Kingston Cloud II Gaming Headset Review

Performance

I had really high expectations of this headset, especially given the excellent performance of the original Cloud headset. Fortunately for me, and no doubt for Kingston too, I was not disappointed. The HyperX Cloud II is a really good sounding headset, not the best I’ve ever tested, but for the price range it’s in, it certainly competes with the best of the best. The headset drivers are crisp and clear even at maximum volume, delivering clear bass, mid and treble performance that lacks a little warmth to the sound, but certainly makes up for it with power. The maximum volume on this headset is hilariously loud, so loud that if I were to have them on my ears for a few minutes, I’d be nursing a thumping headache and acute deafness for many hours. While I don’t suggest you blast your ear drums, the powerful drivers are great for boosting quiet audio sources, such as those found is poor quality YouTube videos.

Putting the headset into the PC or a mobile device, or any compatible device for that matter via the 3.5mm jack works easy enough, and the four-pole connection means that you’ll be able to use the headset to answer calls or chat on your games console easy enough. However, keep in mind that if you want to use it on your Xbox One, you’ll need to purchase a controller mix-amp attachment.

Performance on the 3.5mm jack cable isn’t as great as the USB connection, you lose the 7.1 virtual surround features, the overall volume levels are not as loud and while the quality is still great, it’s noticeably not as good as the USB. The USB sound card really does deliver a bigger sound, but also the Virtual 7.1 surround and while I’m normally one of the first to dismiss virtual surround, the Kingston HyperX Cloud II certainly has some impressive processing. When watching movies or games, it makes a big difference to the soundscape, without sacrificing overall audio quality.

Gaming and movies certainly stand out on this headset, the surround mode really works and you can easily pick out a lot of finer sounds you often miss via desktop speakers. Music performance is very good too, but I wouldn’t be purchasing this headset as a dedicated music headset anytime soon, its designed as a gaming headset and that’s certainly where it performs the strongest. The microphone provided crystal clear chat audio throughout, making it a prime choice for competitive gaming.