The HyperX Cloud Earbuds II are pitched as a great companion when using the Nintendo Switch or the Steam Deck on the go. They have a unique design that prioritizes comfort. However, are these the earbuds you’d want to grab when you’re out and about with your games? Do they hold up when listening at home or playing on Discord with friends? Let’s find out.

Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

The HyperX Cloud Earbuds II are a pair of wired earbuds intended for gamers and commuters first and foremost. These earbuds are fairly straightforward design-wise. The 1.2m long cable includes an inline microphone and multifunction button, with the HyperX logo featured on the outer shell of the earbuds. The feature that sets these earbuds apart is the shape of the ear tips. Four different ear tip sizes are included (one pair comes included on the earbuds, with three pairs that can be easily swapped out). These ear tips do a good job of making the HyperX Cloud Earbuds II comfortable, although it makes for a less snug fit compared to more traditional earbud tips. This also causes some issues with isolation, which I’ll get to later.

The HyperX Cloud Earbuds II have a single multifunction button located on the section of cable that connects to the left earbud. This multifunction button can be used to answer calls, play music, open your voice assistant, or move to the next song depending on if you short press it, long press it, or double tap it. This works using the TRRS connector to send signals to the phone that do not interfere with audio playback. Do note that this functionality varies between phones and other mobile devices.

The HyperX Cloud Earbuds II connect using a traditional 3.5mm analog headphone jack. This ensures a wide range of compatibility including the PS5 and Xbox Series S/X thanks to the headphone jacks in the controllers. It also works with PCs (although for desktop PCs the cable is a bit on the short side), as well as handheld consoles like the Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch. Smartphone gamers will need a dongle if they have a newer phone that does not have a headphone jack.

One of the biggest shortcomings of the HyperX Cloud Earbuds II is how poor the noise isolation is. When listening with these earbuds on the bus or train, I found them to be inadequate at blocking outside noise. This is especially egregious considering that these are meant to be used for gaming on the go. No matter if I was playing Starfield on my Steam Deck or if I was listening to a podcast I was unable to focus on what I wanted to listen to. The earbuds are better suited to a quieter environment such as your living room or basement.

The frequency response we measured for the HyperX Cloud Earbuds II falls significantly short of our in-house headphone preference curve. The poor ear seal results in a notable lack of bass. This results in most music, especially dance and hip-hop tracks, to sound less than impressive compared to other earbuds. There are also some deviations from our preference curve in the high end. The songs X and Y by Moving Units sounds different to how I’m used to as the cymbals are poorly represented by the diminished high end. This also impacted the gaming experience. While playing Starfield on my Steam Deck with the HyperX Cloud Earbuds II, I found that the sounds of gunfire were less impactful than expected; however the voice acting of the game shone through and it was still a perfectly playable experience. Playing Lumines Remastered on the Nintendo Switch was similarly underwhelming due to the poor representation of the bass-heavy dance music found in that game.

The HyperX Cloud Earbuds II’s microphone is quite useful for long play sessions with friends over Discord or when playing online multiplayer games with teammates. Although it does pick up outside sounds in louder environments, it generally picks up your voice fairly well. You can listen below and tell us how you think it sounds in the associated poll.

HyperX Cloud Earbuds II microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

While the HyperX Cloud Earbuds II are reasonably priced, they fall short in several key areas. They’re not good at blocking outside noise, which makes for a rough time when used for gaming on the go. The sound quality and mic quality aren’t great. It has some wins when it comes to comfort. If you’re often irritated by more traditional earbud tips then you might find some value in giving these a try, but for the most part there are much better options on the market for wired earbuds, especially ones meant for gaming.

If you want a wired pair of earbuds that exceed the HyperX Cloud Earbuds II in key areas like sound and isolation, you should check out the Logitech G333 earbuds, which currently retail for $28 at Amazon.