[jtgamble]

OK, yes I KNOW that wireless is not very popular around here. BUT this isn't for music purposes. I had a pair of Sennheiser T60 wireless headphones that my wife's uncle gave us for free a while back. We've been using them for our TV, but both of the cans just broke off and are only being held back on with duct tape and the wire that runs between them right now.

Since we live in a loft, if one of us is up early (or late) and wants to watch TV, headphones are really the only option to keep from waking the other up. And our living room isn't set up well for running wires to the couch - not to mention the fact that my wife especially often wanders around the house with the headphones on (getting coffee from the kitchen, etc.) So we really need some wireless headphones. I don't need the ultimate sound quality here, just solid.

-Surround would be nice, but not 100% necessary.
-I'm pretty sure most (if not all) have built in volume control, but that IS 100% necessary since that's the only way to control the volume when using headphones with our TV.
-Prefer RF or Kleer
-Prefer if it used RCA, but I have an adapter from 3.5mm > RCA so I can use either.
-Budget is between $100-300.

Thanks for any help/recommendations. I know wireless is not preferred around here. If I had it my way we'd find a way to run some wires to both sides of the couch and to the arm chair and just plug in, but that just isn't happening

EDIT: After looking around, I'm seeing a bunch of Kleer headphones pop up. Does Kleer require line of sight to the base? I'd be very interested if it didn't, but if it does and the best/most affordable option uses Kleer it wouldn't be a deal breaker.

 

[blahblahblaster]

a quick bit of research shows me you might want to get a bt transmitter for your tv, then you would just pick up some bt headphones or adapters and enjoy! personally, i use the sonorix c3 as a bt adapter and switch out whatever headphone i like. a number of solutions with transmitter/receiver options fit into your budget.

edit:
or you could get a rf transmitter like they have for the car [ i found a good one labeled iwave from ross for 10$ and it comes with a usb cable and car charger, now i can charge thru usb in my car and mess with people's radios] and any old small rf receiver/headphone. i use my sansa clip as a receiver for my laptop since bluetooth headset support on ubuntu sucks.

 

[jtgamble]

Has anybody used the Sennheiser RS 170/180? After doing more reading, I think Kleer is the only way to go now, and they seem to be the best in my price range. That being said, definitely still open to suggestions if anybody has any. Remember, they're just for TV/Movies.

 

[Justice Strike]

kleer is ok... i'm not really that fond of it because i keep needing to charge both the transmitter aswell as the receiver.

 

[jtgamble]

Since they will just be sitting still the transmitter will be plugged in all the time. And the Sennheiser RS 170/180 both have rechargeable batteries that are charged when the headphones are placed back on the receiver (which also acts as a dock). Just curious if anybody has any experience with these specific models.

 

[Justice Strike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtgamble /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since they will just be sitting still the transmitter will be plugged in all the time. And the Sennheiser RS 170/180 both have rechargeable batteries that are charged when the headphones are placed back on the receiver (which also acts as a dock). Just curious if anybody has any experience with these specific models.

kleer doesn't work permanently plugged in. It's either plugged in and charging... or it's working as transmitter and not charging (and not plugged in) atleast that's true for the reference kleer transmitter + receiver.

 

[jtgamble]

I'm fairly sure the transmitter can't physically be charged, only the headphones can. The transmitter is a large box that also doubles as the charging station/dock for the headphones when they aren't in use, and doesn't actually have a battery to be charged. These aren't portable Kleer implementations (like the MX W1 or the Sleek SA6).

 

[HiFlight]

You might consider the Amphony 2500s. They are in the 5gb range and have no interference from most portable phones and microwaves.
I have some of their wireless equipment and am very pleased with the sound and overall performance.

5.8 GHz Digital Wireless Headphones, Model 2500

 

[jaylotc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtgamble /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm fairly sure the transmitter can't physically be charged, only the headphones can. The transmitter is a large box that also doubles as the charging station/dock for the headphones when they aren't in use, and doesn't actually have a battery to be charged. These aren't portable Kleer implementations (like the MX W1 or the Sleek SA6).

