I hadn’t heard of Urbanista until I got these headphones as a gift. It’s a small Swedish company making stylish and affordable headphones with features that stand out in this price range. Take the Urbanista Miami headphones, for example. These are $150 headphones with active noise cancellation (ANC), an ambience mode, for pass-through sound, 50 hours of battery life with ANC off, and Bluetooth 5.0. The sound quality and microphones surprise as well, especially for this price range.
These aren’t “budget” headphones, they definitely fall into the mid range, price-wise. And, while they have plenty of shortcomings, surprisingly decent sound quality, great mics, and battery life that lasts forever make these headphones a fantastic value.
In This Article:
Sound Quality 7/10
Sound quality is always a hard thing to definitively measure. That’s because it so often gets wrapped up in sound profile, that is, how sound is presented, and that can be entirely subjective. A headphone that puts more emphasis on highs may sound “crystal clear,” but the quiet bass won’t make them much fun to listen to. Meanwhile, heavy bass can drown out important details, giving you a head-rattling experience, but not something you can enjoy all your music with. The profile on these lean towards the latter, without over-doing it.
Boom-Boom-Boom Bass
These have heaps of bass. They’re not as bass-heavy as Skullcandy’s sound profile, but prepare yourself for more bass than you’d expect. They’re bass boosters. If you’re used to listening to something that only boosts bass slightly, like AirPods Max or modern Beats headphones, or more level listening, like some open back planar magnetic headphones, then you may feel like it’s too much bass at first. It turned me off at first. It’s just missing too much and pushing bass up too much. But I kept listening and the sound profile became fun, addictive, even. It has drawbacks though, of course. In R&B and bass-heavy songs, the bass can drown out low notes and details, and squash mids and highs a bit, but they’re never crunched. You can still make out some details in mids and highs, even if they’re hidden behind the bass a bit. Still, you know you’re losing something. You can almost hear it there, hiding beneath the booming bass.
One song I tested these with was Passion Pit’s Take a Walk. This was specifically chosen because bass-heavy headphones struggle to feature all the detail of the song. There’s a loud bass drum banging throughout the song, but also lower notes, a bass guitar, vocals, and highs. You miss out on the lower details, just outside of the range of bass, because the bass just swallows it up with every thud of that bass drum. The mids and highs are still there, they’re just harder to hear over the bass.
Boosting Mids and Highs
It’s as though mids and highs are further away, but the detail doesn’t drop beyond recognition. In fact, the Miamis respond well to an equalizer, though there isn’t an app from Urbanista for these headphones. If you use a music app with an EQ, you can balance out the sound, and they do sound more clear then. This is a problem with how these were tuned, the sound profile. They have the capability to boost mids and highs more, just by turning down the bass a bit with an equalizer. I found that, with their standard profile in YouTube videos or podcasts, they just don’t present voices quite level enough for my tastes. They’re definitely more for music than spoken word.
The driver they’re using is capable of producing a more flat sound profile, you’ll just have to use an app that allows you to tweak it to bring that out. If you’re listening to analog music, you’ll have to use an amp with an equalizer, as, even wired, these retain that bass-heavy profile. Listening to records, where I just have a simple amp without an EQ, the bass once again washes out details.
Overall Quality
These are decidedly mid-range. The details in the mids and highs are surprisingly good for $150, and certainly better than you’d expect, especially if you can tone that bass down a bit to hear the details. Without doing that, even details in bass are lost to the volume. Still, there is a noticeable lack of clarity, but only when comparing to more expensive headphones. It’s the kind that only an audiophile comparing $300 to $500 headphones to these $150 headphones would notice though. I think most people looking for good sounding headphones that don’t cost too much would really enjoy the level of clarity and the lively profile these provide.
