The Arctic Sound E361 earphones that Vortez Hardware is reviewing today are the white one, which should nicely complement any white portable device or mobile phone. Notice that black E361 headphones are also available. These earphones feature a beautiful silver aluminum chassis and they have a slight angle to them. Their V-like shape should ensure that they fit into the ear canal tighter and more comfortably. As with any other in-ear earphones, a good ear canal seal is essential to get proper sound performance, especially for the bass. The silicone caps can be easily taken off the earphones to be washed, if wished. These caps are much softer than my other in-ear headphones, the Creative Labs 630. The earphones have a very generous length: 1.30m. For usage with a portable device, this is more than enough.

The Arctic Sound E361 earphones

The silicone cap removed
The microphone is located on the left earphone’s cable at about half way from the cable’s bifurcation. Using my body as reference, the microphone is at the level of the laryngeal prominence, commonly known as Adam’s apple, which should be a pretty good level for the microphone to pick up your voice. The cable’s bifurcation is located at about 30 cm away from the earphones. It is an acceptable distance, but those that would like to modify it are out of luck. A plastic piece with AC written over it is held in place.

The microphone

The earphones’ bifurcation
The Arctic Sound E361-WM features a TRRS connector, which is basically a 3.5mm stereo-plus-mic jack. In other words, stereo sound and microphone run across the single connector, and depending on which mobile device you use, this eliminates the need of an adapter. Devices that do not support it will need to use the included adapter that splits the TRRS connector into two 3.5mm jacks: one for stereo and another for the microphone. Such an adapter will be needed if you want to use both the earphones and the microphone on a PC. The plug that ARCTIC COOLING opted for is a 90° design and it is fairly bulky. At times, I felt that the plug interfered with the handling of my portable media device.

The 3.5mm TRRS connector with a 90° design
The Arctic Sound E361 earphones
The silicone cap removed
The microphone is located on the left earphone’s cable at about half way from the cable’s bifurcation. Using my body as reference, the microphone is at the level of the laryngeal prominence, commonly known as Adam’s apple, which should be a pretty good level for the microphone to pick up your voice. The cable’s bifurcation is located at about 30 cm away from the earphones. It is an acceptable distance, but those that would like to modify it are out of luck. A plastic piece with AC written over it is held in place.
The microphone
The earphones’ bifurcation
The Arctic Sound E361-WM features a TRRS connector, which is basically a 3.5mm stereo-plus-mic jack. In other words, stereo sound and microphone run across the single connector, and depending on which mobile device you use, this eliminates the need of an adapter. Devices that do not support it will need to use the included adapter that splits the TRRS connector into two 3.5mm jacks: one for stereo and another for the microphone. Such an adapter will be needed if you want to use both the earphones and the microphone on a PC. The plug that ARCTIC COOLING opted for is a 90° design and it is fairly bulky. At times, I felt that the plug interfered with the handling of my portable media device.
The 3.5mm TRRS connector with a 90° design