We tried it: Arctic Sound, the sound of ice fields

We’ve been writing about computer speakers for quite some time, so it’s time to bring in the lag. Arctic speakers arrived just in time!

I think that after the Arcticos articles of recent months, no one of our readers will be surprised that we are not dealing with computer cooling but with other gadgets. The Swiss manufacturer still doesn’t have it, and is already expanding its fairly broad portfolio already at the end of last year. In our previous test on them, we also dealt with their sound generators, then we tried two types of headphones. For current devices, however, we do not recommend anyone to hold the speakers to their ears, as this can cause nasty hearing damage.

In this article, we are introduced to three products, they are introduced. These are three-way radiators one by one, meaning that in addition to the two satellites, a subwoofer is associated in each case. Three boxes, three types of markings. Arctic Sound S151, -S161, S361.

Of course, we tried to sort the speakers so that they cover three different categories, so quite cheap and more expensive gadgets will be on our table. As usual, we will be moving from the cheapest to the most expensive, but to get started we need to turn now!

{jospagebreak_scroll title = The Speakers - Arctic S161}

So we start with the smallest, cheapest, which was named S161. Since it is a 2.1 system, it is quite clear that in addition to the two satellites, there is also a “subwoofer”. The latter flies on a mini barrel, even the satellites on spheres. The shape is not bad, the quality of the plastic coverings is not the level to which it would be worth tying. In the case of satellites, we get so much plus that there is a blue light around the speaker, which might warn us not to listen to music too loud because the cops will take it.

It is true that in the case of this set there is not too much chance of this, as the total power is 18 watts (11 + 3,5 + 3,5), so if the policeman takes it will not be because of the volume, but because it is completely rolled up on the barrel. screw we get quite a distortion in return, which the hollow-eared neighbor can take as harassment. Of course, what do we expect from a 3,5 watt radiator? It’s not really recommended to fully rewind the volume because it’s feared that the orbs will soon be sent to the eternal hunting ground.

At lower volume, on the other hand, we get quite normal sound quality. Not a Hi-Fi, but not bad either. Be careful to use the subwoofer at maximum because the dynamics of the small satellites are not something combos. All in all, this is a completely average and clean system at a low volume, which also doesn't look bad! It has a good middle, at maximum you can hear the subwoofer properly. Maybe there could be more of the high pitched sounds, but let’s not be insatiable!

Let's see the dry data. The subwoofer has an impedance of 8, while the satellites have an impedance of 4 ohms. You may have read the performance above. The diaphragm of the satellites is 3,5 centimeters, while that of the subwoofer is 9 centimeters, and the top of the subwoofer is also a large reflex aperture. Both the spheres and the barrel have been given a rubberized base so they don’t peak on the table and they don’t even try to pass the sounds of the music to the table top.

{jospagebreak_scroll title = The Speakers - Arctic S151}

Although based on the numbering of the type, we should think that we are facing a weaker unit, this is not yet the case. The S151 has already been built on a much more traditional design. The subwoofer is already the usual box shape, which also means that we can forget about the plastic, here the designer has already worked with pozdorja sheets. It sounds in your voice anyway, and not just because it knows exactly 1 watt more than the S161. What caused some disappointment, however, was the satellites. Although the box is larger than the sphere, the radiator inside it has changed nothing.

On the other hand, what is really positive is that if we look at the price tag, we see that this package is about a thousand forints cheaper than the brother who got the plastic clothes. Thus, in the case of satellites, it is already justified to use the unchanged speaker, but due to the more serious subwoofer, in our opinion, it is worth more.

In terms of sound quality, we get pretty much what we get from the S161, plus some quality improvement due to the better subwoofer. This improvement is most noticeable in the fact that the middle sounds are pleasantly enhanced by the box, and the deep sounds sound without distortion. True, there could be a little more from this depth, because that, too, needs to be turned to the maximum to sound at an acceptable level. Anyway, there is some solution to this problem with the software equalizer, which I would not like to use for a high quality stuff anymore, but it is not a problem to use these desktop speakers yet.

The dry data are as follows: The total power is 17 watts (10 + 3,5 + 3,5). The subwoofer has an impedance of 6 and the speakers 4 ohms.

{jospagebreak_scroll title = The Speakers - Arctic S361}

We have reached the largest box. Here we find the designation S361. The size and weight of the receiving box is also encouraging and we should not be disappointed! The nickel cell packaging produces satellites with a very large subwoofer and a pleasant weight. The satellites are now two-way, made up of two middle and one beeping trio. You can also see the plates of two speakers on the subwoofer.

