By: Aaron Lai
December 26, 2014
By the time you read this, Christmas will be over, and we will be heading into our second big shopping event within the span of two months here in Canada, also known as Boxing Day. In my experience, Boxing Day has always provided better deals than any other shopping event during the year. When I was younger, I would remember waiting for the flyers to come a few days earlier, ready to circle things to purchase the next day. Things have not changed too much, as I still do the same thing, except online sites now have "leaked" flyers a week before the twenty-sixth, which allows people to know the deals even earlier. With all the excitement comes all the stress of shopping. You might get stuck with some fellow shoppers who are completely incompatible with your shopping style (See the Kingston HyperX Fury 64GB review). Not to mention, the sheer number of people out shopping on this day is crazy. Despite people knowing the deals will generally last for more than just the single day, they are out in masses to get the "limited quantity" deals. Parking lots are insanely full, and the traffic to and from stores is horrendous. It seems right after Christmas, a holiday of giving, people are more interested in receiving. Compound this with generally disgruntled workers who have been up since 4 or 5 AM trying to set the store up, and you will not necessarily get the best of service. Finally, if you do head out, you may face the utter disappointment of missing out on deals because you were late. So readers, you could take the chance and go out shopping, or you could stay at home, shop online, and read today's review of the ARCTIC P614 BT. This headset is not the first ARCTIC audio review we have done, and hopefully, this will not end the same either. While the last ARCTIC audio review we did failed to impress us, I can only wonder if ARCTIC has upped the ante. Hopefully my last review of 2014 will bring us some holiday cheer.
Today's unit of the ARCTIC P614 BT arrived via United States Postal Service, and transferred to Canada Post as it entered the country. This brown corrugated box arrived in excellent condition, and this service is becoming the norm for each respective nation's postal carrier. This package, like many of our review products, flew in from California. More specifically, the ARCTIC P614 BT originated from the City of Industry. This is also where several of our Gigabyte products have come from, such as the Aivia Neon and the Aivia Uranium. Otherwise, there is not much to note, so I will move on to actually opening this box.
Cleanly cutting off the tape and opening the box reveals to us a few things. First and foremost is some large green tinted bubble wrap, which is great for packaging and stress relieving. Luckily, with all my exams all done for this year (Because I had none, hehe), I did not need to use the bubbles. Squished in between said layers of bubble wrap is the retail box of the ARCTIC P614 BT. The box itself is quite ordinary overall. The front displays the headset as a whole, with several key features listed on the front. Of course, if you do not know by now, this is the Bluetooth version of the ARCTIC P614, hence the extra "BT" added to the end of the model name. Underneath the name is a tagline which reads "Premium Bluetooth Headphones for Avid Music Lovers". We will see if they can live up to this claim on Page 3 when we do our audio analysis. On the sides of the box are some more features in different languages, and the back has even more features. If you are interested in this list of information, we have obtained this from ARCTIC's website, and plugged it in below.
Technical Specifications
- Style: Supra-Aural On-ear
- Bluetooth Version: V4.0 Class 2
- Frequency Response: 20 Hz - 20 kHz
- Impedance: 32 Ω
- Microphone Sensitivity: -42dB +/- 3dB
- Sensitivity: 105dB
- Battery: Rechargeable 850mAh Lithium-ion battery
- Playback Time: 30 hours
- Warranty: 2 year limited warranty
One thing I like about the container is how you access the headphones. Rather than popping open the top, the box is actually enclosed in a cardboard sleeve, which serves as the front and back cover. This slides off to reveal the product inside. The headset sits on a blue inclined area, with a blue box in between the ears. This holds several other items of interest including a carrying case, the micro USB cable, and some pieces of documentation. The carrying case is a drawstring, leather-like travel pouch which holds the headset quite easily. The feel is soft in the hands, and the bag is exceptionally well made. The USB cable is a silver-gray cord rather than the standard black. ARCTIC branding can be found on both the bag and the cable in various places. Overall, the packaging is sleek, intriguing, and still functional. I know this probably will not win any brownie points in the end, but I commend ARCTIC on their innovation in their box design. Now, let us see if this innovation continues on when we look at the headset itself.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Subjective Audio Analysis, Usage
4. Conclusion
