A good gaming headset plays a major role in your gaming enjoyment. They’re responsible for quality sound reproduction, a clear microphone, and comfort. However all of this comes at a cost; gaming headsets tend to be larger, heavier, and can only be connected to one device at a time. Today, I’ll be reviewing the HyperX Cloud Mix Buds . These earbuds fit all the features of a gaming headset into a small compact body. In this review I’ll discuss their design, controls, connectivity, battery life, and their audio quality.
HyperX Cloud Mix Buds design and fit
A key aspect of any gaming earbuds or headphones is comfort. In my tests with the HyperX Cloud Mix Buds the earbuds were comfortable even during extended gaming sessions. With larger headphones, breathability and weight can be an issue over long gaming sessions. When it comes to the Cloud Mix Buds this isn’t an issue, they sit comfortably in your ear canal and don’t cover a large portion of your head. The Cloud Mix Buds are incredibly lightweight due to their all plastic design. While the plastic is necessary to make the earphones light, I found myself wishing that HyperX used a different type of finish. The current finish is prone to scratches and easily shows dust and dirt.
The Cloud Mix Buds also come with different sized ear tips to create a better fit for all users. Overall, I found that the earpieces stayed comfortably in my ears even when I was eating food, talking, and walking. At times I would need to adjust the earphones for a better seal but in my experience this is normal for all earbuds.
Simple and customizable controls on the Cloud Mix Buds
The Cloud Mix Buds come with capacitive touch sensors located on the outside of both earbuds. By default the left and right earbuds perform the same functions which are play, pause, skip track, and mute/unmute microphone. At the time of this review, customization of these controls can only be done using HyperX’s NGENUITY mobile app.
Once you connect the Cloud Mix Buds to your phone you can use the NGENUITY mobile app to customize separate actions for the left and right earbud. In my case I set the long press action of the earpieces to control volume levels. Once you save the customized controls this applies to all devices.
HyperX Cloud Mix Buds have dual connectivity
The HyperX Cloud Mix Buds comes with dual wireless connectivity options. The first is the low latency 2.4GHz wireless connection which is made possible using the small USB-C receiver. Using this receiver the Cloud Mix Buds are compatible with PC, Playstation, Nintendo Switch, and other USB-C devices. Connecting the Cloud Mix Buds is as simple as plugging in the USB-C receiver (or its USB-A adapter) directly into your gaming device. Once you take the Cloud Mix Buds out of their case they will automatically connect to the USB receiver. In my testing the 2.4GHz had the strongest and most consistent connection. During movies and gameplay I did not experience any observable latency and audio cues were always on point.
The second method of connection for the Cloud Mix Buds is through Bluetooth. While the 2.4GHz is my primary connection for gaming, Bluetooth is my primary connection for casual media on the go. I used Bluetooth to connect the Cloud Mix Buds to my phone which I used for listening to music, watching YouTube, and taking phone calls. In my testing I didn’t notice any difference in audio quality between the 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connections unless I was playing games. When playing PC games using Bluetooth, I did notice a slight delay with audio cues.
Overall, both connection methods are good. I would strongly suggest using the 2.4GHz connection for gaming. This is the industry standard for gaming headsets and will produce the best audio due to its lower latency. For all other casual activities Bluetooth will fulfill your needs.
HyperX Cloud Mix Buds have good battery life
According to the packaging the Cloud Mix buds have up to 33 hours of battery life. In my testing I was able to get about 20 hours of battery life before needing to fully charge the case. With a fresh charge on the earbuds I was able to get about 6 hours of continuous use before the earbuds needed to be returned to the case for charging. For earphones this is pretty good and is comparable with Apple’s AirPods Pros. Charging the Cloud Mix Bud case is fairly quick. On average it took about 2 hours to charge from 0% – 100% using a standard USB-C charger.
Great audio quality on the Cloud Mix Buds
Whether you’re playing games, watching movies, or listening to music the HyperX Cloud Mix Buds sound great. This is due to their large 12mm drivers which are capable of delivering a wide range of sound. By default the Cloud Mix Buds come with 2 pre-programmed equalizers. Personally, I like to create my own equalizer profiles and was able to do this using HyperX’s NGENUITY mobile and PC app.
In my gaming tests with the Cloud Mix Buds I played Call of Duty Warzone and Halo Infinite. The earbuds sounded fantastic and were comparable to my full sized gaming headphones. The bass is punchy during explosions and the mid and high tones allowed me to hear approaching footsteps. At no point did I find myself missing my old gaming headset. In fact, I actually enjoyed using the Cloud Mix Buds more due to their small size and light weight.
The Cloud Mix Buds also come enabled with DTS Headphone X. Usually I leave this setting turned off since the simulated DTS takes away from audio quality. Surprisingly, enabling this option on the Cloud Mix Buds made a noticeable improvement in audio for games, movies, and music.
One feature that I found myself missing on the Cloud Mix Buds is Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). On their own, the Cloud Mix Buds do a good job of creating a seal that naturally dampens ambient noise. However, the inclusion of ANC would’ve added another layer of immersion by filtering out environmental noise while isolating the audio from the media that you’re listening to. In my testing the lack of ANC was most noticeable when the vacuum was running. The Cloud Mix Buds did a good job of reducing the noise of the vacuum but it was still loud enough that it interfered with the audio cues from the game.
Small and clear microphone on the Cloud Mix Buds
When it comes to gaming, microphone quality is incredibly important to communicating with teammates. A low quality microphone will create distortion making it difficult for your teammates to hear you. In my testing, my teammates commented that the microphone on the Cloud Mix Buds sounded good. They didn’t have any issues with volume or clarity while I was speaking. However, they did comment that there was a slight hollow sound when I was speaking. While true, I would still consider the microphones good considering how far they are from your mouth. Traditional gaming headsets have a large microphone that is placed right beside your mouth. Naturally, a larger and closer microphone will deliver a different audio experience. On the Cloud Mix Buds the microphone is integrated into the earpieces and would require a different design to achieve a similar result.
Final thoughts on the HyperX Cloud Mix Buds
The HyperX Cloud Mix Buds are a great alternative to the large and bulky gaming headphones. After some testing, these earphones have taken over as my primary device for gaming, music, and meetings. I love their portability, battery life, and low latency connectivity option for gaming. The 2.4GHz and Bluetooth dual connectivity options mean that the Cloud Mix Buds have incredible versatility and can be connected to almost any media device. If you don’t need noise cancellation technology for your day-to-day use then I highly suggest checking out the HyperX Cloud Mix Buds as your next pair of earphones.
Check out other HyperX gaming accessories available on bestbuy.ca.
