Page 4 - Conclusion
I can only hope your Boxing Day has been filled with things you enjoy, whether it be shopping or spending time at home away from civilization. As for myself, the ARCTIC P614 BT gave me a generally mixed experience. For one, the build and design of the headset are top notch. While aesthetics are always subjective, I think these headphones blend a clean and conservative mix with some funkiness and shine. The reflective metal and silver fabric weave mixed with the black leather and plastic make for a nice contrast. Build quality is very solid too, with plushy ears and headband, while a good frame that does not produce any unwanted noises. As for audio quality, the P614 BT is a decent performer. All three ranges are present, and despite being a tad bass heavy, they are relatively balanced out. Layering and detail are also pretty good in this remark, with all three parts playing a role in making your music shine. However, there are a few things to work on such as clarity, and general cleanliness of the sound. Soundstaging can be improved by adding more depth and direction to the audio. But honestly, this is okay for a headset of this nature. Working the headset with my devices is easy and straightforward. NFC for pairing the device with your phone or tablet is a great feature for menu-less syncing. With this list in mind, there are a few kinks to work on, this including making buttons more tactile and differentiated. My biggest concern is the comfort and the surprising amount of force exerted on your head by the headset. Again, I realize this is going to vary from user to user, but I still think ARCTIC can make some changes to reduce how tight the headset sits. It may sacrifice on sound isolation, but a pair of headphones is pretty useless if people are not willing to put it on their head. Also, they need to reduce the amount of momentary drops between devices and the P614 BT, as wireless consistency is crucial to a wireless headset. This makes the ARCTIC P614 BT more bothersome than having wires dangling from your ears. At a suggested retail price of $90 US, the ARCTIC P614 BT is reasonably priced, but you can often find it for less, closer to $50, making it a better deal. ARCTIC has met every criteria for a Bluetooth headset, but general cleaning and touching up of their audio performance, wireless capabilities and comfort, will change the P614 BT from an average headset to an excellent one.
To my friends and readers, this is my last review of 2014. Happy New Year, and I am looking forward to seeing you all again in 2015!
ARCTIC provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Review Focus Summary:
6/10 means A product with its advantages, but drawbacks should not be ignored before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 6.0/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.
The ARCTIC P614 BT is a good choice for wireless listening, but work can be done in several areas to make this headset shine.
Do you have any comments or questions about the ARCTIC P614 BT? Drop by our Forums. Registration is free, and it only takes a minute!
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Subjective Audio Analysis, Usage
4. Conclusion
