HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 Gaming Headset Review

A new angular budget champion?

Photo taken by the author.

The HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 has almost nothing in common with its popular predecessor, sharing only its name and its $49.99 USD price point. The industrial design is totally new, and upon first seeing it — I had a bad reaction.

Gone are the steel sliders and simple design language from the original model, and in their place is an overengineered collection of intense sharp angles and fake carbon fiber. Before I got my hands on it, I didn’t really understand what was going on here.

Fortunately, the core audio performance of the Stinger 2 is so good that it’s an easy recommendation, and one of the best headsets you can get at this price if you don’t mind the design and build.

I bought this headset at retail with my own money. I don’t use affiliate links or take sponsorships.

Photo taken by the author.

The Cloud Stinger 2 sells for the same $49.99 USD as its predecessor (official site here), which is impressive in this era of inflated tech prices. In the box you get the headset itself, a foam mic windscreen, and a PC splitter adapter. The cable and the mic are both permanently attached to the headset, which is still somewhat common at this low price point, but a little disappointing to see in this revision.

Build-wise, HyperX dropped the steel bits from the original Stinger models and went with plastic all around. This is weird, because the aggressive marketing campaigns for the older Stinger constantly mentioned its steel-reinforced headset sliders. Angles and edges rule the day here. The headset forks have an elaborate design that seems unnecessary. The rotation hinges are quite loose and floppy. And the weirdly shaped ear cups stick out from the edges of the ear pads, which almost look out of place.

The headband is a definite upgrade, with a larger pad and little holes cut in it so you can see which adjustment step you’re on. The adjustment sliders are quite firm and clicky in spite of not being steel, and I can wear it with several extra clicks on my larger-than average head. The top of the headband is…