Arctic Sound P321 USB Headset
Dec 2nd, 2011 | By JaredWhile the P321 is a USB headset there are no drivers needed. All you need is an available USB slot and you are good to go.
The following system was used during testing:
- Control
- CPU: AMD Phenom II 720BE X3 @ 3.2GHz (unlocked to 4 cores)
- MB: Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4
- GPU: Sparkle GeForce GTX465 1GB
- RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws PC3-12800 (F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL) @ 1333MHz 9-9-9-24
- PSU: Ultra X3 1000W
- CPU Cooling: Noctua NH-C12P SE14
- PWM/NB/SB Cooling: Stock/Stock/Stock
- HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache (ST3640323AS)
- OS: Windows 7 Professional
Before we jump into how the p321′s perform, I wanted to make a few observations on general usage. The unit is lightweight and thus I experienced no neck strain like you find in a lot of heavier headsets.
I like that the control module is contoured to fit your hand so it is easy to grasp and orient without looking. The control stick makes it extremely easy to pause, fast forward rewind and mute movies and music. I would however like to see a clip mechanism so the module isn’t just dangling loosely which I found if you turn or move it can get caught on chair arms or other objects and pull on the wire.
Music and Movies
While the P321 is a headset it is clearly aimed at music and movie lovers. The soft earcups and light weight make them very comfortable for extended use such as watching movies. The Bass Boost button on the in line control adds some extra thump for movie explosions but it does sort of muddy the overall sound some as well. While the P321 will obviously not match up to the sound quality of more expensive headsets it does a very good job and should make most casual movie watchers happy. My music collection tends to stretch across a pretty wide range of types of artists and genres from Led Zeppelin to Godsmack to Adele and Mumford and Sons so the P321 got a workout on a wide range. Much like with the movies the P321 performed well in just about all aspects providing clear vocals and decent tone. Bass boost again adds a little more thump but also muddies things a little though I preferred to have it turned on with music. If you are old enough to remember Bass Boost buttons on old Walkmans than you pretty much can understand the effect of this setting. Overall I was pretty happy with the performance of the P321 for multimedia use.
Games
The P321 may be aimed at music and move lovers, but since it is a headset multiplayer gaming is going to come into the conversation. The P321 delivers decent overall performance in games though you won’t have the directional audio provided in 5.1 headsets. If there is one way to test the clarity of the mic, jump in any multiplayer game that has chat or a Ventrillo channel and fellow players are typically not shy in letting you know how bad your mic sounds. I’m happy to report the P321 mic delivers a clear sound without any distortion or background noise. The light weight and soft earpads of the P321 also makes it ideal for long gaming sessions. The only discomfort in long sessions would come from sweat around the ear cup.