Sennheiser Urbanite On-Ear Headphones

Urbanite on-ears were released in 2014. Msrp was $199. In 2018 new pair can be bought for $100. Used ones are allmost worthless. I paid 25€ for my mint unit and sold it for the same price.

Build & comfort

I find looks of urbanite bit peculiar. I'm sure some people will find these more appealing then I do. Headband sticks out from my head so much that I might as well wear full size headphones if appearence is a factor.

In pictures urbanites look plasticky but in reality they're rugged and well built headphones. I was surprised by the quality of materials.

I think these are more comfortable than most on-ear headphones. Not quite as comfortable as kef m500 or ultralight portables such as koss porta pro. Earpads are memory foam with very nice suede like fabric. Silicone(?) Padded headband is not ideal because it is heavy and perhaps bit slippery.

When folded headphones are very compact.




Sound quality

Urbanites have a well balanced sound. These are not studio headphones but I was expecting more bass. Bass is boosted but it is tastefully done. Highs are bit shelved and midrange sounds clear with proper body. Bass does not leak into mids too much. All in all urbanites are a punchy sounding headphones which to me sound more exiting than sennheiser momentum over ear v1.

Unfortunately urbanites have exceptionally tiny soundstage. Might be worst I've ever encountered. It is so bad in your head experience that it makes these headphones unlistenable for me.

I think it might have something to do with sennheisers double housing design. Inside the cups is another housing in which driver is placed. This design allows the inner housing to have bass reflex system while outer housing minimizes sound leakage.

I might be wrong to blame the dual enclosure system but I was unimpressed by the soundstage on momentums and hd229 both of which have similar design.

Conclusion

At $100 or less urbanites are a good portable headphones for those who are ok with the small soundstage and imo weird looks. At this price there are better sounding headphones but few, if any are as solidly built as sennheisers. For me personally these were disappointing headphones. Thus only a 2.5/5 score.

Sennheiser Urbanite On Ear
 
Well having recently picked up a pair of HD800S and having sold many of my lower headphones I still needed a pair to throw around or fall asleep with while watching movies.
Enter the Sennheiser Urbanites…not going to say a lot about these…but their price to quality ratio IMHO is quite good…no they do not have the 800S staging or tonal purity nor should they as their price ratio is 10 to 1, but what they do is without default.

 
They do share similar material for the ears pads, but it stops there, decent closed back design with regards to isolation, somewhat laid back and forgiving of bad or low quality recordings…which for their intended purpose a good thing.
Fairly developed, undistorted, robust base, midrange is clear and pronounced which is great for movies and soundstage is decent for a closed back. My previous closed backed AKG K550s served a similar purpose and despite their quality sound getting them to fit/seal correctly was always hit or miss so eventually they got sold.
The Urbanites sit on the ear like Grados but are much more comfortable, seating them correctly is not a finicky affair and I have had no problems wearing them for a few hours… so far IMHO they are pretty respectable phone, well made, pretty good sounding…no annoying sound signature, peaks or distortion at hefty volumes, fairly efficient, collapsible and comes with a flat tangle free cable incorporating a remote/mic for either  an apple ios or android/galaxy device.
Highly recommended if one is looking for a portable or just a pair to throw around the house...I bought two pairs...