Sennheiser RS120 926 MHz Wireless RF Headphones with Charging Cradle
by Sennheiser
|
List Price: Our Price: $68.00 You Save: $41.95 (38%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $48.01 (click here) Category: Speakers See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sennheiser RS120 926 MHz Wireless RF Headphones with Charging Cradle
Customer Review: To much white-noice or shutdowns
Summary: 2 Stars
The product is well packaged, looks very professional, and the charging system is unique and has worked well.
The set was connected to a Sony 50" rear-projection set in a location with no heavy wiring or metal objects, cement walls or ceiling and I'm not happy with the reception since the sound can be distorted with some static or hum depending on whether I'm watching a VCR tape or TV program 10-15' away. The headphone acoustics isn't all that good in my opinion. I'm really dissatisfied that one spot right in the middle of my lazy-boy that causes the sound to become distorted, with a lot of white noise -- just a tilt or movement of the head either left or right. The height of the transmitter or moving it away from the TV location does not make any difference as does resetting to one of the other two channels on the transmitter.
An apparent problem is when the input signal to its transmitter is too low, you mute the TV, pause the VCR, or a scenes is being shown that has a long silence, the base unit will shut down and a very loud static will blast your eardrums and that really hurts. This could be a big drawback if it depend on the TV volume alone since the purpose of using them in the first place is to turn the volume down. It does shut down on occasion for no apparent reason.
On occasions, as with many wireless products, there is occasional
interference and I have received the next door neighbor talking on their phone which is a cordless but I don't know their frequency. Our 800mh phone does not interfere and there is no other wireless items round except garage door opener devices.
The headset fits pretty well and is comfortable for extended wear but is slightly larger than I like for my head size 7. It certainly tends to slip around to much or fall off when nodding your head. They could have improve the ear pieces by cupping them so they fit around the ears instead of the fitted flat covers used.
Too much interference for a $70 device in my opinion.
Update 10/18/09: Had to use the manufacturer warranty on 9/21/09 since the charging system failed. Just received today a confirmation that the unit is being replaced and that Seenheiser is mailing a new replacement.
First edit: Everything above still stands after receiving my replacement. But, the reception and sound tracking is really, really better than the first set. I took the covers and Styrofoam off the ear pieces and cut out a circle from the Styrofoam so that the phone pieces more or less fit around the ears. After replacing the covers and the Styrofoam circles the headset fits a lot better and doesn't fall off to often. Now why couldn't they think of that.
Customer Review: An excellent set of wireless headphones
Summary: 5 Stars
After researching Sony, RCA, and Sennheiser wireless headphones I settled on the Sennheiser RS-120's and I have no regrets. These are excellent headphones. I ended up buying them at GoogGuys. When I asked the associate if I could try them he connected them to a DVD player and they came to life. I walked all the way accross the store filled with electronics and heard no interference what-so-ever. I was nothing short of impressed and bought them right then and there.
Now that I have been using them for several weeks I am still amazed by them. I didn't know wireless headphones could be this good. There is no interference around my house. The 300ft range claim is about right. Maybe a bit conservative. I can mow my rental house lawn accross the street and even go next door and still get a good signal.
Sound quality is excellent. Bass is strong, mids are prominent, and highs are crisp. These phones work great for music, TV, and movies. I couldn't be happier with the sound. There is some spotty static in a couple places upstairs but it is practically inaudible when listening to something.
I don't know how long the batteries last because they have never run out. I have worn them for almost 10 hours straight and they were still going strong. I put them on the charger after each use and they have never shown any signs of a low battery.
That brings me to the charging system. It is simply superb. Unlike most other wireless phone charging systems this one is very simple. Just set the headphones on the metal "tube" that sticks out of the base and it charges. No messing around to get them just right so the contacts will contact (AKA Sony).
Build quality is very good. They are light weight, yet sturdy. The RS-120's are much sturdier than any of the other Sennheiser RS phones. They are very comfortable as well. I was worried that, due to their open air, on the ear design that they would get uncomfortable after wearing them for a few hours. I was proven wrong. They have never become uncomfortable.
I have read some reviews where people complain that the base turns off whenever it wants. It has an auto-off features so that it shuts off if it gets not signal for a few minutes. I see no problem with that and it has never bothered me since I'm usually listening to something when I'm wearing them. :)
I have the base connected to my home theater receiver to which I have a TV, DVD player, and my PC connected. The phones work well with all of those sources. Games, music, movies, TV, everything sounds great and I recommend these phones whole heartedly. You would be hard pressed to find a better deal in this price range.
Customer Review: Bought these for my Dad because he tangles every cord for every gadget into a giant mess
Summary: 5 Stars
The good: no cords to easily get tangled. There is a cord, of course, from the base to the device you want to listen to. In this case, my dad's computer. He uses Skype to call relatives overseas and bother me every week about something else and he had problems with another set of corded sennheisers that I got for him. The cord, no matter how hard he tried, got tangled into an unholy mess. After about a year of untangling it for him whenever I went to visit, I said forget it, looked up wireless headphones, and was pleased to see that Sennheiser had a few options. I love sennheiser quality and I use a set of sennheiser gaming headphones with a mic for skype and gaming so of course I'm already a fan. The corded set went to my mom for when she uses skype and mysteriously the cords stay untangled.
