Ears-on with the Kingston HyperX Cloud Gaming Headset

With the fall lineup focusing on bringing next-generation gaming experiences to life like never before, various manufacturers are looking to maximize every facet of a game as much as possible. For Kingston, their focus has always been on PC RAM and memory. However, the company is now looking to enter an additional arena -- the audio arena.

With that in mind, Kingston recently revealed a new line of headphones earlier this year called the HyperX Cloud. Released earlier this year, the HyperX Cloud line of headphones seeks to offer immense power for gaming on PC, PS4, Xbox One (with required adapter), and mobile devices. While the HyperX Cloud has been performing well, the company is not looking to stop there, launching a new headset at Gamescom called the HyperX Cloud White.

Shacknews recently had a chance to try out the HyperX Cloud headsets. The 53mm drivers and closed-cup design ensured that sound came through unobstructed. In fact, the noise-cancelling effect worked a little too well, since I couldn't hear anyone around me while trying them out. This is why there's an option in place to replace the leatherette ear cups with velour cushions, in case you don't want anyone ambushing you. The headset's mic isn't the highest quality, as I bumped into some static issues throghout several of my gaming sessions. However, the mic is detachable, so if you have a secondary mic, like a webcam mic or a Snowball mic, it should be no trouble to simply sub for that.

As far as headphone quality goes, however, the HyperX Cloud captures the essence of a game's sound perfectly, as evidenced by my walkthrough of Battlefield 4. More than that, I appreciated that they actually felt comfortable, given some of my past headsets have had a knack of cramping down on my skull and giving me a massive headache.

HyperX Cloud has some high-quality design, which is extending into its White line of headphones. The comfort level is good enough on its own, but the 53mm driver-powered sound makes it one of the better headsets I've encountered in some time.

This product overview was conducted with a HyperX Cloud Pro Gaming Headset, provided by the manufacturer. HyperX Cloud Gaming Headsets are available now on Newegg, Amazon, and GameStop.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?