HyperX Cloud Stinger Gaming Headset Review – Worth Considering ?

By Srinivasareddy Chennareddy On Oct 3, 2017

Gaming on a PC is the latest hype & the people in this category are heavily increasing every single day. More & more brains and money are now heading towards Gaming Desktops & Laptops and that’s why many brands have started making Accessories that can help to enhance the experience when you game.

HyperX was already in this whole gaming thing with their High Quality & Fast RAM sticks, SSDs & other peripherals and they’ve definitely gone into this Gaming Headsets as well. They do have quite a few Gaming Headsets available in the Market right now but, in this article, we are having a look at the least expensive option called the HyperX Cloud Stinger Gaming Headset.

SPECIFICATIONS

Type: Closed Back Noise Cancellation Headphones
Frequency: 18Hz – 23000 Hz
Impedance: 30 Ω
Driver: 50mm Dynamic Drivers with Neodymium Magnets
Earcup Material: Foam
THD ≤ 2%
Input Power: 30mW (Rated) – 500mW (Max)
Connection: 3.5 mm
Microphone: Noise Canceling (Sensitivity of -40 dBV)
Cable Length: 1.3 Meters
Weight: 275 grams
Compatibility: Windows & Mac PCs, XBOX One, PS4, Wii U & Smartphones

So, let’s talk about the headset now. The Cloud Stinger is build on the approach of a Lightweight Headset that sounds pretty good in games. Now, how well it stood up on that ? Well read on..

DESIGN & BUILD QUALITY

The Design has a Simple Gameing Aesthetic with a complete Black body & a Red HyperX logo on both side. I kinda like this design language as it’s simple & I prefer simple but, good looking setups & this kinda goes with that approach.

So, the earcups can be rotated upto 90 Degrees. This isn’t a mandatory feature that a Gaming Headset must have & I personally don’t care if it is there or not but, for those who prefer rotate-able earcups it’s there. The size can be also adjusted & HyperX packs a Steel Slider instead of a Plastic one. The Microphone is attached with the Left earcup & there is also a volume control built under the right earcup.

Coming to the Build Quality, keeping the Steel Adjusters aside, it’s completely made out of plastic. It’s definitely understandable for that least-expensive price point. The quality of the Plastic however, is pretty good & it feels really sturdy. That’s a welcome step from my side because, a well made Plastic Build holds better compared to Low quality Metal ones. The quality of the Cable feels good as well.

The earcups are made of foam. They feel pretty comfortable & they feel durable. The overall weight of the Headset is 275 grams & I had no problems to keep it on during long gaming sessions. And it doesn’t slip & fall down from the head either. So, in terms of Design & Build Quality, the Cloud Stinger gets a thumbs up.

My only complain will be the lack of a Lighting setup. I mean ok it’s a budget gaming headset but, I would have love to see side Red lights that goes with the whole Gaming thing. Now, customizable RGB lighting is definitely not a thing to expect at this price I know but, adding some lighting would have made the headset look more appealing.

Buy From: Amazon India | Amazon.com

AUDIO OUTPUT & INPUT

This is the most important part of the Review as the main goal of a Gaming Headset or any Headset is to deliver good Audio to the user. So, the Hardware & fine tuning of the Hardware is pretty Damn important. The Cloud Stinger is basically a Gaming Headset so, it’s not officially made for Music & stuff like that but, we’ll have some words on that segment later anyway.

I need to talk about the Driver first. So, HyperX packs two 50mm Dynamic Drivers & they claim that they have used Neodymium Magnets here.

It has an impedance of 30 Ω. That’s a great sweetspot that is quite higher than many other headsets available at this price point but, isn’t a problem to use with both our regular Smartphones & our Gaming Rigs. Overall, the hardware seems to be quite appealing so, it should be able to to produce nice audio right ? Well, I have tested it with quite a few games on both my Gaming Laptop & my Smartphone.

During my game play sessions, I found the Cloud Stinger to be sounding quite well. The actions are good sounding & it feels quite realistic as well. Now, if you have different sound profiles in your PC, you need to make sure you’re on the right one when you game. If you play games in an inconvenient sound profile, you’ll never get the true performance out of this headset or any other gaming Headset.

So, in Games like CS:GO & Battlefield 1 it sounded pretty good. I had no hearing issues while crushing the battle ground & the overall experience was great for the price. Something like Dota 2 is where I felt the Headset wasn’t that useful. If you want to game on Smartphone though, it won’t be as good experience on a PC but, it’s still decent & racing games like Asphalt Xtreme sounds pretty good on this headset. So, overall it’s a really good gaming experience for the price.

But, no I am not saying that it’s perfect. There are way better Gaming headsets available that just crushes this thing in thing in terms of Audio Output. But, those are a on the pricey side so, I liked what HyperX did for a lower price.

In general, these headphones have good Bass. The Highs are clear, the Lows are pronounced well and the Mids are the ok but not great. If you’re plan is to use it as your Music Listening Accessory as well, it’s doable but, this isn’t the perfect setup for the Music enthusiasts. But, for gamers, this is a really good setup.

Coming To the Microphone, it’s attached to the left earcup & I’ll say that it sounds decent but, it’s not that great. You can comfortably use it for Gaming and even Video Conferencing is ok to do with this microphone but, the loudness of the input seems to be a bit low & also, the voice isn’t that clear sounding.

So, it’s an ok Microphone & for the price it’s considerable but, I am not particularly happy with the Audio Input of this Headset. The Noise cancellation works well though but, it could have been better. So, overall it’s usable but, it’s definitely not a microphone that you’ll love.

OUR VERDICT

So the HyperX Cloud Stinger has Good Build Quality & Good Audio Output but, Not so good Audio Input. In India the price is somewhere around 4K INR & in US the price is around 49.99 USD (Amazon Price at the time of writing the article). So, it’s definitely a good gaming headset for the price. There are Headsets from other brands avilable at similar price point but, most of them suck in audio quality. So, I think HyperX did a really good job in keeping the price low while delivering really good Audio & a solid build quality.

If you’re a Gamer & looking for a least-expensive Gaming Headset, I have no problem recommending it. But, if your main goal is Multimedia Consumption, it’s decent but it’s not ideal. Get a regular headset that is tuned for Music & stuff like that. But, for gamers this is a really great headset for the price.

In case you have any questions, feel free to drop them below & I’ll be happy to answer them. If you’re interested in purchasing one for yourself, I’m leaving the Amazon links below for both amazon.in & amazon.com.