Urbanista Los Angeles Test: Is this solar helmet a gadget?

Apart from ANC and spatial audio, there have not been many revolutionary innovations in the field of headphones. That is why brands that are interested in solar energy charging are worth a look, it is a feature that deserves to be tried.

Also, when Urbanista, a consumer audio company based in Stockholm, sent me this Urbanista Los Angeles headset, I was eager to test the solar-powered charging function. And to see if the sound and the charging technology were convincing.

The three points to remember for the Urbanista Los Angeles Helmet

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  At €140, this Urbanista Los Angeles headset offers a satisfying audio experience and an elegant appearance.
  
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  These headphones are perfect for casual listeners at home
  looking for an elegant helmet for less than €200, with an excellent
  noise reduction and great autonomy.
  
• 
  
  Over-the-ear wearing can be uncomfortable and the sound level lacks power.
  

The question of the look of the Urbanista Los Angeles helmet

According to Urbanista, Los Angeles headphones constantly recharge as soon as they are exposed to indoor and outdoor light. But does it really work? I discuss below the solar charging technology, the sound quality.

At first glance, Los Angeles headphones are elegant and stylish. The headphones are available in three colors: Midnight Black, Sand Gold and Desert Gray. I had the opportunity to test the Desert Gray headphones, and I am absolutely obsessed with this colorway. The colors and the general appearance of the headphones clearly show that Urbanista is aimed at chic and trend-conscious customers. But, like a pair of elegant stiletto heels but inevitably uncomfortable after a few hours, the helmet is not pleasant to wear all day. Of all the helmets I tested this year, the Los Angeles is the one that seemed the most uncomfortable to me.

Since I wear glasses and earrings, it was difficult for me to keep the Los Angeles headset on my head all day. The pads are soft, but the helmet band is so tight that after a few hours, it felt like it was sinking into my skull.

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

The question of the sound of the Urbanista Los Angeles headphones

For €140, the Los Angeles offers an above-average sound that will satisfy the palette of any casual listener. This headset offers powerful bass for an immersive experience and is perfect for softer classical music.

I listened to Party People by Vince Staples and Ms. Jackson by Outkast with the Urbanista Los Angeles on high volume, and the headphones delivered pronounced bass and clear vocals. On the other hand, when listening to my classic morning playlist, the instruments were not clear and sharp, but rather flat and dull.

While wearing these headphones while running errands, on the subway and even in the backseat of a car, I noticed that the volume of the Urbanista Los Angeles was not very high. I kept pressing the volume button on my phone to make my music louder and louder, and I noticed that I had already reached the maximum volume.

And the autonomy of the Urbanista Los Angeles helmet?

The Urbanista Los Angeles is equipped with an autonomy of 80 hours, a Multipoint Bluetooth connection and a port detection, a significant plus for a headset. The buttons on the headphones are also very responsive.

The ANC of this headset works well in moderately noisy environments, but the microphones do not seem to mask external noises and drown out the sound as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra or the JBL Tour One M2 does. However, if you prefer a lower ANC when moving or exercising, the quality of the noise reduction of this headset will not cause you any problems.

Is solar energy charging technology a gimmick? I am glad that you are asking the question. To transform light into electricity, the headphones use Exeger’s Powerfoyle solar cell technology on the headband. According to the Exeger website, Powerfoyle transforms “any indoor or outdoor light into clean and inexhaustible energy”.

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

Does solar work to recharge the Urbanista Los Angeles helmet?

“You don’t need direct sunlight to charge your products, the light from your house or a cloudy winter day is enough,” reads a text explaining the Powerfoyle technology on Exeger’s website.

I did not find this accurate. It takes a lot of direct sunlight for the battery to gain more energy than it spends, and this is rarely what you will get by placing it near a fluorescent light bulb in your house or leaving it on a counter with the kitchen lights on above.

Even when I placed it in the sun, the highest current I saw going up was 8 mA (which is great according to the Urbanista app, but the highest current it collects is about 12 mA). And when you place the Los Angeles sufficiently in the sun, it still takes about an hour for it to gain 1% autonomy…

Unless you live in a glass house with 360-degree access to the sun, you will probably only get two to three hours of good light on a sunny day, which is not enough to fully recharge the headset battery. Although this is an innovative idea, I hope that this technology will be improved in future generations, because the solar charging of these headphones did not live up to my expectations.

ZDNET’s buying tips for the Urbanista Los Angeles Helmet

I recommend this helmet to style-conscious and technology-conscious people, who wear a helmet when exercising, moving around and working. Thanks to the long battery life and satisfactory sound, most people will have no problem wearing this headset. I would not recommend it to audiophiles, people who want to better block out too loud noises or anyone who is looking for a robust and immersive audio experience.

If you are looking for an impressive noise cancellation system, opt for the QuietComfort Ultra headphones from Bose. If sound quality is your priority, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 is for you.

Source: “ZDNet.com “