Sennheiser RS 170 Digital Wireless Headphone with Dynamic Bass and Surround Sound..
Buy Sennheiser RS 170 Digital Wireless Headphone with Dynamic Bass and Surround Sound By Sennheiser
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786 of 829 people found the following review helpful.
Pity about the echo ...
By Paul Bishop
I've only had the RS 170 phones for a few days. I had expected to rate them 10 stars because of the excellent crystal-clear sound; but I believe they have a flaw that may render them unacceptable for some people (see CONS, below). I'm giving them 4 stars because they are so good - I should probably rate them either excellent or "not acceptable".
Here is my take - you may not have the same experience or have the same needs or expectations.
TYPES OF WIRELESS HEADPHONES: For those that don't know, there are broadly 3 ways by which wireless headphones receive their signal:
IR (infrared) -- these use a line-of-sight signal and avoid radio interference. They have the disadvantages of short range and reduced mobility (you have to remain within sight of the base station), but they usually do produce a clean sound.
900 MHz -- these are analogue radio headphones. The main disadvantage is susceptibility to hiss and other noise, especially when you move your head or move to another room.
2.4 GHz -- these are digital radio headphones, like the RS 170, and are more likely to be free from hiss and noise.
I bought the RS 170 phones to replace cheap ones I've been using for late-night TV, and which operate on 900 MHz, providing constant hiss, much worse when I move about.
The RS 170 sound brilliant. I've used them for late night TV and movies, and for music (radio and CDs) allowing me to move to other rooms in the house. They're comfortable to wear and I'm sure they'd be great for use on a treadmill or working out. All over my home, and in most of the garden, the sound is crystal clear with no hiss or extraneous noise. Except, that is, for the echo ...
CONS: Having read scores of reviews of wireless headphones, it seems that some people buy them to listen to movies/ music without disturbing other people. For that these phones are brilliant.
But some people buy wireless headphones because they have hearing loss (or just want the clarity that headphones provide) and use them to watch TV while their spouse listens through the TV speakers. The RS 170 phones seem to operate with a slight time shift (delay). If the loudspeakers are also on, albeit at low volume, the effect of the time shift is to produce an ECHO - this is very noticeable with dialogue, and is really annoying.
It might mean that if you listen to movies/ TV, and have the sound coming through the TV speakers as well, the RS 170 phones may not be acceptable.
If you turn the TV speakers down (or "mute") you won't notice the effect, but then no-one else in the room will be able to hear anything unless they have headphones as well.
The RS 170 are of a "closed" design, which means that sound is not supposed to leak out, and in combination with the comfortable ear-pads, they greatly attenuate ambient noise - but they don't eliminate ambient noise completely (they are not "noise-cancelling"). I wrote to SennheiserUSA yesterday morning, and received this prompt response:
"The RS 170 should block out the sound of the TV speakers. Check to
see that you have them on correctly so that there is a nice seal to
block out ambient noise.
Let me know if you have any additional questions."
Eric Palonen
Sennheiser Headphones + Headsets
1 Enterprise Drive
Old Lyme, CT 06371"
It's true that the ear-pad seal does greatly attenuate ambient sound, but it does not eliminate it. The problem is so serious that I cannot use the phones to watch TV if my girlfriend is watching also.
The more expensive model RS 180 is an "open" design - the echo problem is likely to be even worse. The more I think about this, the more I am torn -- if you have hearing loss, you might not notice, or care about, the echo.
OTHER FEATURES:
-- sound: The quality of the sound is better than I'd expected.
Listening to movies, I hear subtle sounds that I can't hear with loudspeakers. I can only describe the sound as crisp and clean with adequate, but not booming, bass.
I listened to some classical music CDs (Elgar) with delicate sounds as well as a full orchestra and timpani. The detail is excellent; even when I walk up my driveway the sound eventually cuts out, but there is no hiss as far as I can tell. My previous headphones were all hiss and crackle as I moved away from the base.
-- price. These are expensive, and may not be discounted for quite some time.
