Audio

ARCTIC COOLING Arctic Sound E352 Earphones Review

vortez
March 5, 2010 15 Min Read
2 0

These earphones seek to give great sound definition and excellent noise isolation at a modest price.

Product on Review: ARCTIC COOLING Arctic Sound E352 Earphones
Manufacturer and Sponsor: ARCTIC COOLING
MSRP: 48,95 € / US$ 69.95
Street Price: Unknown



It’s always interesting to see companies venture in other areas other than those that they have been specialising for awhile. Take ARCTIC COOLING for example. For years, this Swiss company has become synonymous with quality cooling devices, such as fans, CPU and VGA coolers, and computer cases. Recently, ARCTIC COOLING has expanded in various domains including game consoles, audio devices and, even, rechargeable batteries!

Though sceptical at first, I was quickly impressed by ARTIC COOLING’s move when I reviewed the Arctic Sound E361-WM, a pair of earphones that excelled in sound quality and included a compact microphone. The review of such a device may be read here, for those that missed it the first time it was posted.

ARCTIC COOLING’s audio line does not limit to the Arctic Sound E361, however. Indeed, today, we will be looking at another pair of earphones from the same series: the Arctic Sound E352. Unlike the one that was previously reviewed, the Arctic Sound E352 focuses on “warm and natural sound” as the company would state.

My expectations are high for these earphones, and it will be explored whether or not these earphones deliver in both sound quality and value.



About ARCTIC COOLING:

Who we are?
ARCTIC COOLING is a privately owned company founded in 2001 with headquarters in Switzerland, offices in Hong Kong and the USA and production facilities in Asia. The ARCTIC COOLING team consists o­f international highly educated people with business, technical and communicational skills. The attitude to work is based o­n Swiss principles of innovative spirit and high standards of workmanship for which it is recognized internationally. This striving for excellence is integrated in all processes as a matter of course. ARCTIC COOLING´s core competencies are multifarious including systematic noise reduction,copper and aluminum heatsink development, customization of thermal solutions, as well as designing quiet fans. More recently quiet and cool PC Cases and Power Supplies have been developed.

What we do?
ARCTIC COOLING is a leader in creating thermal cooling solutions for personal computer systems that enable CPU (Central Processing Unit), GPU (Graphic Processing Unit) and PC case cooling whilst reducing the noise level. Increased heat generated by modern computer systems has overwhelmed most existing cooler manufacturers in their efforts to keep pace with the demands in terms of noise level and cooling. The noise pollution caused by today´s IT systems has increased, severely affecting productivity in open office environments. ARCTIC COOLING has been working closely with globally recognized companies such as Inno3D, ECS, Galaxy, Sapphire, Powercolor and ATI. Through these partnerships ARCTIC COOLING has been able to adapt to the changing market requirements and has quickly developed the optimal solutions. ARCTIC COOLING combines the Swiss art of engineering to realize innovative cooling ideas. Thanks to the low labor cost in Asia, ARCTIC COOLING has consistently produced innovative solutions which lead the market in price / performance. Cooling solutions are created from the demand of our customers. Due to the continuous product development at ARCTIC COOLING the demands of end-users will always be satisfied. As a result of the head-start ARCTIC COOLING has in knowing end-user´s requirements, manufacturing possibilities and ARCTIC COOLING´s strong R&amp ;D, ARCTIC´s products will continue to be market leaders in cooling solutions and provide assemblers, computer hardware distributors and IT-technicians with innovative, virtually silent, cost-effective cooling solutions for CPU, GPU and PC-case worldwide.

Features and Specifications

ARCTIC COOLING’s current line of earphones, the E-series, range from as low as US$ 1.95 to US$ 69.95 includes 6 different earphones, each with features that mark one from another. The ARCTIC COOLING E352 is part of ARTIC COOLING’s high end E-series and its selling features would perhaps be its wooden chassis. Other than the prices, differentiating the standard, mid-end and high-end classes of the company’s line-up would normally be difficult for the average consumer. Thankfully, ARTIC COOLING has made a chart that shows each earphone’s score over 10 on the following aspects: bass, highs, clarity, noise isolation and comfort. This should give anyone a good idea on which ARCTIC COOLING earphones to pick for their needs.

It would have been interesting, however, if the company gave some information regarding their testing methodology. Otherwise, this information would seem more or less arbitrary. As you may have noticed in the past, manufacturer ratings are not to be trusted entirely. Case fan air flow rating and noise levels are perhaps the best example.

