Arctic Sound E361 Earphones

Arctic Sound. Chances are, the name does not ring any bells. But what about Arctic Cooling? For anyone who’s ever looked into building a custom computer, it should - Arctic Cooling is one of most respected brand names when it comes to enthusiast-grade PC cooling systems. Even the Swiss roots of the company seem perfectly suited for their focus on cooling systems. But what does ‘designed in Switzerland’ mean for earphones? Arctic Sound, the recently-established consumer audio division of the company, promises to extend the parent company’s engineering excellence into audio peripherals for the techie crowd.

With a focus on practicality and convenience, the Arctic Sound E361 earphones are advertised to work equally well with mobile phones, digital music players, and computers. Let’s find out if these Swiss earphones live up to the reputation Arctic Cooling has earned in other markets.

Packaging & Accessories

The Arctic Sound E361-BW is an iPhone-compatible stereo headset and comes in simple cardboard packaging with a plastic insert. Inside the box you will find the following:

• Earphones with integrated microphone
• Three sets of gray silicone tips (in Small, Medium, and Large sizes)
• Hard clamshell carrying case
• Shirt clip
• PC headset/microphone adapter
• Arctic Cooling case sticker
• User manual

The included accessories are more than adequate for the $60 MSRP of the earphones. The clamshell carrying case displays a prominent Arctic Cooling logo and features an integrated cable winder. Though it’s a bit too thick to be easily pocketable, the case is perfect for keeping the earphones safe in a bag or suitcase. The included shirt clip can be used to affix the cable of the earphones to one’s shirt, which greatly reduces the cord contact noise present in the E361. My favorite accessory, however, is the PC adapter, which splits the 4-pole 3.5mm connector found on the mic’d variations of the E361 and most other iPhone headsets into separate 3.5mm microphone and headphone plugs for use with a computer. The adapter converts the E361 into a convenient noise-isolating headset for Skype calls, gaming, and other voice-enabled applications.

Features and Specifications

• Frequency response: 18 Hz -26k Hz
• Impedance: 32 Ohm
• Sensiticity: 105 dB/mW
• Output power: 15 mW
• Cable: 1.3 m with 3.5mm stereo plug
• Weight: 5g
• Warranty: 2 year

Design & Build Quality

The angled-nozzle design of the E361 is shared by several other earphones on the market, such as the Radius Atomic Bass. While not groundbreaking, this type of earpiece is very ergonomic and easy to use. The front part of the earpiece is encapsulated in an aluminum shell while the rear part, nozzle, and strain relief are plastic. The matte finish on the rear of the housings is attractive and resistant to fingerprints. Metal-mesh filters are present in the nozzles to prevent earwax from entering the sound tube.

The cable of the earphones is quite thin and sheathed in conventional plastic. The strain reliefs on the earpieces are made out of plastic as well and unlikely to relieve any strain. The same can be said for the AC-branded Y-split. I do like the L-shaped 3.5mm plug, which is superior to the more common I-plugs both in physical durability and because it exerts less stress on the jack of the device it is plugged into. Another upside of this particular cable is that it conducts very little contact noise (a.k.a. microphonics) for disturbance-free listening on the go. The included shirt clip can be used to further mitigate microphonics.

Fit, Comfort, & Isolation

The ergonomic angled-nozzle design of the E361 makes it easy to wear the earphones in the conventional cable-down manner as well as with the cord looped over the ear. On the headset models (E361-BM and –WM) wearing the earphones cord-up results in the microphone being positioned too high up the user’s jawline. Though it results in somewhat lower call volume, this configuration is still recommended for active use to eliminate microphonics.

The included silicone ear cushions come in three sizes, though on average they are smaller than those included with other in-ear earphones - the largest cushions included with the E361 correlate to medium-sized ones on most other earphones. As a result the E361 is quite friendly to those with smaller ears. Using smaller ear cushions and an angled nozzle also promotes deeper insertion of the earphones, increasing the noise attenuation that they are capable of providing. Isolation is a strong suit of the E361 - though highly dependent on fit, it is above-average for dynamic-driver in-ear earphones. They certainly don’t cut out noise completely the way some higher-end earphones can, but managed to push external noise well into the background at my usual (medium-low) listening volume during my public transport commute.

