GROUP TEST WIRELESS BUDSSTUFF SAYS Rugged, punchy and with great stamina: a lot of buds for your money +++++
Urbanista Athens Price £119 / stuff.tv/UrbanistaAthens
BEST FOR
TOUGH
WORKOUTSWhat’s the story?
Designed with an outdoor life
in mind, these ultra-rugged
true wireless earphones
from Swedish manufacturer
Urbanista exude durability.
The addition of a stylish
charging case, the lightweight
design and particular attention
to meaty bass notes make
them a viable alternative to
far pricier rivals.
Are they any good?
In short, yes, they are rather
excellent. Not only are they
rugged enough to swim with,
smart enough to talk to both
Siri and Google Assistant and
good for two marathons on a
single charge, but these buds
do all of that at a price that’s
really quite affordable.
Whip them out of their
case and, provided you’ve
previously paired them with
your device, they’ll connect
automatically; do it in reverse
and they’ll disconnect when
you pop them away. It’s a neat
touch that worked every time
in our testing.
The soundstage could be a
little more expansive, and thatstrong bottom end can
overwhelm the mids, but
it’s worth remembering that
these buds undercut most
of their rivals on price – and
still sound plenty good enough
to please all but the most
pernickety of ears.
On top of that, the passive
noise isolation is excellent. As
long as you’ve found a good
fit, few outside sounds will
penetrate. In fact, so effective
is the seal that you might
prefer a set of buds – such
as the Jabras opposite – with
a transparency mode that letsoutside sounds in. Run with
these and it’s just you, your
music and the clomp of your
feet on the asphalt.
That addition would’ve been
nice for joggers, and wireless
charging would’ve sweetened
the deal further; but for stellar
sporty earbuds that don’t
break the bank, Athens is
a worthy destination.Tech specs
O 8hrs + 32hrs with case
O IP67
O Bluetooth 5.0
O 6gBring it on drown
The Urbanistas’ IP67
waterproof rating is
good for swimming,
sweating and running
in the rain. They’ll
even survive a spin in
the washing machine.Tap dancing
There is a little
learning curve with
button functions:
press twice on the left
to play and twice on
the right for Siri or
Google Assistant.