The Arctic Sound E352 headphones come in a single variant that combines black, dark grey and a brown colours. In terms of price, the E352 is on the slight expensive side at 48,95 € / US$ 69.95. Indeed, they are the most expensive earphones on ARCTIC COOLING’s current audio line, even more than the E361-WM which is priced at 41,45€ / US$ 60.95 and includes a microphone.

Features: Link



Specifications: Link

Packaging and Contents

The ARCTIC COOLING E352 comes in very stylish silver, black and white packaging. These colours are those that the company typically uses, such as on their logo. Albeit slightly large for such a small product, the front of the package is very inviting with its clear plastic window. The earphones and the earphones’ case can be easily spotted. Given the fact that the Arctic Sound E352 has a special wooden chassis, showing it off to potential buyers is a must and this packaging allows it.


The front of the packaging


The back of the packaging shows a thorough list of the features and specifications. A more complete set of information can be found on ARCTIC COOLING’s product webpage, however. Languages used here are English, German, French and Spanish. Near the bottom, information regarding the languages (eight in total) of the manual is indicated, including the Swedish, Italian, Portuguese, and many more, including those previously mentioned.

The packaging itself did take a beating through transit, as you can slightly see from the back. It is perfectly understandable, though, seeing as the package flew over the Pacific Ocean. Evidence of the packaging’s protective capabilities was put into light by the fact that the product was fine during testing.


The back of the packaging


The box can either be opened from the top of the bottom. I personally prefer opening packages from the bottom as it minimizes perceptible damage to the packaging, in most situations. Once opened, a plastic shell containing the product can be pulled out.


The plastic shell with the product inside


The earphones and its accessories are easily taken out of the plastic shell. I did find that the earphones’ cables were too tightly held in place by plastic tabs to the point that I felt that the cable would snap. Slowly nudging the earphones via the cable got the earphones out without a scratch, thankfully. Some tape is used to hold the earphones’ case in place. A crude way to secure it, honestly, but it works.

With everything taken out of the packaging, we see that various things are included with the product: the Arctic Sound E352, an ARCTIC COOLING sticker, a cable clip for attaching the earphones’ cable to your clothes, a manual, and three sets of silicone caps (small, medium and large, with the medium ones pre-installed onto the earphones). A very nice, but small, bundle is included with these earphones.


The package contents
 

Overall Look

Unlike a few other earphones of ARCTIC COOLING that come in either black or white, the Arctic Sound E352 earphones come in only one variant. Indeed, the Arctic Sound E352 uses three different colours: black, dark grey and brown. No doubt, the unique physical trait of these earphones is its brown wooden chassis. Wooden enclosures for speakers have been well regarded amongst many audiophiles, as it is said to procure better sound quality. I suspect that wooden enclosures minimize resonance versus plastic enclosures. I am no audiophile though, so I cannot further explain the advantages of a wooden chassis for the Arctic Sound E352.


The Arctic Sound E352 earphones


The cable seems tougher than the one of the Arctic Sound E361-WM. I found the latter’s cable too thin, honestly, so this thicker cable of the Arctic Sound E352 is much more welcomed.


The Arctic Sound E352’s wooden chassis


As with any other in-ear earphones, a good ear canal seal is essential to get proper sound performance, especially for the bass in addition to noise isolation. The silicone caps can be taken off the earphones to be washed, if wished. I found putting these silicone caps on the earphones a bit tricky, as the fit was tight. These caps are much softer than my other in-ear headphones, the Creative Labs EP-630, and they resemble those included with the Arctic Sound E361-WM. The earphones have a very generous length: 1.30m. For usage with a portable device, this is more than enough.



The silicone cap removed


The cable’s bifurcation is located at about 30 cm away from the earphones. It is an acceptable distance, but those that would like to modify it are out of luck. A plastic piece with AC written over it is held in place.


The earphones’ bifurcation


The Arctic Sound E352 features a 3.5mm stereo jack. It is gold-plated, for those who are curious, to ensure signal transmission is not interrupted. The plug that ARCTIC COOLING opted for is a 90° design and it is fairly bulky. At times, I felt that the plug interfered with the handling of my portable media device. These earphones can be used with any portable device that supports the 3.5mm stereo connector, which is the majority. For mobile phones, an adapter may be needed and ARCTIC COOLING sells these on their website, it seems. I say “it seems” because the supplied URL does not seem to lead anywhere. You may try it: headphones.arctic-cooling.com.


