Urbanears Plattan 2 review

We all have a preference on how we listen to audio–music, podcasts, videos, or online meetings–our global society is never far away from a pair of headphones or earbuds.   Choosing the right pair, however, can be a daunting experience.  Hovering right around the USD$50 mark, these mid-range headphones deliver exactly what one would expect in term of quality, convenience, and comfort.

Design

Like many headphones on the market today, these headphones are stylish above anything else.  They are sturdy and come in an array of colors.  They are relatively comfortable for a trip on the train into town, or to listen to audio while writing a paper, but I wouldn’t suggest them for an eight-hour workday.  Although they do not come with a carrying case, they are ultra-portable, since they flip up and the nylon cord can be used to wrap them up.  The cups are only 2.5 inches in diameter and can fold up, and the cord is an impressive 45” long.  The entire headphones weight 130 grams.

Sound

These headphones are not sold as noise-cancelling, but I did notice that it did a great job of muffling outside noises (like most over-the-ear headphones do).  To me, the bass comes through a lot more on these headphones than others that I have used, so if you’re into bass, these might be a good option for you.  For spoken-word, they did the job, but for music, it sounded a little muddled, but not horrible.

One thing that I noticed is these headphones are not quiet.  I typically keep my audio settings right in the middle, but with these, I had to turn them nearly all the way down.  These are loud headphones, which is great in a noisy area or an airplane, but not necessarily ideal in a quiet office.  According to Urbanears’ website, the frequency response is from 10Hz to 20kHz.

Features

The coolest thing about these headphones is what Urbanears calls the Zoundplug. This allows the user to plug the 3.5mm jack into either the left or the right side of the headphones, so depending on the placement of the device, this is incredibly convenient.  Also, because of the secondary jack, you can share your audio with a friend.  The audio will play out of both jacks simultaneously, even to another pair of headphones. If multiple people all have the Plattan 2, you can daisy chain an infinite loop of sound.

The nylon cord also includes a mic and remote, so you can take your calls with these headphones, and also use the single button to skip a track (depending on device/software).

Wrap-up

These headphones are not overly expensive, but for the price, I like them.  They are a decent mid-range headphone and perform as expected.  It may seem trivial, but I love the ability to put the cord on either the right or left side.  The ability to share audio is gimmicky to me, but kind of neat nonetheless.   The sound runs loud, but the quality is okay–neither poor nor excellent.  I would wear them on the train, but not all day long.