HyperX Cirro Buds Pro review: Disappointingly average

HyperX has released their Cirro Buds Pro Bluetooth earbuds, but with so much competition on the market, are they really worth your hard-earned cash?

HyperX has been renovating its lineup of peripherals in 2023, with some notable wins which offer both excellent value and quality. The Clutch Gladiate Xbox controller offers programmable buttons and trigger locks for half the price of an official Xbox controller, and the Pulsefire Haste 2 Wireless mouse offers Bluetooth and more for a budget price.

So, does their pair of brand-new earbuds, the HyperX Cirro Buds Pro manage to stand out from the pack, in one of the most fiercely contested product segments in the entire tech industry? We’ve tested the earbuds and their features to give you the lowdown on if HyperX is onto another winner.

Key Specs

• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2, USB-C for charging
• Driver diameter: 8mm, Dynamic
• Weight: 39.4g (Charging Case), 8.84g (Earbuds)
• Compatibility: PC, Switch, Mobile
• Features: Charging case, IPX4 water resistant, three sets of ear tips, up to 35 hours of battery.
• Price: $79.99

Design

The rather nondescript design of the HyperX Cirro Buds Pro case struck us off guard at first, but we quickly fell in love with the minimal branding as the company stuck with a simple embedded logo on the lid. Admittedly, there’s not much else to put branding on, either.

Outside of that, the case has a fantastic slightly translucent design with an LED status light and Bluetooth pairing button on the front. Look at the bottom, and you’ll find the USB-C port for charging.

Open up the top of the case and you’ll be met with the earbuds sitting inside. They’re held in by a magnet that we wish was a bit stronger, although it does seem to do the job as long as you’re careful enough to not drop them. It feels like the case could have offered a more robust build quality here, as magnets generally tend to weaken over time, which is a worrying sign.

The Cirro Buds Pro has been designed without an Airpods-like stem, similar to the Beats Studio Buds+. Ultimately, which look you prefer is up to you, but it didn’t stand out as impressive or particularly notable at all.

There’s no wireless charging on the Cirro Buds Pro’s case, which is a disappointing omission. This means that you’re going to have to rely on the USB-C charging input, instead of having a set-and-forget solution like the ASUS ROG Cetra.

Setup & Features

Setting up the HyperX Cirro Buds Pro is relatively straightforward. All you have to do is open the top of the case and press the sync button, before going through the settings menu on the device of your choice. Some kind of one-touch solution as found on the Beats Studio Buds+ would have been nice, but it remains to be a pretty antiquated solution.

The buds are controlled by touch, which is pretty standard for Bluetooth earbuds. We didn’t have any issues switching between Active Noise Cancelling, ambient, and low-latency gaming modes.

ANC isn’t super special when it comes to louder noises, though they do seal quite well in your ears to block out general room noises like fans, air conditioners, and your roommate’s TV.

Ambient mode is great as well, coming in handy for us while testing the Cirro Buds Pro on our daily walks.

Another thing we did notice — and quite enjoy — is the fact that once the Cirro Buds Pro begins to slide out of your ears it pauses the audio. It may be annoying to some at first, but it’s a good way to warn you before it falls out of your ear. It’s also helpful if you’re in an office and need to speak to someone, too.

The earbuds do support multi-connect, which we had no issue taking advantage of by connecting them to our PC and iPhone.

They’re rated at seven hours of battery with noise control off, and four with gaming mode on, which we found to be quite accurate in our testing. We would have loved to see less of a drop in battery with gaming mode on, however.

Sound Quality

Although the sound quality on the HyperX Cirro Buds Pro isn’t anything to write home about, they’re definitely good. Coheed and Cambria’s Comatose showcases quite decent highs while Connor Price’s Chatter blesses your ears with a tasty midrange and Pierce the Veil’s King For A Day brings it home with defined, clear vocals.

Our biggest complaint is the lack of noticeable bass, though, so they wouldn’t be ideal for EDM or rap music fans. This is where an app with a customizable EQ could have come in handy. But, once again the Cirro Buds Pro disappoints.

Switching it over to the low-latency gaming mode is easy with just three taps of the left earbud. The mode provides a noticeable decrease in latency that makes these quite suitable for FPS games like T3 Arena on mobile or action games like Tears of the Kingdom on the Switch.

Microphone Quality

The microphone quality on the HyperX Cirro Buds Pro is unsurprisingly mediocre. Between the size of the earbuds and general Bluetooth quality, it’s quite expected. They would be suitable for a quick phone call to a family member, but we wouldn’t record a podcast, or attend any important work meetings using it.

Should you buy it?

At $79.99, the HyperX Cirro Buds Pro is perfectly suitable for gamers thanks to its low-latency mode. They feature a high build quality but simply fall short in other key areas. There’s no wireless charging on its case, the audio is relatively average, and there are no customizable EQ settings to speak of. It seems like HyperX might have missed the mark on this occasion.

The Verdict: 3/5

The HyperX Cirro Buds Pro is a very solid attempt at making a good set of all-around earbuds but just falls short of the very stiff competition in this product segment.