Hands on: UrbanEars Plattan 2 Bluetooth headphones review

When Urbanears released the wired Plattan 2 headphones, we were impressed by the combination of cool design, solid audio performance, and reasonable price of $50. The new Urbanears Plattan 2 BT, Bluetooth take on that model, looks very similar to its wired sibling, but the price has been doubled to $100. Sure, we've seen price jumps for the wireless version of wired headphones before, but they're typically not more than $20 to $30 (take the Skullcandy Grind Wireless, for example). Urbanears claims there are audio improvements, as well as a newly designed hinge on the earcups. But while the audio does indeed sound different, some listeners might actually prefer the wired Plattan 2's sound. That makes the $100 price harder to swallow.

Design

You would be forgiven for thinking at a glance, that the Plattan 2 BT is identical to its sibling. Offered in vibrant monochrome colors like blue and red, both have the stylish matte plastic build and cloth coverings, both are on-ear designs with plush earcups, both are comfortable, and both have jacks for removable audio cables. The Plattan 2 BT differs in that it has on-ear controls, and a newly designed hinge that allows the earcups more flexibility to adjust to your head. Internally, the same-sized drivers are being used.

Oddly, there is also no included cable. We say oddly because of the jack included for a cable. That might be a first for Bluetooth headphones we've tested—cables aren't always a given, but when a jack is there, you pretty much expect one. And at $100, there are plenty of Bluetooth headphone pairs that offer a removable cable.

The audio cable jack is located on the left earcup, while the micro USB port for the included USB charging cable is located on the right earcup. This is also where the power/pairing switch can be found; it can be pushed up or down to control volume, or side to side to rewind or skip tracks, while pressing once quickly plays/pauses music or answers a call, double tapping summons your phone's voice assistant, and holding it in powers the headphones down or up. It's a graceful solution in the often less-than-graceful realm of on-ear controls.

The mic offers mediocre intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s, we could understand every word recorded, but it sounded like the microphone was covered in gauze and far away. This is fairly common on built-in mics for Bluetooth headphones, so it's not a big knock on the Plattan 2 BT.

Urbanears rates battery life at more than 30 hours per charge, but your results will vary with your volume levels.