HyperX’s New Budget Gaming Headset Looks Disgusting
For years, the HyperX Cloud Stinger has been a great lower-priced entry point into the world of gaming headsets, sitting at $50 but offering some nice perks. I loved it when it launched, I loved it when they tacked on ten more dollars to the price and added a surround dongle, and I loved it when it was pink. I also loved it when they made a nicer wireless version that smoothed out the sound quality.
Today, HyperX launched the Cloud Stinger 2, and I think it looks ridiculous. Like, I can’t believe how bad and cheap it looks. It feels like it was made by an entirely different company, and it has nothing I’ve come to expect from this headset family other than it contains speakers and a mic.
Gone are the durable steel sliders so proudly touted as part of the original in all of its many marketing campaigns. Gone is the classic HyperX industrial design, replaced with a garish angular plastic frame that seems huge. The permanently attached microphone is somehow larger and more ungainly than the older one. The cable is still permanently attached. And the price is the same, even though the plastic frame likely means that this new model is cheaper to build.
Who was asking for this? Why take out the metal and add a ton of angles to the plastic? Wouldn’t more new colors of the…