One niche use? ASMR. I found this with my Skullcandy Dime truly wireless earbuds too. Bass-heavy sounds are good for ASMR, especially the kind I like, involving sounds like tapping, rain, ambient noise, etc. However, as I’ll mention more in the comfort section, I wouldn’t recommend these for relaxing, even though the sound profile makes them good for tuning out distractions or relaxing with ASMR.
Noise Cancellation and Ambience Mode
These feature a noise cancellation and an ambience mode. I’m sorry to say that neither are very good. Make no mistake, you can hear a difference between the two, as well as the mode with both of them off… it’s just not much. Noise cancellation does quiet the external sounds slightly, but less than you’d prefer. External sound drops off more from the ear cups than from noise cancellation. It can help with some lower or consistent sounds, like fans at a low speed, but not by enough.
Ambience mode sounds incredibly artificial. It doesn’t increase external volume much, but can help with voices a bit, so you can at least have some natural conversations when on a call. There’s also no wind cancellation either. So, if you have air blowing on you, like from a fan, expect it to make a lot of noise.
These really don’t stand up to the ANC in other headphones. My AirPods Pro block out more sound, by far. The ANC and ambient modes feel like the biggest, “You get what you pay for” in these headphones. This is one area I can be sure corners got cut. The differences between the modes are subtle. It’s a little helpful, but you’re not getting these because they have great ANC or a great ambient mode.
Appearance 10/10
These certainly don’t look like cheap headphones. They are all plastic, with the exception of the bars connecting the headband to the cans, but it’s all very well done. Many high end headphones use plastic, after all. Sony’s expensive WH-1000XM4 headphones are almost entirely plastic. Plastic is fine. It’s lightweight and consistent.
The Urbanistas have a smooth, elegant design, with just the right accents and minimal branding. The ear cups themselves use faux leather, which looks nice, but I worry they won’t hold up. I could see it being a problem with people who wear earrings, especially. Eventually, faux leather always flakes and falls apart, and these don’t have a way to replace the ear cups.
The headband is a solid smooth piece. The headphones extend from the band using aluminum, which may be polished or anodized, depending on your color choice. The exposed metal look is a nice touch. Everything about the design is around smooth lines, geometric shapes, and simplicity. There’s an elegance to these headphones.
I should warn about the white ones though. Part of the reason I didn’t take as many photos is because these really pick up colors. My hair dye, my foundation, it all leaves its mark. And, while it will wear off (and I can scrub it off with alcohol wipes), just know that more solid colors may be a better choice for you if you wear makeup or change your hair color often.
These will look stylish on your head and around your neck too. Some headphones I’ve tested extend too high up on the headset, making them get wider, rather than longer. The Urbanista Miami headphones instead conform well to your head, distributing weight and looking smaller than they are when worn. Design was clearly important to the Urbanista team, and if it’s important to you, you’ll want to pick up a pair.
Fit and Comfort 2/10
The headband has some shallow padding. I expected it to be uncomfortable, but, due to the shape and the way it conforms to your head, it’s actually not. There is some clamping force on the sides, like on-ear headphones, and this reduces the pressure on the top of your head slightly.
However, the ear cups themselves are incredibly uncomfortable. After about an hour, I have to take these off. The cups are too small, in both depth and diameter. They sort of squish your ears into a small area, then force them to sit against the rough fabric over hard plastic covering the drivers. These get very uncomfortable on my ears after about 30-40 minutes, and unbearable after an hour. They’re not quite as bad as on-ear headphones like the Beats Solo headphones, but pretty close.
To improve comfort here, they’d need larger ear cups to accommodate your ear without pushing them out towards the driver. Then, add more padding. Much more padding, these are far too shallow.
There’s also a problem with fit. The speakers on the AirPods Max are spring loaded, so they push into the bottom part of your hear as much as the top. This distributes pressure, improving both comfort and passive noise cancellation. However, the ear cups on the Urbanista Miami headphones don’t adjust enough. In fact, you may find you have to extend them to a length a bit longer than you would normally, just to get them to fit the curvature of your head at the right angle. If the ear cups were more padded, this wouldn’t be as much of a problem, but as it is, they put a lot more pressure on the top of your ear, and can leave a gap at the bottom for noise leakage.
