Arctic P402 Dynamic Supra-Aural Headset Review

I’m not expecting earth shattering performance from this headset, but with a price of around £20 I’d still like to see some level of audio quality for my investment. I fired up a few of my favourite albums to see how much punishment the P402’s could handle.

As with any headset manufacturer, Arctic promise “sturdy bass, soaring highs and and experience beyond your imagination” which is a tall order for any headset. I did find however that the drivers provide a better than average level of performance for this price range. I tend to find that some cheaper (sub £25) headsets can’t handle the heavier end of my music collection without sounding muddy and distorted, but the P402’s remained true and clear even on some of the more demanding tracks of my collection. I’m not just a big metal head though and its important to me that a headset can provide good response on everything from dubstep to the The Beatles, fortunately this headset can do just that.

While the bass on the P402’s isn’t breath taking, it is robust enough to keep you entertained, it’s also clear – which is just as important. Mid and high ranges of the P402 is good too and the drivers managed to provide a flat delivery without sounding completely lifeless.

While not designed or tuned for gaming, a few games on a PlayStation Vita were perfectly suited to the light headset, I tried a little Battlefield 3 on the PC but it’s just not what this headset is designed for and it sounded a little hollow at times – especially when the fighting got intense.

The microphone isn’t the best quality ever, but its more than good enough to be on par with most mobile phone microphones. I wouldn’t exactly employ this as a hands free kit but its certainly handy when someone calls you and your listing to music via your mobile phone.