Arctic E352 earbuds
Monday, 04 July 2011
I was impressed by Arctic Cooling's E361-BM ’buds, and the attractive wooden E352s have a frequency response of 18Hz to 22kHz at the top end. However, although the pack says ‘enhanced bass’, I find this far from the case, with the metal E361s having distinctly more bass response.
Once again, the cello music sounds pretty good, but I don’t know how they’d handle the challenge and complexity of a full-on orchestra.
But poor Captain Beefheart (may he fondly rest in something equal to his talents) got strident short shrift. And Public Image’s lovely bass was diminished by a shimmer of cymbals and sibilancy.
Overall I’d characterise the sound as brittle.
Conclusion — Sorry, Arctic – the wood chassis makes these nice and light in the ears, but they don’t sound anywhere near as good as the other earbuds I reviewed today. Back to the drawing board.
What’s great — light and comfortable, and they don’t distort
What’s not — you can’t tell which is the left and which is the right earbud. Brittle sound strangely coloured into the upper mids and overbalanced into the high tones. Lacking bass.
Needs — someone who doesn’t like bass but does like treble. (Does such a person exist?)
1/5
What — Arctic Cooling E352 earbuds with wood chassis, price TBA (US$39.75 online)
System — Cable: 1.3 metres with 3.5mm gold plated stereo plug; frequency response 18Hz-22kHz; impedance: 32 Ohms; sensitivity 104 dB/mW; output power: 15mW; weight: 5g; warranty: 2 year
Available from — Arctic Cooling
