Most gaming headsets at this price make you pick between comfort and everything else. The original wired HyperX Cloud Stinger made that choice for you. It went for comfort, and nearly every reviewer agrees it got that part right. The microphone is where the agreement falls apart, and the place where the arm meets the earcup is where the owner complaints begin.
This review covers only the first wired Cloud Stinger, the one with the fixed swivel mic. The Stinger 2, the Stinger Core and the wireless versions are different products, and reviews of them do not apply here.
Product image from the Amazon listing.
Why People Keep It On for Hours
The headset weighs 275 grams and uses 50mm drivers, and the weight is the first thing behind its reputation. The padding is the second. Headphone Review scored comfort 8 out of 10 and called it “extremely comfortable” over hours of use. bit-tech said it was “very comfortable to wear,” with well-balanced clamping force. Gaming Trend wrote that it can “end up forgetting I’m wearing it” during long sessions. Podcastage put the foam “among the best I’ve felt on any gaming headset.”
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That is an unusual level of agreement for a budget product. There are two small dissents. Both Headphone Review and bit-tech mention warmth, since faux leather does not breathe, so hot rooms and long sessions can get sweaty. FutureLooks liked the cups but wished the headband had more padding.
If your main goal is to wear a headset through a long evening of play, this is the strongest argument for buying it.
The Microphone Depends on Who You Ask
Reviewers split into two camps here. bit-tech called the mic quality “very good,” with natural voices. FutureLooks found it clear for the price. On the other side, Headphone Review gave it 5 out of 10, saying your voice will sound “a little nasally” and that some background noise gets through. Podcastage rated it poor, fine for chat but wrong for voiceovers or commentary.
I read these as two people answering different questions. Is it good enough for teammates to hear you in a match? Yes, most likely. Is it good enough to record your voice for other people to listen to? No. Gaming Nexus offered the most useful tip, saying it works “as long as it’s an inch or two away.” Set the arm close to your mouth.
The arm itself is a mixed blessing. You flip it up to mute and down to talk, and Podcastage notes that it mutes with a click. No software is involved. But the mic is fixed and does not retract, so you will look a bit odd wearing this on a train, and Gaming Trend called it “rather ugly.” This is a headset for your desk or couch.
Product image from the Amazon listing.
Where the Mic Arm Fails
The moving arm is also the moving part most likely to wear out, and the owner reports I found point right at it.
In a Tom’s Hardware thread, an owner said the mic had worked well for about two years, then began crackling when moved, then worked only in one position, and finally stopped. The accepted answer suggested that the conductor inside the wire had broken, usually at a spot that bends a lot. In a second thread, another owner said the mic had come loose about six months after purchase. It would no longer stay in position and kept drifting down, which changed their volume in voice chat. The reply pointed them to warranty support, since nobody could find a safe way to open the headset.
Two threads do not make a failure rate. They do show a pattern that fits the design: every mute flip bends something. I would treat the arm kindly, avoid flipping it for fun, and keep your proof of purchase in case the mic drifts early.
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As for the rest of the build, reviewers are more relaxed than you might expect. It is mostly plastic, though Gaming Trend said it “doesn’t feel fragile at all” and Podcastage found the plastic better than expected. The cable does not detach, so a chewed or damaged cable means the end of the headset unless you can solder. That is the normal price of a budget headset.
Plugs, Macs and Consoles
This is the part buyers trip over, so here is how the cable works. The headset ends in a single four-pole 3.5mm plug on a 1.3-meter cable. In the box you also get a 1.7-meter extension that splits into separate headphone and microphone plugs. Together that gives you about 3 meters, which bit-tech also reports.
For a laptop or a console controller with one combined jack, use the short cable alone. For a desktop with two jacks, add the splitter.
A combined jack is not a promise that the mic will work, however. In a Tom’s Guide thread, a laptop’s single jack would not pick up the Stinger’s mic. Reinstalling drivers did not help, and a 3.5mm to USB adapter solved it at once. The answer given was that some jacks are output only.
Mac owners have asked about this too. In a 2018 thread, a user could only see the Mac’s built-in mic as an input and asked if there was a program to enable the headset. The answer was that no separate program exists, because a 4-pole connector “either it works with the Mac or not.” The thread ended with no confirmed fix. Many Macs do accept four-pole headsets, but I found no owner who confirmed this headset’s mic working on a specific Mac model. If your Mac does not list it as an input, a small USB audio adapter is the next step.
The headset is advertised for PC, Mac and PS4. Gaming Nexus noted that it did not test PS4 or Mac. It is a plain analog stereo headset, so it should work anywhere the jack passes both sound and mic. There is no software and no virtual surround, and none of that will change between platforms. If a console or computer offers its own spatial audio, that comes from the device and has nothing to do with the headset.
Product image from the Amazon listing.
The Sound Is Better Than the Price, Up to a Point
Reviewers generally like it for the money, while disagreeing on details. Headphone Review found the bass light and the mids “extremely well-tuned.” Podcastage heard strong bass without muddiness and clear highs. bit-tech preferred the original HyperX Cloud for audio, which costs more. Gaming Trend called the audio “alright” for the price in the body of its review, before praising the overall value.
FutureLooks listed one con worth a thought: not great for music without a DAC. In other words, a weak motherboard jack will hold it back, and music fans should look elsewhere anyway. For footsteps, voices and explosions, it is fine.
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Gaming Nexus also spotted one small quirk. With the volume slider at very low settings, sound came from only the left side. The slider sits on the bottom of the right earcup, so you will likely set it higher and use your computer’s volume instead. That review also found sound rather faint through one console adapter, though it blamed the adapter and not the headset.
Best for Long Sessions and Tight Budgets
I think the Cloud Stinger is a good buy for someone who plays for hours, talks to teammates, and wants simple controls with no software. Flip-to-mute is one of those small features you will keep using. The comfort is what you are paying for, and the evidence for it is strong.
Skip it if you stream or record your voice, since a cheap USB microphone will beat it easily. Skip it if you want one headset for travel, as the fixed mic gets in the way. And if you are hard on your gear, remember that the arm is the weak spot, and the cable cannot be swapped.
For a long evening at a desk on a small budget, the HyperX Cloud Stinger (wired) is an easy one to recommend, as long as you can live with a chat-grade microphone. This is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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