Sennheiser Urbanite XL Wireless, Black

This review is for Sennheiser Urbanite XL Wireless headphones.

UX/Ease of use: At first glance, this looks like a premium headphone, Nice stitched headband, duo tone color scheme, matte metal emblem on the sides, even the included remote cable looks great. Upon closer inspection, the first impression continues. The inner left side is marked with three protruding dots, thats Braille for “L”. In case someone with vision difficulties were using it or you were putting on the headphone in near dark situations. The Power button is spring slide type. It has a hard stop at “Off” position and a springed stop for bluetooth discovery mode. Much nicer than other headphones where you have to hold the power button for a few seconds to turn on discovery. A female voices announces connection or the lack of rather unobtrusively. Reminding me of the early BMW navigation systems. Still, I think, a voice prompt is best left behind. But for some of us, who cannot see a blinking led light for various reasons, a voice prompt maybe god send. I just wish there was a way to switch it off.
Speaking of connectivity, this headphone can remember 8 devices. I tried it with 6 and it remembered them all without issue.
The ear cups are plush the velour feels premium and comfortable, only a soft fleece blanket type material will be more comfortable, but I haven’t seen any headphone brand come up with those yet. I wear an XL sized helmet so I like to think I have a larger than average head, the band expanded and the cups fit just as they should regardless of that. The headphone cups have an inner ball type rotation mechanism that fits the headphones snugly on you regardless of the size of your head. Very cool. The bottom part where the cups are situated are metal in a matte finish, and seem very durable. Once I put those on, I realized my first problem. My ears were just a bit bigger than the cup so parts of it stuck out of the cup. It felt strange and at times uncomfortable. How nice it would be if Sennheiser included a a few different interchangeable pads with various widths of padding so most ear sized would fit in fine ? My wife, who isnt cursed with such elvish ears, didnt have any problems with this.
Once I put this on and paired it, I noticed how nicely it cuts off the outside world. I am sensitive to active noise cancellation and most passive noise cancellation reminds me of my days in the range with near silence and tight fitting headache inducing noise guards. These are a nice compromise between the two extremes. I put the headphone down to talk to my wife and then put it back on. Suddenly the music was gone and there was a male voice saying hello. It took a few seconds for me to realize I had called my dad, in the middle of the night. Yeah the touch plate on the side is finicky. You might make an unwanted call sometime. My dad, also a headphone addict, was actually quite amused, and he noted twice how clear my voice was during the call.

The head band has a thin layer of padding at the bottom, it works but is nowhere near as comfortable as the padding you will find in Sennheiser’s other models. With an extra large head like mine, it started to become painfully uncomfortable after a few hours of wearing. YMMV !

I would have much preferred these to have a thicker padding and yes that would have made these headphones probably a bit bigger. But a bigger band would also be easier to carry around on your neck. You can carry this around your neck but the large cups and the small headband make this a bit challenging. Especially if you are wearing a thick jacket. Comparing this to the Sony MDR-10RBT, the sony feels much more comfortable and easier to carry. The Sennheiser does fold, but its still a big headphone when folded.

So over all, an elegant subdued stylish set that to me, seems will last longer than the bluetooth standard itself. I didnt care for the touch panel controls, however I have an RS 180 wireless headset with actual buttons and those arent much easier to use either. So this issue will probably resolve itself with practice. My main problem so far is the size, it seems the band could have been a bit bigger and the velour padding should have been a bit less wide or had came with interchangeable pads.

Sound Quality: Before I get into this, I would like to briefly explain my current set up so we know what I am comparing this set with.
My main system is a 5.2 set up consisting of 4 Tannoy Revolution XT6F floor standing speakers, Tannoy – Revolution XTC center speaker and dual HSU VTF-15H subwoofers.

My main headphone is Sennheiser HD 600 but I also have a Sennheiser HDR 180 that I use at work on a daily basis. I also at times use my wifes Sony bluetooth headphones.

I will be comparing this set to the above set ups.

