I'm very glad that I visited the Sennheiser Factory in between starting
my lisening impressions of the urbanite and the urbanite XL and actually filming
this video it gave me a much greater appreciation for the positioning of this
product even though for me personally it
doesn't really light any
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for me the urbanite really begins with the headband Sennheiser has learned a
ton since the original momentum series The Rock Hard headband padding and lack
of foldability for a product that's designed to be used on the move I mean
it's right in the name were issues with both models of the momentums and the ear
cup foam of the on ear specifically was pretty darn uncomfortable for me until
I'd broken it in for a couple weeks no longer is
by using the materials they chose for the urbanite headband Sennheiser
maintained the thin profile that fashion headphone users demand and yet managed
to make it comfortable on my Noggin the outside has a canvas y feeling material
with tasteful stitching on either side then on the inside is where the magic
happens this soft touched rubberized material seems to automatically
distribute pressure more like an air cushion than a traditional pad it's very
nice and its grippiness also helps it stay in place even during vigorous back
and forth movements although I did find that the on ear didn't hold up quite as
well in my side to side Shake test as did the Exel now as well as they fit on
my head I really feel like they were actually designed to be worn around the
neck that rubberized dinner pad is amazing for this somehow it keeps the
headphone in place but manages to not tug on any of the fine hairs on the back
of your neck and the flat wire cover that retracts into the ear cup when you
adjust the size was impossible to get caught on clothing or anything else in
any situation so Bravo senheiser they really do work well around the neck
since we're moving down the headphone I guess we might as well talk about how
overbuilt they are in general the hinge is made of stainless steel and snaps
into place with a satisfying tactile click and even though I wish it locked
so I wasn't adjusting it constantly the size adjust slider on each side is made
of a solid piece of aluminum that just
makes me mad actually not because it's bad it's really good I mean these things
are built like a tank but because it makes me feel like headphone makers have
been holding out on us I mean how do similarly priced products get away with
being made like airplane headphones when
it's possible to do this at this price point anyway rant aside the next major
stop of our tour the product is the ear cups the foam they're using here is this
wonderfully dense slow rebounding memory foam with a velvety soof outer covering
that I found managed to isolate outside sounds reasonably well bearing in mind
of course that they don't have active noise cancellation or anything like that
without being unbreathable it's really quite nice probably my second choice to
Natural leather so overall Comfort
wise except when wearing them with one ear off I find the XL significantly more
comfortable for me because I have sensitive ear loes that make on ears
like this pretty hard to wear for long but but I still think it's worth
mentioning that in general they're quite comfortable and the on ear is more
comfortable than any other super AAL headphone I've used so for those of you
who can use on ears you might find this to be an excellent choice which leads us
to the end of the physical look on the bottom of the left ear cup which by the
way you can easily feel four in the-dark with the three bumps on the headband is
a four-pole detachable locking connector that leads to a heavier than I'd like
but undeniably tangle resistant cord that terminates in a right angle 3 and2
mm connector before you get to the end though you'll find the inline three
button control pod with an only directional microphone that folks on the
other end of the line described to me as just fine the cool thing here though is
that Sennheiser has both iPhone and Android versions of the urbanites so
just check their online compatibility list if you want to use multiple presses
for media control in addition to being able to answer calls and adjust volume
pretty cool stuff all right so this
video has all been incredibly positive so far less what was up with that bit at
the beginning where you said that they didn't light any fires for you well I've
got one big complaint the sound just isn't right for me I mean it's not like
it's bad Sennheiser as a company didn't completely forget how to build
headphones or anything and if I was only comparing them to plastic rubbish like
the Star Wars streets by 50 I wrapped about SL reviewed here both urbanites
would win my coveted gold star of Awesomeness award for sure but since my
job is not to compare new stuff against the worst thing you could possibly spend
your money on but rather the best I spent most of my time comparing them
against the excellent momentum and momentum on ear which just plain sound
better to me Highs are typical Sennheiser so clear but not sparkly to
the point of sounding harsh to my ears but like I'd be sitting there trying to
listen to the urbanites and something would sound a little off to me usually
some masked Clarity in the mids particularly vocals and I'd switch over
to the equivalent momentum to see if I was imagining it then i' I'd catch
myself you know 5 or 10 minutes later still wearing the momentums and just
listening to music because I forgot I was supposed to be working additionally
while it's a heck of a lot better than the poorly tuned boomy mess that
Millennials have been fooled into believing is acceptable through
celebrity endorsements and flashy advertising I just didn't find the low
end of these as tight and Punchy as I I
personally like and I found myself wishing I could trade some of that some
of that Rumble for for better mids so
the conclusion here should be simple then right skip the urbanites and pay an
extra 50 bucks to accidentally get lost in your music when you put your
headphones on well hold on a second maybe not actually I don't really care
for dubstep or electronic music and I'm not accustomed to listening to beats all
day so the real conclusion here is that
these were made to appeal to a group of people I simply don't Bel to for the
target audience I can pretty much guarantee these are going to sound like
the bee's knees because Sennheiser has delivered something very untraditional
for them here a headphone with a smiley sound signature that the Beats
generation folks crave but done much better a a stepping stone product
seemingly made to capture a like a laser targeted audience and at the same time
turn them into a more Discerning user overall so when the time comes for them
to graduate to something truly audio file grade they won't settle for the
quality that they used to accept to me it looks like Sennheiser is playing a
really long game here and if every step is as well executed as the urbanites
then like bloody hell I think it's going to work I mean after all that stuff I
said about not being part of the you know fashion conscious Lord knows I'm
anything but fashion conscious but not being part of the fashion conscious
crowd even I was blown away when I saw the nation version version of these in
person they look really really cool
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