Arctic P533 Headset Review

1. Introduction2. Unboxing and First Look3. Testing4. Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

While Arctic are best known for their top-quality cooling solutions, today we are looking at a gaming headset from the Swiss company. The P533 features 40mm Neodymium drivers, memory foam ear cushions and on-ear volume control. Does it do enough to justify its £70 price tag?

The Arctic P533 headset comes in 3 different styles: racing, military, and Penta. The actual headset remains the same, but the aesthetics of the P533 varies between the 3 models. I was sent the Penta version, meaning this model was designed in collaboration with Penta Sports, a popular German eSports team.

In this review, we assess build quality, features and performance before giving our final verdict.

Specification

Headphones:

• Wearing Style: Circum-Aural (Over-Ear)
• Driver Units: 40 mm Neodymium
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
• Impedance: 16 Ohm
• Sensitivity: > 95 dB/mW
• Weight: 375g

Microphone

• Type: Boom Microphone
• Frequency Response: 100 Hz – 10 kHz
• Sensitivity: > -40 dB/Pa

Cable

• Length: 1.2 m + Extension 2 m
• Connection: 3.5 mm TRRS jack (Extension 2 x 3.5 mm TRS jack)

The Actic P533 Penta edition ships in a standard black box, though there is a photo of the P533 visible on the front.

Inside the box, we find a few different manuals and booklets. There is a quick-start guide, an Arctic greeting card, a fanmiles license code, a Penta collectors pin and a QRS code which links to another user manual.

The headset itself arrives safely stored in this carry case. The case is made from rock-hard plastic and is a great feature for those who regularly attend LAN parties or other gaming events.

Here we get our first look at the P533 headset itself. Right away, it is evident that the P533 has a ‘different' design when compared with most of the other headsets on the market – I was particularly drawn to the exposed wire that runs along the headband and boom mic, something that is very rare to see among gaming headsets these days.

Below, we take a closer look at some of the headset's features.

Starting with the earcups, we can immediately spot the Penta-inspired design with its bold, orange accenting, while the Penta logo is also placed on the back of the earcups. These earcups use a closed-back design, too, which is worth noting. Lastly, as you can see in the image above, the right earcup features an on-ear volume wheel.

On the inside, the P533 makes use of oval, circumaural ear cushions. The cushions are actually made of memory foam padding, so hopefully they will be very comfortable. These cushions have a faux-leather lining, too.

Elsewhere, the P533 uses a metal headband for extra durability. The top of the headband is covered by more faux-leather, and we assess the comfort of the P533 on the next page.

The boom mic is another interesting stylistic choice – the cable is exposed, while the boom itself is little more than a metal wire frame. It looks quite ‘old-school' if you ask me.

The boom itself is fully rotatable, though, so it can be stored upright when not in use.

The mic head is also mounted on a hinge, so you can angle it towards your mouth if you wish.

Lastly, the P533 connects via a standard 3.5mm jack, with the integrated cable measuring 1.2m long. However, there is a 2m extension cable included which splits the audio and mic signals into separate 3.5mm jacks.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.The Arctic P533 is definitely a ‘back-to-basics' headset – it does not feature any RGB lighting, it connects via 3.5mm jack and it uses an ‘old-school' design.

That being said, it is a very solid headset. For one, it is supremely comfortable – I barely knew it was there during long sessions playing Ghost Recon: Wildlands and The Witcher 3.

It also sounds very good, thanks to a well-balanced mix – the clear and crisp high-end is perfectly complimented by the full-sounding mid-range.

I do feel that the bass is slightly lacking from the mix, though, and this can make FPS gaming sessions feel slightly lacklustre – explosions lack the intensity a bassier headset can provide.

My only other issue with the P533 is that the exposed wire would occasionally rub against the boom mic's hinge, and this noise was amplified through the left earcup.

Other than that, though, the Arctic P533 headset is a good piece of kit. There is definitely strong competition from the likes of Razer, Corsair and HyperX around the £70 price-point, but if you want a simple headset that can be used on a variety of platforms thanks to its 3.5mm jack, then the P533 is definitely a good buy.

You can buy one directly from Arctic for £70 inc. VAT HERE.

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Pros

• Funky aesthetics.
• Well-balanced mix.
• Very comfortable.
• Carry case is included.
• 3.5mm jack adds some versatility.

Cons

• Exposed wire caused some noise to come through the left earcup.
• Not the bassiest of headsets.

KitGuru says: If you are looking for a no-frills gaming headset that is very comfortable and delivers good sound quality, the Arctic P533 is definitely worth buying.

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