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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II vs SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3
Tested using Methodology v1.6
Updated Jan 24, 2024 04:56 PM
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Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Oct 21, 2024 01:42 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
Variants
- Cloud II (Black)
- Cloud II (Red)
- Arctis Nova 3 (Black)
Our Verdict
HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3
The HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II and the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3 have different strengths, meaning you may prefer one over the other. The HyperX headphones are plug-and-play with a more comfortable fit, built-in surround sound, and better overall build quality. Their microphone offers a better performance as a whole too. However, the SteelSeries headphones are more customizable as they're compatible with SteelSeries GG and Sonar software, which offers robust features like EQs and mic levels.
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Black
Cloud II
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Arctis Nova 3
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Cloud II
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Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comMain Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.4
7.4
Mid Accuracy
9.4
8.6
Passive Soundstage
5.0
6.2
Imaging
6.1
8.1
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
8.7
7.2
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
7.5
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.7 lbs
0.56 lbs
Clamping Force
1 lbs
0.9 lbs
Controls
5.8
5.7
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Okay
Good
Feedback
Decent
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
Surround Sound
LED On/Off
Breathability
6.2
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
6.5 °C
Portability
5.4
5.9
Portability Picture
L
8.4" (21.3 cm)
7.9" (20.1 cm)
W
5.9" (15.0 cm)
8.7" (22.1 cm)
H
4.0" (10.2 cm)
1.7" (4.2 cm)
Volume
198.00 in³ (3,244.63 cm³)
113.96 in³ (1,867.40 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
6.0
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
7.5
Build Quality Picture
Stability
6.5
7.0
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
1.01 dB
0.19 dB
Treble Amount
-0.97 dB
-3.11 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
5.8
6.0
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
1.03 dB
0.95 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
8.0
8.0
Std. Err.
2.87 dB
2.84 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
15.2 Hz
15.2 Hz
Low-Bass
0.92 dB
-0.95 dB
Mid-Bass
2.97 dB
1.67 dB
High-Bass
4.05 dB
4.41 dB
Mid Accuracy
9.4
8.6
Std. Err.
0.8 dB
1.9 dB
Low-Mid
0.73 dB
1.83 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.03 dB
-0.58 dB
High-Mid
-0.01 dB
-0.01 dB
Treble Accuracy
5.8
5.5
Std. Err.
5.97 dB
6.36 dB
Low-Treble
-2.68 dB
-3.43 dB
Mid-Treble
3.58 dB
-0.55 dB
High-Treble
-3.15 dB
-9.22 dB
Peaks/Dips
6.8
6.6
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.83 dB
2.1 dB
Dips
2.52 dB
2.24 dB
Imaging
6.1
8.1
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.24
0.18
Weighted Phase Mismatch
64.68
9.07
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.32
0.57
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2.55
2.95
Passive Soundstage
5.0
6.2
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
1.94 dB
1.72 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
3.79 dB
6.33 dB
PRTF Distance
7.02 dB
11.94 dB
Openness
4.6
6.7
Acoustic Space Excitation
2.8
3.1
Virtual Soundstage
2.0
2.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
Dolby 7.1
Windows Sonic Spatial Audio
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
8.7
7.2
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.090
0.464
WHD @ 100
0.090
0.177
Test Settings
Firmware
No Firmware
1.2.0
Power
USB
USB
Connection
USB
Wired
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
EQ
Off
Default
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Boom
Boom
Isolation
Noise Isolation
5.3
3.5
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-15.97 dB
-10.67 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Bass
0.7 dB
0.56 dB
Mid
-12.88 dB
-4.73 dB
Treble
-36.9 dB
-28.05 dB
Leakage
7.5
7.3
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
36.53 dB
37.55 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
No
In-Line
No
No
Boom
Yes
Yes
Detachable Boom
Yes
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
8.4
8.4
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
84.76 Hz
88.51 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
2.11 dB
3.66 dB
HFE
7,136.96 Hz
11,166.8 Hz
Weighted THD
0.322
0.141
Gain
24.35 dB
15.12 dB
Noise Handling
8.5
7.2
SpNR
49.04 dB
22.94 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
On/Off Toggle
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
8.5
7.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
8.5
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
0.0
8.5
App Picture
App Name
No App
Steelseries GG
iOS
No
No
Android
No
No
macOS
No
Yes
Windows
No
Yes
Equalizer
No
Parametric + Presets
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
No
Adjustable Level
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
No
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
9.2
9.8
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
USB Type A
USB Type A
Detachable
No
Yes
Length
10.10 ft (3.08 m)
9.42 ft (2.87 m)
Connector
1/8" TRRS
USB-C
Latency - Analog
0.2 ms
Latency - USB
9.7 ms
6 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
USB
Bluetooth Connection
0.0
0.0
Bluetooth Version
No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
NFC Pairing
No
Quick Pair (Android)
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - SBC
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
Latency - LDAC
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
Recorded Latency Codec
No Bluetooth Audio
AAC Support
No
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
N/A
Android Latency
N/A
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS5 Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
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
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Black
Cloud II
Searching
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Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comRed
Cloud II
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Finding storeBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Amazon.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
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Walmart.comBlack
Arctis Nova 3
SEARCH
Amazon.com
HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3
Comments
HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II vs SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3: Main Discussion
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