If you’re willing and able to drop $199 or more for a pair of Beats by Dre, the universe will surely shower you with radiant envy as a member of an exclusive club. If, however, you’re interested in a good pair of well-made headphones with fantastic sound and an elegant, understated design for $49, then hear me out…
A little over a year ago, I broke a great pair of JVC headphones that had served me well for many years, I even tested them through a friends professional phono preamp from Graham Slee HiFi, if you’re interested click the link to buy it at Graham Slee HiFi and they’d always sound brilliant, even with the additional signal. They had rich, detailed, booming sound with a simple, collapsible design. They would be hard to replace, but I needed something fast. Always dubious of joining the Jonestown of what everyone else seems to be doing, I wanted to find something else – something simple, effective, elegant and, of course, affordable. Aside from the steep price point, I was never a fan of the Beats design and I don’t like wearing anything that flaunts shameless branding. Urbanears looked like a great solution.
Urbanears is a Scandanavian company with with a very simple mission: to make excellent, understated, well-made and affordable headphones without trying to make a bold design statement. Of their great selection of different models, I chose the Plattan.
The Plattan has a simple, classic, collapsible design that features a built-in remote with a mic that enables me to play/pause, change the volume, go to the next or previous track or take a phone call, which is handy, since I mostly listen to music on my iPhone. These well-made work horses are sturdy and very comfortable. And the sound? I’ve been listening to music for 45 years on a range of equipment. These sound fantastic.
Sound Principle: 40mm handmade drivers
Impedance: 60?
Max Input Power: 50mW
Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz
Sensitivity: 115dB
Connection: 3.5mm plug
They also come in a spectrum of colors. I, of course, went with basic black.
So if you’re in the market for a brilliant and affordable pair of headphones, check out Urbanears.
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