The 3.5mm connector with a 90° design

Closer Look: Accessories

The Arctic Sound E352 comes with a modest amount of accessories: a case, two extra pairs of silicone caps, a cable clip and a neat ARCTIC COOLING sticker. The latter is a nice addition, but it is quite peculiar to include such a sticker with earphones. A sticker included with computer hardware is usually a case badge. I suppose this sticker can be used as a case badge as well, though you might decide to stick it onto your mobile phone or portable media player.


The included accessories: a case, silicone caps, a cable clip and a sticker


The included earphone case is very strong. It has a very tight zipper and, inside, the earphones can be wrapped around the center. There is also enough space to include the extra pairs of silicone caps and the cable clip. Given the fact that these earphones have an MSRP of 48,95 € / US$ 69.95, protecting your investment is a must. I mentioned in my review of the Arctic Sound E361-WM that I found the case of little use. I take those words back now that I did find a use for them: carrying the earphones to school where computers do not have speakers! In such a situation, the earphones case proved to be quite useful to protect the earphones. For others, however, the case might be more or less handy.


The sturdy case


Three different pairs of silicone caps are included with the earphones. The medium-sized ones are pre-installed onto the earphones and they should give a comfortable fit into most users’ ear canals. If it does not, the small or large caps can be installed onto the E352. As for me, my right ear loved the medium caps, but my left ear had to settle for the small caps. Yes, my ears are weird!

The silicone caps fit tightly onto the earphones, so you might have to give them a nudge or two when removing or installing them. Like any other in-ear earphones, a good ear canal seal is essential for good sound, through isolation, and comfort.


Three pairs of silicone caps: large, medium and small

Installation and Usage

Like most earphones, the Arctic Sound E352 uses a 3.5mm stereo connector, and most portable media players support this as well as computers. Some mobiles phones will need to use an adapter to support this 3.5mm connector. For such mobiles devices, ARCTIC COOLING writes the following:

For using the headphones with Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Samsung and LG mobile phones, you can purchase an adapter cable at headphones.arctic-cooling.com for US$4.95 (incl. worldwide shipping).


Strangely enough, like in the Arctic Sound E361-WM’s review, the supplied URL still does not work. Accessing ARCTIC COOLING’s webshop (URL: Arctic Cooling and searching through it was unfruitful as well.

A generic manual for all the earphones of the E-series can be found on ARCTIC COOLING’s website. The specific one for the Arctic Sound E352 would have been preferred, nevertheless.

Link to the Manual of the E-series: Download “User Manual”

Test System and Testing Methodology

Testing Methodology

Music will be played on a desktop and a portable media player during a few hours to evaluate the sound quality of the Arctic Sound E352.

Benchmarks
– Sound Quality: Music in foobar2000 1.00 and on a portable media device
– Music played:
1. E.S. Posthumus – Ulaid
2. Hadouken! – M.A.D.
3. Frédéric Chopin – Polonaise brillante in E-flat major from The Pianist (2002)

Test Setup: Portable Media Device
– Samsung YP-K3 2GB Black

Test Setup: Computer
– CPU: AMD Athlon X2 5000+ Black Edition @ 2.6 GHz 1.15V (Bios undervolted)
– Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H 780G (Bios F4)
– RAM: Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5 PC2-6400 2x2GB
– Case: Antec NSK3480 mATX
– Power supply: Antec EarthWatts 380W
– CPU cooler: Noctua NH-U12P with Noctua NF-P12 @ 5V
– Case fan: Noctua NF-P12 @ 5V
– Hard drive 1: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB
– Hard drive 2: Hitachi DeskStar T7K500 HDT725025VLAT80 250GB
– DVD Drive: LG GH22NS30 DVD Writer
– OS: Windows 7 Ultimate (x64)
– Mouse pad: QPAD|UC Large
– Monitor: Dell E207WFP 20” TN

Test Results: Sound Quality, General Usage, Comfort

Sound Quality

The first song that was played was “Ulaid” by E.S. Posthumus. Ulaid was released with E.S. Posthumus’ first album entitled “Unearthed”, back in 2001. This independent music group’s genre is orchestral with a cinematic style. Ulaid has a celtic tone due to its usage of bagpipes. The track has rhythmic high and lows and an overall ambient feel. Although ARCTIC COOLING gives the Arctic Sound E352 a score of 7/10 in terms of highs, I did feel that these earphones fared much better. Indeed, sound quality was exceptional.

The second song that was played was “M.A.D” by Hadouken!. The song was recently released on the band’s second album entitled “For the Masses”. It has a very heavy usage of bass that can easily mask the highs in the song. Nevertheless, the Arctic Cooling E352 kept a good balance between the highs and bass, and the clarity was top notch.

