Over the last decade, I have reviewed a number of HyperX products. Mostly headsets, but also RAM, SSD’s and I am sure some other hardware I can’t think of right now. And if I’m honest, HyperX has always felt like a “budget” option when purchasing it’s branded items.

I don’t think “budget” is the correct describing word for HyperX anymore. Maybe at one point it was or maybe it never was, but I think that perhaps “quality you can afford” or “Lexus quality at a Holden Price” (Aussie readers will understand that one) is a more accurate description. Or maybe, I should leave the HyperX marketing alone as I seem to suck at marketing as you can see. For now, let’s just say that HyperX does it’s utmost best to bring top quality products to the masses at a price point the masses can afford!

The long and the short of it is that the Cloud Stinger Wireless USB Headset is a fantastic headset that the wallet-conscious will be more than happy to own… just as long as you don’t want them for an XBOX.

The Cloud Stingers feature 50mm drivers and a closed cup design that feel almost too light while wearing them. Usually I game with my Beats Solo 3. I use these because they are super comfortable and offer high quality sound. They also cost me $449 at the time of purchase. So when I began testing the Cloud Stinger, a headset that is less than one quarter of the price of my Beats, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot.

As I said, they almost feel too light, kind of like they might break if you sneeze. Alas I was wrong. For long gaming sessions, they are exactly what I needed. The lightweight build of these are surprisingly robust… please don’t tell the HyperX PR team, but my 6yr old son happened to jump up on the chair I had laid them down on whilst I grabbed a drink. He sat on them with all his growing boy kilos. This was within the first 24 hours of my testing them. Needless to say, they still worked perfectly after that.

At 270 grams, you forget you are even wearing them. The quality of sound is surprisingly good. I know that a price point shouldn’t define an item, but it always will to some extent, and at this price point, the Cloud Stinger quite easily give my Playstation Platinum Wireless Headset a run for its $249 Australian monies!

Testing with Forza Horizon 4 (Win 10 PC), the exhaust and engine sounds sounded very similar to my beats and maybe even a little better than my PS Platinum. Tyre screeches and in-game voice were as clear as one would expect and hope for.

Moving across to Black Ops 4 showed that even footsteps could be heard clearly. As there are no advanced configuration options with the Cloud Stinger, you are stuck with the sound tuned from the factory, suffice to say this isn’t a totally bad thing for some.

The overall sound is not as “bassy” as I like normally, but most games, especially when playing online with and/or against others requires a finer balance between the highs and mids in the sound spectrum, rather than focusing on the low end bass. Bass is good for movies and music, not gaming so much.

The battery life is said to be up to 17 hours. Without much use of the mic, I managed to squeeze 20 hrs & 56 mins out of it. As I began to use the mic for in-game chat as most of us would on a regular basis, my timer stopped at 17 hrs and 24 mins. Clearly these times where added together and not tested in a single sitting, so scientific they are not however, I like to think they paint a fairly accurate picture of what to expect.

The one thing about wireless headphones I absolutely despise are USB dongles. I hate them. I REALLY HATE THEM! I have a pair of headphones in my drawer at home that I cannot use because the USB dongle has gone walkabout. Is bluetooth that much more expensive or technically challenging to implement? I even prefer running a short cable between my controller and headset rather than relying upon a USB dongle.

So to answer your connectivity question, you need a USB dongle.

The mic worked perfectly with seemingly no lag or echo. The raise-to-mute function of the mic arm worked and noise cancelling was top notch.

Overall the Cloud Stingers are a worthy purchase but only for PC or PS4. I never understood why a manufacturer chooses one platform over another, but these won’t work on your XBOX. I get that USB dongle won’t work on both console platforms, but Bluetooth or even an option 3.5mm jack would fix this. The Cloud Stingers are comfortable, lightweight and sound just as good as many of the other (more expensive) headsets on the market today.

Headphone

• Driver: Dynamic, 50mm with neodymium magnets
• Type: Circumaural, closed back
• Frequency response: 20Hz-20,000Hz
• Impedance: 32 Ω
• Sound pressure level: 109dBSPL/mW at 1kHz
• T.H.D.: < 2%
• Weight: 270g
• Cable length and type: USB charging cable (1m)

Microphone

• Element: Electret condenser microphone
• Polar pattern: Noise-cancelling
• Frequency response: 100Hz-7,000Hz
• Sensitivity: -47dBV (0dB=1V/Pa,1kHz)
• Battery life1: 17 hours
• Wireless Range2: 2.4GHz
• Up to 12 meters

Written by: Kurt Frohloff

A Founder of MKAU, a gamer, a family man. I have a love of all things gaming and a wish of mine is to have more time to actually play the games we review here!