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Sennheiser Urbanite XL Headphones Review

Written By Kevin Bruce Francisco
Published • March 23rd, 2015
Gadget ReviewsGadgets
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Last week you’ve read our take on the Sennheiser Urbanite that provided exceptional comfort and top-notch sound quality. Now we take a look at its bigger sibling, the Sennheiser Urbanite XL. What we aim to find out in this review is which among the two should you go for if you plan to invest on a good pair of cans. Let’s get on it.

Design and Construction

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The bigger Urbanite XL basically shares the same DNA with the Urbanite in terms of design and construction. The biggest difference of the two is that while the Urbanite has an on-ear design, the bigger Urbanite XL goes for an over-the-ear approach (aka circumaural).

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Both have that same touch of matte in its aluminum arms and flexible headband wrapped in stitched cloth, in addition to feeling premium to the hands. The sliders that adjust the earcups glide smoothly and stay in place once worn.

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Just like the on-ear variant, the XL carries the same micro-fiber exterior hugging the memory foam pads. These aren’t the synthetic leather ones that chip away overtime so that’s one less thing to worry about in the long run.

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The headband is still simply-designed, with stitches running at both sides of the band. It’s also flexible just like the smaller Urbanite that you can bend to a straight horizontal line. The folding hinges are also present here that lets you fold the headphones and carry it on its draw-string pouch.

In terms of physique, pretty much everything still looked and felt the same with the exception of the bigger cups. As for its sound performance we’re just about to find out.

Comfort Factor

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As mentioned in our previous review, comfort factor is also what the company is focusing on in the Urbanite series. The XL clasps to the head securely while not being too tight at the same time — same with the case as the Urbanite.

Although this has over-the-ear cups designed to surround the ear and not go on top of it, we couldn’t say that one is better than the other as the on-ear variant was just as comfortable just like this one.

Honestly, I would personally choose over-the-ears instead of on-ears any day, so me saying that both are equal in comfort is something that I don’t say all the time. At the end of the day it will really boil down to the wearer’s choice if he/she likes sporting big cups or a more compact one.

Sound Quality

As we played our usual songs for testing, it took a while to dawn upon us the difference between the two. We knew something was different, but they sound very close to each other that it was challenging and we couldn’t seem to put our finger on it at first.

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After a few tracks and switching both headphones one after the other, we noticed that the Urbanite XL has a more concealed sound, compared to the supra-aural one which has a bit more treble in terms of pushing sound out of its drivers. The XL also sounded warmer, which for me, is better since it sounded more like it had consistency in it.

Bass stands solid and maintains its composure even on the highest volume, but doing so makes the treble too bright at times so we needed to keep the volume at a good spot to keep things balanced.

Wider soundscape is also one element that we noticed with the XL. This is mainly due to its circumaural design that gave more room for sound to move around in.

Keep in mind that both headphones sounded impressive and the noticeable differences we’ve mentioned could be negative for us, but we each have our own preferences.

Conclusion

Both the Urbanite and Urbanite XL have the same neat and easily-noticeable design, while having premium materials comprising it. They have commendable sound performance with slight differences, but overall provide an enjoyable musical experience. Comfort is also aced by both models so it’s just up to you if you prefer the feel of having bigger cups — although choosing the XL will set you back Php4K more.

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Basically, the characteristics that won us over with the Urbanite were still the same ones that got us impressed with the Urbanite XL. Although at Php15,900 it might not cater to everyone and just target the serious listeners (but hey at least it’s not as expensive as some Php20K headphones that are just over-hyped, right?).

You’ve seen the similarities and differences of the two. If you were to choose one, which would you pick? We’re just curious.

Sennheiser Urbanite specs:
Design: Circumaural, closed back
Transducers: Dynamic
Frequency response: 16Hz – 22kHz
Impedance: 18 ohms
Sound Pressure Level (SPL): 110dB
Volume control: Smart in-line remote
Microphone type: In-line microphone with omni-directional pickup
Connectivity: 3.5mm L-shaped plug
Cable length: 1.2 meters
Accessories: Soft pouch

What we liked about it:

Sturdy, flexible headband
Comfortable over-the-ear cups
Simple design

What we didn’t like:

Sounds bright on maximum volume

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Kevin Bruce Francisco

Kevin Bruce Francisco is the Senior Editor and Video Producer for YugaTech. He's a Digital Filmmaking graduate who's always either daydreaming of traveling or actually going places on his bike. Follow him on Twitter for more tech updates @kevincofrancis.