Gamecom 780/788 vs Kingston HyperX Cloud

[Jocosity]

So, my old Gamecom 780 finally broke recently. Generally when something breaks of mine I like to buy something better instead of just buying the same thing, so I ordered a Kingston HyperX Cloud to replace it since I've heard such good things about it from a lot of different places. I was worried that my onboard soundcard wouldn't be good enough to power it, since the Gamecom is USB-powered and so I've never purchased a soundcard, but several places online (including a few threads here) said that even onboard sound should be able to power the HyperX Cloud so I did it anyways.

Suffice to say, it isn't enough. There's a very noticeable crackling in the left speaker when any loud sounds are played (the crackling doesn't happen when I hook it up to my phone, so I'm assuming it's the sound card), and the audio all sounds focused around two points on each side of my head like what I would get from a cheap throwaway pair of earbuds from Walmart, instead of feeling as if the sounds are all around me like what I get from the Gamecom or other USB headsets like the G930 (which I bought after determining that the HyperX wasn't going to cut it, but returned the next day because I wasn't a fan of the sound quality).

So what I'm wondering is, is it the soundcard, or the headset? Is the HyperX Cloud just not nearly as good as it's been hyped up to be, or do I just need to invest in a soundcard? Is the HyperX Cloud's audio performance actually worth paying such an increase in price over just buying the 788?

 

[BlueFireZ]

Im not sure, but i think it could be your soundcard or just a bad headset (not as in the HyperX Cloud headsets itself). One thing ill recommend to you is the Steelseries Siberia V3, which has great audio, but the 788 is also a good headset. I think you should wait and see if someone else has a better answer on the soundcard question.

Hope this helps!

 

[Jocosity]

Would you say the Siberia V3 has better sound than the HyperX? I'm okay with paying more for the HyperX or the Gamecom if they're better, but the Siberia V3 was on sale at Best Buy for $45 when I went there today.

 

[BlueFireZ]

They are both pretty equal,but the Siberia V3 has a wider frequency response which is better, but its up to you. I just found out there is a HyperX Cloud 2 and that would beat both if you can find it. Since the V3 is on sale, there is a chance that the V3 Prism might also, which is the upgraded USB version.

So basically HyperX Cloud vs Steelseries Siberia V3, and maybe Steelseries Siberia V3 Prism vs HyperX Cloud 2

 

[Jocosity]

I've gone ahead and ordered a Xonar DGX sound card, which will hopefully help the HyperX Cloud. It turns out that I misread the sale at best buy (looking back at the picture I took, the actual headset is the V3, but the price label below it is only for the V2), so if the HyperX Cloud still doesn't impress me with a sound card I'll return it and just get another 780.