Arctic is a company primarily known for their cooling products for internal computer parts, but they also carry quite a few other products, such as the Arctic Sound P311 Bluetooth headset. It is highly affordable at about $35, so we didn’t expect wonders from this a budget headset, but as it turns out it’s a very good product.

The P311 is the kind of headphones with a neckband, which is intended to make them portable and practical when out and about. It also makes them more comfortable to those that go over your head. They lightweight and don’t feel all that solid, but they do feel good to wear. are quite plastic and but is still good on the head. The inside of the headphones are padded with a leather-like fabric, which is soft and comfortable, even after using them for several hours.

Overview

Since this is a headset that also work with your phone (the P311 supports Bluetooth 2.1 Class 2) it is possible to answer or hang up the phone via a large button on the headphones. Here you will also find the pause, stop, skip forward/back and volume buttons. It takes some practice to get use to the music controls, but as for the key that controls your calls it is very hard to miss since it’s a huge button centered in one of the earpieces.

On the other ear piece sits a micro-USB connector that is used for charging. The battery is supposed to last for 20 hours of active listening/talking and 400 hours on standby, which we found it difficult to reach. On the other hand there’s no problem whatsoever using them for a full day, and that’s what is really important.

The package includes the headphones, a carrying case, a manual and a USB cable. The headphones can be folded up very neatly to fit into the case or whatever you would use to carry them around when they’re not on your head.

 

 

Sound Quality

When we listened to music, the sound quality was not bad at all–certainly not bad when considering the comparatively low price tag. The bass is usually underpowered in budget headsets but these ones surprised us with a fairly good bass. Using them for watching movies is an equally pleasant experience. On the downside, there is some sound leakage. The headphones are pretty good at shutting out outside noise to shield the listener, but when you turn up the volume you can be fairly certain that those around you hear what you’re listening to. As for the sound quality during phone calls it works nicely on the receiving end, but those we talked to at the other end said that the voice didn’t come through clearly enough. That would indicate that the mic is somewhat inadequate.

Conclusion

On the whole, the Arctic Sound P311 is very good for a budget headset with full Bluetooth functionality. The sound quality is good and even delivers a decent bass. On the other hand the sound leakage at high volumes is a setback for this otherwise good headset. Its lightweight plastic construction looks a bit flimsy at first glance, but they are very comfortable to use, which is clearly more important. There’s no question that the Arctic Sound P311 offers great value for money.

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