[Randolph Duke]

I have the RS185- picked them up last month.
They replaced my wireless 180's.
They do sound better. Bigger, Richer, etc.
 
My only issue is in regards to movie viewing.
Sennheiser claims these phones can deliver an uncompressed signal...but
when I tried to send it  Dolby True HD or DTS HD- I heard silence.
You can not bitstream these tracks to the RS185.
You have to send it PCM.
Which I feel is kind of a rip. Sending uncompressed was kind of a big selling point for my upgrade.
Sure the PCM still sounds great- but if I have an optical connect- I want it to be able to accept a HD digital signal.
 
I believe Sennheiser released a pair of wireless phones a few years back that handled HD audio- but they suffered from major drop out issues. That said Pioneer has had a wireless pair of headphones- that date back several years- that can handle Dolby digital and DTS over optical. They also suffered from drop out BUT only if you moved out of range. 
If you stayed in sight of the base- or in the same room- you were fine.
 
I was offered a refund- but I decided to keep them due to the analog inputs- which come in handy for LP listening.
These phones really do deliver a sweet sound.
I put on a record and hear stuff going on- I never heard before.
Going wireless- with these high end headphones- I feel I lose very little and gain so much.
The freedom to move around- when you need to- without a break in the music (or show)...once you have that you will never want to go back to a leash.

 

[MAGICAL ESKIMO]

Awesome review - I want a pair of these now!

 

[mark2410]

  My only issue is in regards to movie viewing.
Sennheiser claims these phones can deliver an uncompressed signal...but
when I tried to send it  Dolby True HD or DTS HD- I heard silence.

 
hi, erm i dont think thta the issue there is an uncompressed issue but one of them while being lossless formats are multi channel lossless formats.  that the DAC presumably inside having been never intendoed to decode multichannel lossless formats, the data rates being naturally rather higher than a two channel lossless is what i would think causes it to fail to produce anything.
 

  Awesome review - I want a pair of these now!

why thank you good sir

 

[Coldsnap]

@mark2410 or @Randolph Duke , When I watch movies off my PC with my RS 185 the headphone volume is at max (beeps when I press vol +) but I wish it could go one or two clicks louder. Have you guys experienced this? The headphones are on max volume most the time. I'm running no sort of dynamic range compression or anything. And running optical out from my tv.

 

[mark2410]

  @mark2410 or @Randolph Duke , When I watch movies off my PC with my RS 185 the headphone volume is at max (beeps when I press vol +) but I wish it could go one or two clicks louder. Have you guys experienced this? The headphones are on max volume most the time. I'm running no sort of dynamic range compression or anything. 

cant say i have, however i can tell you why.  its that movies have a very large dynamic range most of them is very quiet with the add explosion thats very lound.  most music is set at that very loud level.  the headphones being music based will be aimed at that, so for movies of its causing you a problem try to use the level control.

 

[Coldsnap]

  cant say i have, however i can tell you why.  its that movies have a very large dynamic range most of them is very quiet with the add explosion thats very lound.  most music is set at that very loud level.  the headphones being music based will be aimed at that, so for movies of its causing you a problem try to use the level control.

 
Ah, darn. To use the level control I'd have to run analog, but my wireless sub is using the only analog out on my TV. I'd reconsider the 175 vs 185, maybe get more loudness there but I liked the openness of the 185. 
 
I suppose you're right, because music played from my computer I run the headphones at about 50%. Movies it's 100%. The headphones really do come to life while playing music, there's bass where it's mostly absent in movies or television. Thing is though, I use the headphones for mostly movies and games. 

 

[mark2410]

   
Ah, darn. To use the level control I'd have to run analog, but my wireless sub is using the only analog out on my TV. I'd reconsider the 175 vs 185, maybe get more loudness there but I liked the openness of the 185. 
 
I suppose you're right, because music played from my computer I run the headphones at about 50%. Movies it's 100%. The headphones really do come to life while playing music, there's bass where it's mostly absent in movies or television. Thing is though, I use the headphones for mostly movies and games. 

 
 
dont quote me on it but i think the RS195 is made with tv/movies in mind so has options to compensate for it.  sad that such a tihng is required but we only have the music industry to blame.

 

[Coldsnap]

   
 
dont quote me on it but i think the RS195 is made with tv/movies in mind so has options to compensate for it.  sad that such a tihng is required but we only have the music industry to blame.

