The ARCTIC Sound P311 is the company’s first Bluetooth headset.
Product on Review: ARCTIC Sound P311 Stereo Bluetooth Headset
Manufacturer and Sponsor: ARCTIC
MSRP (excl. VAT): 31.95 € / US$ 37.95
Wireless devices have always been a big thing, mostly because they offer so much more convenience over wired devices. Although wireless desktop peripherals such as gaming mice have not yet been fully embraced, wireless headsets are becoming quite popular amongst smartphone users. Indeed, Bluetooth headsets allow users to answer and make phone calls without having to fiddle around with the phone itself.
Given the popularity of these devices, ARCTIC has decided to join the Bluetooth headset market with the ARCTIC Sound P311 (Press release: Link). Unlike popular Bluetooth headsets that are designed for single-ear applications, the ARCTIC P311 has a behind-the-neck design. As such, it can be potentially used as headphones for media playing as well as a headset for calls. Read on as we explore in greater detail this curious product.
Arctic Sound P311 Bluetooth Stereo Headset
About Arctic Cooling: Link
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.
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.
Features and Specifications
ARCTIC announced the ARCTIC Sound P311 back on July 16th, 2010. The ARCTIC Sound P311 is one of many headsets currently offered under the company’s line of Arctic Sound products. It is, however, the only Bluetooth headset that ARCTIC offers.
Notable features of the ARCTIC Sound P311 is the behind-the-neck design, integrated battery that can offer up to 20 hours of playback or talk time, and Bluetooth V2.1 connectivity. The device is also backwards compatible with Bluetooth V2.0.
Like many other ARCTIC Sound products, ARCTIC grades the performance of their product in terms of bass, highs, clarity, noise isolation and comfort. From our past experience here are Vortez, ARCTIC’s grading system is fairly accurate.
Features: Link
The ARCTIC Sound P311 is a wireless headset to complement with virtually any electronic devices that support Bluetooth wireless technology, such as laptops, mobile phones or music players. The ARCTIC Sound P311 possesses clean hardware design, yet maintaining.
Main Features
– Invisible microphone included
– Travel case included
– Compatible with mobile phones
– Supra-aural headphone features soft pads and ear cup style
– High fidelity stereo sound, including powerful bass and crisp highs
– Ideal for sports and on the go
Main Features
– Invisible microphone included
– Travel case included
– Compatible with mobile phones
– Supra-aural headphone features soft pads and ear cup style
– High fidelity stereo sound, including powerful bass and crisp highs
– Ideal for sports and on the go
Specifications: Link
Specification Sheet: Link
Packaging and Overall Look
Like many other ARCTIC products, the ARCTIC Sound P311 comes in a paper box with a clear plastic window that offers a great view of the product itself. The colours used for the packaging are black, grey and white, which are typical of this Swiss company.
The front of the packaging
At the back of the packaging, there is an immense list of features as well a table giving out the specifications of the product. We also see ARCTIC’s usual grading system for their audio products. The grading system takes into consideration the clarity, the bass, the comfort, etc., of the audio device. Overall, the product scores average to above average.
The back of the packaging
The product itself is held in place by a plastic shell. ARCTIC has done a fairly good job to minimize packaging material
The product in its plastic shell
In terms of package content, the ARCTIC Sound P311 comes with the headset itself, a sturdy black carrying case, a 75cm USB male type A to male type mini-B cable, and a user manual. For the price of the product, the included carrying case is a welcomed accessory.
The package contents
Closer Look
The ARCTIC Sound P311 incorporates a behind-the-head design. Many people, like me, are not a big fan of this kind of design. The main reason is discomfort. The ARCTIC Sound P311, like many other behind-the-head headphones, can hurt the ears after prolonged use, especially if you are wearing glasses.The non-adjustable headband should give a tight and secure fit around any person’s head. If you are planning to use this headset while exercising, you should not worry about it falling off.
The ARCTIC Sound P311
Like other ARCTIC products, the headset themselves are black and dark grey. The headset is fairly compact and it weights a mere 71g.
As it was mentioned earlier, the ARCTIC Sound P311 is a Bluetooth headset. Therefore, no wires are needed for the device to work properly, with the exception of USB cable for charging the integrated battery.
The ARCTIC Sound P311; no wires thanks to Bluetooth
The headset, being made for portability, can be folded into a small bundle for easier transportation. Both the arms and the ear cups can be bent. Once folded, the ARCTIC Sound P311 fits cozily into its carrying case. The USB cable to charge the device can also be put into the case without any trouble.
The ARCTIC Sound P311 seen folded for easier transportation
The ARCTIC Sound P311 has ear cups with soft pads. The padding is adequate for short term comfort, but, for prolonged usage, a more generous amount or softer padding could have enhanced overall comfort.
The ARCTIC Sound P311 has soft padded ear cups. Notice the small notch at the bottom of the right ear cup; it is the microphone
Closer Look (Continued)
The ARCTIC Sound P311 has an integrated battery that can be recharged with a USB mini-B cable. ARCTIC includes a 75cm USB male type A to male type mini-B cable for this task.