The third and final song, or piece, that was played was Grande Polonaise brillante in E-flat major composed by Chopin. The version of this piece that I had was from the soundtrack of The Pianist. Like most classical music, every note contributes to the overall enjoyment of the music, and clarity is a must. Again, the E352 was very good in this aspect.

General usage

Unfortunately, like most in-ear headphones, the cable and the chassis can easily conduct sound from tapping and nudging. This problem was quite annoying when I used the Arctic Cooling E352 for jogging, much more than the Arctic Sound E361-WM. I suspect that the E352’s larger chassis made noise transmission from tapping much easier. Such a problem was also noticed when I wore a shirt with a neck zipper; whenever I would shift around in my seat, the earphones’ cable would rub against the zipper, making a “brrr” noise. No doubt, this is why I still prefer my Grado iGrade, behind-the-ear headphones, for my physical activities.

Overall, the Arctic Sound E352’s sound quality matches the Arctic Sound E361-WM. Compared to Creative Labs EP-630 and Grado iGrado, the Arctic Sound E352 packed a lot of bass without sacrificing clarity. I’ve always thought that only full-sized headphones could deliver in such aspect.

Comparing the Arctic Sound E352 and the Arctic Sound E361-WM was quite difficult. The two excelled in sound quality and differentiating one from the other was not obvious for my ears. I can say, however, that the Arctic Sound E352 was softer in the sense that bass was not as strong as the E361-WM. If this makes the sound “warm and natural”, then ARCTIC COOLING was right when it described its product. Nevertheless, being more expensive than the E361-WM and lacking a microphone, the Arctic Cooling E352 seems to pack less value for the average user.


The Arctic Sound E352 with the Samsung YP-K3


Comfort

The Arctic Sound E352 come with very soft silicone caps that fit snugly into your ears. Given the fact that it comes with three different pairs of silicone caps, you can pick the size that will fit your ear canal the most. In my situation, the medium-sized ones fitted well in my right ear whereas the small-sized ones were a better fit for my left ear. You might say that my ear canals are peculiar, and you are right to say so, but at least ARCTIC COOLING thought about my ear canals by including the extra silicone caps!

Although the earphones themselves are quite large, they fit into my ear quite well. The back of the earphones were easily tucked behind (anterior) the anti-tragus, the small cartilage projection in front of the ear canal and above the ear lobe. This gave the earphones a very tight, but comfortable fit. As such, while jogging, the headphones did not fall out of my ears. After using these headphones for a continuous 3 hours, my ear canals did not feel sore or humid. In other words, these ARCTIC COOLING earphones excelled in comfort.

Conclusion

ARCTIC COOLING’s expansion to products other than their hardware coolers is highly welcomed. From game consoles to rechargeable batteries to audio devices, the Swiss company seeks to gain new ground in the today’s market. Amongst their E-series, the Arctic Sound E352 seeks to provide great bass, highs, clarity, noise isolation and comfort.

Like the previously reviewed Arctic Sound E361-WM, the Arctic Sound E352 provided unsurpassed sound quality throughout its usage. Bass and highs were well balanced, and clarity was top-notch. Both music and in-game sound were as good as I would have expected to be. As for long-term comfort, the Arctic Sound E352 did not make my ears sore. On top of that, these earphones had an excellent fit in my ear: just enough to keep them in my ears during jogging, but not enough to make them uncomfortable.

With its price tag of 48,95 € / US$ 69.95, the Arctic Sound E352 is certainly not aimed for budget audiophiles. Nevertheless, its price is certainly justified by its great sound quality and modest-sized accessories which include a case, a cable clip, two extra pairs of silicone and AC sticker. To top it all off, ARCTIC COOLING provides a reasonable 2 year warranty period to guarantee the earphones’ quality.


The Arctic Cooling E352


With its exceptional sound quality, ARCTIC COOLING’s Arctic Sound E352 earphones are ideal for both PC and mobile device usage. It is awarded Vortez Hardware’s Gold Award.



Pros
+ Beautiful wooden chassis
+ Long-lasting comfort
+ Superb sound quality
+ Very good bass

Cons
– Annoying sound from tapping the cable
– Bulky 90 degree 3.5mm plug
– Large packaging
– Slightly expensive when compared to the Arctic Sound E361-WM

Vortez Hardware would like to thank ARCTIC COOLING for supplying this product sample. We hope to see more ARCTIC COOLING reviews on our website soon.

To discuss this review please visit our forum.

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