Back to the wireless set though, the price was solid but I think I got it off newegg for slightly cheaper and they had a free shipping promotion at the time, so it was quicker than Amazon's USPS (Newegg uses 3-day UPS guaranteed shipping, but it's not always free). The main complaints that had me worried were: 1) slight buzzing noises when there is no sound coming out, as in when a movie goes quiet or a song is fading out. 2) the frequency changer is right by the volume changer, so it's easy to accidentally change it. 3) Very poor range
I didn't notice the slight buzzing noise during silent parts of a movie or quiet parts of a song. I haven't used them as much as my dad has, though, and he still has no complaints. Range is about 1 foot since he's sitting at his computer when he uses them, so again, I can't say I've tested them to their max. As for the poor design of the frequency changer and the volume changer, well a piece of tape over the former will do just fine. I set the frequency on the base, adjusted with the knob on the headphones, and then stuck a piece of tape over it. I just know that dad will mess with it accidentally and so far, he's had no problems there either. He loves the headphones for skype and when mom tells him she can hear his music or movies, so it's a great deal. Rechargeable base makes this an even better deal, he never has to worry about changing the batteries (Which would worry me a great deal, he's not tech-savvy). Over all, I'd say it's a must have if you've got the right set of conditions. I can't speak for plugging into a TV because that could run into the problem of poor range. Sound quality is what I expect from Sennheiser and just as a point of comparison, most higher end models run well into the $300-400 range. No. Thank. You.
When you buy from Sennheiser, you can expect high quality and this doesn't disappoint.
Customer Review: Sound great, easy set-up, comfortable
Summary: 4 Stars
Bought these for an 84-year-old to hear the TV. She has not tried them yet. I attached them to my iPod and they sound great to my 56-year-old ears. Comfortable, although (as many reviewers have noted) when you bend down you need to hold them on or slide the top to the back of your head. Super easy to set up. Built-in male red and white RCA plugs, with extensions provided for 1/8th inch iPod style and old-school 1/4 inch guitar-amp style plugs.
The headphones do need to be tuned to the signal from the base station, which is the reason for 4 stars, not 5. For 5 years I had 4 IR earphones in a Suburban for the DVD-game player. Little kids had nothing but problems with the tuners on the headphones. They would try to change the volume but change the tuner and "lose the station" instead, then whine in frustration, but there was nothing I could do when I was driving. (OK, I'm the one whining now.) I am concerned that the 84-year-old will have the same problem. Seems to me this is OK technology for engineers, but not for very old or young people. It would be better to set it at a particular channel than to have the tuner infinitely variable and very, very easy to change. (PS I ended up taping the tuner in the Suburban. Then I stopped using the DVD player unless someone was sitting back there who could manage the tuner situation. And change the DVD when a movie ended. The little kids would beg for the DVD player, but when there was no "manager" I played CDs of Laura Ingalls and Beverly Cleary stories and that worked.)
That said, the RS120 headphones tuned very easily for me with no background noise walking from room to room. I will let you know how they work for the 84-year-old.
*******
A month later:
Well, she says they changed her life. Best addition to her life since her dog. She does not need to use the captions on the TV anymore. She got a new DVD player so she can watch movies, too. (The old player was broken, but she did not care because she could not hear it.) She can watch TV and DVDs in the wee small hours without waking the whole neighborhood. The earphones are a little wobbly in the holder/charger and have to be set just so or they won't charge, but this does not bother her. There is a bright red LED light that tells you they are set in there correctly so they can charge. She has no issues with the amount of time she can use them between charges. I don't think she has ever run out of charge. We tuned them to the base station and put Scotch tape on the tuner wheel when we set them up for her. She has no issues with tuning them. The tape stayed in place.
Customer Review: Poor design due to auto shut off function. Disappointed!
Summary: 1 Stars
Very disappointed. My wife and I work different shifts. I purchased these so my wife can watch TV while I sleep. Unfortunately... after a few weeks of trying to live with them, we gave up and eventually sold for at a garage sale for $5.
Actually... when the work, they work quite well. Yes, there are bursts (pops) of static as you move around while wearing them (like you might hear on a AM radio station turning a thunder storm) but it wasn't a deal breaker for me. If you sit in a chair, or are in bed, and remain stationary the static pops don't occur. They do emit constant nonstop static but its very minimal (similar to the white noise you hear when wearing noise canceling headsets). Then again... if you are an audiophile it will drive you nuts! I wouldn't recommend them for music but can tolerate it for TV viewing. For most people its not
And issue. In fact, many don't even hear it (which explains the positive reviews)
Actually... ignoring the static issue... they sound quite good.
The problem is... they only work as long as there is sound being broadcasted! Once the sound source stops, you loose the signal connection between the headset and the transmitter and BANG... LOUD STATIC!!! Wow... it scares the crap out of you. You then must turn off the sound source (TV, receiver etc) and turn it back on to re-establish the connection to the headset.
If the TV program you are watching goes silent (like during a quiet scene in a movie), or a few seconds of silence when the program goes to commercial break, or if listening to a quite passage in a piece of music... or the delay that occurs between music tracks on a record album... BANG ... The headset drops the connection to the transmitter and you get blasted with full volume static. This also happens if you hit the mute button for the TV! What a poor design!
NET: Anytime, for any reason, that no sound is being transmitted... the headset thinks the TV or the signal to the transmitter has been shut off and the headset disconnects itself from the circuit. You then have to shut off the TV (or our sound source) and turn it back on to reset the headphones.
I own several pairs of wired Sennheiser headphones and love them. Sennheiser makes awesome headphones but every once in a while, every manufacturer turns out a lemon and this unit happens to be Sennheisers.
Do yourself a big favor and "sort" the Amazon reviews on this product by rating, then read all the One Star reviews. If you're smart... you'll buy yourself a long headset extension cord and avoid these all together.