A new open back headset contender — HyperX Cloud Alpha Air Review

I generally came away impressed by the HyperX Cloud Alpha Air, and not in the faint-praise, “good for a gaming headset” sense either. This is, for the most part, a legitimately good-sounding open-back headphone that also happens to be aimed at gaming, which is a much rarer thing than it should be.

At $150, it also sits in an awkward category where there are plenty of closed-back gaming headsets, but not that many open-back options that feel this complete. You get a wired headset, an included dongle for access to HyperX's Ingenuity app, a detachable microphone, and a tuning profile that I think is more defensible than what most gaming brands usually manage.

Who this is for

This is an open-back, wired gaming headset, so right away it is not a universal recommendation. If you need isolation, if you game around other people, or if you do not want your audio leaking into the room, this is probably the wrong tool. But if you want the benefits of an open-back design, like more consistent bass behavior and, in my view, generally better sound quality potential, this is exactly the kind of product that makes sense.

The dongle matters here because it is what unlocks the Ingenuity app. That means parametric EQ, microphone options, and a few extra processing features. So while the headset is wired either way, the intended experience clearly includes the software side.

Build and comfort

For build, design, and comfort, I think this is mostly great. It reminds me somewhat of the Sennheiser HD 490 Pro approach, with a mix of metal and plastic parts that still feel sturdy, and enough swivel and tilt to accommodate larger heads without turning fit into a negotiation.

The cloth pads are a major win vs. their other headphones. I much prefer these to the springier pads on the Cloud 3 Wireless S, because they conform easier due to being more compliant around the ear, and in practice are simply more comfortable. My ears did not touch the inside of the cups, and there is enough room here that long sessions are not a problem. Clamp force is present, but not heavy-handed, and because the pads are soft it settles on the head well.

Fit range also looks generous. I did not need to max out the adjustment, so I suspect even bigger heads than my already-large head should generally be fine.

With that said, comfort is not flawless. The top headband padding is the weak point, mostly because I wish the contact area were wider. I did notice a slight hot spot there, and compared with the Sony INZONE H6 Air, which has a notably better headband approach, this is the one area where HyperX gives up ground. Still, it is not uncomfortable overall, and I could wear it through a full day without much issue.

Controls and microphone

The microphone is detachable, which I always appreciate, there is a volume wheel on the cup, a mic mute button, and the dongle cable enters through a single point on the side. That one-cable, one-entry setup is simple and tidy, and yes, sometimes the obvious stuff is still worth praising because plenty of products somehow mess it up.

HyperX also includes another cable if you want to connect it to regular equipment like an amplifier. That matters later, because there is one notable limitation to the dongle path.

As for the microphone, I would call it acceptable, but not amazing. It does the job for a headset mic, which is really the standard most people should apply here. If you care a lot about voice quality, you should still get a standalone mic.

Open-back tradeoffs

The open-back part is both the appeal and the catch. You will hear the world around you, and people around you will hear what you are listening to. So if you share space with other people, this could be annoying for them, or embarrassing for you, depending on what exactly is coming through your headphones.

But the reason I still like the concept is that open-back designs can be more forgiving and more consistent. With many closed-backs, bass depends heavily on seal, so glasses, head shape, or small leaks can gut the low end and leave the sound thin and miserable. Here, leakage still matters somewhat, but it is generally more forgiving, and designs like this also tend to be more positionally consistent (which matters for EQ).

Sound quality

For me, the standout strength is here the bass quality. That is the first thing that really grabbed me, because for an open-back headphone at this price, the bass is handled unusually well. It is extended into the sub-bass, slightly elevated, and, crucially, it does not come across like the bloated low end you often get from closed-back gaming headsets.

Instead, it is tighter, quicker, and more punchy. That matters not just because the bass itself sounds better, but because it lets the midrange breathe. Rather than a big, boomy shelf dominating everything, this tuning leaves more room for clarity across the rest of the mix.

Tuning balance

The midrange is excellent. It sounds full, rich, and clear, and I do not get the same sense of leanness that I often hear from closed-backs which often have a bigger dip between the bass and mids. That fuller transition is a big part of why this sounds more natural to me than many gaming headsets do.

The main issue is in the upper mids, around 2 to 3 kHz, where it is a bit forward. On some instrument tones, especially piano and electric guitar, that can add a little unwanted edge. I would not call it disastrous, but it is noticeable enough that I think some listeners will want to adjust it with EQ—thankfully, users can do that with the Ingenuity app.

Treble is a bit mixed. I do not find it harsh, which is important, and it is not obviously overemphasized. But there is a slight gritty or uneven character to certain percussive tones and some vocal sibilance. In my view, that stands out more because the upper treble rolls off somewhat, so the unevenness gets exposed rather than balanced out by elevations elsewhere.

