Although some of Urbanista's audio products have novel sustainability features like solar charging, its $99 Palo Alto noise-cancelling true wireless earphones merely have a recycled plastic design. On the one hand, we enjoy their powerful sub-bass and customizable in-app EQ. But on the other hand, the omission of a charging cable, the finicky wireless charging experience, and some operational quirks (the voice prompts are very loud) hinder the experience. Overall, you are much better off with the Editors' Choice-winning Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC earbuds, which offer a sleeker app and class-leading noise cancellation for the same price.
Design: Plastic Construction
Available in Cloud White, Dusk Purple, or Midnight Black, the Palo Alto earbuds have a glossy exterior and a stem-style design. Urbanista claims that the earphones use recycled materials but doesn't offer many other details on that front. In any case, they securely seal off my ear canals and feel comfortable. (You get three pairs of silicone eartips in the box.) Inside the enclosures, 10mm dynamic drivers deliver a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz.
They support Bluetooth 5.3, the AAC and SBC codecs, and multipoint pairing with two devices. Google Fast Pair is not an option. For comparison, the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC earphones offer those same specs, along with both the high-res LDAC codec and Google Fast Pair.
Capacitive touch surfaces on the outside of each earpiece enable a relatively simple control layout. By default, double taps on either earbud handle playback or calls, while triple taps control track navigation (left for backward, right for forward). Long presses on the left earpiece summon your device's voice assistant or, on the right, cycle through the ANC, Transparency, and Default (all off) modes. Holding down on both earpieces simultaneously activates multipoint pairing. The controls are relatively easy to operate and don't induce many misfires, though the in-ear voice prompts (such as for enabling the ANC or Transparency modes) are almost painfully loud. I couldn't find a way to adjust these volume levels. At least the feedback clicks are at a normal level.
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An IP54 rating means the earbuds are dust- and splash-resistant. Neither light rain nor sweaty workouts should cause concern, but submerging the earpieces is likely to damage them. If you want a fully durable model for running or any outdoor activities, consider the IP68-rated JBL Endurance Peak 3 for the same price.
In contrast to the glossy earpieces, the case has a semi-matte finish. An LED sits beneath the flip-top lid on the front, while a USB-C port is on the base. The earphones ship with a stylish lanyard that connects to a loop on the right side of the case but no charging cable. Urbanista likely sees this as an environmental move, but its wireless charging implementation is nowhere near reliable enough for this to be a nonissue. In testing, the case didn’t always respond to a Qi charger I frequently use, requiring many adjustments to work each time.
Urbanista doesn't list battery life estimates on its site, but the companion app indicates the best-case scenario for the earphones is 8 hours without ANC or 6 hours with it on. The case adds between 27 and 37 hours, depending on your use of ANC. It takes roughly 1.5 hours to fully charge the earphones from empty. For comparison, the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC earphones can last up to 8 hours per charge with ANC on; their case provides an additional 32 hours of battery life in this scenario.
App Experience: Mostly Straightforward
The Urbanista app (available for Android and iOS) has a clean and simple design, with just a few redundancies. The main screen shows battery life readouts for each earpiece, along with the case (if both buds are inside). Just keep in mind that these estimates will adjust based on which mode is active. At the bottom of the main screen, you can quickly switch among the Default, ANC, and Transparency modes.
Swipe to the second page in the app to reveal the Settings menu. Tap the Equalizer section here to access an adjustable EQ with five bands between 60Hz and 8kHz or select from four presets (Default, Bass Boost, Treble Boost, and Voice). You can add custom presets but not adjust existing ones.
In the Touch Controls section further down, you can choose what happens when you long-press either earbud. Aside from the default options (summoning your voice assistant or cycling through the various modes), you can set them to handle track navigation and volume changes. No other controls are adjustable, which makes this section feel limited.
The ANC menu has options for enabling both ANC and Adaptive ANC. Think of the first as the main switch and the second as a further customization. Confusingly, the first option overrides the ANC selection on the main page. With Adaptive ANC off, you can choose among Soft, Medium, and Strong ANC modes.
Otherwise, you can manage multipoint Bluetooth connections, as well as toggle auto power-off, in-ear detection, touch feedback (the non-voice prompts that accompany presses), and battery display options. You can also reset the earbuds, download firmware updates, and access support documents.
Noise Cancellation: Useful Only Against the Lows
The Palo Alto earphones delivered underwhelming noise cancellation in my tests. I tried all the modes but stuck with the Strong ANC option since it performed the best. The Adaptive ANC mode worked well sometimes, but never better than the Strong mode.
The pair significantly dialed back powerful low-frequency rumble, but not completely. A more complex recording of a busy restaurant was far more of a challenge—the earbuds somewhat cut back the lows and mids, though much of the higher-frequency noise made it past the circuitry untouched. Outside of predictable low-frequency drones, the ANC here isn’t very effective. The aforementioned Soundcore Liberty 4 NC earphones perform far better across both tests.
The Transparency mode is useful overall, though it sounds a touch quieter and less focused on conversational clarity than similar modes for competitors. The app doesn't provide a fader to adjust its level or any other parameters.
Sound Quality: Adjustable, Bass-First Audio
I confirmed that the in-app EQ works well for tweaking the audio signature to taste, but I restored the default settings for my evaluations below.
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the earphones deliver powerful low-frequency response. The bass doesn't distort at top volumes, and the lows still have plenty of body at moderate levels. The track does sound a bit less crisp than I prefer, however.
The drivers have no issue reproducing the sub-bass at the 34-second mark of Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty.” Even at moderate volumes, you get a sense of the rumble these sub-bass synth notes generate. At higher volumes, the subwoofer effect is quite powerful. The various vocals come across with enough high-mid presence that the dialed-up lows never overpower them, but some listeners might still want to restore some brightness via the EQ.
The drums on Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass, get some additional thump but are never overwhelming. Callahan’s baritone vocals receive just enough high-mid presence to retain some treble edge, while the acoustic strums sound vibrant. Overall, the sound signature skews toward the lows.
On orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, the earbuds push the lower-register instrumentation forward in the mix somewhat. The higher-register brass, strings, and vocals lose a bit of detail, though they don't sound muffled. As mentioned, you can turn to the EQ to add some extra brightness or bass.
The voice mic array offers decent intelligibility. I didn't have an issue understanding a test recording on my iPhone, though the signal was a bit less crisp than from competitors' mics.
Verdict: Under-$100 Buds With Few Highlights
The Urbanista Palo Alto earphones offer a bass-forward sound signature and passable noise cancellation against low frequencies, but that's about where the positives end. The companion app could use more options, the lack of a charging cable is inconvenient, and the wireless charging implementation is unreliable. We couldn't find a way to adjust the jarringly loud voice prompts, either. For the same price, the Editors' Choice-winning Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC earphones are a worthier buy, thanks to their superior ANC and more seamless operation.
The Urbanista Palo Alto earphones offer serious bass rumble and an in-app EQ, but alternatives provide better noise cancellation for the same price.
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Sign up for other newslettersAbout Tim Gideon
Contributing Editor, Audio
