All products featured are independently chosen by us. However, SoundGuys may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links. See our ethics statement.
Urbanears announces new French Open edition headphones
Those who follow tennis will know that the French Open begins this week, and to celebrate the occasion Urbanears has announced a special edition version of their popular Hellas headphones. The Hellas normally come in a few standard colors such as black, gray, blue, and white, but this new Roland-Garros special edition version will come in a clay red. Last year in 2015 the French Open caught the attention of more than 400,000 spectators, not taking into account that it was broadcasted around the world to over 200 territories. So needless to say Urbanears intends to capitalize on that huge market with these Hellas. They will even be sold in the stadium shops.
The Hellas are a pair of on-ear headphones with a few extra features to help them stand out from the crowd. Urbanears has ditched buttons in favor of a touch-sensitive interface built into the side of the ear cup. Switching tracks, pausing and resuming playback, answering phone calls, and controlling volume can all be done with a few simple taps. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this feature in a pair of headphones, but I wouldn’t exactly call them common either. Especially considering that these headphones only cost around $100. If you’re not a fan of wires you’ll be happy to know that the Hellas are completely wireless, so listening to your favorite songs is as simple as turning on the Bluetooth on your source device.
The ear cushions and headband are covered in a soft mesh padding which is supposed to help with ventilation since these are sweatproof and part of their Active collection. So yeah, you can actually use these while working out. If you’re not too fond of in-ears while you exercise these could be a worthy alternative. Another plus is that you won’t have to worry about how the fabric mesh will hold up over time with sweat thanks to the cushions being easily removable. Simply remove them and throw them in the wash before your next workout and they’re good as new.
As previously mentioned, these special edition headphones are available at the Roland-Garros stadium shops so if you’re headed to France for the festivities this week make sure to grab a pair for yourself. If not, you can also get them from their official website. They’re supposed to retail at $120 but they’re being sold for $99 on the site so if you’re interested now is the time to get it.