The Urbanears Active Hellas are designed to become your next workout companion. While most activity-focused headphones are made to be earphones, this one you wear over your head. The headset is therefore a fairly unique pair. They are an on-ear Bluetooth headphone designed for active use at the gym, or even while you’re running. This is all thanks to the removable and machine-washable earpads along with other reflective design components.
The Urbanears Active Hellas is an On-Ear Pair
The Urbanears Active Hellas, as with other headphones from the company, are available in a multitude of colors. They come in black, gray and pink, white and blue, and blue and gray. For all color variants, there is a reflective, silvery pattern which runs up to the cable between the earcups. This is a more functional feature than a fashionable one since it is designed for safety when you’re out jogging or running in the dark.
These headphones are very light as they only weigh approximately 4.5-ounces. Furthermore, they also bring loads of comfort, which should be since on-ear headphones don’t actually scream “Fitness” on the market. The earcups are made of a solid plastic material and are mounted on hinges. These hinges help in folding the headphone down for easy storage.
As for its headband, it consists of two wires that look deceptively flimsy but are actually really sturdy. The earpads and headband padding are placed with a breathable mesh for added comfort. The earpads, headband, and the mesh can all be removed easily for easy machine-washing.
Rather than having buttons, the headphones are entirely controlled through touch gestures. The outside of the right earcup is a touchpad. Once the device is turned on, you can play/pause/accept calls just by tapping on the right earcup. Skipping to the next or previous track is handled by swiping from left or right. Adjusting the volume is done by swiping up or down. Even though many have already tried implementing touch controls and have failed, Urbanears seems to nail it well.
The Active Hellas won’t overwhelm you with power or deep bass. Nonetheless, they also don’t crackle. It can handle bass-heavy tracks with a modest “kick” and not a hint of distortion to be heard. Vocals sound full but are not overwhelming. Audio performance weighs more towards the mids and mid-lows rather than the higher frequencies.
The Urbanears Active Hellas are a rare example of an on-ear headphone that is meant for the fitness-centric individual. Sound performance is above average but won’t win awards. If you’re in search for a good pair of headphones for your next exercise routine, these are definitely worth the look.