SteelSeries Flux Review

• Brand: SteelSeries
• Model: SteelSeries Flux in-ear headphones
• RRP: £39.99 (At time of review)

SteelSeries are a Danish company; they are one of the leading manufacturers of gaming peripherals and accessories, including headsets, keyboards, mice, gaming surfaces and software.   They are partnered with some of the most popular gaming companies such as Blizzard entertainment and Ubisoft, they manufacture a range of specific limited edition peripherals for these company’s, they include Assassins Creed and World of Warcraft to name a few. Today I’m going to be looking at a pair of SteelSeries flux in-ear headphones, let’s see how they stand up to my testing….   Specifications

• Balanced armature drivers
• Frequency response: 15Hz – 22KHz
• Impedance: 26 Ohm
• Sensitivity: 105dB @ 1KHz,
• Cable length: 1.2m
• Microphone frequency response: 100Hz – 10KHz
• Microphone pick-up pattern: Omnidirectional
• Microphone sensitivity: -38dB
• Warranty: 1 year
• Included in the box: Carry bag, three pairs of ear tips (s, m, l) and a quick guide instruction booklet.

On the front we instantly get a look at the design of the ear buds themselves. We see the product name, front and centre again, as well as the SteelSeries logo in the bottom right hand corner. It also has the small pictures for a short overview of the products features.

On the back the product name is there again, as well as another shot of the ear buds from a different angle. Down at the bottom we get a glimpse at what products the ear buds are designed for, the style of the audio jack, and a picture of the carrying case that is included. At the top is another specifications diagram and below that is a short list of different features of the product in four different languages (English, French, German and Spanish).

Here we see the carry case, quick start guide booklet and a few stickers.

Here we see the flux in-ear headset up close and we see the SteelSeries logo, the jack plug and wire.  Unlike the Pro version, this model doesn’t come with an in-built microphone.

In this picture we can see the SteelSeries logo more closely.

The Flux In-Ear headset is comfortable and stylish. Our ears come in all sorts of different sizes and SteelSeries was kind enough to include ear tips to accommodate three different sizes (small, medium, large). That’s a huge plus in the consumer needs column and I thank them for that. They come with a case for easy storage and the flat cable will ensure I’m never left with a tangled mess.

So far I’ve used the Flux In-Ear headset on my iPhone and the headset delivered phenomenal sound, whether I was listening to music or playing games. The microphone plus button to answer and end calls and control media works wonders in any environment. When I’m out and about and have iTunes playing, just by simply pressing the tiny button, I’m able to pause my music to answer calls and also end them with just a touch of a button.

From pop to Country and even Classical or Rock the sound was great on my iPhone, this is the device I used for testing for mobile gaming also, the games I used included Star Wars Angry Birds and their sound quality was good from both forms of media. The Flux in-ear headset uses a compact 6mm driver and that thanks to the small size, they can create a better seal that offers an optimal fit and passive noise cancellation, which does a nice job of keeping almost all of the noise out but that’s not to say if you’re listening to music on low volume, you won’t have loud noises in the background.

There weren’t a whole lot of opportunities for me to use the mic, but on the phone calls where I did use it, using my iPhone it seemed that everyone I spoke to commented that while it sounded a bit like someone on speakerphone, they could understand me much easier than when we talked without the headset. I tend to speak softly and at times people will complain that they can barely hear me, but with the Flux in-ear headsets microphone there didn’t seem to be any such problem.

After using the SteelSeries Flux in-ear headset I found them to be a pretty good all round set of headphones. The audio quality was pretty good for most of the tests and the ear buds were actually really comfortable. The in line microphone controls were incredibly handy for when using my iPhone, with answering the phone and listening to music. The only disappointment I have was with the microphone because it’s only useable with mobile devices and not PC.

SteelSeries do, do a more expensive headset which is not unlike this one as it’s called the Flux in-ear pro headset which does include PC gaming. This is what I would want out of this headset, as I am more of a pc gamer than a mobile one, I don’t own any other mobile devices except for my iPhone. I really did like the no tangle cord, as I’m always having to untangle my other headset before I can use it so it’s quite refreshing not having to do it with this headset.  You can scrunch it up and stuff it in your pocket, as this is what I tend to do. Then upon retrieving the headset out of your pocket it is easy to untangle and start using again, with no fuss what so ever.

Pricewise, at £39.99, I would say it is a bit pricey for just a headset you use really to play music and answer calls on, calling it a gaming headset is a bit misleading to the average consumer but saying that it still is a good headset.  The sound quality is good, the style is nice and sleek and the non- tangle wire is an added bonus for me, and I’d say a few people out there would find it a bonus too.

So after reviewing the SteelSeries Flux in-ear headset I would recommend it, if you just wanted to listen to music or use it to answer your phone. Thanks to Steelseries for sending me their Flux in-ear headset to review and I look forward to seeing more products in the future.