According to ARCTIC, the battery can give up to 20 hours of talk or playback time. When the headset is on standby, the battery can give up to 400 hours of power, or almost 17 days! For a total recharge, ARCTIC says that up to 4 hours of charging is needed.
The female USB port on the ARCTIC Sound P311 is located under a rubber tab on the right ear cup.
The USB port of the ARCTIC Sound P311
Being a Bluetooth headset, the ARCTIC Sound P311 also has five buttons with different functions. There are buttons for volume control and for forwarding/reversing music. There is also a large button with a function varies when using a mobile phone or a PC, such as answering calls or pausing media playback.
The five buttons of the ARCTIC Sound P311
There are two LEDs that integrated into the ARCTIC Sound P311: a blue one and a red one. Depending on which LED is activated and how it is blinking, it can indicate charging, a full battery, powered, pairing mode or low battery. For a better idea on the LED indicators, I suggest that you take a look at the product manual (Link)..
The two LED of the ARCTIC Sound P311
Driver and Software
The ARCTIC Sound P311comes with a short user manual that explains how to setup the headset with various smartphones, such as the iPhone, and how to use the device properly
Download the User Manual: Link
Setup with smartphones is very straightforward. The same can be said with the PC too. Once the device is set in pairing mode (pressing and holding the main button for 7 seconds), the ARCTIC Sound P311 can be added to your Bluetooth devices. Windows XP and Windows 7 will automatically install the appropriate drivers. If you are using a Bluetooth 2.1 capable host device, you will also be able to set a passcode to secure the connection.
Two new playback devices and a recording device will be added to your sound control panel. Skype 5 will detect the Bluetooth device and it will ask whether or not you want to use it as the default device for calls. There are two new playback devices because each is used for a different task: the Bluetooth Audio Renderer for normal playback and the Bluetooth Hands-free Audio for calls.
The ARCTIC Sound P311 in the Sound control panel on Windows 7
Once the pairing is done, the ARCTIC Sound P311 will be automatically detected. If you set the ARCTIC Sound P311 to be your default playback and recording device, then playback will be automatically outputted to the headphones instead of your speakers (or whatever is the second default playback device) when it powers on.
Testing Methodology and Test System
Testing Methodology
The ARCTIC Sound P311 will be tested on two different computers, one that supports Bluetooth 2.0 (Desktop) and Bluetooth 2.1 (Laptop 1). The ARCTIC headset will also be tested with a Bluetooth-capable smartphone: the iPhone 3GS.
Test Setup: Laptop 1
– HP EliteBook 6930p
– CPU: Intel Core2 Duo Processors P8400
Test Setup: Desktop
– CPU: AMD Athlon X2 5000+ Black Edition @ 2.6 GHz 1.15V
– Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H 780G
– 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
Comfort, Audio Quality and Overall Usage
Comfort
As it was mentioned earlier, the ARCTIC Sound P311 has a behind-the-neck design. From my experience, headphones with this design can be quite uncomfortable after prolonged usage. Firstly, the weight of the headphone pulls down on the ears. After a while, this can make the tip of the ears quite sore. Second, the headband is non-adjustable. As such, it applies much more pressure against the ears than necessary to stay secure. Although the headphones might feel snug and comfortable at first, the prolonged pressure can cause discomfort.
These faults of the behind-the-neck design can be applied to the ARCTIC Sound P311 too. For 30 minutes of usage or so, they can be comfortable. Nevertheless, the headset causes enormous discomfort with longer usage. After an hour of using the device, I found myself adjusting the headset every few minutes for a comfortable fit.
The discomfort is actually exacerbated in my case because I wear prescription glasses. There isn’t exactly that much space over the ears for the headphone’s headband and the temple arms of the glasses’ frame. For those that do not wear eyeglasses, then the behind-the-neck design might be slightly more comfortable.
Initially, the padding of the ear cups seems to be comfortable, albeit stiff. After some time of usage, I felt that additional padding or something that gives more cushion should have been used. Seeing as the headset can give up to 20 hours of talk or playback time, I expected something a bit more comfortable for prolonged usage.
The ARCTIC Sound P311: lack of long term comfort and lack of low audio frequencies
Audio Quality
In terms of audio quality, the ARCTIC Sound P311 is fair, but there is a lack of low frequencies. In other words, bass is not thumping unless you start modifying the equalizer. Highs are good, and the mids are adequate. Overall, the audio sounded hollow.
As for the microphone quality, it was good. According to ARCTIC, the headset features Clear Voice Capture (CVC), which allows for excellent background noise cancellation. Noise cancellation was decent enough during testing.
It would have been convenient to have a button to mute the microphone.
