HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 Wireless Review: 250-hour battery life and simultaneous dual-wireless connectivity

The original HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless still beats out all other wireless headsets in at least one category: battery life. At a whopping 300 hours over 2.4GHz, no other headset has even come close — and the recently-launched HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 is, well... still only sort of close.

The new Cloud Alpha 2 is a wireless over-ear headset with an impressive battery life of up to 250 hours over a 2.4GHz wireless connection. It also features a slew of other updates, including a premium redesign, simultaneous dual-wireless connectivity, and a customizable desktop base station so all your audio controls are right at your fingertips. Of course, we should point out that the headset's 250-hour battery life drops to just half that (125 hours) if you're using the simultaneous dual-wireless connectivity. That's still pretty impressive — and it still beats almost all of the best wireless headsets we've tested (HyperX's Cloud III S Wireless gets 120 hours over just a 2.4GHz wireless connection).

The Cloud Alpha 2 Wireless is available now, in black, for a retail price of $299.99, though it's currently on sale at HyperX for $279.99.

Design and Comfort of the Cloud Alpha 2

The HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 Wireless is a wireless over-ear (circumaural) headset with a detachable boom microphone and a separate, customizable desktop base station. It features a sturdy, premium build with a dark gray stainless steel headband and curved aluminum forks attached to large, oval-shaped plastic earcups. The headband has leatherette-covered foam padding, while the earcups have soft, velvety microfiber-covered padding.

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The Cloud Alpha 2 has an updated design that puts it in line with the other headsets in HyperX's current Cloud series — specifically, the wired HyperX Cloud III, the HyperX Cloud III Wireless, and the HyperX Cloud III S Wireless. The Cloud Alpha 2 has a more streamlined overall look than its predecessor, with aluminum forks that curve alongside the earcups and a premium-looking monochromatic dark gray-and-black color scheme. HyperX's HX logo is printed in silver on the side of each earcup, and "HyperX" is also printed across the top of the headset's steel headband. The headset doesn't have removable magnetic speaker plates like the Cloud III S Wireless, but I don't think that's a particularly big selling point for the Cloud III S Wireless.

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Unsurprisingly, given its extremely similar design to the other headsets in HyperX's Cloud series, the Cloud Alpha 2 is a very comfortable headset. The steel headband is extremely flexible and well-padded, and the padding at the top of the headband is especially soft — so there's no pressure at the top of your skull. The earcups tilt and swivel both ways (they also swivel flat, making the headset easier to travel with), and are independently height-adjustable. The inside of the headband measures approximately 9 inches (228.6mm) long, and each earcup extends an extra 1.5 inches (38.1mm), for a total length of about 12 inches (304.8mm). The earcups extend in notches (10 notches per side).

I had no issues wearing the Cloud Alpha 2 for hours at a time, though it wasn't so lightweight or airy that I forgot I was wearing it. It feels very similar to the Cloud III series, though the earcups are angled slightly more and feel a bit wider. The Cloud Alpha 2 weighs 12.16 ounces (344.7g), which is only slightly heavier than the Cloud III Wireless / Cloud III S Wireless (12.05oz / 341.5g), but is definitely heavier than the wired Cloud III (10.86oz / 308g). It's also heavier than its predecessor: The original Cloud Alpha weighed 11.84 ounces (335.7g). All in all, the Cloud Alpha 2 isn't a particularly heavy headset, but it is noticeably heavier than the wired Cloud III.

The headset has several ports and controls on each earcup (such is the nature of a wireless gaming headset). On the left earcup, from back to front, there's a power button, a microphone mute button, and three ports: a 3.5mm audio jack for wired listening, a USB-C port for charging, and a 3.5mm port for plugging in the headset's detachable boom microphone. On the right earcup, from back to front, there's a switch to move between "adapter mode" (2.4GHz wireless only) and "dual mode" (2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth) mode, a multi-function button, and a volume wheel.

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Instead of a traditional USB-A (or USB-C) dongle for its 2.4GHz wireless connection, the Cloud Alpha 2 comes with a desktop base station that plugs into your PC and serves as both a wireless receiver and a convenient way to quickly tune your headset and adjust settings without having to open up any software. The base station has a large multi-function volume wheel with a convenient tap-to-mute mic button in the center, as well as six colorful, fully-programmable buttons. In addition to the USB-C port on the back, it also has 3.5mm line-in and line-out ports, if you'd like to connect the headset via its 3.5mm cable (or connect a different wired headset, I guess). There's a switch on the side that lets you toggle between the base station's line-in port and the 2.4GHz wireless connection. At the moment, none of the settings you tweak in HyperX's companion software seem to save directly to the headset, but you can use the software's EQ features over a wired connection if you're plugged directly into the base station.

The Cloud Alpha 2 comes with several accessories in the box. This includes the aforementioned base station, a microfiber cloth drawstring carrying bag, as well as three cables: a short 1.6-foot (0.5m) USB-C to USB-C cable, a longer 5-foot (1.5m) USB-C to USB-C cable with a USB-C to USB-A adapter, and a braided 5-foot (1.5m) 3.5mm aux cable.

Specs

Audio Performance of the Cloud Alpha 2

The Cloud Alpha 2 features multi-layer, dual-chamber 53mm angled dynamic drivers with a frequency response range of 20 - 20,000 Hz — the standard for most gaming headsets, though we've seen quite a few premium gaming headsets outside that range recently. Audio on the Cloud Alpha 2 is quite good — it's better than the audio you'll get from the Cloud III / Cloud III Wireless / Cloud III S Wireless' 53mm drivers, but I'm not sure it's $300 good.