 
Yea, darn them! I'm thinking since the RS175 is designed for tv/movies (RS195 more designed for hearing loss) that the amp/dac receiver is going to boost the volume higher. I'm going to pick a pair up and do some more testing. 

 

[mark2410]

   
Yea, darn them! I'm thinking since the RS175 is designed for tv/movies (RS195 more designed for hearing loss) that the amp/dac receiver is going to boost the volume higher. I'm going to pick a pair up and do some more testing. 

yeah there is the 175 but i dont think its got all the compensation do dahs.  it i believe tries to keep the huge dynamic range of films.  so not sure it will be what your quite looking for, tohugh not used it so am all supposing

 

[Coldsnap]

yeah there is the 175 but i dont think its got all the compensation do dahs.  it i believe tries to keep the huge dynamic range of films.  so not sure it will be what your quite looking for, tohugh not used it so am all supposing

 


So after testing with both of them I made some conclusions. The RS 185 has a way more open sound and the sound positioning is great, sounds nearly surround. It has clear bass in movies and the mids are higher. The RS 175 has way more bass, bass boost is too much. The bass is muddy from the start and the sound is very claustrophobic feeling due to the closed back nature of the headphone. Neither is louder than the other. What's cool though is with the RS 175 base you can use bass boost on the 185 headset. Neither will play DTS bitsreamed. RS 185 is way more comfortable. The only knock id give the RS 185 is that mids and trebble can be harsh on video games and music sometimes. But this is the nature of open back?

 

[mark2410]

if your finding the 185 harsh in soemthings then i would take it to be that the output of the game or music is harsh.  music especially is oftet made with crappy playback equipment in mind.  so often lots of music is so dynamicaly compressed that its just craps out at the top.  its not fun but its a sad reality and which is why i ithnk that most "audiophile" music is such, not because it has any particularl musical merrit beyond it being well recorded and mastered.
 
 
games too id assume do the same thing. ramp up the volume thus dynamically compressing it and then it just craps out when peaks hit.

 

[AtrafCreez]

Mark ! This is a truly in-depth review and easy for dummies like myself to understand too.  I have been buying wired Sennheiser for 35 years and wires  drive me out of my mind. I did buy 8 months ago the RS 180 Sennheiser and love the wireless . I use it for my desktop PC and movies.
I'm thinking of giving them to someone and buying the RS 185 or Rs 195.
Awesome review.

 

[mark2410]

  Mark ! This is a truly in-depth review and easy for dummies like myself to understand too.  I have been buying wired Sennheiser for 35 years and wires  drive me out of my mind. I did buy 8 months ago the RS 180 Sennheiser and love the wireless . I use it for my desktop PC and movies.
I'm thinking of giving them to someone and buying the RS 185 or Rs 195.
Awesome review.

aww, thank you. well i am glad you like it.
 
yeah once you get in the habit of wireless its very freeing isnt it. 

 

[tapedeck]

Hi mark2410,
 
I own a RS180
Intend to buy another SENN wireless.
 
Concerned about leaking sound as it is an OPEN can in the RS185
 
From your experience is the leakage of sound of the RS185  mild, average or severe compared to the RS180.
 
When I use the RS180 even at high volume it does not disturb my wife who is reading/sleeping beside. I use RS180 at night while watching TV.
 
From your experience is the leakage of sound of the RS185  mild, average or severe compared to the RS180.or in terms of percentage
is it a 10 or 20 increase in sound leaking?
 
Thank you.

 

[mark2410]

  Hi mark2410,
 
I own a RS180
Intend to buy another SENN wireless.
 
Concerned about leaking sound as it is an OPEN can in the RS185
 
From your experience is the leakage of sound of the RS185  mild, average or severe compared to the RS180.
 
When I use the RS180 even at high volume it does not disturb my wife who is reading/sleeping beside. I use RS180 at night while watching TV.
 
From your experience is the leakage of sound of the RS185  mild, average or severe compared to the RS180.or in terms of percentage
is it a 10 or 20 increase in sound leaking?
 
Thank you.

ah.  if you dont want leakage you probably want to look at the 175 which is the closed version.  the185 doesnt quite leak the same as the 180 but its really not something you could use in bed beside someone at all. 
 
i havent heard the 170 or 175 but they should be still pretty good, just closed.