[Erik Garci]

Press Release: Pioneer Introduces Wireless Dolby Digital Headphones Allowing Late Night Entertainement to Hit a Whole New Sound Level

"They will be available in May at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $475."

 

[Music Fanatic]

Quote:

Originally posted by Erik Garci Press Release: Pioneer Introduces Wireless Dolby Digital Headphones Allowing Late Night Entertainement to Hit a Whole New Sound Level "They will be available in May at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $475."

Great! Especially since Pioneer stuff is usually discounted 1/3 to 1/2 at online retailers.

 

[Erik Garci]

I received the Pioneer SE-DIR800C from Onecall.com today.

Am I the first person to receive the USA version?

I placed the order by phone on Monday. I asked the salesperson (Matt) if he could match the $269 price at Datavis.com, but he told me that it's not a reputable dealer. However, he offered to sell them to me for $290 plus shipping ($13.18), which is much lower than the $399 price listed on their site. By the way, they claim to be an "Authorized Internet Dealer" for Pioneer, which may be useful for warranty purposes.

One thing I noticed right away is that the gray plastic is much darker than the Japanese version.

 

[Franchot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erik Garci I received the Pioneer SE-DIR800C from Onecall.com today. Am I the first person to receive the USA version?

Well, maybe not the "first" person to receive the USA version, but probably the first Head-Fi.org member to receive one.

(Congratulations! I had the feeling that EricF was going to be the first on the block with the U.S. version.)

I hope you'll post your impressions of the unit, and if you have a camera you'll post a few pictures. (And if you have time, you'll read this thread: http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=59025 to see how the US version differs from the Japanese version.)

Please keep us posted with your experiences.

 

[Eric F]

I've been busy.

Actually, had I known they'ld cut their price like that, I'd have purchased it already.

Got one- Last one at that price. Thanks Erik.

 

[Erik Garci]

I took some pictures.

 

[Franchot]

Thanks for the great pictures, Erik! (I'm jealous, now. You've got a much flashier box than the red Japanese box I've got.

)

After you've had a few days of break-in, I hope you'll post back with some impressions.

 

[JMedeiros]

Thanks for the pics Eric...looks like they went for a non-chome look like the Japanese version..especially the front panel and the control buttons. I must say I like the looks of the USA version better than my Japanese version.

 

[Erik Garci]

So far I have listened to several inputs: analog, PCM, DTS (from a CD), DD2.0, and DD5.1. Two observations...
1. The wireless headphones sound much brighter than my Sennheiser HD600.
2. When I use the wired output and turn the volume knob beyond the "1 o'clock" position (i.e., about 60% of the way from MIN to MAX), I hear some distortion of bass frequencies during the opening scene of Star Wars Ep2. To work around this issue, I can keep the knob at "1 o'clock" and connect the wired output to my Creek amp. Note: I don't hear any such distortion on the wireless headphones.

 

[BAD Dave]

Pioneer 800C Dolby Headphone unit is now advertised on the Pioneer UK & Europe websites.
Does anyone know when they will be available to buy in the UK?
How much are they likely to cost?
I am getting excited! I may not have to import from Japan or USA after all!

 

[wallijonn]

Man, am I glad I just bought a P4 3.0C (Northwood; the Prescott is slower), Intel 875P mobo and 1g of Crucial memory minutes before I saw this thread. whew. Man, I want this unit. You lucky son of a gun.

Why isn't there a button to select the input? The fibre optical input will probably be what most of us would use, but SACD can't go through optical, so... is there interference?

 

[Eric F]

There is a button to switch inputs- Optical/Coax/Analog. The unit will also take a 32bit digital input.

I love it. Nice dynamic range. Only problem is I find the headphones a bit uncomfortable- one of the earpads wasn't stitched on quite right- I'm hoping it will soften up after extended use.

I'll probably buy another pair for guests, and hopefully the AT cans once they're made available seperately.

 

[Takashi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric F I'll probably buy another pair for guests, and hopefully the AT cans once they're made available seperately.

They are already available in Japan for MSRP 32000yen.

 

[Eric F]

Takashi, I know you've tried the AT cans. How do they compare to the 800c's?

I find it kind of funny that the AT's base/transmitter cost $600.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric F The unit will also take a 32bit digital input.

That's interesting. It says that in the manual? I assume it's integer not floating point?