Sennheiser RS 140 Wireless HiFi Headphone with Dynamic Compression System
by Sennheiser
|
List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
(Click here)
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sennheiser RS 140 Wireless HiFi Headphone with Dynamic Compression System
Customer Review: Very good so far
Summary: 5 Stars
My first experience with wireless headphones were with the Recoton 900mhz about 10 years ago. Used them mostly while exercising so every so often the ear cups would start to disintegrate. No problem, just called the company and they sent out new ones competely free. The phones finally broke a few months ago, tried to replace with same ones but it appears Recoton doesnt make them anymore.
So I started my search for a replacement. After reading countless reviews on muliple headphones, I narrowed my search down to the Sennheiser RS140. I noticed they went on sale for about 60 dollars less so I ordered from Amazon about a week before Christmas and got it the day after. It was not a gift so I didnt care when it arrived. Shipping box in perfect condition and the product box inside looked like it was right off the manufacturing line. Opened it up, read the directions first, then hooked it up. Takes 15-16 hours to charge the batteries prior to first use. Have them plugged into a Yamaha receiver, which my cable, dvd,cd player and radio hook into, put in a cd to test, made some minor adjustments and they sound pretty good. I would say the sound quality is twice as good as the Recotons. Nice stereo sound for wireless. There are two switches on the front of the base unit, one to change channels and the other one to turn the compression on or off. The headphones have the on/off switch on the left earpiece and volume control, push button tune and balance control on the right earpiece. I did not have to change the channel at all as i did not experience any static. I wanted to test the range so i walked around my small apartment with no static or change in sound quality. Outside now is a different story. I live in an old florida duplex where each wall is either poured concrete or sheetrock. After walking about 50 feet from the base unit it started breaking up. Changing the channels or pressing the tune button didnt make a difference. Watching a movie with special fx sounded great. Can hear the high highs and most of the low lows. Listening to music is a dream. The volume at first didnt seem like it got loud enough but after a couple of minutes at high volume, i have to turn them down a bit. I read some reviewers complain about the sound level and or quality being poor so they returned the units. It would appear those people did not read the instructions first, if they had they would have known about the compression switch. This switch affects the source signal strength and quality going to the headphones. I have listened to cd's and radio,watched tv and movies with these phones and I have not noticed a difference in sound quality so I don't understand why some would say these are no good for tv. However, I have not tried hooking them up directly to my tv. If I did, Im sure that is when I would need to use the compression switch. Although I did play around with the switch to see the difference. When I move the switch to the left, the sound level lowers a bit and sounds just a bit muffled, but when I turned the source volume up a bit, they sounded just fine. Moved it to the right and the sound level increases and needed to turn the source volume down a bit to get rid of any distortion. So read the instructions to get the most out of these good headphones. Anyway, they seem to be made with good quality material and seem rugged enough. I've worn them several hours at a time with no discomfort. Time will tell if they will last as long as Recotons. I did find out you have to buy replacement ear cushions which are $14 a pair including shipping.
After about two weeks of owning these, I love them so much I bought another pair. This time however, it was from Electronica Direct as Amazon raised the price back up to around $199.00. Price was a few dollars less then Amazons sale price but had to pay for shipping which ended up being a few dollars more than Amazons. Everything the same with this second pair except the base unit would turn on all by itself with no signal going to the unit. Followed the return instructions to the letter, I had to pay for return shipping, and they sent out another pair. This time they work great and almost two months later work just fine. This second pair is hooked up to my computer to listen to internet radio and the sound quality is just as good. Am pleased. Hope this helps.
Customer Review: Automatically corrects problems
Summary: 5 Stars
Six stars would be more like it!
These are amazing. There are automatic adjustments to overcome problems previously endemic to wireless headphones.
1) There is no need of constant fiddling with tuning to get spot on the frequency. The base has a 3 band slide switch. The receiver (phones) has a button which auto tunes to several channels for each of the three bands and it automatically sets the frequency absolutely perfectly matched to the transmitter. So, if it is so automatic then why is the button necessary? Because the system might perfectly tune to a nearby device (neighbor's pager or whatever). If that happens, then another touch of the button will step further through the channels to find the next device, until it locks on to your phones. An annoying problem is thus done away with completely.