If you wear glasses, you may find that pressure at the top is too much as well. Again, thicker padding is the answer here. I found it pressed my glasses into the side of my head far too much for comfort. I just wear blue light glasses, so it’s not as though they’re a necessity, but I was disappointed by the pressure these put on them.
Comfort is bad. The headband is fine, but the ear cups will have you angrily taking these things off after 45 minutes.
Controls 1/10
The controls are just bad. I don’t get who designs controls for headphones. Some are simple. The digital crown on the AirPods Max? Magical. The buttons on the Beats Solo Pro headphones? Great. Touch sensors on headphones? Silly. These? They’re terrible.
The buttons are small. There are three on one side, all touching each other, and one on the other side. The one for controlling ANC/ambience is easy to find. It’s the only button on the left ear cup. On the right, however, there’s a mess. The buttons are touching each other. On the volume up/down (also skip track) buttons, there’s a small ridge right at the border of the play/pause button. When searching with your finger tip, you’ll have to find both to be sure which button you’re on before you press, you’ll basically have to touch all three. Why not just put a dot on the center button?
Then there’s the problem when you do press down. The buttons aren’t very tactile and are quite shallow. Pressing them in is a guessing game. “Did I hit that right?” When you’re turning your headphones on, switching to another device, or turning them off, you could end up holding the button in for 10 seconds before realizing you weren’t holding it firmly enough. It makes doing anything with these, from turning them off to pausing your music, a huge pain. Looking at previous designs from them, this was a huge step backwards. The buttons used to be separated. I like that they’re not obtrusive, but these could have been done much better.
Mic Quality 8/10
The mic quality is actually a standout feature here. I took recordings as I walked around my apartment and was surprised to find my voice always came through very clearly. The background noise cancellation isn’t very good though. If you’re running water in the background, or have a fan pointed at you, expect your voice to sound muddled. If you’re in a quiet space, people will be able to hear you as well as they would if you were using AirPods Pros. However, that background noise will put a dampener on your parade. The poor quality of the ANC should have hinted that these wouldn’t be great for cancelling out background noise.
In my quiet office space, anyone can hear me quite well. I tested them with friends over video calls and everyone could hear me fantastically. So, while you may struggle to take a call with these if you’re on the street, in an office setting, they’re great for Zoom calls or some Discord hangouts. It’s almost like having a mic close to your mouth.
Connectivity 8/10
I mentioned this briefly in the sound section, but these have a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. You’ll most likely want to use Bluetooth though, as it’s convenient, the sound quality isn’t changed much, and the battery life on these isn’t something to worry about. These use Bluetooth 5.0, for low power consumption and surprisingly good range. I can walk around my apartment with my phone or Mac in the corner without losing the connection.
Pairing can take a while. That’s a bit of a control issue. Not only are the controls finicky, they take a while to switch off, then back on, and then into pairing mode. It can take 20-30 seconds just to switch devices, something I do a lot while testing headphones. Perhaps my AirPods have spoiled me, but I’ve gotten used to jumping between my Mac, iPhone, and Apple TV with ease.
The Bluetooth delay isn’t too bad. You can watch movies with this. However, I did notice it’s a little worse with an Android device than it is on my Mac or iPhone. Interestingly, however, the Android device provides more information on battery level, estimating it at intervals of 10%. On iOS, you just get a small battery icon in the status bar that’s very hard to read.
If you wanted to use these for video editing, you can use the analog cable. Otherwise, you’ll likely just stick with Bluetooth.