None of the trio Sennheiser models (RS 160/170/180) have rechargeable transmiter. Here's my brief overview for the RS 180.

SQ : Excellent for a wireless can, I'd say the best I've heard and comparable to mid-range wired cans like my HD555 model with good Bass reproduction. Ofcourse, I have to tune up my Bass control (from my external player/amp) to achieve my desired Bass pump.

Noise level : I'd give this model an A+ for nearly negligible residual noise at maximum headphone volume (with controlled volume level at the transmitter input). A++ when connected to an RCA of my TV/HT box. I can only assume that the residual noise reduce with the volume level of headphones, which you normally do when unable to adjust the headphone volume when connected to a fixed level of RCA output of a TV/player. No hiss, no pop, just like wired!

Range: 100 meters -line of sight can be realized only when in the desert

. I live in a apartment where walls are made of concrete. The range is pretty decent with no audio degradation or drop in nearly all areas of my apartment. So just to answer your querry, RS 180 isn't line of sight only but that line of sight is used only for specifying the maximum range of transmission of the product.

Big Plus : I find the ALC setting very useful when watching TV/Movie particularly during dialog scene. I even enjoy listening to music with ALC ON. In fact, I keep it on all the time and realized that I seldom need to change the volume level of my headphones.

Buttons: took me a day or two of getting used to (as opposed to others who took weeks!). Operation is relatively simple for me. The leftmost part is a bigger button for Volume up, slide down my thumb until I reach the end of those flat bottons and I got the volume down. You can use the same trick for balance L/R control although for me, I'd always press the L/R buttons simultaneously using a single thumb to get to balance reset mode. Don't have hearing problem here, that's why...

By the way, I don't normally use mute as it's easier to lift the headphones off my ears and hang to my neck when I need to...

Transmitter : As the user manual indicates, the transmitter functions as a charger of the headphones. Just be sure to use the included rechargeable battery and NOT charge an alkaline battery (assuming you loose patience of waiting for the 1st charge and want to use the product straight out of the box!). Normally, rechargeble batteries come out of the box partially charged so I knew I could use my RS 180 for a couple of song tracks before I hang the headphones onto the charging dock of the transmitter.

Start-up operation is tad simple. Connect the transmitter to the power source, connect the music player to transmitter using the provided audio cable, place the rechargeable batteries onto the headphones and in a couple of seconds, the heaphones is ready for listening!

Operating time and charging : It takes at least 20 hours of battery operation before each recharging. At the end of the day, I'd simply place the headphones on the charging dock and the headphones is fully charged again the following morning. So it appears as if my headphones never run-out of battery power!

The only disadvatage of using RS 180 (being an open type) is that the sound from the headphones leaks and can be heard by the next person beside you. So if you wife has a very sensitive ears like my wife, then it is recommedable to buy the RS 170 (with Bass and virtual surround function)instead. I also have the portable RS 160 for watching late night movies while on the bed, so wife never complains....

Hope this helps.

 

[Ypoknons]

I just got my RS180's too and I'd like to add that the horizontal soundstage is quite good, and battery life seems to deliever. If you want surrond processing, most recievers should do Dolby Headphone for a similar effect, or else you can get a seperate processor like the SU-DH1 or a software solution like PowerDVD.

Edit and additional thoughts: The package is quite complete and comes with the RCA to 3.5mm adapter. As for range, they work without noise in my apartment until I run into one the 1 foot thick concrete wall that separates the bedroom (typical Hong Kong apartment - I've never seen anything like it in a US house or NYC apartment). Latency is good, I played some Uncharted 2 with the RS180 and lag didn't bother me, but I'm not a professional or picky gamer either.

They really are fun and excellent mid-fi phones; for $350 it's a very good package. Obviously they run counter to the Head-Fi spirit of experimentation, you're stuck with that specific combination of phones and amp, but as said above they rival many mid-fi phones.

 

[DMC_S2000]

Jabra Halo...