Page 3 – Subjective Audio Analysis, Usage
As with all the audio products we review here at APH Networks, it takes quite a bit of experience and training of the ears before we can begin making a fair judgment. Even for the best of audiophiles, it can be hard to produce an exact and accurate evaluation of a product, without a thoroughly familiar product to use as simultaneous reference. While I will not claim to be the reviewer of all reviewers for headphones, I can say quite a few other computer review sites have editors lacking in training for reviewing anything audio related. Give them anything and all you will get is some vague description of “decent bass, average midrange, awesome treble, clean sound, 10/10”. Do not get me wrong though; there are knowledgeable audio reviewers out there on respected online media outlets, but they are far and few.
As the reviewer of the ARCTIC P614 BT, I will put this headset through a series of subjective tests, to try to come up with the most objective rating as possible (As ironic as it sounds). The tests were conducted over Bluetooth 4.0 on my HTC One X+ running Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, with all audio enhancements disabled, as well as Bluetooth 3.0 on my Google Nexus 7 (2012) running Android 5.0 Lollipop. Since this is a digital transmission, the source does not affect sound quality, and so their results have been combined together. I have also briefly tested it on an Apple iPhone 6. Due to the nature of the ARCTIC P614 BT, Bluetooth 4.0 is the only way to connect to it.
After over 50 hours of break-in time (Well above the typically required period), we put the ARCTIC P614 BT to the test. All tracks are FLAC, or LAME encoded MP3s at 192 kbps or higher. Before I begin though, I should remind you Bluetooth for a headset of this size is actually quite difficult to engineer, as there not only needs to be room for the audio drivers, but also for the wireless components, some sort of power source (In this case an internal battery), as well as a digital to analog converter. Putting it all together in a compact size and weight, while keeping costs as low as possible, means other places must be compromised. In addition, due to the nature of Bluetooth, there will be some loss in quality in comparison to wired headsets. This is not specific to the device itself, but rather a limitation of wireless transmission of audio.
Starting from the bottom, the bass is surprisingly solid. There is punch and motion in the bass. While it is not an overpowering, earth-rattling mess like the ones prescribed by a certain doctor, it is what I would put on the heavy side. As you have read above, audio preference is still subjective, and while I like a heavy bass, balance is still paramount. This bottom provides a very large foundation to build the audio profile upon, but some may find it is too much. On the other hand, while the amount and intensity is what I like, the character of the bass is not fully rounded out. It lacks the plushy marshmallow-like qualities, as in, a smooth and rounded experience.
When I think of a good midrange, I think of a humidified room where musical instruments like guitars are stored in. This keeps the wood from drying out, and instead allows for a warm resonance. As for the ARCTIC P614 BT, midrange instruments like the piano and guitars are natural sounding, but tend a bit dry at times. The fringes of the midrange are more recessed with majority of the volume coming from the middle of this frequency range. The treble range shows more trouble with an increased dryness. Sounds from the high-hat and violins seem natural, but are not tight. The top of the treble contains some attenuation, which is akin to any average person trying to sing opera range. Without the air capacity to produce and support such frequencies, the result is a reduction of volume to compensate. All of the ranges also seem to suffer from a slight muffle, as if there is some sort of a screen door between the audio and your ears. This detracts from the listening experience and thus is noted.
Overall, the character of the headset feels like a flattened W, which each range sounded boosted in their middle frequencies, but reduced at the fringes. No, this is not the Saskatchewan of headphones, and rather is more akin to the foothills of Alberta. Transitions between the three ranges are not the smoothest, and the drop offs between the bass and midrange, as well as the midrange and treble are noticeable when listening to music. In addition, all of the middle frequencies of each range seem a bit more boosted than the limit frequencies of the bass, midrange and treble. While this can still result in a balanced sound between the three, the reduced output between these ranges reduce the overall quality of the sound.
When it comes to soundstaging and audio imaging, I would describe the ARCTIC P614 BT's experience to be akin to listening to live music at a small cafe. The sound produced is mostly natural, and there is depth and direction, but with some strings attached. It lacks the full depth you would get from a stage performance. Also in the cafe, the drums and percussion instruments are closer to the singer and the guitarist. This is accentuated by the louder bass section in comparison to the treble and midrange. When it comes to imaging, I would say these headsets are center-biased, but there is still an overall direction to where sounds are produced in relation to what you hear. I think the soundstaging could be expanded to create a more open sound. This is limited by design, as closed-back headphones will be more limited in their soundstaging capabilities, in comparison to open-back headphones. On the other hand, we have definitely seen some great closed-back headphones, albeit from much more expensive wired audio products.