Portability 6/10
These don’t fold up, they only extend. Still, Urbanista includes a little hard case to protect your headphones. It’s a simple case, with one zipper, a small fabric loop at the top, and room for accessories inside along with your headphones, but it’s nice. Most companies don’t include a full hard case with their headphones. Even the AirPods Max come with a useless soft case that can’t protect your headphones at all. While the case itself may be large, about 23cm x 20cm (roughly 9.5 x 8 freedom inches), it’s still something you could throw in a large bag and know it’s going to protect your headphones from bumps and scratches.
Battery Life & Charging 10/10
Battery life on these is phenomenal. Hours of listening will take off only 10-20% of your battery life. In fact, Urbanista says these last up to 50 hours with ANC off. It can be hard to measure the battery life with your iPhone or Mac, but you won’t have to worry about it much. A full charge can easily last you an entire weekend of constant listening. In fact, with that 50 hour battery life, you could use it almost for an entire work week.
Charging is done via USB-C. It’s a little slow, but I attribute that to the size of the battery. You won’t have to do it often, and can charge overnight easily. After all, it’s not like you’re wearing these to sleep. Even on your back, you’d find them sliding off. So charge at night once or sometimes twice a week and forget about battery life.
Value 9.5/10
These definitely punch above their weight class when it comes to bang for the buck. While the sound quality isn’t the best, it’s definitely better than most mid-range headphones in this price range. Alongside that, you also get battery life that crushes the competition. AirPods Max only last around 20 hours. These, even with ANC on, last twice as long. These look good, have a sturdy build quality, come with a hard case, and they sound alright, especially if you like big, thumping bass. For $150, these are a fantastic value, practically a steal.
Odds & Ends
Urbanista included what you’d expect for headphones. There’s a charging cable, a 3.5mm headphone cable, and then a welcome surprise: an airline adapter. Airlines often still use those silly two-prong headphone jacks, so if you’re listening to an in-flight movie, you’ll either get mono sound in one ear or listen to your own content. However, Urbanista threw in an adapter. The charging cable, headphone cable, and adapter all fit nicely in the accessory tray area of the hard case too. It’s a nice touch that shows Urbanista was thinking about their customers and wanted to make sure they could use their headphones everywhere.
Now, a complaint. The ear cups don’t seem to be serviceable. In fact, everything is press-fit in this, and could be hard to disassemble for repair. Lithium ion batteries need replacement eventually, and ear cups, especially those using faux leather, break down in a short period of time. These really should be replaceable. Especially since, if they were, you could easily throw on third party ear cups to give yourself a little more room in the ears and improve the comfort and passive noise cancellation of your headphones.
Overall 7/10 – A Sound Value
These are in the same price range of something like the Skullcandy Hesh or even the Crushers, but with more nuanced, balanced sound. That is to say, more balanced than Skullcandy. These still pump out bass at an almost ridiculous level. It’s not quite laughable bass, but it gets close. If that’s a sound profile you like, you’ll love these. However, if you prefer more detail, you better have something to equalize that bass a bit.
I don’t see these as competitors to AirPods Max or Sony WH-1000XM4s. On paper, they might seem like they are. 40mm drivers, ANC, ambience mode, Bluetooth 5.0, etc. However, the sound quality just isn’t up to the level of more high-end headphones. It’s definitely mid-range, but towards the high end of the mid-range. At $150, these are a good value for the sound quality, features, and appearance you get.
If you’re looking for some bass-heavy Bluetooth headphones, and you have small ears, you’ll likely love these. While the ANC and ambience modes aren’t fantastic, they do make a small difference that adds to the experience. The battery life goes on forever. I don’t wear or use these as much anymore primarily due to comfort, not sound quality. I like the big, boomy bass sometimes, and will likely use them for just that on occasion. The real problem is the comfort. I could overlook all other small flaws in these headphones if not for the comfort. I like to keep my headphones on all day, and I just can’t with these. Other reviewers have had more luck with them, so, if you’re willing to take a risk on comfort, there is a surprisingly generous 90-day return policy. If you’re looking for budget over-ear headphones that sounds better than they have any right to at $150, check them out.