HyperX is deep in the gaming headset business, and it’s no surprise given the company’s success in it. We’ve actually been using their products such as the Alloy FPS Pro and the HyperX Cloud Alpha as our daily drivers, and it’s just hard to pass it up for others. And since we were also in the need for a proper gaming headset for our Nintendo Switch.
HyperX is deep in the gaming headset business, and it’s no surprise
given the company’s success in it. We’ve actually been using their products such
as the Alloy FPS Pro and the HyperX Cloud Alpha as our daily drivers, and it’s just
hard to pass it up for others. And since we were also in the need for a proper gaming
headset for our Nintendo Switch.
PACKAGING
The Cloud Earbuds are somewhat unique when it comes to
introductions. HyperX took years of reinforcement to make a statement on red
and black for its products, and them taking a change of pace with the Cloud
Earbuds with white and red. Classic, yet rugged. We dig it.
Moving forward, there’s some decent inclusions with the Cloud
Earbuds. There are the earphones in the flesh, a compact carrying case, two
sets of extra eartips, and a set of paperwork. The carrying case by the way is
a hard shell case, which will do its job in protecting the earbuds together
with the tips or your game carts if you prefer. It’s also a missed setup from
HyperX – you know, the good ol bundle with a carrying case.
DESIGN
As with any earphones, aesthetics isn’t the only thing
constituting design. Functionality plays an important part in the grand scheme
of things. For the Cloud Earbuds, HyperX has some great considerations when it
comes to both. It carries gaming by heart in design, but not so much that it
would look so heavy in the eyes. Circular black and red earbuds grace each end,
both of which have removable rubbery tips that act as a way to keep them in place
when you wear them. They do a great job, mind you, though it might take some
time to get used to. HyperX throws in two extra set of tips just in case they
don’t fit you.
The red wire runs 1.2m long and doesn’t tangle, definitely
great when it comes to lugging it in your bag and taking it out in the open.
The microphone is situated on the left side of the wire as standard. The button
beside it isn’t some sort of a specialized gaming feature, there's also no volume controls here sadly. It functions as a
normal button on any headset would, and we wish there could have been a mute
switch or at least a PTT feature.
PERFORMANCE
Games
HyperX tags the Cloud Earbuds as one for the Nintendo Switch
firstly, and for smartphones second. This is indication enough that the company
sees the mobile gaming market and wishes to address its audio needs.
We’ve tried it on several games that we have on our Switch.
First off, Warframe. Granted, the game
doesn’t utilize audio cues to its gameplay mechanics, but for the experience
with the earphones it’s quite clear with high volume output. We wanted to try
it on voice chat but it’s difficult to test it out when you’re playing on an
open channel and the people you play with aren’t responsive to talk with. For
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the sound is quite rich and the voices are
crisp and clean, with the background music adding up to the experience. It adds
up on the immersion, with the audio elements clear to help out on the
mechanics. The same can be said for Hollow Knight’s atmospheric setting.
Gaming on smartphone really isn’t our thing, but we’ll just
go ahead and test it out with what we have at the moment. There’s Ragnarok
Eternal M, which has quite a nice pop vibe to it added with the richness on the
sound effects from attacks and magic.
Music
When it comes to music, the Cloud Earbuds probably won’t be
your thing if you prefer loud thumping bass above others. To say the least, it’s
a pair that keeps it balance, keeping it clean with the vocals surfacing. The
bass is there, although the punch isn’t as strong. As usual, our test setup on this one would be
Sade’s No Ordinary Love, CHVRCHES’ The Mother We Share, and Explosions in the
Sky’s Your Hand in Mine.
Microphone
There will be plenty of factors to consider when testing out
microphones. There’s the environment, the device you’re using, the level of
noise, and so forth. But to give you a rough overview on how we tested, the
audio recorded here is done on the Huawei P9 smartphone’s voice recorder as I
spoke on normal volume with very little noise coming from the PC fan and winds
from the outside.
CONCLUSION
HyperX doesn't put a premium on its offerings, and we love them for it. Sure, there's the HyperX Elite Alloy RGB Mechanical Keyboard that shot up the price to almost Php10K, but that doesn't happen often especially for new products from the company. We're frugal gamers still, and as it stands HyperX dishes up some sweet offerings for us and the same can be said for the HyperX Cloud Earbuds. It's easily a great performer in our books, and there's very little to complain about.
The HyperX Cloud Earbuds come with quite a competitive price tag at $49.99 or Php2,999 (cheapest we've seen in the local market). Those looking for straightforward earbuds can definitely find the Cloud Earbuds as welcoming, and it feels at home with the Nintendo Switch.
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