As for layering, there are pretty distinct layers between the frequency ranges, and almost too much at a point. Distinct parts you might not necessarily hear in ordinary headsets are given a more prominent role, as many fills from keyboards and bass lines are made more prominent with the P614 BT. This could be again due to the boosted three ranges. Even though all of the ranges suffer from a slight muffle, these parts are still relatively clear. As for cohesiveness, the reduction of noise between the three frequencies make for some separation. Finally, the muffle and muddiness make it hard to say the ARCTIC P614 BT is clear. It is not like it is horrid, but it is definitely not as clean as I would like
Sound isolation for these headphones is excellent, in part due to the greater force applied to your ears from the P614 BT. If there is anything I would do to sacrifice some sound isolation ability for a bit more comfort, I would do so. However, using these headsets in noisy environments is without any challenge, as I never had to change the volume to hear the music. There were even times where I was unable to hear external noises because of the tight fit. I should note the P614 BT can get quite loud, so make sure you take breaks between using the headset, so you do not damage your hearing.
In retrospect, if I described the above for any wired headphones, I would say these are a good pair with several areas of improvement. However, as these are Bluetooth headphones, I will say these headphones are a solid pair of headphones, but still with areas to improve. The first thing is to clean up the audio and reduce the slight muffle while enhancing clarity. Second would be to increase the soundstage to make for a deeper and wider image. Third would be to make touch-ups to each of the frequency ranges in the areas I have mentioned above. The bass can be made more rounded out, the midrange can be slightly reduced, the treble can be moistened, and the transitions between these ranges can be smoothed out. Still, these headphones are decent considering they are wireless.
Using the ARCTIC P614 BT is pretty easy for the most part. Setting up the device is quick for iOS devices, but even quicker for Android. The P614 BT offers NFC (Near field communication) tap to pair functionality, which lets you tap your phone to the left earcup to pair the two devices. Pairing the headset with both tablet and phone was painless, especially since I only had to turn on NFC. Due to the limitations of the hardware and the operating system, only Android supports this. Apple includes NFC in their latest models, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, but it can only be used for Apple Pay. However, all of the devices I tested were very quick to find the headset and connect to it. After setting up the headphones for the first time, the P614 BT was also quick to re-pair it with the already known devices. One advantage for the Apple devices is the battery indicator for the headset that automatically appears in the notification bar when the device is connected. It would be nice to see a visual indicator of the battery so Android users know when to recharge their devices, but this is obviously an Android problem. When it comes to battery life, the ARCTIC P614 BT lasts for quite long. While I never truly tested the specification of 30 hours, I left it on during my burn-in time overnight for more than eight hours at a time. The next day I would awaken to find these headsets still streaming music. This is pretty awesome, and other companies should learn from ARCTIC to increase their battery life.
Using the buttons and dials is also a generally good experience, but with a few gripes. While the button layout itself takes time to get used to, I would recommend ARCTIC to make the buttons easier to feel. Whether they put a small indent or nub on the button, or find a different way to differentiate the buttons, this would be nice. When using the dial, everything worked as usual, but I found the same gripe I had with the Adessos. If you ever turn the volume to its maximum or minimum, the headset emits a loud beep. This shocks users usually because they do not realize they have hit the end of the volume spectrum. I think there are better ways to tell users they are at the volume limits rather than an abrupt beep. However, overall use is still good.
Unfortunately, all the problems that come with Bluetooth are now tagged on to the ARCTIC P614 BT. Problems of random disconnections, and momentary lag of audio streaming often take away from the experience. These problems occur ever so often to the point where I consider switching back to wired headphones or earbuds just to avoid this problem. The random disconnections can be even more embarrassing if people suddenly hear your One Direction music, or worse yet, Nickelback, or if the environment you are listening in is relatively quiet like a workplace or a library. Bluetooth is able to offer a solid connection with no drops like I have experienced, so this should be looked at. The momentary lags prove to be even more vital when playing games that rely on audio. I put on my DDR-equivalent game called Cytus, which is a rhythm based game, and played a few songs. The difference between what I heard and what I tapped got more and more obvious as I got into the song. I cannot dock the P614 BT for this, as this stems from Bluetooth limitations and not solely the device. Hopefully, Bluetooth 5.0 can shorten the delay even more.
Editor's Note: At a distance of less than 2m, there is no reason for the ARCTIC P614 BT to experience dropout issues like this, even on the crowded 2.4GHz ISM band. Bluetooth 4.0 is pretty decent at handling traffic in this area. Even at that, the test condition is not subject to significant interference from any nearby sources. In my personal opinion, and in pure speculation, if this is not an isolated incident, then this may be due to poor antenna design. Obviously, I have not looked at the antenna inside the P614 BT, but it is likely not receiving as much power as it should. Either way, as Aaron Lai has mentioned, Bluetooth can easily handle a consistent audio stream with no dropouts. Most major brand phones can broadcast at 20m or higher in clear range over Bluetooth, and even with some obstructions and mediums of higher attenuation in between, it should not be an issue given the tested range. (Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Kwan has experience in electronics and RF/antenna design and performance testing. He was the Lead Electrical Engineer of the ANT N548, a 2.4GHz Bluetooth Smart/ANT device from Dynastream/Garmin Ltd, and is currently doing his thesis-based Master of Science in Electrical Engineering specializing research in wireless communications at the University of Calgary.)
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Subjective Audio Analysis, Usage
4. Conclusion
