True wireless earbuds are great and have been one of the better innovations in the past few years in the field of sound. They are normally small, have enough charge to last a long time and produce decent quality sound.
They have come a long way since the Airpods first generation, which when compared to the sound produced in even the cheaper sets these days are junk. HyperX are making their foray into the wireless gaming earbuds category and promise to deliver great sound quality with various connectivity options and low latency making their HyperX Cloud Mix Buds perfect for gaming.
Read on to find out if I thought they delivered on that promise.
Design and fit
The HyperX Cloud Mix Buds arrive with a decently-sized charging case which has a removable silicon bumper around it, three different sizes of ear tips, a USB-C cable, an extension adapter and a low-latency USB adapter.
The earbuds themselves are your standard earbud stem design with curves everywhere – no sharp corners anywhere here. The outer stem has the HyperX logo on it but that’s the only marking visible.
The inner-ear section is as basic as it comes with no fancy fins or anything like that to ensure a secure fit in the ear. The Mix Buds rely on you choosing the right sized ear tip for in-ear secureness – and even then they feel not entirely secure.
The size is just right for my ears but I wouldn’t want to be going for a 5km run with these given the relatively loose fit. Gaming though is another story. They sit comfortably in the ear without wedging in, making for an extremely pain-free fit, no matter how long they sit in there.
The charging case is quite long and, with the silicon case on, quite big. The case does offer 23 hours of additional charge on top of the 10 hours in each earbud so there is that. Inside the earbuds sit extremely securely and are easy to insert and remove thanks to the included magnets in just the right locations.
The touch sensors sit at the top of the stem of the earbuds and they were extremely sensitive – possibly too sensitive because putting them in and out nearly always registered a touch and either started or stopped the music. Not a huge issue if you are gaming but be careful not to scratch you ear in an inopportune moment.
Connectivity
Every wireless earbud offers Bluetooth connectivity but when it comes to gaming latency is king and for some users the Bluetooth latency just won’t cut it. Now this isn’t me as my reflexes and gaming skills are nowhere near where the slower Bluetooth speeds affect my gaming but if it is you and really want true wireless gaming earbuds then the Mix Buds are for you.
Along with the usual Bluetooth connectivity, the Mix Buds also offer a USB-C “Low Latency USB Adapter”. This adapter works the same way that other wireless adapters work with gaming headphones – via a wireless 2.4GHz connection. This is faster and has a lower latency than Bluetooth thus making it perfect for gaming.
While I couldn’t figure out a way to test out the latency difference between the two options I can say that the USB adapter worked – and it worked in every device I tested it on – Android phone, PC and Switch. I do not have a USB-C to Lightning adapter so I have no idea if it would work on an iPhone but I suspect the adapter itself may affect the latency. HyperX do say that the Buds work on “Mobile” so we assume that includes iOS devices.
HyperX also say that the Mix Buds work on PS4 and PS5 but I didn’t have one of those handy to test them out on.
Sound Quality
Now gaming earbuds should not be expected to give audiophile-quality sound because the excel in other areas such as low latency but the HyperX Cloud Mix Buds provide decent sound nonetheless.
I tested them alongside my favourite sub-$200 pair of earbuds, the JBL Live Pro 2, and they were not really comparable. Remember though that in my True Wireless shootout the JBL earbuds punched well above their weight providing amazing quality sound at an attractive price.
The HyperX Cloud Mix Buds lacked a fair bit in the bass when listening to music and it is not a pair I would choose if I was solely choosing them for music consumption. Sure the sound is decent but they don’t have the range of frequencies that we see on the JBL earbuds. The mids and upper ends are crisp and well differentiated but the breadth is lacking.
So how are they for gaming though? FPS games sounded quite good with gunshots and footsteps falling nicely into their wheelhouse with background music sounding ok as well. It sounds suspiciously like HyperX used their own audio signature profile on the headphones and being a gaming company, they enhanced the noises and sounds expected from a game rather than the full breadth of pitch required for high end music consumption.
The microphone on the earbuds was good enough for chatting while gaming or for using during phone calls but without any background noise cancellation do not expect miracles in a noisy environment.
Who buys them?
The HyperX Cloud Mix Buds are decent earbuds for music and other media consumption. They do not excel with their sound profile as a set of earbuds designed for music would but they excel in gaming. The included 2.4GHz USB-C dongle allows for direct connectivity without the lag of Bluetooth providing that improved latency required for high end gaming.
The HyperX Cloud Mix Buds are a niche product and although they are designed for gaming they can be used for media consumption with a decent sound profile — but only just. If you are a gamer though who wants to be able to have a small set of gaming earbuds that are easily portable and offer a great gaming experience then these are for you.
The HyperX Cloud Mix Buds will set you back $199 from Amazon AU or your local gaming store.
