In addition to the threesome of new smartphones, Motorola also unveils a tandem of Bluetooth-powered headphones — Surround and Pulse. Surround is an in-ear solution, while the Pulse is a pair of on-ear cans.
Moto Surround in-ear headphones specs:
Built-in microphone for hands-free calling
Sweatproof and water-resistant
AptX support for better wireless clarity
150-foot claimed line-of-sight range
12-hour claimed battery life
Compatible with any Bluetooth-powered phones
Moto Pulse on-ear headphones specs:
Built-in microphone for hands-free calling
18-hour claimed battery life
Available in white and black
Compatible with any Bluetooth-powered phones
The Surround is priced at $69.99 (approx. Php3.1K), while the Pulse is slightly more affordable at $59.99 (approx. Php2.7K)
Sennheiser has been one of the top headphone manufacturers mainly due to the impeccable performance of most of their products; not just in the sound department, but also in terms of build and comfort they provide. What we have in our hands right now is the Sennheiser Urbanite that banks on the promise of providing your ears total comfort. See if the company was able to deliver and back up its claims in this review.
Design and Construction
The Urbanite’s disposition is of the on-ear one (also called supra-aural) which basically goes on top of your ears. There is also an over-ear counterpart by Sennheiser that goes by the model name Urbanite XL — It’s almost the same as the Urbanite but with bigger earcups that cover your entire ears. We will be releasing a separate review for that, but for now let’s concentrate on this smaller, more compact variant.
These pair of cans posses a simple, yet very eye-catching design. A combination of stitched cloth, aluminum arms, and plastic ear cups with matte finish altogether look desirable and feel premium to the hands.
The entire device is light at 260 grams. It has a lightweight headband which allows it to bend and flex easily, while aluminum-made arms act as frames for the sliders wherein you can adjust the earcups vertically.
It has stainless steel hinges that ensure durability and fold for a more compact size when carrying the headphones around. The earcups are reinforced with what feels like memory foam pads and wrapped with micro-fibers which should be more than comfortable when place on the ears. We’ll get to comfort factor in just a bit.
The detachable cable possesses an in-line mic with navigation controls. We tried it on an iPhone 5 and maximized its use for adjusting volume, answering calls, and changing tracks on our playlist. During calls, we clearly heard the voice on the other side of the line, and same was the case when we’re the one talking — thanks to its microphone with omni-directional pickup.
Audio Quality
As a standard operating procedure, we let its drivers stretch for a bit by playing continuous music on it for hours. After which we were ready to assess its sound quality.
We’ve had some minor gripes with the previous Sennheiser headphones that we reviewed in terms of weak mids and highs, but this was not the case with the Urbanite. As soon as we placed it over our heads and hit the play button our ears were treated with rich, full sound that stayed consistent throughout the tracks.
It’s got powerful bass, but not too powerful as to leave out the other elements. Mids were also clear and soothing, with highs keeping itself from getting overly bright. Basically, what we experienced was balanced sound and that’s what Sennheiser is gunning for in this specific series.
This may not be good news for everyone, as some people prefer snappy treble levels while some are just pure bassheads. I personally used to be a bass-lover but after I realized how fun listening to a balanced sound was, it quickly won me over. So for those that are looking for the same sound as I am and want your music with no elements being left out, the Urbanite will surely appeal to you.
Comfort Factor
Before we talk about its comfort factor, check out this Urbanite commercial that Sennheiser released to show how serious they are in providing a comfortable feel while using the headphones.
After having watched that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to put the Urbanite on my ears since I couldn’t get the image of the talking German earcup massaging the giant ear out of my head. Joking aside, once you put them on you will feel it seal the ears nicely and you wouldn’t need to rearrange them to find the correct spot against your ears. Sennheiser did an impressive job engineering these comfortable cups to position themselves securely in one go.
We kept it on for about 3 hours straight (playing games, sound-tripping, and watching videos) and we could say that we could wear it for another 3 hours more. Comfort factor, on top of sound quality is definitely the name of the game for the Urbanite.
Conclusion
So what do you get for almost Php12K? For one, you get a stylish pair of headphones that demand some quick glances from people as you walk the streets with its design. Build quality is also top-notch as we were confident enough to put serious amount of stress on its headband during our time with it. Sound quality is balanced all around with lows, mids, and highs unified, and comfort factor? We believe the German guy said (and showed) enough.
Yes, it has a pretty steep price, but the experience we’ve mentioned makes us believe it’s appropriately justified. If we were to nitpick we would say that its overall balance of sound may not appeal to all music-lovers and also, its 1.2-meter tangle-free cable could be longer for desktop use as well.
