We could hardly believe our ears when HyperX announced the Cloud Alpha Wireless headset. Not only does it come at the low price of just $200, but it lasts 300 hours on a charge---something we verified in our detailed review. Still, HyperX hasn't explained this battery wizardry. But iFixit may have an answer.

I'll preface by describing the headset a bit. First, and this is important, it's surprisingly lightweight. The HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless weighs just 300 grams, which is 86 grams less than the AirPods Max. The headset is also pretty bare-bones. While it has a removable microphone, it doesn't offer ANC and lacks any RGB lighting.

Obviously, the headset's lack of power-hungry features extends battery life a bit. But ANC and integrated lighting only decreases headset battery life by a few hours, not hundreds of hours. Hence the need for a good old-fashioned iFixit teardown.

After taking apart the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless, iFixit found that the headphones use a "larger than average" 5.5Wh battery. But other HyperX headphones use this same battery and only last around 30 hours on a charge. Clearly, something else is going on.

Related: HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless Gaming Headset Review: Month-Long Superior Sound

So, iFixit identified all of the chips on the headset's motherboard. And despite this headset's low price, it contains some pretty modern, highly optimized stuff. There's a low-power ARM Cortex MO+ processor, an Bluetooth LE transceiver, and most notably, a DA7212 Dialog Semiconductor that uses a shockingly low amount of power (650µW) to process and amplify audio.

The conclusion, and HyperX still needs to verify this, is that the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless headset uses a larger battery and super-efficient chips to reach its 300-hour playtime. I suggest watching iFixit's teardown video for additional details, including a power-draw shootout with other popular wireless headphones.

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HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless Gaming Headset
$169 $200 Save $31

With a low price tag, a 300-hour battery life, and a high-quality detachable microphone, it's hard to pass up on HyperX's Cloud Alpha Wireless headset.

Source: iFixit