Urbanears announced today a collaboration with H&M to reboot the trendy headphone maker’s on-ear Plattan line and create a new exclusive trio of cans, crafted specifically with the Swedish retail giant in mind. The result is the Urbanears Plattan “H&M <3 Music Edition” collection, a line of headphones with strictly aesthetic updates — nothing technical. A pair featuring a textured faux-snakeskin pattern is the only one of the three to be released so far, and is available on both H&M’s and Urbanears‘ websites, as well as at select H&M retailers worldwide.
The Plattan model – on which this newly announced trio is based – is a so-called “staple” in Urbanears’ collection. It features the company’s proprietary ZoundPlug technology (an extra headphone input jack that allows for an extra listener), the usual inline microphone/remote and a collapsible-to-fist-size monochrome body.
We’ve never been able to fully jump behind the Plattan from a persnickety audio nerd’s standpoint – they just don’t do it for us – but at roughly $50, the Plattan are a perfectly capable pair of headphones. And just like the original version it’s based upon, the new H&M edition also features 40-mm handmade drivers, a claimed frequency response of 20Hz-20kHz, 60-ohm impedance, 115-dB sensitivity, and a max input power of 50mW.
This isn’t the first time Urbanears has updated its Plattan line – it seems to be a frequent source for reboots and updates – nor is this the first collaboration with another brand involving the model. Urbanears (considering its heavy focus on aesthetics) often refreshes the model with different colors and/or with specific distribution guidelines (Urbanears had an exclusive deal with Apple for its distribution of the Plattan Plus line).
If you want to make a fashion statement without going too flashy, expensive or mainstream (ahem – Beats), Urbanears’ recent collaboration with H&M might be the route for you.
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