Its been awhile since we last had a headphones review. ARCTIC wanted to change that so they sent a couple sets of headphones for us to test out. The set you will be reading about today is the P31X bluetooth headphones pack. If you’re looking for a wireless set of headphones these might just be for you.
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Well, if you did not know that, you must not know that they are celebrating their 10th anniversary either. Here is a bit of info on Arctic Cooling:
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“It all started on a beautiful summer day at the lakeside of Zurich where Magnus Huber founded this company and has continuously embraced the idea of “Spirit of Innovation”. For ARCTIC, innovations are meaningless unless it brings more pleasant experiences for people. We strongly believe that these experiences need to be “unexpected” in order for people to remember them. Therefore, we are really celebrating PLEASANT SURPRISES with everyone.” |
Lets go take a look at the specs of these P31X headphones to see what they have under the hood.
Features and Specifications
For more information please visit the Arctic Cooling website.
Wireless and Free
The P311 works seamlessly with any gadget that supports Bluetooth technology such as mobile phones and notebooks. You can also use it with your PC by simply connecting it with its UD2. With a range of up to 30 meters, this headset gives you full flexibility without disturbing people around you. The integrated lithium-ion battery lasts up to 20 hours of music playback before it needs to be recharged via USB.
Outstanding Audio Quality
The integrated 28mm drivers excel in high fidelity. Whether it’s rock, jazz or classical, all different genres of music can be enjoyed without any compromise. Thanks to the outstanding bass, this headset enriches your listening experience when listening to your favorite music or when watching a movie. The good signal-to-noise-ratio of 95 dB of the integrated amplifier guarantees best digital sound.
Versatile and Comfortable
The soft earcups and the supra-aural design not only provide a comfy fit, they also isolate your ears from exterior noise. Thanks to its light weight of only 71g, the headset doesn’t become uncomfortable, even after long periods of use. This makes the P311 perfect for sports, as it doesn’t get loose while jogging or biking. The device can conveniently be stored inside the included travel case for travelling purposes. Besides, the integrated microphone enables all forms of voice communications, such as MSN and Skype from your PC .
| Headset Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Wearing Style | Supra-aural, neckband |
| Bluetooth Version | V 2.1 with EDR, Class 2 |
| Frequency Response (Hz-kHz) | 18 Hz – 22 KHz |
| Total Harmonic Distortion | 0.1% |
| Battery | Rechargeable 400mAh Li-Polymer battery |
| Playback Time | Up to 20 hours |
| Net Weight | 71 g |
| Adapter Specifications | |
| Interface | USB 2.0 |
| Bluetooth Version | V 2.1 with EDR, Class 1 |
| Connectivity range | 100 meters |
| Radio Frequency | 2.4 GHz |
| Operating Systems Supported | Windows 7 / Vista / 2000 / XP |
| Dimensions (Product) | 22 (L) x 14 (W) x 5.5 (H) mm |
| Net Weight | 2 g |
| Dimensions (Packaging) | 230 (L) x 165 (W) x 65 (H) mm |
| Limited Warranty | 2 years |
| itemnumber | HEASO-ERM40-GBA01 |
| UPC | 0872767004672 |
| Gross Weight | 0.6 kg |
A Closer Look
On paper these headphones look like they will perform well, but will that necessarily translate to real life?
My first impression of the package was that they did it well. There were no annoying blister packs or excessive packaging. Everything can easily be seen so you know what you are getting without even opening the box.
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The headphones themselves are very small and light. There is even a built-in microphone. In case your computer does not have bluetooth built in there is an included mini adapter which came in handy throughout testing.
The fact that there are no cables involved (when listing to music) is great. You do however need to plug them in via USB to charge but that is not a big deal.
Battery life is good. Since we burn-in headphones here at funkykit I decided to leave these headphones on for 20-hours non-stop to see how long the battery lasted. At a low to moderate volume these headphones lasted roughly 20-hours with a fully charged battery.
When it comes to comfort these are relatively comfortable. I would not find myself using them for hours and hours but for a jog or for using while being out and about they are good. Using them for exercising is a great use. I used them to go jogging and they never fell off, quite a nice change of pace from most earbuds and other headphones.
In case you forgot there is even an integrated microphone. It worked very well throughout testing. My voice came through crisp and clear over Skype and various VOIP programs such as teamspeak and ventrillo.
If your tablet, phone or laptop have integrated bluetooth these headphones make a perfect addition to a mobile device.
