Sennheiser’s new Urbanite headphones. It’s a bass-forward model made to sound just like the dance club. Sound familiar? Courtesy of Sennheiser
When your company has a successful product on its hands, what do you do? You iterate and spin out different versions of it, hoping to strike gold twice. And when a competitor has a huge hit? You iterate on their idea, make your own version, and try to hop onto their wave too.
Those are the playbook moves, anyway, and that’s what we’re seeing from Sennheiser with the release of two new headphone models for the fall.
First up is something I know you’ve all been waiting for: Sennheiser’s take on the Beats phenomenon, a portable headphone called the Urbanite. These brand new headphones, which come in on-ear and over-ear “XL” versions, are heavy on the visual flare. There’s a lot of bright plastic, a ring of color on the earpads, and some converse-color stitching on the headband. Pick a color; blues, reds, greens, creams, and whites, all pretty close to Beats. And just like Beats, the Urbanites are bass-forward—obviously meant for getting the most wallop out of club music like hip-hop, dub-step, reggaeton, NOLA bounce, what have you. The company isn’t shy about this at all; the marketing copy on the back of the box starts with, “Take your club with you, massive bass and clear treble.” The on-ears will sell for $200 and the over-ear XLs will sell for $250.
The company sent me a pair of Urbanite on-ears to audition, and they certainly live up to the claims on the box. They are big on bass, and the treble is pretty clear. Also, I should note that they do sound better than Beats to my ears. The folding, portable Beats models closest to the design of the Urbanites I tested sound muffled and dark, whereas the Urbanite has more sparkle. But still, lots of booty.
About that folding design: These headphones are made for mobile use. The flat cable has an in-line remote, and it’s only long enough to reach your phone in your pocket. These wouldn’t work very well at a desk. Also, with the on-ear model I tested, they fold up nicely and the cups don’t bump into your chin when you drop the band around your neck. But they aren’t as comfortable or as isolating as on-ear headphones, which to my taste will always be the better choice for sitting down and enjoying music. I look forward to trying the XLs. Maybe they come with a bottle of Cîroc?
In all, it’s a product category Sennheiser can’t ignore, but I wonder if it will catch on. The appeal of Beats is based just as much on who’s wearing them as what they sound like—maybe more so. They’re a fashion item, and the purchasing decisions for such things aren’t based on technical superiority, but on social signals. We’ll see.
New in-ear versions of Sennheiser’s popular Momentum headphones are coming this fall. Courtesy of Sennheiser
Also in the House, Some New In-Ears
Even if you’re not part of “Generation Beats,” Sennheiser has some new hardware you might like. Also announced today: the Momentum in-ear, a $100, in-canal earphone addition to the company’s Momentum line of premium headsets.
Sennheiser’s original Momentums were compact (and damn impressive-sounding) over-ear headphones. A huge hit, they were followed up by an on-ear model last year. And now here are the in-ears. Sennheiser says the in-ear Momentums will exhibit the same sound profile as the rest of the Momentum line, which means we should expect a little boost in the bass with some slightly mellower highs. The materials and styling are also the same, with the stainless steel and plastic bodies, a three-button clicker/mic, and a nice carrying case with different sized tips so you can find the best in-ear fit. When it hits stores later this month, there will be two models: one optimized for iOS devices, and for Android or Windows.
I didn’t get a chance to hear the Momentum in-ears, but I want to. Sennheiser’s higher-quality stuff doesn’t go for cheap, but just based on the other in-ears the company has been putting out recently, I’d gamble that these will sound quite good for $100.
No comments:
Post a Comment