-- buttons. Lots of people criticised the prior design (RS 130/ 140) because the rotating volume control could catch on a pillow and move. The RS 170 has buttons for volume, mode, plus bass and [faux] surround sound. The disadvantage of buttons is that they're hard to find by touch alone. I think a lot of people will wind up taking the phones off to press the buttons. One advantage of the design is that the volume-up button is closest to the front and it doesn't take much practice to find it with your right thumb or finger. The BASS and SURROUND controls can be activated from the base unit.
-- bass. The bass is not intrusive, even with the "bass boost" engaged. Fine for me, but some people like exaggerated bass for rock-N-roll, and they may find the bass to be light.
-- surround sound. It's simlated surround sound, and I haven't used it enough to have an opinion. I think I shall wind up not using it (just like the CNET reviewers who tested the prior model RS 130).
-- charging batteries - yes they need 16 hours for first charge, but it only takes a moment to slip in standard alkaline batteries (just don't leave them in when you put the headset on the charger).
-- connecting - connecting is very easy - I took the time to route the wires through the coiled conduit. Some people will want to connect to a TV set. I connected to an AV receiver (I used "tape monitor out") so I can quickly switch between TV, radio and CD player. I also connected them to my iPod, but somehow that seems like a tautology.
-- range - Sennheiser claim 260 feet range. My house was built to defeat cell phone signals and may not be a good test. They work all over the house and in some of the garden and the driveway, but they do cut out at much less than 260 feet. That may just be a feature of my house. I didn't buy them for extreme range and I'm very satisfied.
In summary I think these phones are great - they so enhance the experience of watching a movie that I'm not sure I want to forgo them when watching movies with my girlfriend. The echo problem may be a deal breaker for some.
129 of 134 people found the following review helpful.
Amazing sound
By Robt W. Eggerichs
First off let me say that I thought long and hard before deciding to spend $280 on headphones. I can't hear as clearly as I once could. Even with the sound turned up, I sometimes have trouble understanding what is being said. My wife has no trouble hearing the TV so we are constantly at odds on how loud to keep the volume. If she is reading a book in another room she is always asking me to turn the TV down. So I decided headphones were more practical and less expensive than a surround sound system that would have provided a speaker close to me. I figured good set of headphones should make the sound more understandable. I plan to use these for TV, DVDs and CDs played through my DVD player.
I did a lot of comparison of brands and models before deciding. Ultimately the key deciding points to my choosing the Sennheiser RS170 were (in order of importance to me): 4-1/2 star rating by consumers, digital audio transmission, closed back on earphones, charging/storage stand, reported performance, number of years this model has been sold, well rated high & mid-range sound, frequency response 18Hz - 21,000 Hz, simulated Surround Sound, ability to add on another headphone set if my wife ever needs a set, quality appearance, battery life up to 24 hours.
Quality: The 4-1/2 star rating on the RS170 on Amazon was the highest rating of all the brands and models of headphones that Amazon sold during March 2012.
Price: I paid $279.95 on Amazon mid March 2012. I looked up the price history of RS170 by googling "price history of RS170" then I clicked on the link to "Sennheiser RS 170 Prices (headphones) - CNET Marketplace" then clicked on "Price History" and found if I would be willing to wait until October - December I could probably buy them for considerable less but I wanted to use them during spring / summer of 2012 so I paid "through the nose" .
Brand: I choose Sennheiser because they seemed like the best value and selection for the money. They also make studio-quality headphones so I figured the wireless models might be engineered well. Most reviewers gave the brand high marks for performance, appearance, durability and use.
