As you may already be aware, my current go-to headset is all style and not loads of substance. The JBL Tune 720BT are wireless over-ear headphones that offer a range of features for a very reasonable price point—though, naturally, what actually compelled me to pick them up was the simple fact that they're available in lilac. With a decent battery life and JBL Pure Bass Sound, it's got a few things going for it besides the fetching colour, but they're far from the best gaming headset you can pick up.
No, the actual best wireless gaming headset is still the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless—making a shrinking violet of my stylish JBL Tune 720BT headphones. The HyperX Cloud Alpha is a pair of cans that has held on to the crown for many good reasons, though it certainly helps that it's now only $143 at Amazon. Even with a more than $50 discount, that's still asking for a lot more coin than my go-to lilac listeners, but HyperX definitely doesn't have its head in the clouds with that price tag.
Just for a start, the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless gaming headset boasts a battery life of close to 300 hours. On a product page, that's a big claim, but our Hope memorably wrote in her HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless review, "Out of the box this unit was reporting having about 80% charge, so I decided to leave it there to see how well that held. I spent a workday listening to music and checked the battery again. I swear it still said 80%. I have been using this thing for gaming and music listening pretty consistently for the past week and we aren't even at 50% yet. I have not charged this headset once since I got it and it feels like a trick."
As for the battery life of my lilac headphones? Mate, it ain't even close. Anyway, battery wizardry aside, sound quality is also crisp thanks to the dual chamber design of HyperX's 50 mm drivers. That's some heavy-duty, audiophile design though unfortunately, the max volume output of this set of cans is surprisingly understated. That's probably good news for your hearing long term, but a little disappointing in the short term if you really want to crank it up.
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Also, a drawback is the kinda crunchy sound quality you get from the detachable mic. It's not a deal breaker; you won't sound muffled or like you're cheering on your teammates from deep underwater, but it is a disappointing B-grade on an otherwise outstanding report card.
Just to recap, you're still getting what is close to weeks of battery life, alongside extremely crisp audio quality—all for safely under $200. It's not quite the lowest price we've ever seen for these precious cans, but they are the best around, and for a great price.
There's no fancy Active Noise Cancelling, but Hope assures in her review that the comfortable seal of the ear cups goes a long way to dampen outside sound.
You know, I can't even ding this headset too harshly on appearance. Yes, it's another bit of kit in mostly black, but the red accents elevate a standard colourway into something slightly more interesting. Besides that, its just-announced successor, the HyperX Cloud III S Wireless, will offer the option to customise your cans with swappable ear cups. While this doesn't mean you'll be able to wear wee wings on the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless, it certainly gives me some DIY ideas. You know what these ear cups need? A floral arrangement—made out of polymer clay.
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