Sennheiser RS 130 Wireless Surround Sound Headphones
by Sennheiser
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Our Price: $205.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sennheiser RS 130 Wireless Surround Sound Headphones
Customer Review: Messy connections
Summary: 3 Stars
I recently purchased the RS130 headphones for listening to cable television and BluRay movies without disturbing other family members. So far, in my limited listening experience, I have been reasonably happy with the sound quality and comfort of these headphones. However, one thing that I find annoying, and didn't read in other reviews, has to do with the connection options.
The RS130 is a replacement for wired headphones which I find to be cumbersome and awkward due to the cable. The wired headphones were plugged into the headphone jack of my stereo receiver. I connected the audio outputs from my cable box and BluRay player into the receiver so that I can listen to everything through my stereo. I was expecting the base unit to have a headphone jack so I could plug it directly into my receiver. However, the US version of the RS130 has a cable ending with a pair of RCA connectors. An adapter is provided to convert the RCA connections to mini-headphone. Another adapter is provided to convert the mini-headphone to a standard headphone jack. Maybe I'm being picky but I really dislike having all of these adapters hanging out of the front of my receiver. (I probably wouldn't mind so much if they went in the back.) One thing that makes this more annoying is that if you look at the multi-lingual instruction manual, you can see that the European version of the RS130 is designed with a mini-headphone connector.
I think it would have made way more sense to make the US version the same as the European version and just provide a headphone-to-RCA adapter for people need it. Maybe I missing something, but I can't think of any way to make use of the RCA jacks. I tried plugging them into the pre-amp outputs of my receiver but the signal was not strong enough.
Customer Review: Good, but a little disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars
These are relatively good headphones. I'm pleased with the build quality, ease of use, the cordless reception but disappointed with the sound quality.
THE GOOD
* Ease of use is very good. Basically, take them out of the box, charge them up, plug 'em in start using them.
* Build quality is excellent. I have no reason to believe that these won't last several years.
* RF reception is very good. As long as you have the source volume up high enough you can get very good reception on these headphones. If your source volume is at a "normal" level (for use without headphones), there is a little fuzz and some breakup. But when I realized this turned up the volume on my AV receiver, I could go outside and walk down the street three houses away before I got any breakup or sound degradation.
* Battery life is excellent. In fact, I've used them for several hours without needing a charge. And I can't really imagine anybody needing more than that out of headphone battery life.
THE BAD
* Only bad thing I've uncovered so far is the sound quality. It's a bit shallow and tin-ny. Bass is virtually nonexistent. I expected more given Sennheiser's reputation and excellent German engineering. The surround sound function is OK but not great. IMHO, the sound quality is adequate for television and gaming, but not for surround sound movies or hi-fidelity music. Like I said, the bass is not really there at all...and you need lots of bass for music and movies these days.
RECOMMENDATION
If you're looking for a pair of good all-around headphones, I'd recommend these. But if you are looking for headphones to use for high-quality music or surround sound movies I suggest you keep looking.
Customer Review: Hard to Charge
Summary: 2 Stars
Sound quality is generally rather good, but don't expect much in the way of surround sound effects. There is a fair amount of static at times which can be eliminated by moving one's head slightly, but there is no general background static as some users have complained about--I think they don't have the sound volume on their receiver turned up high enough. The automatic sound adjustment feature also sometimes cuts the sound too low so you may have to adjust it a lot at times. This seems to depend on what channel/show I'm watching. I don't have the transmitter at the recommended distance from my tv & surround sound equipment, but then it would be difficult to move it as far away as they recommend.
I was pleasently surpised at the long battery life. I have tried to keep track, but they last so long I lose track before they run down. They last about two weeks for my usage, which is probably 35-40 hours, maybe even a little more. I fully charged the batteries then used them until entirely run down the first three times because with some batteries the initial usage periods can "set" the battery life.
The main problem with these is that you can't just set them on the charging stand. It worked the first time but not for the second or subsequent charging attempts. I thought the charger was deffective, then I figured out the charging strips on the headband weren't contacting the charging bars because of the springiness of the headband. Now, I have to balance a weight on top and move the headphones around until they connect properly, then check later to make sure they are still charging, which ends up being much more hassle than simply plugging in my old headphones was.
Customer Review: Very Satisfied
Summary: 5 Stars
I spent a lot of time researching all the possibilites before settling on the RS 130. A good part of that time went to reading the reviews on Amazon. Background: my hearing, while OK, is certainly not perfect, so I wanted good quality, but top of the line would be wasted on me; my primary desire was to get away from wires (too much of a nuisance); I mostly, but not entirely, listen to classical music; I wanted something comfortable to wear over glass frames and that would not be too hot in the summer (I live in Florida and my window faces south); while I am not a typical audiophile, I am pretty knowledgeable about music so I wouldn't want anything that wasn't faithful to the composer. So far (a few weeks now) the RS 130 has met all my requirements. I haven't had any problem with losing a signal. I have found the volume control on the set to be quite convenient to use and not a problem at all, unlike some reviewers. I haven't heard any of the annoying noises mentioned by some, but that may just be a function of my own hearing ability. So far its been very comfortable, but I haven't tried it through a Florida summer yet. Unlike many reviewers, I actually like the surround sound (yuk, some may be thinking). Some have complained about the blinking light - no problem for me - it's not in my line of sight and I have so many other blinking lights on and around my computer that it just fades into the background in comparison. In addition to listening to radio (public and SiriusXM) and CDs, I've also used it for Internet radio and TV with equally good results in all cases. Overall comment. I'm happy I got it and can certainly recommend it to anyone who thinks he/she fits into my group.Customer Review: Perfect for watching TV when the kids are asleep!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was apprehensive spending $121 on a pair of headphones but after 2 weeks of using the RS130's, I can honestly say it was money well spent...especially if you like watching TV or listening to music after your wife or kids go to sleep. I have a 3 and 5 yr old and a wife that are very light sleepers and are awaken very easily by any noise in the house - even TV volume at the lowest settings. These wireless headphones are the perfect solution. They are a bit expensive but its sooooo worth it to not have to drag a headphone cord extension around your living room and trip and kill yourself. The sound quality is so so with intermittent static depending on where you sit relative to the transmitter base station and toggling between the 3 wireless frequencies usually eliminates the hiss for me. The hiss is still barely audible during quiet scenes but you will get used to it watching a 2 hour movie and you forget the hiss is even there. My wife loves these for the same reason as me as she can catch up on all her recorded episodes of Lost at full volume when the kids are down. I would not say they are the most comfortable headphones I've owned but they are not bad for 2-3 hour movie. I watched Braveheart last night (almost 3 hr movie) with these on and they were very comfortable - although my ears did feel a bit tired afterwards....I don't know if I would wear these to watch an entire football or baseball game though. The base station base is ingeniously designed to allow the headphones to just be placed on the "charging bars" after you're finished - and the headphones automatically turn off too. Very very cool.
Highly recommended product!