These are suspected to be the same as the speaker in the little salts, but there are two of them that weigh a lot into the lat. The reflex opening is located on the side of the subwoofer, and due to the two speakers, we can already feel some air movement here. If you already have a reflex opening, it should be mentioned that we were happy to discover such formations on the back of the satellites as well, which we do not forget to describe as being placed in a wooden box instead of a plastic one.

In terms of design, it is important to note that this is a stuff with a traditional structure. Nothing unnecessary cicoma. The only tiny design element is the Arctic Sound inscriptions on the front of the boxes.

There is one more extra we need to talk about in this package. This is nothing more than a desktop controller. On this we can turn the unit on and off, we can control the drum and the amount of bass and treble separately, we have a mute button on it, and at the front there is a headphone on and a microphone input.

Special attention from the manufacturer is that the signal can be entered into the subwoofer not only on mini-Jack, but also on RCA connectors, which also means that it can be connected to other Hi-Fi stuff as well.

If you already have Hi-Fi, let's talk about sound quality! If we write that it is exactly what we expected, it does not degrade the quality, on the contrary, it praises it. We also get as much in volume and sound range from this package as we would expect from such a wooden boxed stuff. Moreover, there is a bit more in the field of treble, but of course we can easily remedy this, as we can weaken this range separately, regardless of the bass. To write a little bad (but really just a little, lest the writing should be too dripping), we would note that the dynamics of deep sounds here, as with the little ones, could have been a little more. With a volume wrapped in a cob - with no distortion! - we were already expecting some pounding in our lungs, but it fell short. Regardless, the bass sounds really nice, and what’s perhaps the bigger magic is that both the treble and midrange are separated properly. This may sound trivial, but it is not at all for a computer desktop speaker set!

By the end, the dry data remained again. Impedance for subwoofer 4- for satellites 8 ohms / satellite. All power has been a serious 76 watts! Good, is not it? A really lovable ability from a desktop system! For the first two sets, I didn't think it was important to describe it, but here it does, the weight of the package will be 10 kilograms, which also says something about the quality.

Sum it!

{jospagebreak_scroll title = Summary}

We have reached the end of our article, we summarize the experience! We got three packages that could have covered three different segments at first glance, but that wasn’t the case yet.

The first package contained a fairly simple set. It was characterized by a completely plastic casing, modest performance, and even acceptable sound quality. This is the entry level to 2.1 systems. Inexpensive, but because of the subwoofer, we get much more dynamics than with a simple stereo solution.

We expected the second package to fly us into the middle class, but that didn’t happen. The reason for our mistake may have been that the subwoofer box was made of wood. Our mistake was confirmed by the price tag, as it turned out that although the subwoofer vase was made of wood, its price was lower than that of its plastic counterpart. The first, S161, could be the bottom of the entry level, while S151 could be the middle, top of the entry level, if the Swiss hadn’t thought that the plastic set would be the more expensive (right?). Had we not been enchanted by the contents of the largest package, we would say that this set deserved the best price / performance ratio.

However, this was not the case as we unpacked the biggest box, connected it to the computer and heard a miracle. In order to be able to express an even more complete opinion, we tried not one, but two types of music. One was a concert recording by Robbie Williams, and the other was a long-outdated, band-mocked band’s death sterile studio album called Sigue Sigue Sputnik. The set showed its true values ​​in the latter case. From the tiny chirping to the deep bass, we heard everything through it. In the case of the concert recording, the middle sounds seemed a bit dull, but the recording itself may not be very good in this respect either, in Hungarian there are too many middle ones and it suppresses the high tones.

However, the real shock came not to us in terms of quality, but in terms of price. We guessed that the smaller packages would not cost much, but due to the quality of the boxes and the sound, we put the S361 in such a net category of 20-25 thousand, but the retail price is not more than 17 thousand gross. Quite shocking.

For this reason, we have to mark the most expensive set for this test, not only in terms of quality, but also in terms of price / performance ratio. While the little ones are completely average, although they represent a good category compared to the goods, this larger stuff is quite simply a grand prize! By the end of the article, all that was left was a description of retail prices. This can be read from the image below. If someone wants to buy one of the “polar sounds”, just click on the picture and you’ll already find yourself in the right place!