106 MACWORLD FEBRUARY 2020
PLAYLIST REVIEW: URBANEARS RÅLISmmmm
Urbanears Rålis
PROS- Rich, smooth sound quality.
- 20-plus hours of play time
on single charge. - Solid build quality.
CONS - Slightly boomy bass.
- Large and heavy.
- Not especially weather
resistant (rated only IPX2).
PRICE
$199.99
COMPANY
Urbanears
differences were pretty minor; it took a
side-by-side direct comparison to bring
them out.
As I was listening to both speakers, I
moved around to see how the sound
changed at different positions. The
sound of the Rålis was quite
consistent except near 90 degrees
off axis, where the mids and highs
fell off somewhat, making the bass
even more pronounced.
By contrast, the sound of the
JBL changed more at different
positions. That speaker
reproduces a stereo signal from
two pairs of forward-firing drivers
(tweeter and woofer for each
channel), and the tonal quality
varied more at different positions
than the Rålis, though it
wasn’t anything that would
be obvious without a direct
comparison.BOTTOM LINE
I really like the sound of the
Urbanears Rålis. It’s rich,
deep, and smooth with
good clarity. The bass is a
bit boomy on most tracks I
listened to, but not enough
to be a serious drawback—
heck, bass heads will love
it! And the so-called
Blumlein technique works pretty well at
making the sound consistent over a wide
area around the speaker.
My only real concern is its size and
weight, which are both a blessing and a
curse. The large size allows for a
relatively large woofer, and the
weight bespeaks solid build
quality. But you won’t be tossing
this speaker in your tote bag
with a bunch of other stuff; it
requires some commitment to
lug along.
If you make that
commitment—which includes
shelling out nearly $200—the
Urbanears Rålis will rock your
next gathering without calling
attention to itself. ■If it wasn’t covered by her sleeve, you’d likely see this model’s
bicep bulge as she lifted the 6.2-pound Rålis.