Review: Urban Vinyl Classics – Hippedihop

Sound

Most of the fashion headphones have a clear focus on bass and it usually is big and often bloated for listening to R&B and other pop music. Urban Vinyl describes their Classics as having “Studio Quality Sound with Punchy Bass, Airy Treble and Clear Midrange”, but I personally wouldn’t label it as a Studio quality set because of the slightly darker sound and the focus on bass.

The sound signature of the Classics is on the warmer side but it isn’t overly warm. I wouldn’t say the Classics is a neutrally tuned headphones as it’s slightly darker sounding with a clear emphasis in the bass and lower mids.  The Classics has a black background and sounds relaxed, it isn’t the fastest and snappiest sounding unit though. It’s more of a chill one.

For a closed headphone the Classics sounds pretty open and spacious. Not to the degree of let’s say the NAD Viso HP50 but you don’t get the concentrated sound feeling at all. Their is a reasonably good amount of air making it sound spacious enough

The sound stage is wider than it is deep but it is quite good for a closed headphone, especially the bass depth. Detail wise the Classics for its price is good and performs better than average but it isn’t the most detailed, layered or richest sounding headphone by far. Instrumental separation and layering are ok, just like the extension on top and below. Again, it’s not world’s best but at this price level there’s nothing to complain about either. It’s selling for “only” $179.99, and for that price its performance is good.

There to me clearly is a focus on bass as it is slightly elevated. Bass has reasonably big body, always sounds punchy and it will always be present in any type of music. Bass in a lot of headphones sounds distorted when turning up the volume when listening to The XX’s Fantasy track, but the Classics is one of the first headphones that has no issue with it. I wouldn’t call the Classics a bass heads headphone but if you don’t appreciate more than normal (Neutral) bass presence that much, this unit isn’t really for you. With fast paces music like System of a Down’s Sad Statue, bass does run a little in to the mids.

The sound signature of the Classics is more V-shaped as well, yet not too much. The mids sound a bit more recessed because of the bass and treble presence. Treble actually is pretty nice for a closed headphone and a headphone in this price range. Treble is clear, energetic and sounds very lively, yet never harsh. It’s still a smooth treble delivery but less so than in most headphones at this level. The extension even might be a little bit better/further. The stereo image and positioning is on a normal level and the more expensive units score better there for sure. I especially enjoyed listening to electronic music and some of the better pop songs with the Classics.

Sources

The Urban Vinyl Classics is very easy to drive like most of the headphones nowadays are. Using a good amplifier does bring out the best of this headphone and it get the bass more in line (more tight).

On the Cayin i5 the voices sound especially good while the bass still is more than present. The i5 has that typical sound the N5 also had, with a full bodied sound and a high musical enjoyment factor. Bass really kicks in and I often found myself enjoying it and increasing the volume higher than I should. From the Samsung S4 smartphone you get less bass and the mids sound more in the back than before, except for the voices which are still excellent. Treble is not as energetic, the i5 clearly has better synergy with the Classics. The tiniest Astell&Kern, the AK70, has a bassy and warmer sound signature that matches the Classics almost as good as the i5. Bass sounds a little tighter and faster on the AK70 actually but is still more than prominent. Like with the S4, the V-Curve is more noticeable with the AK70 and R&B and dance music sounds especially good. I love listening to Easy-E’s on the AK70 and Classics combo as it has good voice, thick lower mids and full bodied bass, everything his music needs.

The Luxury&Precision L3Pro has only just arrived and this PRO version is supposed to be more powerful. The original L3 was made for IEMs and so the PRO version should be able to drive full sized headphones better. The L3’s sound quality was great already and it’s no different with this PRO version. Good bodied bass, thick mids, good voices and energetic treble, just like the i5. It does look however that the max number of tracks the PRO can handle is only 6000. Sound Quality wise though, it really makes the Classics an entertaining headphone. I doubt anyone will be using a HUGO with the Classics as it’s like 10 times its price but the Classics sound smooth and musical on it. Bass has the right amount of body, the mids are smooth and the treble is musical enough.

Comparisons

The DT770AE/32 is a classic as well, for the moment it sells on Amazon for between $150 and $170. It may not looks as nice as or have a cool design like the Classics but the DT770 is one of the most loved headphones sound wise. While it with the velour pads is more comfy than the Classics, it also has slightly recessed mids it does have better extension in both width and depth. The Beyer also shows more detail and had better layering, speed and dynamics. It’s also a lot tighter in the bass department and faster overall. I have to admit it is hard to beat the DT770Pro though in this price range.

The Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro also has larger cups and it’s a more comfortable over ear headphone. The big advantage the COP has is that it has adjustable bass. Just like the Classics, it doesn’t need amplification. Sub bass doesn’t reach as low as with the Classics or it at least gives that impression as it is a tighter kind of bass. The mids are also a little thicker as in the Urban Vinyl, it goes for $149.99 on Amazon. The Philips Fidelio L2, like the above mentioned headphones, isn’t really fashion headphone and it goes for $169.95. This L2 is the most audiophile/reference tuned headphone of all of these. They’re linear and precise and almost perfect sounding with great clarity, detail and depth. It could just use a little bit more bass presence. It’s a highly rated headphone with great build quality but it looks kind of “special” (but that’s personal preference).

One of my first headphones, the ATH-M50, is going for $139.99 and it’s got a tuning that got a lot of people hooked on headphones. Bass presence is a lot lighter and tighter than the Classics, the overall tuning is more linear as well. Depth, timbre and layering also is a notch up.

As you can see the Classics is having a hard time keeping up with the more refined “audiophile” labeled headphones but at the same time I don’t think it was meant to be a competitor. The Classics clearly is going for the more mainstream, less critical listener that likes bass and popular music. And it does a really good job at that for that matter.

Conclusion

In the end the Urban Vinyl Classics in my humble opinion still is a fashion headphone, one that scores with the vintage look and wooden cups. Sound quality wise you get a really good sound for the price it’s going for. Compared to other fashion headphones it scores/sounds better but compared to the more audiophile tuned headphones like the DT770Pro and Philips L2, it is behind on sound quality.

I recommend using these headphones with a decent quality source/DAP like the ones mentioned in this review. It doesn’t sound particularly good on my Samsung S4 but that doesn’t mean it won’t sound good with your phone. Sound quality wise you get good value for money and it even outperforms other fashion headphones in the same price range. It however doesn’t reach the level of sound a COPo and M50 have.

If you like its looks, like a good amount of bass and listen to mostly R&B, rap/pop music, than the Classics is one of the headphones you’ll really want to listen to and shortlist for that matter. I’m pretty sure you’ll love it if you can find yourself in this description.