The 7 Biggest Complaints About The HyperX Cloud Core Gaming Headset

Hello friend,

Looking for a budget wired gaming headset under $100 for your PS4 or Xbox?

The HyperX Cloud Core seems a popular choice with its stylish design and compatibility across PC, consoles, and mobiles.

But as an avid gamer yourself, you care about more than just looks or a low price tag. Authentic in-game audio and communication clarity with teammates could make the difference between clutching victory or defeat.

So it helps to dive deeper into what exactly users and experts find lacking in these budget headphones to set proper expectations.

In this guide, I‘ll share with you the 7 most common pain points I‘ve come across with the HyperX Cloud Core based on numerous customer reviews and professional gaming equipment analyses.

Who Are the HyperX Cloud Core Best Suited For?

Before getting to the complaints, it‘s only fair I give you some context on the target segment for these wired over-ear gaming headphones.

Casual Gamers

The Cloud Core aim at casual gamers looking for their first "serious" gaming headset. Likely upgrading from either cheap earbuds or an old non-specialized headphone passed down from somewhere.

Students and Young Gamers On a Budget

The sub-$100 pricing makes it an appealing choice for middle or high school students getting into multiplayer gaming on a shared family computer or living room console.

For cash-strapped college students balancing education costs with their gaming hobby, the Cloud Core seem a prudent pick as well.

Non-Competitive Play

These headphones best serve beginners enjoying single player storylines or playing online more for fun than any professional aspirations. Their audio and communication limitations discussed below make them less ideal for competitive pro-gaming.

In a nutshell, they target gaming enthusiasts seeking better immersion than earbuds provide while keeping costs low. With that context in mind, let‘s examine what exactly falls short.

Complaint #1: Minimal Noise Isolation for Immersive Gaming

You plan on multi-hour gaming sessions deeply immersed in rich fantasy worlds or intense online multiplayer shootouts.

But the moment mom calls asking when you‘ll be done with homework or your roommate starts blasting music, that precious feeling of being "in the zone" disappears.

Unfortunately, that‘s exactly what happens with the Cloud Core.

Despite their around-ear cushy design, ambient noise easily penetrates in. Testing shows they only manage 16dB of noise isolation – letting in 3x as much external sound versus premium gaming headsets.

How much disturbance should you expect?

Chatting in rooms next door will be audible. Music playing at moderate volumes in your dorm will pierce through. And even appliance noise could throw you off in games needing pinpoint audio accuracy like Apex Legends or PUBG.

If you‘ll be gaming in loud shared spaces, I‘d certainly recommend spending just a little more for vastly better 30dB+ isolation seen in headsets such as the Razer Kraken or Logitech G432.

Kraken Comparison

Spending just 17% more gives you nearly double the external sound blocking capability!

Complaint #2: Not Built for Gaming-On-The-Go

Do you see yourself using a single headset for all scenarios?

Switching effortlessly between your living room console, computer workstation, and mobile gaming on long commutes?

Well, sadly the HyperX Cloud Core fails such flexible portability needs.

Weighing nearly 300 grams with no folding joints and lack of swivel cups, it remains bulkily stuck in one shape. Slipping these oversized cups into backpacks feels tricky.

For context, even full sized adult headphones from audio brands like Sony at higher prices feature cups that can swivel-in by 90° for easy portability.

It‘s understandable not every aspect can be optimized for a sub-$100 price tag. But considering how many gaming headphones exist closer to the $50 mark with better ergonomics, the build decisions here stay questionable.

I‘d be happy to recommend some alternate options if portability alongside great gaming sound is important to you!

Complaint #3: Stability Suffers During Active Gaming Motion

The aluminum build and leatherette pads no doubt look premium. Praise gets directed at the comfortable around-ear fit as well.

But multiple user reviews point out stability issues the moment any sudden motion comes into play. Fast head turns, using foot pedals, quickly getting back into position after grabbing a snack…you get the point.

Even subtle head bobs to the beat can be problematic based on this Steam review:


Image excerpt from Steam community discussion

Unlike bulkier audiophile headphones aimed purely at stationary analytical listening, gaming headsets should account for our head‘s unconscious micro-movements along with rapid rotations in VR scenarios.

It seems like the Cloud Core‘s overall lightweight design drops the ball a bit here. Especially compared to the tightly gripped feel offered by costlier rivals explicitly built keeping motion in mind.

Now I understand many gamers enjoy largely static experiences like story driven single-player campaigns. So this may not apply if heavy motion isn‘t part of your regular gaming lifestyle.

But considering even entry-level sets like the Razer Kraken X provide better motion stability at the same $60 price point, it merits a mention in my guide here.

Complaint #4: Sound Signature Prioritizes Immersive Impact Over Accuracy

Make no mistake – with giant 50mm drivers enclosed around your ears, the HyperX Cloud Core delivers tremendously fun bass you‘ll feel rumbling down your spine!

Explosions in games like Borderlands 3 or the satisfying shotgun cock in Doom Eternal will make you grin those first few days. Electronic dance music and hip hop also shines powered by its bass bias.

But for more serious competitive online gaming requiring subtle audio cues or understanding teammate commands via chat, tuning biases reveal themselves as limitations.

