HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 Wireless - No Sting In This Tail... No Tail

Nothing makes me feel more like I'm living in a futuristic, sci-fi world than wireless technology.

At the risk of making myself sound absolutely decrepit, I actually remember when the family VCR had a remote control... a wired remote control. I'm not making this up. You could Play, Stop, Fast-Forward and Rewind (perhaps even Record) but the controller was on the end of a very long lead that snaked its way across the living room floor.

Just imagine my sense of awe and wonder when we eventually upgraded to a machine with a wireless remote. What do you mean you don't know what a VCR is? Shut up.

There was even a time (before mobile phones obviously) when cordless home phones - you know, landlines? - were new and exciting. Now they barely exist either.

Jumping forward into this century and I quickly became obsessed with wireless charging. Phones, earbuds, watches - I really am at the point where I hate having to plug anything into anything.

But it's only relatively recently technology has made it possible to game wirelessly. The main issue; lag. A wireless controller has to shoot the instant you push the button or you're dead. Strangely, the console manufacturers figured this out quite some time ago and we haven't been tethered to our PCs or consoles for a fair old while.

On the other hand, lag-free listening has taken longer. Hearing the action is just as important as controlling it and yet it's only the advent of 2.4GHz wireless connectivity that has made this possible.

Now HyperX has made it affordable too.

The Cloud Stinger 2 Wireless is not the most blinged-out headset in the store. And I like that. If there's one thing I'm even more passionate about than cord-cutting, it's keeping annoying flashing lights in my life to an absolute minimum. I realise some people - especially gamers - are into flashy colours and tricking their gear out with as much RGB lighting as possible but I'm more of a function-and-form-first kind of a guy.

It's the no-frills simplicity of the HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 Wireless I find so appealing. It comes in black or black, with the HyperX logo embossed across the top of the headband in - you guessed it - black. I don't mind the one small flash of colour - the contrasting volume control on the righthand earcup - but that's because it's red. The best colour.

Setting up is easy because there isn't any. Plug in the wireless dongle - to anything - and you're good to go. Assuming the headset is all charged up of course. This is the other crucial element of wireless gaming; battery life. While the Cloud Stinger 2 Wireless doesn't excel in this area, at up to 20 hours use on a full charge you should be good to go for most sessions. Seriously, if you're gaming for more than 20 hours in one go, it may be time for some kind of intervention.

Back to that dongle for a minute. One suggestion for the engineers at HyperX; can we have a USB-C adapter, please? USB-A is just so 20-Tens, don't you think? These days my charging cables frequently come with an adapter attached and USB thumb drives are often reversible so they can be plugged into either kind of port. And many laptops only have USB-C slots on offer. Just saying.

Because of its mostly plastic construction, some critics have claimed the Cloud Stinger 2 Wireless feels somewhat cheaply made. I disagree. I've been using these cans for a fair old while now and I've found no reason to doubt their durability whatsoever. In fact, I consider the lightweight materials nothing but a bonus; even after hours of prolonged use, the headset never starts to feel heavy, tight or off-balance.

In fact, the headband in particular feels extremely robust and firm to adjust - aided by a clear number scale in a window on each side to ensure you have it set up just the way you like every time you put it on.

Like any other HyperX headset I've tried, the combination of leatherette and memory foam on the earcups and headband doesn't just mean a squishily snug and comfortable fit, it also breathes well, even on my old, greasy, bald head.

Keeping things simple, there are only three onboard controls to worry about; the aforementioned volume dial on the right cup, the on/off button on the left and the mic boom, which turns off the mic when you swivel it up out of the way.

When I say there's no setup, that's technically true - although because the Cloud Stinger 2 Wireless is compatible with DTS Headphone:X Spatial Audio, there is some tweaking you can do using HyperX's NGENUITY software to make the most of its 3D audio abilities. However, this mostly involves downloading the appropriate drivers in order to use DTS.

As I've already pointed out, even if you just plug and play, the sound really is very good - a believable sense of depth and space and although bass beats and big explosions aren't perhaps as brain-meltingly boomy as I've heard on some headsets, overall there's a nice balance across the sonic spectrum - highs, mids and lows all get a reasonable share of the aural pie.

What I found to be surprisingly exceptional is the mic quality. I literally recorded one of my podcasts using the Cloud Stinger 2 Wireless for my microphone the other day and it sounded great. I'm not claiming the quality compares to the studio mics I usually use but nobody complained about my voice track on that episode and that's saying something; people always complain.

You get a lot of performance here for well under NZ$200.00 - admittedly without the flashing lights. But as I've made clear, I don't want to see bells and whistles, I just need to be able to hear them, instantly with zero lag. That's something the Cloud Stinger 2 Wireless absolutely nails with no fuss.

    

Click here for more information on the HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 Wireless.