Steelseries Flux Headset Review (IOS, MOB, PC)

I have to say it, fluxing brilliant

Just recently, Steelseries has made a big play for the mobile market with the release if its Freedom to Play series of products. This includes controllers, little sticky buttons for touch screens and a couple of headsets. Today, I shall be reviewing one of these headsets, the Flux. Now, sniggers aimed at the name aside, this is a serious piece of kit. It is an over ear headset that has been designed for use with both mobile devices and home computers. It has been designed to be portable, yet hard wearing. Most of all it has been designed to sound superb. Let us start at the beginning, the looks. The version that I am reviewing is an all black version. you will be able to buy it in two base colours, white and black. However, there are several customisation options. The sides of the ear cups, the lead and the padded cups themselves can all be swapped out for new colours. You will be able to configure these from on the Steelseries website and have your custom combination sent direct. You will also be able to buy the swappable parts. Whatever you choose, it looks very stylish.

Fluxing Brilliant

The headband has a split design, keeping it stable on your head, but without creating too much warmth. It seems to be designed to allow air flow. The arms have a joint in them to allow the headphones to fold up on themselves. The ear cups are soft and comfortable, sitting on the ear. Apparently, the opening is made of some special material called SNDBlock. What it does is help to reduce background noise. Each ear cup has a 3.5mm input socket in it – and this is where things get really clever. The Flux comes with two leads. One is designed for Mac or Mobile phones (iPhone tested), the other for a standard PC setup, with mic and headphone jacks on the end. Depending on your needs, you can plug the appropriate lead into either ear cup. This makes for a very versatile head set. However, that is not all you can do. If you have a friend sat next to you, they can plug their headphones into the spare input jack and listen along with you. The ear cups also swivel, allowing for extra comfort as well as being able to lay the flat on a surface when not in use. Each lead has an inline microphone. The PC one has a mute switch, whilst the mobile phone version has a clicker. Depending on your phone, this can have multiple functions. For instance, on the iPhone it can be used to answer and end calls as well as start, stop and skip tracks in the music player. In both cases, the inline mic is clear and perfect for calls or use with VOIP applications like SKYPE. The most important feature of any headset is the sound. The Flux does not disappoint on any level. I tested it in various situations. Making and taking calls on my phone, listening to music on the phone, using it for VOIP calls on my PC and watching movies on the PC. In every situation and with every combination of sound profiles I could think of, the Flux performed amazingly. Movies had clear and thumbing soundtracks, with crystal clear voices cutting through. Pendulum and Metallica had beautiful bass lines with searing guitar solos. The Beatles sounded light and airy and Foo Fighers, well they just sounded just plain awesome. Nothing distorted at any volume that I could withstand listening too! Everything about the Steelseries has a feel of high quality Even the leads have nice little touches, like little raised lips on the jacks to help you grip them as you pull them out. It is this kind of attention to detail that I love. They look great, they can be used on multiple devices, they are not astronomically priced (£70 at time of writing), they are comfortable and they sound stunning. I can only do one thing really. Award them a Diamond Y! Some Specs

• Frequency response: 18 – 28000 Hz
• Impedance: 29 Ohm
• SPL@ 1kHz, 1 Vrms: 118 dB
• Cable length: 2m
• Jacks: 3.5 mm

Microphone

• Frequency response: 50 – 16000 Hz
• Pick up pattern: Omni-directional
• Sensitivity: -38 dB

The Scores