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To test the P533 headset, I used it as my daily driver for over a week. During this time, I used the headset while playing games, watching videos and listening to music.
First of all, it is worth pointing out that the P533 does not comes with any driver software – it uses a standard 3.5mm audio jack so there is nothing to tweak using digital software.
With that out of the way, the first thing I want to talk about is comfort – in my opinion, this is the P533's greatest strength as it is just supremely comfortable. This is due to a number of factors – for one, the memory foam ear cushions are beautifully soft and fit around your ears perfectly. The cushions themselves are also very well sized, so they should fit the vast majority of users. Elsewhere, the leatherette-padded headband does an excellent job of balancing the headset's weight, so it does not feel too heavy in any one area.
For such a comfortable headset, the P533 is also built surprisingly well. The back of the earcups are made from plastic, but they are rock-solid and I am confident these cups would withstand a bashing. The metal headband frame also adds some rigidity which should ensure that the headband retains its shape. Even then, given the P533 comes with its own carry case, it is highly unlikely that the headset would get damaged anyway – you would have to be very aggressive with it for any damage to occur.
I would like to just point out one negative aspect of the headset's design, though – the exposed wire. In most places, the wire is clipped down to the headset's frame so it cannot get caught on anything, and that's fine. However, on the left earcup, the wire hangs loosely as it runs toward to the mic. In practice, I found this loose wire occasionally rubbed against the boom mic's rotating hinge, and that rubbing noise was amplified through the left earcup.
This is the downside to using an exposed wire – it does look cool, particularly given the orange cable used here perfectly compliments the earcup design. However, I would rather have a hidden cable if it meant I would not experience the annoying cable noise.
Anyway, let's move on to the P533 gaming performance – it is a gaming headset, after all.
On the whole, I found the P533 performed very well. The sound from the headset is very well-balanced, meaning there is not one part of the mix that dominates. This helps speech to sound very clear – gaming with friends is a breeze and their voices come across very well.
I do feel that the P533 lacks a bit of oomph at the low-end, though. I recently bought Ghost Recon: Wildlands and, while playing through the first few missions, I did notice that gunfire and explosions lack some of the intensity and urgency that I have become accustomed to when using other gaming headsets.
This is likely due to the 40mm drivers Arctic have used – other headsets I have used recently, such as the Razer Kraken 7.1 V2 and Corsair Void 7.1, both feature larger, 50mm drivers, and this is something which definitely helps with the bass reproduction.
However, many gaming headsets that have strong bass have a slightly muddier mid and high-end, as the bass can dominate the mix. That is not the case here as the mid-range remains punchy, while the high-end is perfectly crisp. As such, I found watching videos and listening to music to be quite enjoyable – something which cannot be said for all gaming headsets on the market.
Lastly, I must touch on the mic. I assessed its quality by making recordings of myself using Audacity, while I also asked for feedback from my friends while making VOIP calls. It is a clear, crisp mic, though perhaps slightly on the tinny side. I also noticed some EMI hiss in the background of my recordings – this would be due to having to use a 3.5mm mic jack, as most gaming headsets which connect via USB do not have this issue. This issue is largely dependent on your soundcard or motherboard audio codec, but it is definitely worth pointing out.
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