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Urbanears by Zound Industries may not be a brand you’re familiar with but the Scandinavian headphone maker has been making audio products since 2009 with the simple purpose; making great headphones for anyone who enjoys music. In their own words:
Urbanears promotes a deeper connection to color, form and people while providing the freedom to transcend individuality and unify the sound experience.
Urbanears headphone lineup offers a little something for everyone. The look is traditional and yet combines a certain organic, textural feel you don’t get with many other brands. This week, Zound officially rolled out the first wireless speaker offering from Urbanears. These sound boxes aren’t just colorful, but capable. Clad in fabric and available in 6 different colors, the new “multi-clever” wireless speakers bring some pretty neat tricks to the party and give you the feel of a classic amplifier in a neat, simplistic package.
Urbanears wireless speaker come in to distinct sizes depending on your use-case. Both offer up the same functionality as well as unique color combinations. Along with wireless connectivity, Urbanears speakers allow for multi-room audio. You can share your favorite tunes with every room of the house or play a different theme, playlist or station if each room. Both devices offer Chromecast built-in as well as support for AirPlay, Spotify, auxiliary and Bluetooth direct.
A very unique feature are the two control knobs on top of the speakers. What Zound describes as “humanized” interface, the knobs let users create preset stations and playlists that can be selected with a simple turn. The other knob adjusts your volume and both are intended to give the speaker a more old-fashioned interaction with the devices.
The speakers come in two models, Baggen and Stammen. Stammen is geared to small/medium spaces like a living room or bedroom while Baggen is powerful enough for open-air applications like a patio or large studio apartment. Here’s a quick breakdown of each.
Baggen
Stammen
- Drivers: Two 3/4˝ neodymium dome tweeters, one 4˝ woofer
- USB output for charging: 5 VDC, 1 A
- Audio interfaces: AUX: 3.5 mm stereo jack, Bluetooth: Classic + Low Energy 4.2 AVRCP + A2DP, Wi-Fi: WPA2, 802.11b/g/n/ac 2.4 GHz/5 GHz with diversity
- Audio power output: 36 W
- Weight: 3.6 kg
- Size: 210 x 210 mm
- Mains input voltage: 100–240 V, 50–60 Hz
- Max peak power consumption: 60 W
- Class D amplifier: 2X15W+1X40W
- Frequency range: 50Hz-20kHz +/- 3dB
- Power saver mode: 1.6 W
- Amplifiers3 Class-D
- Price: $349 US
We’ll be looking forward to getting our hands on one of these. If it sounds half as good as it looks it should be well worth it. Stay tuned.