Whenever you make a call through Skype 5 on a computer, the default playback device must be switched to “Bluetooth Hands-free Audio”. From what I could hear, it would seem that the sound was switched to mono (therefore, the sound became very dull). I am unsure as to why the playback device must be changed. If you select “Bluetooth Audio Renderer” as the default playback device, there will be no sound coming from Skype. I suspect making two different playback devices was to separate the dual functions of the ARCTIC Sound P311: headset (Bluetooth Hands-free Audio and Bluetooth Audio Input Device) and headphone (Bluetooth Audio Renderer).
On the iPhone 3GS, audio quality was comparable to what was heard on the computer. Calls were clear, and microphone quality was fair.
What tremendously surprised me was how audio quality was preserved even at 15 meters away from the Bluetooth receiver. ARCTIC claims that the device will work at up to 20 meters from the Bluetooth device. During testing, the maximum range I got was a respectable 15 meters through several wooden walls.
As for noise isolation, the padding of the ear cups did a good job, but it varies depending on how you place the ear cups over your ears. Once you find the right spot, everything falls into place.
Overall Usage
As it was mentioned earlier, the ARCTIC Sound P311 was very simple to setup. With a smartphone, the ARCTIC product can also make and receive calls. I suggest you take a look at the product manual (Link) to see how this is done. I could not test the ARCTIC Sound P311 with the iPhone 3GS for very long, but answering calls by pressing down the main large button worked just fine.
On the computer, the ARCTIC Sound P311 does not seem to be able to answer calls coming from Skype in a similar fashion as on smartphones. I suspect that this is a lack of implementation by Skype programmers.
Controlling sound volume and track playback with the ARCTIC Sound P311 worked quite well with both Winamp 5 and MediaMonkey 3. Whenever the volume is set to the minimum or the maximum value, the device will beep. Unfortunately, when the playback device was “Bluetooth Hands-free Audio” (such as when making calls in Skype), the minimum volume beep was abnormally loud.
Battery life of the ARCTIC Sound P311 was amazing. ARCTIC claims up to 20 hours of playback time, and I believe that I got that much out of the device. I cannot confirm that the device can be in standby mode for 400 hours, but even a half of this would already be fantastic.
Another thing that I did not like with the ARCTIC Sound P311 was the clunky and loud sounding buttons. The large X-shaped plastic cover for the volume and track control buttons moves around whenever you touch it. It does not feel secure or of quality at all.
The headset itself is fairly light. When properly folded, it can be easily transported around without trouble. The carrying protective case included with the product makes this task much easier too.
Conclusion
The ARCTIC Sound P311 is the company’s first Bluetooth headset. With its behind-the-neck design, it gives a secure fit and it offers a dual function: a handsfree headset and headphones for media playback. Compact and light, the ARCTIC Sound P311 is an interesting travel companion for smartphone and notebook users. Its dark grey and black design gives the device a very sleek look.
As far as sound performance goes, it is fair. There is a lack of low frequencies in such a way that audio playback becomes dull and hollow. Microphone quality is good and it offers adequate background noise cancellation.
Battery life is top notch. It matches the claim of ARCTIC that is up to 20 hours of playback or talk time. A rated standby time of up to 400 hours sweetens the deal.
The ARCTIC Sound P311: a handsfree headset at a reasonable price
Bluetooth connectivity was easy to setup on both smartphones and computers running Windows. Integrated buttons allowed for volume, track and call control without the need of fiddling around with the host device. Wireless range was excellent at up to 15 meters through multiple wooden walls.
As for downsides of the ARCTIC Sound P311, these include discomfort after prolonged usage of the device, inappropriately loud device beeps, and lack of low frequencies in sound quality.
The suggested retail price of the ARCTIC headset is a mere 31.95 € / US$ 37.95. This puts the device at a similar or lower price than other Bluetooth headsets (both behind-the-neck and single-ear devices) as well as PC headphones. By doubling as a headset and headphones, the ARCTIC Sound P311 offers great value. Furthermore, with its excellent implementation of Bluetooth, this ARCTIC product is an excellent handsfree device.
With all of this in mind, the ARCTIC Sound P311 is given the Vortez Silver Award and the Vortez Amazing Value Award.
Pros
+ Adequate sound quality and microphone performance
+ Amazing price
+ Compact and light
+ Decent bundled accessories: USB charging cable and sturdy carrying case
+ Excellent Bluetooth range
+ Great Bluetooth compatibility and easy setup
+ Long battery life in both playback and standby time
+ Sleek design
Cons
– Behind-the-neck design is not the most comfortable option
– Clunky and cheap-feeling buttons
– Inappropriately loud device beeps
– Lacking in low frequencies
– No button to mute microphone
– Padding on the ear cups is too stiff
+ Adequate sound quality and microphone performance
+ Amazing price
+ Compact and light
+ Decent bundled accessories: USB charging cable and sturdy carrying case
+ Excellent Bluetooth range
+ Great Bluetooth compatibility and easy setup
+ Long battery life in both playback and standby time
+ Sleek design
Cons
– Behind-the-neck design is not the most comfortable option
– Clunky and cheap-feeling buttons
– Inappropriately loud device beeps
– Lacking in low frequencies
– No button to mute microphone
– Padding on the ear cups is too stiff