Features: I compared the RS170 ($279.95) to the RS160 ($199.95) and the RS180 ($329.95) on Amazon plus I looked at the specs on the Sennheiser website at [...] All three models use 2.4 GHz digital 'Kleer' wireless technology which is reportedly superior to the brands and models that use 900 MHz analog RF technology which is more susceptible to hiss, noise, and interference. I preferred the convenience of having a charging /storage stand that comes with the RS170 and RS180 over the plug-in charging on the RS160. I preferred the closed-back earphone design of the RS160 and RS170 over the open-back design of the RS180 because the open-back design would allow an 'echo effect' from the 'lag-time' sound if my wife had the TV speakers turned up. The RS170 was the only model of the three with selectable simulated Surround Sound and Bass Boost. So the $80 up-charge from the RS160 to the RS170 got me the 'easy charge' cradle and docking station with function indicator LEDs, 1/4 inch and RCA adapters in case I would ever need them in lieu of the 3.5mm jack, up to 200 feet more transmitting distance, 4 dB more Sound Pressure Level (perceived loudness), simulated Surround Sound and Bass Boost controlled at the transmitter or at the headset.
Shipping: Yesterday I received my headphones (only took 4 days using Amazon Super Saver Shipping - yeah!). Both the shipping carton and the headphone box inside were in pristine condition. Like a kid with a new toy, I had to try them out right away. Since the rechargeable batteries take up to 16 hours to for initial charge (mine only took 8), I put in 2 AAA Alkaline batteries (one per headphone). Connecting the transmitter up was easy - I have a "line-out" 3.5mm jack on the TV so I just used the jumper that came in the package that had the 3.5mm jack on both ends. The transmitter/charging stand has 4 LEDs - orange shows when headphones are charging, blue to choose surround sound on/off, another blue one to choose Bass Boost on/off, and green to choose transmitter on/off. The headset right earphone has buttons for headphone on/off, volume up/down, bass boost on/off and surround sound on/off. I am sure that with practice that I'll be able to "feel" where these buttons are so I won't have to take the headset off to adjust these controls. The headset is well padded and comfortable although as some others have pointed out I can see where these "earmuffs" might be a little warm with extended wear.
Performance: Now comes the really cool part...the sound quality is amazing. I have never been so impressed with any product I have purchased. The stereo separation is noticeable distinct and really enhances the enjoyment of listening. I can't hear any hiss, background noise or cut-out. The voices are clear and seem to be louder than the background sounds so the words are easy to understand. My acid test for how well these headphones performed was to try a DVD called "The Devil's Own" where Brad Pit plays a character with a heavy Irish brogue. The first time I watched it using the TV speakers I had to strain to understand his dialog but when I watched it again using the headphones he was easy to understand. The engineering that has gone into these headphones is really impressive with the way they handle voices, background sound and separation.
Surround Sound: The simulated surround sound isn't that impressive. It does add a bit more depth to the sound but nothing like having real surround sound. I'm sure it is limited by only having one speaker per earphone. True surround sound would need two sound sources per earphone plus some fancy separation engineering. I'll probably use this feature for some of our 5.1 DTS stereo DVDs and music CDs.
Bass Boost: This works pretty well. It isn't overwhelming but adds richer bass to the sound without taking away from the clarity of the spoken words. I'll probably use this feature for some TV show, 5.1 DTS stereo DVDs and music CDs.
134 of 141 people found the following review helpful.much better then expected
By busy dad
Let me say that the main reason I bought these headphones was for watching movies with out hearing lip for having my home theater too loud.
I enjoy using the surround feature and the Bass boost for movies. I have a high end home theater and I do not miss it as much as I thought I would. Does the Bass feel like my two 1,000 watt powered subs. Of course not, but the bass is very good.
The main time I would use the headphones is times when I have my system very low so the headphones sound much better then my system when it is played at a low decibel level. While I have a movie in I can walk all over my house and it never breaks up. The sound is crystal clear all over the house.
The closed headphones are a nice feature so you can shut out most noise but you can still hear someone calling you if needed.
The only problem I have so far is an occasional sound dropout. I moved the transmitter and manually paired the headphones. Since then I have had no problems but it is too soon to be sure if it worked.
I highly recommend these headphones for watching movies. I am not a music guy so I could not comment on that.
7/14/10 I would like to give a quick update. The sound from the headphones for movies is still great. I do not get any sound dropout when I am close to the unit. I do tend to agree with a previous post that the range is not great. My house is decent size and when I go to some rooms the sound does drop out.
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