2) It senses the level of sound coming into the transmitter from your audio source (e.g. stereo receiver or TV) and shows the exact level you need to set the source to. There is a blinking light which indicates when the source level is perfect for best signal/noise ratio. Problems of hissing, overdrive distortion, momentary interference and so forth are greatly reduced! This is the product's best feature. It uses smart sampling by taking a half minute or so to sample the level in order to get a true overall average before the blinking light indicator changes state.
3) A sensor will shut off the transmitter when the source level is turned off (e.g. you switch off the stereo amplifier). But it is very smart about this: it waits a minute to see if the source is really off or just momentarily quiet (such as in between tracks on the CD or silent spots in a TV movie).
4) Charging happens automatically. Just set the phones on the transmitter rack, the red charging light on the transmitter will turn on when charging starts. There is no need to mate contacts, in fact there are no contacts. Apparently it charges with a magnetic field, wireless charging! The light will blink when charging is complete and the mode changes over to trickle charge.
5) There is an automatic compression feature (I don't use it) with an indicator light. This will prevent fading and blasting audio, but you lose dynamic range. It works very well but hi fi enthusiasts usually resist this tempting feature.
There are L/R balance and volume dials and the tuning button on the phones. Also the on/off switch.
The ear reproducers are very high quality in the model 140 compared to other brands and Sennheiser's lesser grade (models 110 and 120).
The 130 is of similar quality but uses 'open air' earpieces. The 140 is closed on the back for better silencing of ambient noise. However Sennheiser was a pioneer of the brighter sounding open air type of headset and many folks (probably most) will prefer them instead. For one thing humidity evaporates better in a hot humid climate. But I prefer the closed type, hence I bought the 140!
The 110's use cheaper reproducers, manual tune, and no automatic level adjustments. But the charging system is identical. And you could buy 4 of them for the price of the 140.
Customer Review: Outstanding, a boon to hearing impaired and their partners!
Summary: 5 Stars
I originally bought a this wireless unit and headphone set hoping to find a solution for my wife, who over the past few years has suffered significant and progressive hearing loss in both ears. We hoped to use the set both for watching TV and while exercising on our treadmill. We watch a small TV while walking on our treadmill, but the noise of the treadmill and the hearing loss had made this a nightmare for my wife.
We got the set, and within 10 minutes I had it set up and connected using the 3.5 mm adapter into the aux sound output of the 19" digital TV at the treadmill. Manual instructions were clear, setup was a no-brainer. My wife is ecstatic, and has been using it while exercising for over two months or longer now. She can not only hear the TV, and adjust volume and balance to one or the other ear, using simple controls on the headphones right ear piece, the headphones help muffle and protect her from the sound of the treadmill! Take my word for it, this is a fantastic and helpful solution for the hearing impaired. I even use the headphones now while on the treadmill, even though, fortunately, my hearing remains sharp and acute. But I love screening out the noise of the treadmill, as I walk for 1 1.5 hours at a time.
But wait, there is more!
We wanted to also use the set with our TV, a 42" LG. At first, we could not figure out how to use it, because there is no 3.5 mm outlet on the TV. Then I figured out you just locate the aux output, and find one video and two sound outputs, all three classic RCA connector types outlets. They may be red and black for sound instead of red and white, the classic coding, but you just plug red and white sound RCA plugs from the headphones into the red and black outputs on the TV, and presto, you have sound to the earphones.
Two weeks ago I ordered a second wireless set with headphones, AND an additional third headset. We can now watch TV together without one or the other being able to either NOT hear it, or being DEAFENED by the volume. Best of all, when she watches something like Top Model or Project Runway, I am able to stay in the room and read without having to listen to it. That alone is worth the price of admission!!
If we both use the earphones, we simply mute the TV with the remote, and each control our sound volume and balance with our headsets. Or, my wife uses the headset, and I just use the remote control and no head set. Be aware the only problem then is that if you have the TV un-muted and too loud, at some point, the person with the headset will become aware of the echo sound of the TV as an external sound conflicting with the headset sound.
