When considering buying headphones for children, most people recognize the need to choose a unit that protects their hearing — typically with an 85 db cutoff that prevents the hearing damage that can occur with exposure to music or noise above this level over long periods of time. However, that is only the start. Children’s headphones also need to be sized appropriately, durable enough to survive at least some abuse, simple to keep charged if they are wireless, can work with 3.5mm headphone jacks (especially for use at school), and are something the child wants to wear.
That last one is often a sticking point for tweens. Many headphones with volume limiters are designed with bright primary colors or cartoon character licenses. For older children, this can be embarrassing, and if they won’t wear it, that defeats the purpose.
The HyperX Cloud Mini wireless looks a lot like a shrunken version of HyperX’s adult gaming headsets – because it is! It can connect wired with a 3.5mm cable included in the box or wirelessly over Bluetooth 5.3. It works with every platform – including school Chromebooks – and limits sound to 85db to protect kids’ hearing. It has a custom 30mm dynamic driver with neodymium magnets and is spec’d at 20Hz-20kHz frequency response. It is sized for smaller humans, so I was not able to assess the quality of its audio, but the bass response lower limit is surely more of a suggestion than reality. The boom microphone is clear for voices and can be folded back when not in use.
The HyperX Cloud Mini is lightweight (132g), and the thick plastic construction appears to be designed to take some abuse. I gave one to my tween at the beginning of this school year. This is the same child who broke his new Chromebook the first week of school and destroyed two other headsets last year. It’s now approaching the holidays and he’s still using the HyperX mini. More importantly, he LOVES it. When I unboxed them, his initial reaction was, “those look like cool gaming headphones… Wait, they’re smaller than yours — are they for me?!” He now has a headset he is proud to wear at school, that he can use for approved gaming sessions with his friends (when he’s done his chores and has screen time), and that protects his hearing for music and gaming sessions in the future.
There are also stickers in the box that assure the recipient that “we are all gamers.” It’s a nice touch.
Disclosures: HyperX sent the HyperX Cloud mini wireless for review. HyperX’s parent company, HP, is a Techsponential advisory client, but Devices View does not accept paid posts, does not participate in affiliate link programs, and HP had no editorial control over this article.
