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$50 Gaming Headset Showdown: HyperX Cloud Stinger VS Roccat Elo X Stereo
Way back at the end of 2016, HyperX changed the budget gaming headset market forever by releasing the original Cloud Stinger. This $50 model packed many of the design features from their higher-end products into a price category dominated by cheap simple plastic options.
It was no longer good enough for a budget gaming headset to be made of plastic and spit out some sound. Now, it needed to have premium touches. A whole new wave of competition emerged, and now the lower end of the market is packed with solid choices.
Roccat has always built their products on value first and foremost, and their latest Elo X Stereo headset is a clear shot at being the “new” Stinger. HyperX has only given their classic model a few light updates over the years, leaving the door open for someone to come racing in with a new vision for budget gaming audio.
OVERVIEW
HyperX Cloud Stinger (Original Review Here, S Model Review Here)- The Stinger set the original standard for maximum performance at a low $49 price. It doesn’t come with any extra frills unless you spend a few extra dollars for the recent S update or one of the wireless models. The microphone is permanently attached.
HyperX iterated on the design a hilarious number of times, producing a whole range of models that feature different driver sizes and connection options, but the core design of the headset is essentially unchanged.
In the standard model(official page here), you get a closed-back headset with memory foam pads, a 3.5mm splitter cable for PCs…and that’s it.
Roccat Elo X Stereo (Original Review Here)- The Elo lineup is the first result of Roccat’s merger with Turtle Beach. It blends Roccat’s long focus on premium low-cost designs with some of Turtle Beach’s technologies…
