- The Urbanista Palo Alto earbuds have a similar shape to most earbuds today.
- What sets the Palo Altos apart is the adaptive noise cancellation feature.
- They also have 45 hours of battery life and an app for adjusting settings.
Everyone seems to love noise-canceling earbuds, especially when they fall into the affordable category, and that's exactly what Urbanista's new Palo Alto earbuds offer.
The $99 Urbanista Palo Alto earbuds are the latest entry in active noise-canceling (ANC) earbuds. They look like what you'd expect from earbuds, and are reminiscent of Apple's AirPod Pros, especially the white ones, but you'll notice they're different in some ways.
The headphones come with a wireless charging case that doubles as storage and offers up to 45 hours of playback time. The case also has an optional hand strap that you can attach to the side, but I admit it's not something I use. However, I did put the Palo Altos to the test to see how they compared to other ANC earbuds, such as the House of Marley Redemption ANC 2 earbuds.
One thing that is important to me when choosing earbuds is ease of use. I don't want to download an app and go through a series of steps to get connected. Fortunately, with the Palo Alto earbuds, I can just take them out of the box, connect them to my iPhone, and start using them without having to read any kind of documentation. They work exactly as I expected - open the lid of the charging case, pop in one earbud, and complete the connection process on your phone. Very simple.
That’s not to say there’s no value in using apps on your device. In this case, the Urbanista app lets you adjust the ANC settings, there's an equalizer, and you can customize some of the touch controls on the earbuds. But out of the box, I don't always want to be involved.
Learning the default touch controls on the Palo Alto earbuds takes about two minutes. Touch and hold the left side to activate the voice assistant, and touch the right side to control the level of active noise cancellation. There are three levels: Active Noise Cancellation, which offers up to 49dB of noise reduction; Adaptive ANC, which adjusts to your environment; and Transparency Mode, which reduces sound but allows you to hear your surroundings so you can detect when someone is there Talking to you or nearby. There's also manual ANC, which you can adjust within the app. It lets you choose whether you want the ANC to block soft, medium or loud sounds.
If you use the app, you can also manually adjust the equalizer on the earbuds to suit your preferred listening style. There are default modes as well as preset modes for Bass Boost, Treble Boost, and Speech, but you can also add your own custom modes.
The Urbanista Palo Alto earbuds I tried came in standard black, but also in cloud white and dusk purple (when that color isn't sold out). The case is matte and the earbuds are a combination of matte and shiny finishes. You also receive several different sizes of ear tips to fit different ear canals. My Palo Altos came with a medium sized tip in the box.
Of course, they have a built-in microphone that seems to work just fine under normal conditions. On a particularly windy day, there was a bit of disruption, but it didn't make the conversation completely unintelligible.
One nice feature is that they have multipoint Bluetooth, which means they can connect to two devices and then switch between them. They're also IP54 waterproof, which means you don't have to worry about them getting wet, but keep in mind that the headphones won't work when underwater (water can interfere with Bluetooth signals). Still, I often wear them in the pool and listen to audiobooks while floating (because I’m a sucker for waterproof earbuds).
The question you're probably most curious about is the sound quality of the headphones. The Palo Altos feature 10mm dynamic drivers, which means their audio performance is excellent. I listened to music, audio books, made phone calls, but no complaints. The sound is rich and smooth, and the touch controls on the stem can be set to control volume or other functions with a simple touch. They also feature in-ear detection, so if you take out one earbud, whatever you're listening to will be paused.
Taking all of these factors into consideration—active noise cancellation, customization options, clear calls, good audio, and more—is the Palo Alto worth your $99? My vote is yes. If you're looking for a good mid-level headphone that offers some nice features without completely breaking the bank, the Urbanista Palo Alto Earbuds are a great (and good-looking) choice.