Testing Methodology
Testing was done using both a desktop PC and an Asus netbook. The desktop used the included mini USB bluetooth adapter while the netbook used its built-in bluetooth adapter. Installing the mini adapter was a piece of cake, the instructions even helped out with finding the headset on the netbook too.
Before running these tests, the headphones were properly burned-in, in order to bring out the full characteristics of the sound. This is done in order to allow the speakers in the headphones to burn-in since they often sound different out of the box, than when you burn them in for 20-50hrs. After the burn-in period, all tests were conducted.
All music is formatted in FLAC at 256kbs bitrate. Different music albums were used in order to get a feel for how the set would perform on different music genres.
The first album I used was Aly & Fila – Rising sun which is a Trance/ Techno album.I have to say the first time I heard music on these headphones it was absolutely terrible However once they were allowed to burn in the sound got much better. Mids came through clear as well as lows. Higher sounds often ended up being a bit off, often mixing with other sounds.With that being said, this album sounded the best out of all the different types of music.
Next up is the Folk album Bring Me your Love by City & Colour. This album is used in order to give a good sense of the mids and highs, as well as some input on the finer details in guitar chords and other sounds. Defined quality is just not there with these headphones. The sound is a bit lacking. At times it becomes hard to pick up on the small details in the music.
Next up is the album 10,000 Days by Tool. This album combines a bit of everything, from various levels of vocals to intense guitar shredding. After testing out these headphones I felt like there was something lacking. details were muddy for the most part. For some reason bass came through as overwhelming and distorted other sounds. They were surely not the worst I’ve heard though.
Finally we took a look at the Rap album K.O.D. by Tech N9ne. Bass came through strong, yet not overwhelming. I was kind of perplexed why this was the case since it was overwhelming with the Tool album. Highs were decent but nothing to write home about. Mids occasionally mixed in with lows during bass heavy moments but it was nothing that would ruin an experience.
Movies/ Video
Lots of people use their headphones when they watch movies or their favorite TV shows. Testing is done by watching Blue-Ray rips of the following series at 720p or 1080p using the VLC media player.
Life-
This BBC/ Discovery channel is simply stunning visually and audio-wise. These headphones left a gap that needed to be filled. At times they were great, picking up small details like bugs in the background. But at other times main sounds would overwhelm everything else and give off a bit of white noise that took away from the whole experience.
Band of Brothers –
Being quite an amazing series, Band of Brothers was a perfect fit for a war experience. Much like the Life series, there were ups and downs. Gunshots occasionally would be crisp and clear, yet at other times it would be muted and muffled. I am not sure if this is due to using bluetooth or not.
But lets see how these headphones fare for someone who would like to do some gaming.
Game Testing
Lets take a look at how these headphones do for someone who would like to do some PC gaming.
PC Gaming
For this review I thought I would mix things up a bit compared to previous reviews and test a couple of games I have been playing quite a bit as of late.
Battlefield 3
Battlefield 3 is easily one of the best sounding games I have ever heard. If you are very much into gaming and looking for a set of gaming headphones. These are not it. There were times when the directional sound would not work properly and I heard noises on the opposite sides. Sound details came in at various levels. If lots of stuff was happening they would become overwhelmed but if things were relatively calm it was a pleasurable experience.
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
A big huge immersive world is a great way to describe skyrim, the sound in the game is quite immersive as well. The music was the best part of this experience. It came through very well. At times though it sort of overwhelmed other sounds. Much like battlefield 3, the directional sound was mediocre at best. But then again these headphones aren’t made for gaming.
Verdict and Conclusion
I really like the ability to have a light set of headphones on while being mobile. Running with headphones that have a cable can be bothersome at times, but using wireless headphones is absolutely great.
When it comes to the price if you choose to go for the headphones only they are $40. This is not too bad if you need a set of wireless headphones that are light and can be used out of the house.
However, if you buy the P31X Pack the price jumps up to $60 since it also includes the USB bluetooth adapter. Arctic needs to drop that price to $50 for the combo since it is extremely easy to find a bluetooth adapter for $10 on the net.
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Final words.
If you need a set of headphones to use on the go the P31X headphones are great. The sound quality is not the best but these headphones really aren’t meant for sitting around and enjoying the finer notes. They do a great job at what they are meant to do and offer a good bang for the buck at that(if you choose to avoid the package with the bluetooth adapter).
Good:
- Lightweight
- Carrying case
- built-in microphone
- Wireless
- Good battery life (20hrs+)
Bad:
- Expensive if bluetooth adapter is included
- Sound quality isn’t the best