This unit has been not just all we hoped for, but more. I cannot recommend it highly enough if you are faced with the needs we were able to solve with this equipment.
Customer Review: Surprisingly good! Still going after 1+ year!
Summary: 5 Stars
I should start by explaining that I have never liked Sennheiser headphones. Several radio stations where I worked as producer and announcer had various sets of Sennheisers, all of them on-the-ear types instead of around-the-ear, (which is the design that the RS 140's incorporates,) and they all were lifeless, annoying POS's.
Sony 7506's are my favorite mid-priced phones, and I hoped that in some ways these RS 140's would come close. They DID!
The sound is surprisingly full-range, with satisfying but not over-hyped bass, and smooth highs. I doubt if they go much above 12KHz but for TV listening and casual CD enjoyment they are very good.
One side-benefit I didn't expect is the ability to keep track of a movie or TV show while raiding the icebox. Though there is some increased hiss when more than 3 walls away from the transmitter, it's still possible to hear the dialog. Very cool.
I had bought these for late-night Home Theater use and for this purpose they have been about perfect.
Pluses:
-Hold a charge for many hours of use.
-Recharge automatically on the stand.
-Great noise rejection from nearby equipment such as CRT and amplifier transformers.
-Comfortable for normal vertical wear, extended periods.
-Get really loud if you want 'em to.
-Nice, well-balanced response and relatively low noise floor.
-3 selectable Channels for best reception or using different units in same house.
-You can use normal rechargable "AAA" batteries when the originals wear out (Powerex Imedion recommended,) so no need for any propriatory replacement battery cells.
Minuses:
-Volume knob susceptible to unwanted changes by accidentally brushing against pillows (-a strip of blue painters tape will cure this).
-The warning beeps that the transmitter is turning off are unnecessarily loud.
-They are HUGE. They stick out like a Roger Ramjet helmet.
-Not that comfortable to wear while laying on your side. (waa waaa, I know).
All in all for the price this setup is a definite "go" and I'll wager most users will be very happy with these.
Update: 10/13/2008, seven months later- Still running fine with no problems. A solid purchase.
Update #2 04/04/2009 Over one year of use and still not a single problem, using them several times per week, ear cups are holding up well, sound quality is still much better than most typical sound systems. No new noise artifacts, built for the long haul!
Customer Review: The best that I could find..
Summary: 5 Stars
Overall, I like these headphones a lot. Here's what I really, really like and one thing that I don't:
1. In order to charge them, you just set the headphone band on top of the base station. Two metal strips inside the headband sit on top of two metal bars on the base station and it immediately begins charging. It is very, very easy.
My old JVC headphones required me to hook-up a separate cable by plugging it in and unplugging it.
A pair of sony headphones that I tried required you to set the headphones on the base station in a very particular way, or it wouldn't make contact.
2. It has a smart charging system. This means that when the battery is full, it slows to a trickle charge, and you don't have to worry about overcharging and killing the batteries.
3. The sound is quite good. No, it is not as good as a set of top quality wired headphones, but that is not what these are for. And the sound is still much better than listening to the audio from the TV speakers across the room. In using the headphones, I've noticed a lot of details that I would have otherwise missed.
4. The headphones do a fairly good job of blocking out other room noise. This makes them excellent when my daughter and wife are chatting and I just want to watch TV.
5. They make cool beeping sounds. When the battery is low, when the TV is not providing an audio feed, or when you turn them off, they produce a distinct series of three beeps. The unit offers an option to turn these noises off, and I originally assumed that I would do so. However, I came to find the beeping noises quite helpful. For instance, if you turn off your TV and forget to turn off the headphones, a short series of beeps will remind you. Likewise, if you inadvertently turn them off, another short series of beeps lets you know that is what happened. The beeps are not intrusive and are generated inside the headphones. They aren't loud enought to disturb anyone, and you can turn them off if you don't want them.
Here's what I don't like about these headphones:
1. The balance control is too easily bumped. If you're lying in bed and your head is against the pillow, it is too easy to bump the left to right balance knob. The knob is located on the lower rear of the right headphone. It should be on the front, so that it won't get bumped. However, it doesn't happen very often, so its really a minor complaint.