I've been playing a lot of Where Winds Meet lately, so I started my testing with that. The details and layers were certainly there — I got all the atmosphere and background conversations as I walked through the streets of Kaifeng, but the soundstage was a little closed in general, which isn't surprising for a closed-back headset. The headset's bass was more powerful than I've noticed in the Cloud III series, but it still wasn't that deep, resonating power I've gotten from headsets like Audeze's Maxwell.

Virtual surround on the Cloud Alpha 2 did sound very good, however, and I was able to pinpoint exactly where sounds were coming from — whether they were voices, gunshots, or footsteps — without needing to second-guess the accuracy. The headset is also well-tuned for first-person shooters in general, as gunshots and footsteps are especially discernible.

Music on the Cloud Alpha 2 is good, but not great; I'd definitely pick a headset like the Maxwell or even Razer's BlackShark V3 Pro over the Cloud Alpha 2 for pure listening. Bass is present but not particularly impressive overall — the sound profile is pretty mid-heavy and there's a lot of sibilance even in the upper mids. While I could hear all the details in songs like Beyonce's Single Ladies and Enya's Orinoco Flow, everything sounded a little too compressed for what I expect from a $300 headset. Overall, the Cloud Alpha 2 does sound better than the Cloud III series, but not much better. And the Cloud III series is significantly cheaper.

Microphone of the Cloud Alpha 2

The Cloud Alpha 2 has a detachable boom mic that sits at the end of a flexible gooseneck arm, as well as built-in microphones in the earcups, so you can use the headset for chatting on the go. The detachable boom mic is a 10mm omnidirectional mic that's very similar (possibly the same?) as the mic that comes with the Cloud III series. It's a solid headset mic, but it's still a headset mic — vocals are moderately full and warm, and nobody I spoke with had any issues hearing or understanding me, but nobody was particularly impressed with how I sounded, either.

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I did appreciate having the tap-to-mute button on the base station, though — while I haven't had the mute button blip issue I had with the Cloud III on any of HyperX's recent headsets, I just really love this whole tap-to-mute thing. The built-in mics are about what you'd expect — not great (my voice sounded a bit thin to listeners), but (probably) better than nothing.

Features and Software of the Cloud Alpha 2

The Cloud Alpha 2 is customizable with HyperX's Ngenuity Beta software — not to be confused with HyperX's non-beta Ngenuity software. You can use the Ngenuity Beta software to customize both the headset and the base station — you can adjust a handful of standard controls on the headset (volume, mic volume, mic monitoring, and game/chat balance), play with the equalizer, and add mic effects and presets such as AI noise reduction, compressor, limiter, and low/mid/high boosts. You can also tweak the headset's virtual spatial audio (direction, distance, etc.), which is already pretty impressive.

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You can also use the Ngenuity Beta software to customize the base station. You can customize the light ring with various effects (and layer them), and you can change the colors of the buttons.

The buttons are also fully programmable, though they do come preset with the indicated functions: mic volume, game/chat mix, mic monitoring, mute, EQ settings, and play/pause. You can adjust the mic volume, game/chat mix, and mic monitoring levels by pressing the corresponding button and turning the multi-function wheel (press the button again to exit). Hitting the EQ settings button lets you switch between music, gaming, and voice chat EQ settings (fully customizable), and the mute and play/pause buttons perform as you would expect. But, as I said, the buttons are fully programmable — you can rearrange the preset functions however you like, and you can also map keyboard functions, media keys, and macros.

I will point out that Ngenuity Beta is still in beta — while it's better than it was when the headset launched, the software still leaves quite a bit to be desired. None of the changes you make in the software seem to save directly to the headset or to the base station, so you'll need to be running the software in order to use most of the features. This probably won't be an issue if you're using the headset solely for gaming, but it's definitely a little frustrating if you're hoping this can double as a lifestyle or travel headset.

Battery Life of the Cloud Alpha 2

The original Cloud Alpha boasted a genuinely unmatched battery life of 300 hours over 2.4GHz wireless. The Cloud Alpha 2 is rated for up to 250 hours — which is less than 300, but still more than twice what you'll get from almost any other wireless gaming headset. However, there is a catch: The Cloud Alpha 2 gets 250 hours over 2.4GHz wireless in "adapter mode" — that is, when you're connected to 2.4GHz wireless only. If you're in "dual mode," connected to 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth simultaneously, that figure drops to around half of that (125 hours). Don't get me wrong — 125 hours is still excellent, and would be even without simultaneous dual-wireless connectivity, so there's not much to complain about here.

Bottom Line

The HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 Wireless is a pretty solid successor to the original HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless, but there's more competition these days. The Cloud Alpha 2's 250- or 125-hour battery life is very impressive, and the headset itself is very well-built and comfortable. Audio quality isn't nearly as good as you'll find in other similarly-priced headsets, however — the Audeze Maxwell (and the Audeze Maxwell 2, which we're currently testing) both offer much better audio quality. Of course, gamers don't necessarily need or want pure, perfect audiophile-level quality, and the Cloud Alpha 2 does do a great job with details — especially high-pitched details like footsteps and gunshots — and virtual surround and spatial sound. So the Cloud Alpha 2 Wireless is still a great gaming headset, even if it's not my favorite music-listening headset.