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If you want to replace a broken, lost or worn-out boom mic on a Razer Barracuda X wireless gaming headset, choose HUYUN Barracuda X Mic; if you need to turn a pair of 0.78mm 2-pin in-ear monitors into a wired headset with a boom mic, choose Cubilux 3.5mm. That is the whole decision in one line. Neither of these is a complete set of headphones, and that trips people up constantly — one is a spare microphone arm, the other is a replacement cable with a mic attached. Read on and I'll break down which one actually fits your setup, including the jogging scenario where the Cubilux cable's ear-hook design starts to make a lot more sense.
• HUYUN Barracuda X Mic — biggest strength: it's a purpose-built detachable boom mic for the Razer Barracuda X, with a bendable arm, a position lock so it doesn't slip, and a unidirectional pickup pattern rated at -42 dB ± 3dB sensitivity.
• HUYUN Barracuda X Mic — biggest trade-off: it only works with that one headset family. If you don't own a Barracuda X, this part is useless to you.
• Cubilux 3.5mm — biggest strength: it converts flat-socket 0.78mm 2-pin IEMs into a wired headset with an adjustable gooseneck boom mic, using silver-plated OFC wires and a gold-plated 3.5mm plug.
• Cubilux 3.5mm — biggest trade-off: strict compatibility. Flat or protruding 2-pin sockets only, no recessed sockets, and the earphones may not even be detected unless the mic is plugged in.
• Buy the HUYUN if you already own a Razer Barracuda X and just need the mic back.
• Buy the Cubilux if you own a compatible pair of IEMs and want them to do double duty for calls, chat and gaming.
This is a single-purpose part, and it's honest about that. The HUYUN Barracuda X Mic is a detachable boom microphone built as a replacement for the Razer Barracuda X wireless gaming headphone, and it's listed as compatible across PC, Xbox One, PS5, PS4 and PS3. It's a 3.5mm three-pole TRS connector with gold-plated tips and a position lock, which is the detail I care about most here — a mic that rotates out of place mid-match is genuinely annoying, and the lock is meant to stop that. The boom itself is bendable and foldable, so you can park it wherever your mouth happens to be.
On the audio side, the numbers are reasonable for a headset boom mic: unidirectional polar pattern, 100 Hz to 10 kHz frequency response, -42 dB ± 3dB sensitivity, 30Ω output impedance and a signal-to-noise ratio of at least 60 dB. What that combination tells me is that this is voiced for speech, not for capturing music — it's cutting off below 100 Hz on purpose so it doesn't pick up rumble and desk thumps. The housing is ABS, it weighs about 9 grams, and it comes in white. It's plug-and-play, so there's no software step.
Who should buy it: someone who already owns a Barracuda X and has a mic that's lost, broken or crackling, and who wants the headset back to full function without buying a whole new headset. Who should skip it: anyone who doesn't own that specific headset, and anyone expecting a general-purpose microphone. It won't fit another brand, and it doesn't include the headset. There's a 60-day warranty description on the listing, which is worth noting if you're the type who wants a safety net on a small replacement part.
The Cubilux 3.5mm is a different animal entirely — it's a headphone cable, not a mic. Specifically, it's a 4-foot cable for 0.78mm 2-pin IEMs with flat or protruding sockets, and it happens to have a gooseneck boom microphone built into it. The wires are silver-plated oxygen-free copper and the 3.5mm plug is gold-plated, both of which are about preserving signal and reducing loss rather than adding any kind of processing. There's no active noise cancellation here — noise control is listed as "None" — so the isolation you get is whatever your IEMs' tips provide.
The design story is the interesting part. The cable has pre-shaped ear hooks with soft silicone sleeves, which is a shape aimed squarely at keeping the buds planted during movement rather than letting them swing free. That's why this cable genuinely works for jogging in a way most headset cables don't: the hooks plus the silicone wrapping give a secure, comfortable fit for long sessions, and the boom mic can be angled for clear voice pickup. If you've been hunting for hi res on ear headphones for jogging but already own a good pair of IEMs, this cable is the cheaper path to a headset-like setup. It's also a reasonable answer for someone weighing with microphone in ear earbuds for jogging — you're keeping the in-ear fit and adding the mic.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for replacing a lost or broken Barracuda X mic → HUYUN Barracuda X Mic. That's literally what it was made for.
• Best for turning IEMs into a headset → Cubilux 3.5mm. It's the only one of the two that touches your earphones at all.
• Best for voice pickup design → HUYUN Barracuda X Mic. A unidirectional pattern, 100 Hz–10 kHz range and a position lock are all speech-first choices.
• Best for movement and jogging → Cubilux 3.5mm. Pre-shaped ear hooks and silicone sleeves are built to hold a fit, and the boom mic angles where you need it.
• Best for broad device hookup → Cubilux 3.5mm. Any device with a 3.5mm jack: laptops, PCs, handheld consoles, audio players. The HUYUN is tied to one headset model and its listed console/PC platforms.
• Best for a no-fuss plug-and-play repair → HUYUN Barracuda X Mic. No compatibility homework beyond "do I own a Barracuda X."
• Best for cable and connector quality → Cubilux 3.5mm. Silver-plated OFC wires and a gold-plated plug versus ABS housing on the HUYUN.
• Best for battery life → neither. Both are wired and corded. If you specifically want a long-runtime wireless option, look at best fast charging neckband headphones for jogging instead; these two aren't in that category.
In my opinion, most people searching this comparison own a Razer Barracuda X and need the mic back — for them, the HUYUN Barracuda X Mic is the obvious buy, because it's a direct replacement with a bendable boom, a position lock and a speech-tuned unidirectional capsule. I'd pick the Cubilux 3.5mm only if you already own compatible flat-socket 0.78mm 2-pin IEMs and want them to double as a headset, especially for jogging, where the ear-hook design earns its keep. Neither is a complete headphone, so check what you already own before you order. And check the current price on Amazon before deciding — that's the one variable I can't help you with here.
FAQ
are studio headphones better than gaming headsets
Not automatically — they solve different problems. Studio-style headphones are usually tuned for flat, faithful reproduction, while gaming headsets are voiced for positional cues and include a mic. The HUYUN Barracuda X Mic is a case in point: it's a detachable boom mic replacement, not a headphone, and it's tuned for speech from 100 Hz to 10 kHz rather than for music.
That varies a lot, and I won't pretend there's one answer. What the data does show is that detachable-mic designs are common in gaming headsets — the Razer Barracuda X, which the HUYUN mic is built to fit, uses a removable boom mic. The Cubilux cable follows the same idea from the other direction, adding a boom mic to IEMs.
do all headphones have mics
No. Plenty of headphones, and most IEMs, ship without any microphone at all. That's exactly the gap the Cubilux 3.5mm cable fills — it adds a gooseneck boom mic to 0.78mm 2-pin IEMs, though note the earphones may not be detected unless the mic is plugged in.
can studio headphones be used for gaming
Yes, they can — with a caveat about the mic. If your headphones have a 3.5mm jack, the Cubilux cable works with laptops, PCs, handheld consoles and audio players, provided your earphones use flat or protruding 0.78mm 2-pin sockets. If you're on a Barracuda X, the HUYUN mic is the matching route instead.
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