Gadgetory

this video is brought to you by NCI XCOM great technology selection and service hello everyone this is Dmitry with Haruka Knox and this is the Kingston HyperX cloud this was their initial introduction into gaming audio they've teamed up with Koopa to co-develop this headset and you can actually find the Koopa equivalent on the qh9 T but with Kingston actually offering a better value at slightly lower price point so this is the Kingston HyperX cloud 2 and update the design to an already popular gaming headset the cloud the original cloud now with a $99 price tag because of an included USB dongle for virtual surround sound and there is your $20 premium price tag because of it one very important aspect about the originals it will still be for sale so for those not needing the USB dongle that comes with cloud 2 can save some cash and go with the original so the few physical changes between the cloud 2 and the predecessor are the red coating on the aluminum support for the ear cups that on the initial headset was black and you can also get a gray version with the cloud 2 the second change was the added Kingston writing on the inside it's a very insignificant difference and lastly the single 3.5 millimeter jack on the cloud 2 that integrates both the headphone and the microphone signal while it was split on the original and since the formula for the headset is already top notch I'm glad they didn't mess around but to quickly recap the cloud 2 is very well built it's flexible size adjustable the padding on the headband is just right without any particular pressure points the light structure is awesome for long gaming sessions and I love the synchronous color accents all around especially the thread for the headband that literally ties things nicely with the design I do appreciate the fairly compact nature of this headset as you can see looks quite nice it's not gigantic in any way and it feels like it can take a head being thrown in the back from mobile use you can actually use it without the microphone if you want to just use it for music for example outside it doesn't look like as typical gaming headset anyway but this gives me time to also reflect back on the original HyperX cloud and I'm happy to report there's been no major annoyances no breaking parts only light scuffs on the leather and the plastic on the exterior the only concern that I've brought up to Kingston was the actual connection cable and headset this is because on the original sample the cable had a little bit of motion that made me first believe there was some sort of fault with the joint I can hear it moving inside the ear cup luckily this has not affected audio quality and to my surprise out of the box cloud HyperX ii had the exact same issue less movement but they same story so if you encounter any type of no audio interferences or any type of issues that you know may be left on the right channel is not being recognized properly then potentially check the cable and to see exactly how much movement there is because that could be the problem so coming out to the microphone it is removable it's awesome if you want to use the cloud for mobile use it is extremely flexible and stays in desired position and what you're hearing now is being recorded with the cloud 2 through the USB dongle it's possible for gaming for just new people can't hear you that's all that matters really I wouldn't use this use this to stream also this microphone is very sensitive make sure to place it away not too close to your mouth so it also doesn't pick up your breath and it has noise cancellation so I'm going to start typing on the keyboard so you can hear how much of that is picked up by the microphone so noise cancellation is present it mutes the background elements pretty well but not totally isolating just your voice the ear cups are interchangeable a set of velour ear cups is included they are oval to accommodate for the height of your ear with great feeling leather cushion and extra padding in the center piece to avoid discomfort if your ears reach they're this small but very important feature is usually found on more expensive headphones like the dt 990 pro's and that is my main gaming driver by the way so seeing this padding on the HyperX cloud is very much appreciated and give us a like if you want to see my personal gaming audio setup and we'll make sure to sign five and finally let's take a look at what makes the cloud two different this USB sound dongle on the one end we've got a USB 2.0 for connectivity to your PC a 3.5 millimeter input jack for plugging the headphones on the other end the dongle is very small but controls the headphones and microphone volume independently with the plus and minus there's an awkward to reach mic mute on the left side and the shirt clip as you won't like this dangling on the ground the star of the show however is the immediate 7.1 virtual surround sound button in the center with illumination for clear indication when that is enabled and I think this is really meant for individuals on gaming notebooks or if you don't have a proper sound card or an outdated motherboard design then this plug-and-play device is super convenient to get that virtual surround sound without having to tinker in your own equalizer settings so like I said it is driverless it's just plug and play it's a 16 bit 48 kilohertz DAC that there's more than capable and driving the cloud - and anything above about 50% volume would cause hearing discomfort it's a really clean signal pass-through no complaints here there's no coloring in the audio signature and the 7.1 profile works really well for gaming whatever equalizer profile Kingston has created to simulate multi channels and enlarged audio depth is definitely working and we give them a huge thumbs up and as soon as those numbers light up your audio environment expands the stereo projection becomes surround and it feels like the sound is no longer coming from the headset so close to the head but for much larger audio sources in the distance and that's very good to hear you get a really good sense of distance for faraway gunfire the positional cues are now slightly more engaging compared to what you hear in stereo mode and please please please make sure to put on the velour earpads is they're not as isolating as the leather ones and I think that complements the 7.1 profile better without compromising on tight bass that you get the treble is detailed and the mid-range is not depressed so you can pick out voices very clear bounce of objects in your environment like grenades and as soon as you enable that 7.1 profile clear audio separation between all types of elements becomes a little bit more difficult for example footsteps become less detailed because everything is pushed back but you get an extra sense of where those footsteps came from and this USB dongle is not a bad idea if you don't want to tinker with your own equalizer settings and this plug and play solution should appeal to many including myself for gaming on my laptop as I do use a desktop DAC and an open style of headphones for my regular gaming needs however the HyperX cloud brings us to extra color variations of the headset all the same awesome build and sound properties of the original and now with a favorable USB dongle for a click of a button surround sound that actually works well I think the $20 premium is right in line with what you get however the originals are still up for sale if you want to save some cash and want to use your own DAC or your own sound card but once again we are giving the HyperX cloud too damn good a word and if you are in the market for a new excellent sounding pair with a decent microphone you should consider the cloud and we'll that concludes this review thank you so much for watching don't forget to Like and subscribe if you want to see more similar content and we'll see you in the next one