We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-04 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a straightforward replacement cable for HyperX Cloud Alpha, Cloud Mix or Cloud Flight headsets with a rotary volume dial and a one-click mute button, choose EARLA TEC Replacement Aux Cable; if you need an inline microphone, a call pickup/hangup button and a longer reach for an Astro A10/A20/A30/A40/A50 setup — especially if you're wiring a gaming headset for call center work — choose Tobysome A50.
• EARLA TEC Replacement Aux Cable — biggest strength: a simple, purpose-built HyperX replacement cable with a rotary volume dial and a one-click mute, built on an oxygen-free copper core with a braided, tangle-resistant jacket.
• EARLA TEC Replacement Aux Cable — biggest trade-off: no microphone and no call button, so it is purely an audio-transmission cable — fine for listening and muting, useless if you need to talk through the cable.
• Tobysome A50 — biggest strength: it is a full media controller cable — volume wheel, inline mic, mute button and a call pickup/hangup button — with an A/B switch that decides whether your headset's mic or the cable's own mic does the talking.
• Tobysome A50 — biggest trade-off: it is aimed squarely at Astro A10/A20/A30/A40/A40TR/A50 owners and Xbox One controller, MixAmp, PC or Mac setups, and the inline controls only work when the switch sits in the B position.
• Who EARLA TEC is for: HyperX Cloud Alpha / Cloud Mix / Cloud Flight owners who just want their volume dial and mute back.
• Who Tobysome A50 is for: Astro headset owners — and anyone building a headset rig for call center duty — who need a mic and call controls on the cable itself.
This is a single-purpose replacement cable, and I mean that as a compliment. It is a 1.5-metre male-to-male 3.5mm cord with a grey plug that goes into the headset and a black plug that goes into your audio device. On the cable you get two controls: a rotary sound dial for volume and a one-click mute button. For someone whose original HyperX cable has frayed, crackled or gone missing, that is exactly the feature set you want back — nothing more to learn, nothing more to break.
The internals matter here too. The core is oxygen-free copper, which the spec sheet credits with reducing sound loss and interference, and the outer jacket is a braided, tangle-free design finished with gold-plated connectors. In practice, that combination is about two things: keeping the signal clean over the length of the run, and surviving being coiled, stuffed in a bag and yanked out again. Compatibility is broad — the sheet lists PCs, consoles, smartphones, iPod, PS4 and PS5, plus any other 3.5mm audio-jack device. The HyperX listing is the headline, but this cable will happily carry audio for plenty of other gear.
Who should buy it? HyperX Cloud Alpha, Cloud Mix or Cloud Flight owners who want the mute-and-volume convenience of the original cable without hunting for an OEM part. Who should skip it? Anyone who needs to speak. There is no microphone and no call button on this cable, so if your headset's mic depends on the cable — or if you take calls through your headset — this is the wrong tool. In my opinion it is the cleaner pick for pure listening, single-player sessions and movie nights, where a dial and a mute button are all the control you actually touch.
The Tobysome A50 is the busier, more capable cable of the two. It is 2 metres — roughly 6.6 feet — which gives you noticeably more slack than the EARLA TEC, and it packs four controls: a volume wheel, an inline microphone, a mute button and a call pickup/hangup button. That last one is the detail that matters most for anyone wiring a gaming headset for call center work, because answering and ending a call from the cable beats reaching for software every time.
The clever part is the A/B switch. In position A, the cable passes your headset's own microphone through. In position B, the inline mic built into the cable takes over. The spec sheet is explicit that if you want to control your device with the cable, the switch needs to be in B — so this is a cable you actually have to understand, not just plug in. Get it right and you can adjust music volume and handle phone calls straight from the cord, which is precisely the scenario it was designed around: using an Astro A40 or A10 with a phone or music player on the go.
Fit is the other half of the story. It is built for Astro A10, A20, A30, A40, A40TR and A50 headsets, connecting them to an Xbox One controller, a MixAmp, or a PC or Mac with a combined mic/headphone 3.5mm jack. The wire itself uses a super-core conductor with gold-plated connections for clear, lossless stereo transmission, and there are seven pins in the connector. Note the tablet compatibility listed as well, including several Amazon Fire generations.
Who should buy it? Astro owners who have lost or damaged the original media cable, and anyone who wants a headset cable that handles voice, volume and call control in one run. Who should skip it? HyperX Cloud owners — this is not the cable for that headset — and anyone who wants a plug-and-play cord with no switch to think about.
• Best for HyperX Cloud Alpha / Cloud Mix / Cloud Flight → EARLA TEC Replacement Aux Cable. It is built for those headsets specifically.
• Best for Astro A10 / A20 / A30 / A40 / A40TR / A50 → Tobysome A50. The connector and pin layout are matched to that family.
• Best for call center work → Tobysome A50. The inline mic, mute and call pickup/hangup button are the difference between a listening cable and a working one.
• Best for pure listening, gaming and movies → EARLA TEC. A dial and a mute button, no switch positions to remember.
• Best for reaching across a desk → Tobysome A50. Its 2-metre run beats the 1.5-metre EARLA TEC by half a metre, which matters more than it sounds.
• Best for cable longevity → EARLA TEC. Braided, tangle-free jacket with gold-plated connectors is the more rugged build on paper.
• Best for travel and phone use → Tobysome A50. Volume, mic and call control on the cord is exactly what the design targets.
• Fewest things to get wrong → EARLA TEC. There is no A/B switch, so there is no wrong setting.
If you are shopping specifically for a headset-and-cable setup for call center shifts, my honest read is that the Tobysome A50 wins on function and the EARLA TEC wins on simplicity. They are not really competing for the same buyer.
For call center use, I would buy the Tobysome A50. A headset cable without a microphone cannot do the job, and the A50's inline mic, mute button and call pickup/hangup control cover the three things you touch all shift. It also reaches further and fits the Astro line it was made for.
If instead you own a HyperX Cloud Alpha, Cloud Mix or Cloud Flight and just want your volume dial and mute button back, I would buy the EARLA TEC Replacement Aux Cable — in my opinion it is the better-built, less fiddly cord for that headset, and you will never have to think about a switch position again. Check the current price on Amazon before you commit, since both are affordable replacement parts rather than big purchases.
No. The spec sheet lists it for Kingston HyperX Cloud Alpha, Cloud Mix and Cloud Flight headsets. It uses standard 3.5mm male-to-male plugs and works with plenty of other 3.5mm devices, but Astro A50 is not a listed match — for that, go with the Tobysome A50.
Yes. It has an inline mic plus a two-position switch: position A passes your headset's microphone through, position B activates the inline mic in the cable. Remember that the cable's own controls only work while the switch is in B.
The Tobysome A50. It includes a microphone, a mute button and a call pickup/hangup button, and it reaches 2 metres. The EARLA TEC has volume and mute but no mic at all, so it cannot handle voice on its own.
Both are 3.5mm male-to-male aux cables, so both can carry audio to a phone. Only the Tobysome A50 adds an inline mic and call button, which is why it is the one designed for taking calls on the go.
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