Urbanears Plattan Headphones (Review)
by Mike Richard
If there’s one type of travel gadget we see again and again here at Vagabondish.com HQ, it’s headphones. Available in a million shapes, colors, and sizes, it’s often hard to separate the good from the bad.
But I’ve a bit of a soft spot for retro DJ style and culture, which is why the Urbanears Plattan headphones particularly piqued my interest.
The Skinny
First, the manufacturer’s lowdown … the Plattan headphones are touted as:
Full-size fashionable, functional, and stylish headphones
- Full-size headphone provides rich, secluded sound
- Features exclusive “zound plug” which allows a friend to plug in and enjoy music with the user
- Folds down to the size of your fist providing maximum mobility
- Features custom microphone and remote compatible with the iPhone and Nokia, HTC and Blackberry phones along with two extra cable extensions making the headphones compatible with a majority of all devices
- Available in 14 fashionable colors like Salad, Army, Ocean, and Chocolate
In Detail
From the too-cool-for-school Urbanears.com website to the modern chic, Apple-esque product packaging, it’s clear the Plattan are intended to be a whole lot snazzier than your Momma’s headphones.
Styling
It’s hard not to like the ultra clean design of Plattan. It’s as though Fatboy Slim designed a pair of compact headphones with a touch of Scandanavian minimalism.
And, just to reiterate, they’re available in 14 colors like Salad, Army, Ocean, and Chocolate. (I know, I know … finally, someone’s dipped their toes into the Salad-colored headphones market.) Our light gray test model has an understated aloofness that says, “I’m thoroughly enjoying The Tragically Hip’s latest release from beginning to end right now. Please do not disturb me.”
Audio Quality
As many Vagabondish.com readers are aware, I’m no audiophile. I couldn’t tell you the difference between a $5,000 and a $500 speaker. But I know what I like.
The Urbanears Plattan headphones provide good, rich quality sound, especially given the relatively small package and smallish price tag. The audio is a touch bass-heavy, but some minor EQ finnagling helps to remedy this.
We’ve tested other headphones at twice the price that boasted only half the sound quality.
Construction
The padded headband is a welcome reprieve from the typical, uncomfortably hard plastic bit that holds many cheaper headphone models together.
Independently adjustable left/right ear cups that swivel horizontally and slide vertically help provide an excellent fit.
My one minor gripe is that, after extended wear, the Plattan begin to feel too tight. This is an effect of the headband pulling the two sides of the headphones in together too strongly. On an entirely related note, I’m blessed with a head that is in bobblehead-like proportion to the rest of my body; that is to say, I’ve got an ample noggin. For folks with more average skulls, my sense is that this tightness won’t be an issue.
Pricing & Availability
Available now at Nordstrom, KarmaLoop.com, and other retailers for around $59 USD.
Bottom Line
At a hair under $60 USD, the Urbanears Plattan are priced in the sweet spot between $20 blisterpack throwaway earbuds and $100+ noise-canceling, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink headphones from Sennheiser and the like.
Along with a relatively small form factor, retro cool styling and a variety of nifty color choices to “customize your listening experience” (did I really just write that?), we think the Plattan headphones are a definite winner for travelers. Recommended.
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This review was partly or wholly sponsored by the companies/manufacturers mentioned in the above post.
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About the Author

Vagabondish editor, Mike Richard, lives in Rhode Island - a spit of land in the northeastern U.S. He is a professional web designer and travel junkie with an unhealthy addiction to backpacking, camping, hiking and seeing the world. He enjoys knit hats, small, declarative sentences and speaking in the third person.











July 12th, 2010
Wouldn’t vagabonds want smaller headphones for easier traveling?
July 24th, 2010
after reading many reviews of these headphones, i think i’m going to go and purchase some today. i love the idea of the zound plug.
and erick, the plattan headphones fold into “the size of your fist”, so they are pretty portable.
September 23rd, 2010
Best effin headphones, worn every penny and more.
October 31st, 2010
Purchased these today and I’m impressed! They aren’t the best sounding but having the inline mic is an awesome feature!
January 4th, 2011
i mean the most important thing here is the sound though..ultimately. im definitely not an audiophile either but i like my classic rock to sound like something other than muffled bass. ive read that everything except the sound quality is great about these headphones on other review sites…can someone who has them and listens to more than bass-heavy music tell me otherwise?
January 5th, 2011
@Caroline Castro
these headphones sound only mediocre. their bass response is loud, but muddy and chances are you won’t like it. they are however very stylish and the mic + remote and zound plug are handy. you sort of have to sacrifice sound for style with the urbanears, so only get them if you care more about style than sound.
May 10th, 2011
to be honest i think all the discussion on sound is over the top – i found it fine for the price and style.
My problem was that the remote didnt work with HTC Desire. Trying to skip tracks made phone calls instead – embarrasing when you keep ringing the same person.
Had to bring them back
September 13th, 2011
went into apple and purchaced on a complet whim mostly because they were purple and someone else i knew had got them and said they were good. that was an understatement. great headphones. i put them on and jumped around for 15 minutes listening to upbeat music! AWESOME headphones. worth it
November 25th, 2011
it squeezes your head and ears when you wear for a long ammount of time
January 23rd, 2012
These headphones are the tits. Great sound, and they look good. Obviously they aren’t the Beats by Dre, but you’re also not paying $200 for them. For the low price these are the best headphones I’ve listened to.
January 26th, 2012
why mine sounds strange if im not press the little buttom on the headphone. I thought that should be the microphone. anyone can help???