The HyperX Cloud Alpha S builds upon the success of the original analogue Cloud Alpha, a definite fan favorite from the moment it saw the light of day. It's based on the same design, which means it's built like a tank and superbly comfortable. It also uses the same dual chamber speaker driver design, so it sounds just as powerful, warm, and accurate, and it's every bit as good for gaming, movies, and music listening. Sure, the bass sliders, which open and close the bass chamber and slightly change the level of bass, feel like a gimmick, but nobody's forcing you to use them, so I really don't have a problem with their presence.

The biggest and nearly only change from the original Cloud Alpha comes down to the supplied USB sound card. The sound card adds some nice features, such as the game/chat volume mixer, but leaves a lot to be desired in some other aspects, such as the quality of the 7.1 virtual surround sound or the microphone input. As you can hear in the microphone performance section of this review, the microphone capsule of the Cloud Alpha S sounds more natural and pleasant when the microphone is connected to two other sound cards I tried it with.

I'm also not a fan of the fact that there is no software to control the USB sound card. Some might say this is a welcome step towards keeping things as simple as possible, but a proper driver could add a couple of features which are nowadays pretty much standard for any proper USB headset, such as a system-wide equalizer or microphone sidetone.

With all that in mind, while the HyperX Cloud Alpha S is undoubtedly a very good gaming headset, if you have a decent integrated sound card or a proper external sound card, it makes no sense to buy it over the original analogue Cloud Alpha. It's more expensive and brings no noteworthy benefits. On the other hand, if the sound card you're using causes microphone hiss, sound distortion, and similar issues, the Cloud Alpha S becomes an interesting option. Interesting, but not the best out there, as I'd still go for something like the fantastic SteelSeries Arctis 5 (reviewed here), which nowadays goes for as little as $70. You can even go wireless, either with the $80 HyperX Cloud Flight (reviewed here) or $115 SteelSeries Arctis 7 (reviewed here).