Func HS-260 headset review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. Func HS-260 Headset4. Comfort and Performance5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

The most immediately obvious note to make about the Func HS-260, is that's it's incredibly comfortable. I've worn this thing for a few hours at a time and it's not caused a problem. My ears didn't overheat, my head didn't start to ache. It is a great marathon gamer set and would see you right at a LAN party or similar.

Once you start listening to it though, you will realise this is more than just a comfortable set of ear muffs. While the HS-260 isn't going to blow away any professional grade headphones, or even the top end of gamer offerings, it delivers a solid performance through most genres of music and in most games.

Nothing is particularly impressive about it, as the highs lack a little punch and the bass frequencies a little oomph, but playing around with sound settings can get you that bit closer to where you wish it was.

In testing I tried a variety of games, some of them Oculus Rift experiences since I've been playing a lot of those recently including some Half Life 2 which was a nice reminder of one of my favourite games from the earlier 2000s –  rise and shine, Mr. Freeman.

The bark of guns come out nicely on the HS-260, so if you're a shooter fan this one should work well for you. It's not quite as hot with haunting instrumentals, but considering there's more games out there with explosions rather than heartfelt laments, that's probably a good trade off for Func.

As a side note, with headsets like the Rift beginning to become more popular, someone has to make an over-ear headset that doesn't creak when you move your head. Games without sound or those in quiet moments have their immersion destroyed by a squeak in your ear.

The HS-260 is as guilty as any of them.

Movie wise, it's much of the same and places this headset around where you'd expect for its £60 price point. Voices are a little muddied, but no more than most audio hardware that doesn't break the bank.

You might be able to find a few better for the money and this certainly isn't going to replace your home cinema set up, but if you watch movies as a secondary activity to your gaming and prefer a headset over speakers, you could do a lot worse than this one.

This being a stereo headset, the surround effect isn't massively impressive. There's a solid enough stereo sound for panning to be obvious, but unless you have a sound card that can emulate a 3D environment, don't expect much in the way of environmental awareness.

However, with that mode switched on with my card, the Func did an admirable job, though it's still a far cry from the real deal.

Of course gaming is where this headset is most suited and is designed for and it does do well in that arena, providing good quality sound and a very crisp and clear mic quality throughout. However, I would say that it could do with some improved insulation between the headphones and the outside world, as well as making the mic a bit more focused, as even with the cans at two thirds volume, my Skype mates reported that they could hear the music I was listening to in the background. I later confirmed this with a couple of quick recording tests.

However noise cancelling is pretty damn good, as even with relatively quite tracks, I struggled to hear myself singing along like an idiot.

The use of detachable cabling was a nice touch, as it makes packing away or traveling with the headset a lot easier. However, I thought it was a bit of an oversight on Func's part not to make the headset fold away, as that combined with the cable and the comfort would have made this a must have for LAN goers who don't want to spend hundreds on a headset. Unfortunately it doesn't really fold at all and any efforts to do so just made you realise that a good hard twist would snap something really important.

Become a Patron!