Sennheiser Urbanite Headphones
Linus Tech Tips
·Linus Tech Tips
·2015-05-07
·
1,736 words · ~8 min read
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I'm very glad that I visited the Sennheiser Factory in between starting
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my lisening impressions of the urbanite and the urbanite XL and actually filming
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this video it gave me a much greater appreciation for the positioning of this
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product even though for me personally it
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doesn't really light any
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fires Cooler Master nepton Series CPU coolers are available in a variety of
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radiator sizes to perfectly suit your next build click now to learn more so
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for me the urbanite really begins with the headband Sennheiser has learned a
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ton since the original momentum series The Rock Hard headband padding and lack
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of foldability for a product that's designed to be used on the move I mean
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it's right in the name were issues with both models of the momentums and the ear
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cup foam of the on ear specifically was pretty darn uncomfortable for me until
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I'd broken it in for a couple weeks no longer is
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by using the materials they chose for the urbanite headband Sennheiser
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maintained the thin profile that fashion headphone users demand and yet managed
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to make it comfortable on my Noggin the outside has a canvas y feeling material
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with tasteful stitching on either side then on the inside is where the magic
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happens this soft touched rubberized material seems to automatically
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distribute pressure more like an air cushion than a traditional pad it's very
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nice and its grippiness also helps it stay in place even during vigorous back
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and forth movements although I did find that the on ear didn't hold up quite as
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well in my side to side Shake test as did the Exel now as well as they fit on
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my head I really feel like they were actually designed to be worn around the
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neck that rubberized dinner pad is amazing for this somehow it keeps the
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headphone in place but manages to not tug on any of the fine hairs on the back
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of your neck and the flat wire cover that retracts into the ear cup when you
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adjust the size was impossible to get caught on clothing or anything else in
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any situation so Bravo senheiser they really do work well around the neck
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since we're moving down the headphone I guess we might as well talk about how
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overbuilt they are in general the hinge is made of stainless steel and snaps
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into place with a satisfying tactile click and even though I wish it locked
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so I wasn't adjusting it constantly the size adjust slider on each side is made
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of a solid piece of aluminum that just
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makes me mad actually not because it's bad it's really good I mean these things
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are built like a tank but because it makes me feel like headphone makers have
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been holding out on us I mean how do similarly priced products get away with
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being made like airplane headphones when
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it's possible to do this at this price point anyway rant aside the next major
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stop of our tour the product is the ear cups the foam they're using here is this
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wonderfully dense slow rebounding memory foam with a velvety soof outer covering
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that I found managed to isolate outside sounds reasonably well bearing in mind
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of course that they don't have active noise cancellation or anything like that
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without being unbreathable it's really quite nice probably my second choice to
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Natural leather so overall Comfort
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wise except when wearing them with one ear off I find the XL significantly more
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comfortable for me because I have sensitive ear loes that make on ears
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like this pretty hard to wear for long but but I still think it's worth
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mentioning that in general they're quite comfortable and the on ear is more
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comfortable than any other super AAL headphone I've used so for those of you
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who can use on ears you might find this to be an excellent choice which leads us
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to the end of the physical look on the bottom of the left ear cup which by the
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way you can easily feel four in the-dark with the three bumps on the headband is
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a four-pole detachable locking connector that leads to a heavier than I'd like
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but undeniably tangle resistant cord that terminates in a right angle 3 and2
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mm connector before you get to the end though you'll find the inline three
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button control pod with an only directional microphone that folks on the
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other end of the line described to me as just fine the cool thing here though is
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that Sennheiser has both iPhone and Android versions of the urbanites so
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just check their online compatibility list if you want to use multiple presses
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for media control in addition to being able to answer calls and adjust volume
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pretty cool stuff all right so this
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video has all been incredibly positive so far less what was up with that bit at
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the beginning where you said that they didn't light any fires for you well I've
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got one big complaint the sound just isn't right for me I mean it's not like
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it's bad Sennheiser as a company didn't completely forget how to build
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headphones or anything and if I was only comparing them to plastic rubbish like
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the Star Wars streets by 50 I wrapped about SL reviewed here both urbanites
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would win my coveted gold star of Awesomeness award for sure but since my
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job is not to compare new stuff against the worst thing you could possibly spend
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your money on but rather the best I spent most of my time comparing them
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against the excellent momentum and momentum on ear which just plain sound
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better to me Highs are typical Sennheiser so clear but not sparkly to
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the point of sounding harsh to my ears but like I'd be sitting there trying to
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listen to the urbanites and something would sound a little off to me usually
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some masked Clarity in the mids particularly vocals and I'd switch over
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to the equivalent momentum to see if I was imagining it then i' I'd catch
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myself you know 5 or 10 minutes later still wearing the momentums and just
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listening to music because I forgot I was supposed to be working additionally
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while it's a heck of a lot better than the poorly tuned boomy mess that
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Millennials have been fooled into believing is acceptable through
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celebrity endorsements and flashy advertising I just didn't find the low
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end of these as tight and Punchy as I I
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personally like and I found myself wishing I could trade some of that some
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of that Rumble for for better mids so
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the conclusion here should be simple then right skip the urbanites and pay an
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extra 50 bucks to accidentally get lost in your music when you put your
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headphones on well hold on a second maybe not actually I don't really care
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for dubstep or electronic music and I'm not accustomed to listening to beats all
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day so the real conclusion here is that
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these were made to appeal to a group of people I simply don't Bel to for the
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target audience I can pretty much guarantee these are going to sound like
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the bee's knees because Sennheiser has delivered something very untraditional
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for them here a headphone with a smiley sound signature that the Beats
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generation folks crave but done much better a a stepping stone product
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seemingly made to capture a like a laser targeted audience and at the same time
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turn them into a more Discerning user overall so when the time comes for them
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to graduate to something truly audio file grade they won't settle for the
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quality that they used to accept to me it looks like Sennheiser is playing a
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really long game here and if every step is as well executed as the urbanites
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then like bloody hell I think it's going to work I mean after all that stuff I
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said about not being part of the you know fashion conscious Lord knows I'm
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anything but fashion conscious but not being part of the fashion conscious
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person they look really really cool
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