Measurements and variability

The measurements line up fairly well with what I heard. On the B&K 5128, there are a couple of treble features that stand out, including a peak around 6 to 7 kHz and then a bit of upper-treble rolloff. On my own head, using in-ear microphones, that peak shifts and is not quite as substantial, but the same general upper-treble rolloff still shows up.

That is worth emphasizing because headphone behavior changes from head to head. My ears are not your ears, obviously, and rigs are not people. But across multiple measurement contexts, the same broad behavior appears, which makes me reasonably confident that the upper treble does taper off somewhat, even if the exact shape will likely.

Software and EQ

This is where the Cloud Alpha Air gets considerably more interesting. With the included dongle, you get access to HyperX Ingenuity, and HyperX gives you parametric EQ. That is a genuinely useful feature; if something in the tuning does not work for you, you can fix it.

In my use, the headset handled EQ well, and I did not run into distortion or excursion problems while making adjustments. I used EQ to improve the upper-treble rolloff and smooth out some treble features, and I also added a little extra bass just for fun.

The app also includes mic monitoring, microphone presets, and spatial audio. I am not especially convinced by the spatial audio feature, mostly because I do not find headphone spatial processing compelling without head tracking, and this does not have head tracking. HyperX’s implementation is still better than Sony’s on the H6 Air, which I found pretty bad, but I would still classify it as a nice extra rather than a reason to buy the headset.

More interesting is the fact that you can use EQ to create more of a soundstage effect, if you want. By default, this is not some massively spacious presentation, but the available EQ makes that kind of experimentation possible if you know what you are doing.

One key drawback

The biggest caveat is the dongle loudness ceiling. Using the dongle and the app, there is a limit to how loud the headset can go. For me, it was loud enough, and I would not want much more with music anyway. But if you listen extremely loud, this could absolutely be a limitation.

The workaround is to bypass the dongle and plug the headset into an amplifier or another source with more headroom. However, if you do that, you lose access to Ingenuity, which means you also lose the built-in parametric EQ and the software-side features. So yes, the fix exists, but it also undercuts one of the headset’s better selling points. 

Comparisons

Against the Sony INZONE H6 Air, I would give Sony the edge on comfort, mostly because its headband setup is ridiculously good. But for sound quality, I find the HyperX more balanced overall, especially for music. The Sony is more V-shaped, with more treble energy, and some people may prefer that for a more vivid presentation or for accentuating certain game details. If I were using separate EQ software anyway, the Sony would make more sense, and I would personally still be tempted by it because of the comfort. But out of the box for tonal balance, I would choose the HyperX.

Compared with the ASUS Kithara, the ASUS goes brighter and more treble-focused. I liked the extra sense of detail this provided, but the HyperX is the safer choice if you want something less treble-centric. On the other hand, if you are not going to use the HyperX software or EQ at all, the ASUS has more "sauce" that makes it a bit more of an interesting listen for me.

Compared with the Sennheiser HD 560S, I think the Cloud Alpha Air compares reasonably favorably. The bass quality is better, the mids are good, and the treble is not as harsh, even if it still has a few quirks.

Against the Cloud 3 Wireless S, I like the Alpha Air’s wearing comfort and overall tuning more. The Cloud 3 Wireless S is a little more V-shaped, while the Alpha Air is smoother and more natural to my ears.

And compared with the Moondrop GM-01 Pro, the comparison gets more use-case dependent. The Moondrop has a more sophisticated parametric EQ implementation, but the HyperX has the better microphone. One is closed, one is open, and both benefit from software tuning. If you want game-specific EQ guidance, the Moondrop ecosystem also has an advantage, because HyperX leaves you more on your own if you don't already know what to adjust to maximize a given part of the game audio.

Verdict

So yes, I think this is a good gaming headset. But more importantly, I think it is an impressively good-sounding open-back headphone that happens to be a gaming headset, and that is the more interesting achievement.

Its strengths are mostly excellent comfort, solid build & practicality, acceptable mic quality, very good bass for an open-back, mostly-accurate mids, and actually useful parametric EQ through the included dongle. Its weaknesses are also clear: open-back leak, a slight headband hot spot, some upper-mid forwardness and treble unevenness, plus that dongle-limited loudness ceiling.

So in short, if you specifically want an open-back wired gaming headset and you are willing to use the software, I think the Cloud Alpha Air is easy to take seriously. In my view, it is one of the more competent entries in this category, and I would much rather see more gaming companies make products like this than the usual parade of boomy closed-back nonsense.