Sound Quality Testing

Testing Notes: Testing was done in two parts. The first part, the ‘everyday use’ test, was done using choice test tracks from a wide array of genres in mp3 format encoded at 128-320 kbps. A Sandisk Sansa Fuze, my testing player of choice due to the high neutrality and transparency of the sound it produces, was used for this portion. The second ‘critical listening’ part was done at home using a similar selection of tracks in lossless (FLAC or WMA) formats and my optical-fed iBasso D10 digital-to-analog converter (DAC) as a source. A more high-end source than a portable audio player, the iBasso ensures that I don’t attribute the limitations of the Sansa Fuze or mp3 rips to the earphones. Naturally, no equalizer settings were used for either test.

Initial Impressions

The arbitrary 10-point ratings on the back of the packaging give the E361 a 9/10 rating in bass, a 10/10 in the treble, and a 9/10 for clarity. Though it is unclear what scaling factor is used for these ratings, out of the box the E361 falls short of such lofty claims. The sound is very muffled and boxed in. The bass creeps up on the lower midrange and clarity is lacking severely. Though not terrible-sounding by any means, I decided to put them through what is known as ‘burn-in’ in the audiophile community – playing a combination of music and pink noise through audio gear at medium-high volume for several dozen hours straight. The point of this procedure is to put the driver membrane through its paces to help it reach ideal flexibility. Theoretically, the manufacturer-intended sound of a dynamic-driver headphone is apparent only after sufficient burn-in. The recommended burn-in period for dynamic-driver varies widely but any major changes usually happen in the first dozen hours.

Final Impressions

After extensive burn-in, the sound is improved but still not as balanced as I would like. On the grand scale the E361 are bass-heavy IEMs, extending fairly far down when the music calls for it. Though tamer than before, the bass still tends to be boomy and intrudes on the lower midrange. This is a small detriment for rap, pop, soft rock, and similar genres but for music that benefits from balance and control, such as instrument-heavy rock and jazz tracks, the bass bloat is bad news. On the upside, the midrange is very smooth and not at all fatiguing, though it does gloss over a good amount of detail. The treble is impressively extended and quite natural-sounding. These are neither warm nor cold in tonality and have a fairly natural timbre with most instruments.

The soundstage, or the ability of the earphones to position sonic cues correctly, is lacking in width but has decent depth, resulting in a less ‘flat’ sound than some of the competition. Overall these are definitely a stomp-your-foot kind of earphone – they manage to be bassy and impactful without sounding contrived or artificial, no short order with the budget-minded price tag. There is an added bonus to the relatively high impedance and low sensitivity of the E361 – they do a great job of cutting out hiss with sources not designed for sensitive in-ear earphones, such as desktop computers.

I also tried using the microphone to make a few Skype calls and voice recordings. Voice quality seems very similar to my Apple Dual-Driver in-ear headset and just a step below my low-cost dedicated microphone, the Zalman ZM-MIC1. When used in a reasonably quiet environment, the microphone on the E361 delivers perfectly acceptable voice quality.

Arctic Sound E361 In-Ear Headset

The Arctic Sound E361 in-ear headset is a convenient and multifunctional device for today’s VOIP-using, smartphone-owning multimedia junkie. Light, comfortable, and noise-isolating, the E361 provides reasonable sound quality when used for music and good call quality when used as a headset. The earphones crank out plenty of bass at the expense of some clarity and overall resolution. Though they won’t win any awards for absolute fidelity any time soon, the Arctic Sound E361 are on-par with the best earphones I’ve heard from Skullcandy and other mainstream manufacturers. But none of the competition can match the practicality of the E361 as a multi-purpose headset, and that alone makes it worth a second look.

Pros: Ergonomic, angled-nozzle design; reasonable isolation; low cord contact noise, PC adapter and hard case included.

Cons: Generic design; rather cheap-feeling build.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

www.arctic-cooling.com