Products
HyperX Cloud Alpha S
Turtle Beach Recon 500
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated May 28, 2025 01:13 PM
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Amazon.com
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Feb 14, 2024 06:52 PM
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Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
Our Verdict
HyperX Cloud Alpha S
Turtle Beach Recon 500
The HyperX Cloud Alpha S are better wired gaming headphones than the Turtle Beach Recon 500. The HyperX are more comfortable, have better controls, and feel significantly better built. They also have a virtual soundstage feature, and can be used via wired USB. However, the Turtle Beach's mic has a better recording quality.
Variants
- HyperX Cloud Alpha S (Blackout)
- HyperX Cloud Alpha S (Blue)
- Recon 500 (Arctic Camo)
- Recon 500 (Black)
Check Price
Blackout
HyperX Cloud Alpha S
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Arctic Camo
Recon 500
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Amazon.com
Blue
HyperX Cloud Alpha S
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
Recon 500
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Amazon.com
Main Differences for
Neutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.2
7.6
Treble Accuracy
6.3
7.7
Bass Accuracy
7.4
7.9
Passive Soundstage
5.5
6.2
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
No
No
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
8.0
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.71 lbs
0.77 lbs
Clamping Force
0.9 lbs
0.9 lbs
Controls
6.2
5.7
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Good
Feedback
Good
Good
Call/Music Control
No
No
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
Mute/Unmute
Mute/Unmute
Channel Mixing
Yes
No
Noise Cancelling Control
No
No
Talk-Through
No
No
Additional Controls
Bass Slider
No
Breathability
5.8
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
7.4 °C
Portability
5.7
5.5
Portability Picture
L
7.3" (18.5 cm)
8.1" (20.5 cm)
W
6.0" (15.2 cm)
10.8" (27.5 cm)
H
3.2" (8.1 cm)
2.2" (5.6 cm)
Volume
142.00 in³ (2,326.95 cm³)
189.85 in³ (3,111.00 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
5.5
0.0
Case Picture
Type
Pouch
No case
L
N/A
N/A
W
N/A
N/A
H
N/A
N/A
Volume
N/A
N/A
Build Quality
8.0
6.5
Build Quality Picture
Stability
6.5
6.5
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
0.71 dB
-1.59 dB
Treble Amount
-2.89 dB
-3.9 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
5.4
5.5
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
1.3 dB
1.17 dB
Bass Accuracy
7.4
7.9
Bass
Std. Err.
3.75 dB
2.89 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
22.13 Hz
36.68 Hz
Low-Bass
0.84 dB
-2.67 dB
Mid-Bass
3.47 dB
1.83 dB
High-Bass
5.77 dB
4.24 dB
Mid Accuracy
8.4
8.2
Std. Err.
2.11 dB
2.39 dB
Low-Mid
3.31 dB
0.27 dB
Mid-Mid
0.41 dB
2.83 dB
High-Mid
-0.68 dB
1.87 dB
Treble Accuracy
6.3
7.7
Treble
Std. Err.
5.36 dB
3.46 dB
Low-Treble
-2.53 dB
-1.48 dB
Mid-Treble
0.71 dB
-0.08 dB
High-Treble
-5.49 dB
-13.98 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.0
6.7
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.77 dB
2.38 dB
Dips
1.98 dB
1.21 dB
Imaging
8.5
8.6
Group Delay
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.17
0.25
Weighted Phase Mismatch
7.71
9.11
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.54
0.26
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.95
1.67
Passive Soundstage
5.5
6.2
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
3.07 dB
3.08 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
5.74 dB
4.5 dB
PRTF Distance
8.95 dB
15.09 dB
Openness
5.4
5.1
Acoustic Space Excitation
2.8
3.9
Virtual Soundstage
2.0
0.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
No
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
Yes
No App
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.5
7.3
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.409
0.482
WHD @ 100
0.136
0.163
Test Settings
Firmware
4.1.0.4
No Firmware
Power
USB
Passive
Connection
USB
Wired
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
EQ
No EQ
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Boom
Boom
Isolation
Noise Isolation
4.4
4.8
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-12.35 dB
-12.74 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Bass
0.97 dB
-0.32 dB
Mid
-8.97 dB
-11.83 dB
Treble
-29.86 dB
-27.14 dB
Leakage
7.5
6.6
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
36.56 dB
41.83 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
No
In-Line
No
No
Boom
Yes
Yes
Detachable Boom
Yes
Yes
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
7.8
8.5
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
121.61 Hz
20 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
4.15 dB
2.07 dB
HFE
7,561.35 Hz
8,736.03 Hz
Weighted THD
0.231
0.787
Gain
6.48 dB
29.32 dB
Noise Handling
7.5
7.5
SpNR
SpNR
39.88 dB
33.74 dB
Noise Gate
No
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.5
7.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
7.5
7.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
0.0
0.0
Battery Type
No Battery
No Battery
Continuous Battery Life
N/A
N/A
Additional Charges
N/A
N/A
Total Battery Life
N/A
N/A
Charge Time
N/A
N/A
Power-Saving Feature
No
No
Audio While Charging
No
No
Passive Playback
Passive Headphone
Passive Headphone
Charging Port
None
None
App Support
6.0
0.0
App Picture
App Name
HyperX Ngenuity
No App
iOS
No
No
Android
No
No
macOS
No
No
Windows
Yes
No
Equalizer
No
No
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
Adjustable Level
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
Yes
No
Connectivity
Bluetooth
0.0
0.0
Bluetooth Version
No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
NFC Pairing
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (SBC)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
N/A
iOS Latency
N/A
N/A
Android Latency
N/A
N/A
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
0.0
0.0
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
N/A
Wired
9.2
9.0
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
USB Type A
No
Detachable
Yes
No
Length
3.50 ft (1.07 m)
4.56 ft (1.39 m)
Connection
1/8" TRRS
1/8" TRRS
Analog/USB Audio Latency
27 ms
0 ms
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS5 Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
3.4
0.0
Type
Wired USB Dongle
No Base/Dock
USB Input
Yes
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
USB
No Base/Dock
Check Price
Blackout
HyperX Cloud Alpha S
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Arctic Camo
Recon 500
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Blue
HyperX Cloud Alpha S
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
Recon 500
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
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HyperX Cloud Alpha S
Turtle Beach Recon 500
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HyperX Cloud Alpha S vs Turtle Beach Recon 500: Main Discussion
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