First impressions on sound quality: Almost 25 years ago, my dad bought me my first sennheiser headphone to pair with my Aiwa Cassette player. I remember been up all night that listening to my favorite tracks because I was hearing things I had never heard before. Years later I had a similar experience with my Sennheiser HD600 and now these Urbanites reminded me of those experiences. No its not in the same league as the HD 600. But I have heard songs through my wifes Sony and then through this and I was amazed by the difference.
These have a nicer stereo separation a wide soundstage and the tone is luscious and lively. Yes these have a v-shaped equalization applied to them. But the bass didnt sound exaggerated, it sounded punchy, with a just hint more loudness than say the HD 600. Comparatively, the Sony sounds like you are sitting next to a sub woofer. These have what I like to think, “Sennheiser sound signature” but more tailored to the tastes of a younger bass loving generation. I have a live recording of a concert in a church in England by a local band. Before the band starts playing, the drummer was calibrating his drum and while doing so he hits the drum once swiftly with his stick. The sound is like a loud thwack that reverbated back through the church. I have heard few speakers that can convey that immediacy and reverberation and decay of that sound as it reverberated along the walls of the church. My main speakers do a fair job, the HSU’s definitely convey the feeling. The HD 600’s definitely convey the sound but not the same feeling. The urbanite sounded like a fair compromise, it had no issues conveying the immediacy and the presentation of the bass note, but struggled to convey the subtler decay as the reverberation faded away.

Listening to Norah Jones, I feel the v-shaped equalization hurts the music a little. Norah Jones still sounds like Norah Jones but not as intimately so as she would on the Sennheiser HD 600 and definitely nothing like a Grado RS2.

Listening to Hayley Westenra “Winter Magic”, the headphones do a splendid job of conveying the orchestra, they had the wide soundstage of my main system, and showed off the intricate details much like the Sennheiser HD 600. The built in equalization didnt hurt the sound much. Awesome.

I played something more main stream, “Hold on, were going home” by Drake, this track has multiple drum and base lines and is quite bass heavy. The bass sounded powerful but not boomy and it never over powered Drake’s voice. Quite an achievement considering Drake’s voice is quite low and mellow in this track. Comparing this to the HDR 180, you immediately notice the presentation is just a bit cleaner through the HDR 180 but the bass almost sounds lose and woolly. The treble is clearer through the Urbanites, but its also a bit more grating compared to the HDR 180. The open back nature of the HDR 180 creates a much larger and nicer soundstage than the Urbanites but the stereo separation in the Urbanites is better.
This is when I noticed my first real big issue with the Urbanite. The range, is abysmal even moving my head left and right sometimess causes the music to fade or distort. I am only about 3 feet away from the transmitter. I realize bluetooth performance is also a factor of the transmitter, so I tried a different dongle. A highly rated azio dongle instead of the soundbot I was previously using. Same issue, I love the sound but I cannot really enjoy it. Comparatively, I can take my HDR 180 out to the backyard and sit at the patio with uninterrupted music. Even my daughter’s $25 Kinivo headphone works fine with transmitter indoors and her sitting in the Patio, but not this guy. My main purpose for buying this headphone is to replace my HDR 180 in my office as it leaks too much sound. I will not be moving around a lot with these headphones on and I will be within 3 feet of the transmitter. The Sony and the Kinivo has issue with this range, but the Sennheiser drops out intermittently.
I am at a loss for words, this is unacceptable at this price.

Closing thoughts: I really love the sound of these phones. They sound similar to my main floor standing loudspeakers but with a more forward presentation and just a bit harsher. Still they sound great. Whatever DSP Sennheiser has chosen with these phones, works well. It does enhance the bass, but it doesnt take away the music in the process. I have heard other bass heavy speakers including the famous brand that forced Sennheiser to come up with this model, those phones all sound dull and muddy compared to these phones. These are not neutral or audiophile but sound great nevertheless. However, in the end, I am not able to keep it simply because of its abysmal range and lack of comfort for longer listening sessions. The HDR 180 runs circles around this on the above two points. Yes these headphones don’t annoy your neighbors with sound bleed like the HDR 180, but whats the point in having a headphone if it just cuts off with sharp whizzy noises in the middle of your listening session ? I can live with the discomfort but I cannot live with the cut off. I am still thinking this may be a defective unit, and I have to admit I have a larger head an elven ears, so I am cutting off only one star. If Sennheiser could fix my main two gripes, this would be a 5 star product. Till then, I am back to annoying folks with my HDR 180.

