had enough water and snacks, the headset wouldn’t come off. The headset is fully adjustable, with plenty of flex and at no point was I in any discomfort when using it. The cushioning on the earcups and headband was good. Being wireless, there were no annoying cables to get in the way or tangled up with.
After four or five sessions, the headset battery was still going strong so I’m confident that the stated 17hr battery life is accurate. If the battery does run out, you can use the headset while it’s being charged, but the supplied cable will not be long enough to do this.
The only negative I have found was with activating the microphone. As it’s flexible, I’d end up pulling the microphone down to activate via the flex, then bending it back up to my mouth area. I ended up rotating the microphone at its base, so the flex would arrive at my mouth in position. That made sense in my head…
Verdict
There are a number of headsets available from Hyper X, four or more just in the cloud range and at just £79.99, it’s one of the cheaper one. No thrills on its appearance but the audio quality is decent, the microphone does the job and it’s competitively priced.
For more information, head over to the official Hyper X website.