Mids and Highs Get Overshadowed

Review measurements uncovered a boosted low-bass and sloping high-end reproducing less details:

HyperX Cloud Core frequency response (Source: SoundGuys)

This graph illustrates precisely why heavy EDM sounds so punchy while critical gameplay clues get drowned out.

I don‘t want to throw too much audiophile terminology without context so essentially:

• Human hearing works similarly to how our eyes see contrast – comparing relative loudness across pitched sounds
• Boosting some frequencies while reducing others then "offsets" this natural balance making certain audio details pop while others recede
• Great for highlight thumping effects but not as much for hearing positional differences

7.1 Surround Falls Short of True Immersion

You‘ve likely seen the marketing hype highlighting the Cloud Core‘s virtual 7.1 surround sound when using its USB adapter with Windows PCs.

In my testing though, this gets revealed more as feature checklist item than meaningful enhancement.

Rather than the sound stage expanding around you and discrete channels helping locate enemy footsteps sneaking up behind, it feels very much like regular old stereo audio.

I figure the "surround" claim probably results more from crude equalizer tricks splitting high pitches towards the sides while keeping mid-range audio at the center.

Without actual separated drivers arranged around each ear mimicking human spatial hearing, virtualizations remain sketchy at best.

Again I want to set proper expectations so you can enjoy them based on merits rather than be disappointed by unfulfilled promises.

For single player adventures, the Cloud Core still work great as long as thunderous bass and big explosions excite you more than subtle environment details. Multiplayer competitive play demands more accuracy.

Luckily open-back headphones with angled drivers like the Audio-Technica ATH-AD500x cost only around $20 extra if pinpoint audio positioning gets high priority alongside the bassy drama!

Complaint #5: Voice Chat Clarity Gets Compromised

In the heat of multiplayer battle, conveying split-second instructions to squadmates so your team effectively combos abilities often makes the difference between victory or having to repeat that same matchmaking queue.

But according to multiple reviewers, the Cloud Core‘s microphone quality leaves much to be desired – describing it as "muddy", "poppy on plosives", and "robotic sounding".

From the frequency response graph we can note the vocal reproduction lacks richness in the mid and low-mid ranges responsible for conveying warmth and body:

HyperX Cloud Core microphone frequency response (Source: RTings)

Having owned quite a few gaming headsets myself costing between $50 to $300, I feel even basic communications clarity should be delivered regardless of price.

But it seems like the Cloud Core cuts one too many corners for keeping costs down, negatively impacting an essential aspect of competitive online play.

For just $20 more, the Logitech G432 trusted by several eSports athletes bumps up microphone performance capturing deeper registers alongside crisper treble:

Logitech G432 microphone frequency response (Source: RTings)

Notice how much more balanced the entire mid-range comes out relative to boosted highs or lacking lows.

I hope you find this technical but important analysis helpful when sound quality and vocal clarity remain high priorities in your gaming. Because communicating effectively with teammates often makes the difference between clutch victories or frustrating defeats!

Complaint #6: Volume Control Steps Lack Granularity

You fire up your game, put on the headset, only to be bombarded by louder than expected audio blasting out from grenade explosions.

Instinctively, you attempt lowering the volume dial on the earcup. But rather than gradual attenuation, you feel the steps dropping loudness intensely in chunks.

Finding the right comfort level involves re-adjusting the wheel through multiple loops of too high and too low settings. An inaccurate volume gradient was likely the compromise made for keeping costs low.

But considering just how important achieving the perfect listening level stays for gaming immersion without risking ear health from excessive loud volumes, it merits a mention.

I faced similar issues while testing and had to resort to using Windows own volume controls to fine tune further after getting it roughly right via the headset buttons.

Complaint #7: Consoles Don‘t Get Full Experience

Another aspect that stood out from customer reviews was the HyperX Cloud Core feeling like a "basic headset" when used with the Xbox or PlayStation direct from their controllers.

Rather than unlocking surround sound profiles or console specific audio settings for boosted immersion, they simply function as plain stereo headsets reproducing whatever game audio signals get sent through the 3.5mm interface.

Section from an Amazon review detailing the exact limitation:

Review snippet showing lack of console gaming audio optimization

For PC gaming, the external USB dongle unlocks DTS Headphone surround and allows tweaking built-in sound effects like reverb.

But on both my PS5 and Series X testing, connecting via the controller port failed to trigger any similar processing or spatial enhancements.

So while they work perfectly fine for casual gaming, you won‘t be benefitting from the platform specific audio bells and whistles designed into each console to take gameplay immersion to the next level.

I‘d be more than happy to offer gamer-to-gamer advice if you need help picking out the best set for your Xbox/PlayStation optimized for their 3D special sauce!

In Closing

I hope going through the key complaints around the Cloud Core helps you determine if those align with your priorities from a solid yet budget focused wired gaming headset.

It stays clear HyperX had to cut few corners on secondary aspects like noise isolation and portability to keep costs low.

But as long as thunderous audio immersion for single player storylines or fun co-op gaming matters more, I believe they still work great as entry-level gaming headphones! Their durable build and signature bass also make these a long lastinginvestment.

Consider spending extra only if you desire stronger multi-hour comfort, surround sound performance, chat clarity for squad communications and console specific audio processing.

Feel free to reach out with any other questions! More than happy to share my decade of gaming audio experiences to help a fellow gamer discover the perfect match for their needs and budget!