Ich
bin ein Berliner.
Back
in headphone land, and back with a relatively new brand for us that
we're quickly growing to love. So far we've reviewed the SanFrancisco and Seattle headphones from Scandinavian company Urnabista,
and both were impressive. This time we're checking out a pair of
exceptionally small and light Bluetooth headphones from them, the
Berlin.
Check
out the above review of the San Francisco wired 'phones, as the
Berlin look pretty much the same, with comfortable and moulded
earbuds finding great ground between the fully in-ear and not-so
fully in-ear headphones. If that makes sense. Basically, you don't
have to push them deep into your ear canal, but they do direct sound
nicely into there.
However,
the big difference between the the San Frans and these, are that the Urbanista Berlin are fully Bluetooth, so iPhone 7 owners read on with
enthusiasm. The Berlins are the loop-kind of wireless 'phones,
situating the battery and Bluetooth receiver in a blob of controls on
the connecting wire itself. That wire is also relatively short,
meaning that – with an adult's head – it will rest on the base of
your neck with no weight tugging down on your actual ears.
That
control 'blob' features the volume and pairing buttons, as well as
the Micro USB port for charging. There is also a microphone built in
there, letting you use the Urbanista Berlin for calls – if indeed
you are connected to a smartphone. On that note, pairing to a
multitude of devices was a breeze, but although the earbuds fit
snugly and comfortable, we wouldn't call these sports earphones. Take
a jog in them, and they will eventually wiggle free – sit back on
your daily commute and let the tunes wash over you, and you'll be
fine. You playa, you.
In
use, they perform very well indeed, despite the small size and
competitive price point. Like all in-ear earphones of this design,
you sacrifice immersion for comfort, as they'll never be able to
block all ambient sound from around you to let you focus on the
music. As we've experienced with most other headphones of this style
(as well as with the Urbanista San Francisco), you need to crank up
the volume when listening with them in public spaces like buses and
trains, which can effect the quality of the audio.
In
quieter settings they perform far better, and we were able to make
out crisp and clean vocals and a respectable amount of bass –
again, decent considering the small size and low price. But the most
resounding thing about the Urbanista Berlin Bluetooth Headphones is
that they wrap up into a tiny package, so carrying them around is
never going to be an issue. Small, light, easy to use, and great
performance. It's a buy, dawgs.
Around £22
Available from www.amazon.co.uk