Update: 12/10…

I purchased another unit to give the bluetooth range another shot. The range still isnt anything to write home about but it doesnt drop off every few minutes at a 3 feet distance. I guess my original unit had issues. I am updating this review to 5 Stars.

If you are using this on a windows pc and the sound is muffled or sounds like a speakerphone, make sure your Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) is enabled. Also, while Windows 8.1 onwards, the OS supports this natively, your dongle or motherboard may not.

Well I have quite few of the Bluetooth headphones, my last favorite was some unknown brand, but excellent audio with ANC, I used that for good one year, unfortunately the micro USB port moved and the charging became a major issue,, this one is bought for the reason that I did have the brand, wired one, and that lived over there years and still going strong, I have trust in the brand and was pretty sure it will give me good sound quality and long life, after reading the reviews one issue was hilighted about it being uncomfortable, too tight over the ears, I was not sure but I took the chance and I simply kept the right cup in the middle position and moved the left to adjust the level of comfort, luckily it worked for me,, after initial charge of two hours I paired it with my Sony Walkman NW-ZX2, this is probably one of the top media player available in the market, with DSEE and clear audio on the ON position I was able to get the best of the audio quality, these cans have A-PTx, so the combination worked perfectly in sync, I have so far used these for five hours continuously without any discomfort, audio quality had been pretty close to the good old, valve amps, warm and rich sound along the full spectrum, almost all of the frequencies are well balanced and no drop outs during the long hours of listening, tried many gonre and era, it covered all comfortably giving detailed rich sound, I only can miss out on the ANC, but I bought these purely for the indoor home use only, for which it fits perfectly well, I am sure it will be good enough for the outdoor use because of the good quality comfortable cups, ANC, is a good option but not an essential need for the music on the go, cups give reasonably good sound isolation for the outdoor use, for the price, I accept the non ANC headphones, for ANC, you can’t get any good brand for under £150, rather over 200, so I am satisfied with my purchase and can recommend these, I am kind of audiophile, have good understanding of what music is and how to fine tune the devices, these didn’t give me any trouble right from the point of opening the box to pairing and listening to my favorite lists, buy with confidence and if can afford go for the same brand with ANC, so far I didn’t feel the need of ANC and am satisfied all five stars with confidence bass is tight and highs are clear and rich giving very good overall listening pleasure

I have a few pairs of wireless headphones, including the Sennheiser BT 4.40and the V-Moda Crossfade Wireless 1 and 2. This particular pair is very good for watching movies. In my opinion, the sound when listening to music lacks that bass punch some other brands have (like Audio-Technica). But I had a pair of Sennheisers HD 595, so I was expecting this kind of sound signature.

The design is beautiful with actually stitched fabric on it and some sort of rubber on the headband that, for not having cushion whatsoever, feels very light and comfortable even after hours of listening. These also seem to be very well made. The earcups adjustment is one of the best I’ve seen. there is no click or force keeping them in position, but somehow they do stay put by just sliding the panels on the sides.

Battery life is good. 25 hours is a standard for the price the cost.

In my opinion, there are 2 issues with these headphones:
1) Touch controls: It is a good feature to have, but I found that the controls for these particular headphones are not very accurate. Sometimes command would just get stuck and I have been forced to turn off the headphones and then turn them back on to make them work properly. This has happened just a few times, but it’s still something to consider.
2) Earcups: Perhaps my major gripe here. These claim to be “Over-the ear headphones” with their XL model and everything. For me, these almost feel like on-ear. The cups (although very well made and pleasing to the eye) are just too small for me. After 2 hours or so I have to take the headphones for a while to rest my ears that hurt from the pressure the earcups apply. These can be replaced but by the same “XL” type of earcups. So, there is no solution for this.

Overall, other than the earcups being too small, I would recommend these on a sale (I myself bought them for less than 200$) for that price I think these might just be worth it.