Sennheiser RS160, 170 ,180... Anyone? - Page 13

My rs180 did need some burnin, somewhere between 50 and 100 hours to sound good. So they might get better.

Does the RS 180 headset work with the RS170 receiver? 

 

I am still doing some analysis on my 170's.  But after about 3 hours of listening I am very, very pleased.  I wouldn't say I can get 260 feet from the receiver, but the distance is pretty good.  I can get to every part of my house with no issues at all.  It's only when I go outside to the back yard that I lose the signal.  BTW, for anyone that was wondering, I have also tried these out while running my microwave.  I did it while the receiver was plugged into 2 different sources.  I had absolutely 0 interference.  These headphones certainly have some solid bass.  I can't turn the bass effect on, it's just too much.  I"m not a fan of the surround effect.  Sounds too hollow to me.  But if you have these things hooked up to a home theater receiver, you don't need that surround effect anyway.  You'll get it from your source.  I would also suggest not keeping the volume setting on the headphones at full blast and adjusting your source volume down to compensate.  You will get noticeable hiss.  Keep the volume at about half or so and  you'll be pretty good.  More on sound later. 

I received Sennheiser RS180 wireless headphones today from Electronics-expo. I connected to my McIntosh MX-136 pre/pro's VCR1 RCA outs.  My source is Denon 3800BDCI.  I'm playing Patricia Barber's Too Rich For My Blood and Light My Fire as I type this.  The SQ is Amazing! And better than the RS170 I also own, IMO.   There is slight sound leakage from the open back design.  If using in bed or on couch next to someone, and don't want them to be disturbed the 170's would be a better choice, and almost as good

 

No interference.  No drop outs walking around the house; even upstairs with doors shut.  No static.  Comfortable.  Deep, fast bass.  Mids full and rich.  Treble crisp with very good air.

 

I don't know which I prefer; these headphones or my B&W 803S powered by McIntosh MC402 amp with 400 watts per channel.  Needless to say, I am thrilled!  

 

The only thing I don't like is the layout of the control buttons on the headset.  You cannot tell one button from another.  I think I will cut a small piece of velcro to stick on the on/off button to serve as a "landmark."

"The SQ is Amazing!"

 

That's good to hear, bluemonkeyflyer, as I had a pair from the top of the last series and the SQ was appalling. How would you rate it compared to say the HD650, if you've heard one?

I have not heard the HD650.  I have a set of Sennheiser HDR130 wireless headphones.  I bought them about 8 years ago.  There's No comparison to the RS180.  The HDR130 are barely mid-fi.

 

I don't know enough about these RS180's to know whether or not the source and pre-amp have any bearing on the SQ, but I am connected to a McIntosh MX-136 pre/pro and my source is a Denon 3800BDCI.  I do know, however, that I am extremely pleased with these 180's.

 

FWIW, I have a set of Audeze LCD2 powered by the McIntosh MX-136 pre/pro connected to a first generation HeadRoom Standard head amp.  The RS180's clearly beat the LCD2's through the described setup.  I have a Centrance DacMini on the way.  I'm hoping that the Centrance will open up the LCD2's.  I am also as pleased with these RS180's as I am with the Shure SE535's that I received today; and I love these 535's.

 

How would you compare these to your 170's?  Is the bass a bit on the weaker side?  How about soundstage? 

 

 

Eek! That statement definitely requires amplification, forgive the pun. Better than an LCD-2? Surely that's a huge typo.

LOL!  O.K.  Granted, this is not a fair comparison and more a statement of my dissatisfaction with the presumed bottleneck effect on the LCD2 from the vintage head amp.  I expect the DacMini to reveal all the potential goodness in the LCD2's described in 100's of very positive reviews and opinions.  The Sennheieser RS180 sounds wonderful in their own right.
 

 

Ahhh.  Thank you.  Thinking about getting the RS180 to use in the living room where I won't bother the wife.  Trying to see if I can get some comparisons of sound between the 180 and 170. 

 

I prefer 170 :)

The 170's and 180's are more alike than different. The 170's are better for sound isolation at the slight expense of wider soundstage and deeper bass of the 180's. I use the 170's in bed to not disturb my wife and the 180's when it's just me. I'm very satisfied with both for their clarity, freq range, and balance. Tip of the hat to Sennheiser for excellent wireless headphones. It's nice to be able to move about without giving up SQ.

Why?

After many weeks of use, I have really only one complaint on my RS170.  The little plastic ring that keeps the inside cushion formed gets to be very uncomfortable after an hour or so.  My ears touch the outer part fo the pad just enough for this to have an adverse effect.  The pads just aren't thick enough to maintain form.  I need to try to find a mod or something that can help with that.  As far as I can tell, Senn does not make any other ear pieces that fit and might be of higher quality and hold their form better.  Other than that, I have been so pleased with the sound quality. 

 

I own the RS140, an older model that at the time of purchase was the top-of-the-line. I'm considering replacing them with the RS180 because I need to run a supplemental (second) set of phones. I find the HDR180, the supplemental phones to the RS180, doesn't come with a charger. To keep them running you need to swap phones on the Transmitter/Charged base. In my opinion this is a real short-coming on Sennhieser's part. Has this been an issue for anyone?