Gaming Headset Legends: HyperX Cloud II

This classic headset has outlasted dozens of other models

Photo taken by the author.

The gaming peripheral market moves at hyper-speed. All of the major players in the space release new products every 6 to 12 months, and constantly retire old and outdated designs as well. That goes hand-in-hand with the “what’s the next hit?” mentality on the software side, where games have just a few weeks to make a big sales impact before the mainstream discourse has moved on to the next release.

It’s unusual for anything to stick around for long in this endless churn of newest-and-greatest. But the HyperX Cloud II gaming headset has managed exactly that. It just crossed an incredible five years on the market, and it’s available in a wide variety of colors and styles.

I never expected it to last this long, especially once HyperX launched an exceptional follow-up with the HyperX Cloud Alpha. Two years ago, I was already incredulous at how long this little gaming headset has managed to stick around and continue selling, and two years after that I have no choice but to respect it. The Cloud II is one of the only headsets to have such a dramatic shelf-life, and in fact I think it’s the oldest third- party gaming audio peripheral currently on the market.

Picking up a Cloud II, it’s easy to get some hints about why it’s still around. The build quality is undeniably impressive, with a solid aluminum frame and thick rubberized plastic ear cups with metal backings. The styling, complete with deluxe stitching along the top of the headband and subdued color schemes, screams premium in spite of the relatively low price. The memory foam headband and noise-canceling microphone were two big improvements touted over the Cloud I, and they’re still nice to have. And the little microphone hole plug stopper is a weird bonus extra that none of HyperX’s other models include.

Photo taken by the author.

The design has plenty of drawbacks, however. The permanently attached cable is the most prominent one. It wasn’t as big of a deal when this headset first launched, but now it stings to see any headphone or headset not offer a replaceable and…