Sennheiser wireless headphones

[borked]

Was out looking for a new refrigerator this afternoon, and came back with a pair of Sennheiser RS180 wireless headphones. Go figure!

Needless to say, I can live without a new fridge when I can listen to the angelic Natalie Dessay without being strangled by wires.

Excellent headphones

[woj]

nothing beats good quality wired headphones... realistically you probably can't tell the difference but if you are paying $300 for some headphones I would think you would want to experience 100% quality, not 99%...

oh, and having RF equipment an inch from your brain, hours at a time doesn't seems like a good idea...

[martinsc]

I love sennheisers.... have the 595 myself, but am looking at the 700. I never dared to go wireless. I'd think that wired will always have better quality and less loss...
but the rs180 have some great reviews, so I guess you'll enjoy them

[DaLord]

Got Sennheiser and love them. They are solid.

[borked]

Yup, they sure are a lovely sound - I'd never really tested headphones before, preferring listening through speakers (B&W man myself in that dept), but I was fed up with the wife babbling on about how fuck knows what, 700litre cool area isn't enough or whatnot. So I wandered off and got chatting with a guy in the audio dept and came out with these.

As far as RF near my head - pffft not too bothered as we are all the guinea pigs for our children and future generations in that dept... what with wifi, mobile, and god knows what bombarding us 24/7/365.

I read after than Sennheiser are releasing the RS220 shortly (next month?) which are the same tech as the 700 (the RS180's are the 595's), but those run on wifi not RF.... that would worry me a bit since the wavelength is much shorter and potentially damaging than radio.

[DamianJ]

Originally Posted by borked

(B&W man myself in that dept)

Should've stayed brand loyal man, I've got these and they are stunning:

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Headph.../Overview.html

[Chosen]

Congrats

[borked]

Originally Posted by DamianJ

Should've stayed brand loyal man, I've got these and they are stunning:

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Headph.../Overview.html

Yup, I did test them and they were great, but testing for mid-high range clarity on a piano piece (tested with Satie's 3 Gymnopédies), the pressing of the keys were much crisper and clear on the Sennheiser's (imo). But yeah, when you're up in that range, it's splitting hairs.

I'm sure there are *much* better headphones out there, but for ?200 and the freedom to move around I'm tickled pink with them!

[DarkJedi]

Didn't know you could get a good sound signal via wireless.

I got wired HD 650, through an amp. They rock.

[Socks]

Love my HD-25-II's

[borked]

Originally Posted by DamianJ

Should've stayed brand loyal man

A wee story...
Back in my uni days way back when, I went off one day at the beginning of term, grant fresh in the bank (all 2000gbp of it - thanks maggie) to buy a stereo/speaker system. Spent the *entire* day (missed all the lectures) and eventually came home with a denon amp, some cruddy pioneer cd player and b&w speakers (can't remember the model, quite big black things though). Was all I could afford and it was the best quality to my ears that my grant could stretch too (thanks Midland for the overdraft for the rest of the term!).

Called my Dad that evening (he's an audiophile phreak) to tell him what I got... I remember it well "yeah, speakers, never heard of them, B&W it says but they sound great" - he gave me the history of Bowers and Wilkins over the phone and how he had met John Bowers when he was testing some BBC monitor speakers he wanted to buy in Shepherd's Bush and said I'd not be disappointed if I stuck to that brand...

/memory lane

[DarkJedi]

Are they run on batteries?

[borked]

Originally Posted by DarkJedi

Didn't know you could get a good sound signal via wireless.

I got wired HD 650, through an amp. They rock.

give em a try if you get the chance

[borked]

Originally Posted by DarkJedi

Are they run on batteries?

each ear has a AAA rechargeable in them, which recharges when you stand them on the dock (which also powers them down).
My only gripe is the stupid +/- volume buttons... get this:
underneath the right ear, there are 5 tiny buttons in this order:

+ on/off - L R

I mean what a stupid frikken place to put an on/off button... impossible to adjust the volume without touching the sucker, cos you can't see the damn buttons! The *only* aid is the on/off has a mark on you can sense with your finger. Still, dummass design and the only flaw I can find with them.

[bronco67]

How are the Sennheisers with the lows? I want some headphones that can duplicate the feeling of a subwoofer.

[borked]

Originally Posted by bronco67

How are the Sennheisers with the lows? I want some headphones that can duplicate the feeling of a subwoofer.

You know what - it's interesting and here's my test:

I have the Eurythmics Ultimate Collection in my iTunes library and giving Love is a Stranger a spin (one of my Annie favourites).

Testing on the Bose computer speakers/woofer I have plugged to that, the Bass really kicks and is very rich - nice vibration in the right areas that kick starts you deep inside.

On the headphones plugged into the headphone outlet of the little spinny volume controller of the Bose setup, the bass is lacking punch of the woofer that's for sure. However, it's there and probably enough for my brain, but it's a very clean Bass... so much so, at the beginning of the track where the guy goes Oooah, AAAh (you just know that's some big meaty black guy!), well his voice is *very* rich in a way I've not noticed before.

So, no you won't get the woofer effect - for that you need to stick your head in a bass bin in a club - try it, it's boggling!

--edit to say for me a deep bass in a headphone set is less important as I want clear mid-high range. I'm a boring classical fart myself. Although my musical collection it has to be said is very wide... and each taste group is a representation of the stage of my life when I went through that stage. Pop, rock, metal, dance, trance, indie, opera, classic. Voila!

[DamianJ]

Originally Posted by borked

A wee story...
Back in my uni days way back when, I went off one day at the beginning of term, grant fresh in the bank (all 2000gbp of it - thanks maggie) to buy a stereo/speaker system. Spent the *entire* day (missed all the lectures) and eventually came home with a denon amp, some cruddy pioneer cd player and b&w speakers (can't remember the model, quite big black things though). Was all I could afford and it was the best quality to my ears that my grant could stretch too (thanks Midland for the overdraft for the rest of the term!).

Called my Dad that evening (he's an audiophile phreak) to tell him what I got... I remember it well "yeah, speakers, never heard of them, B&W it says but they sound great" - he gave me the history of Bowers and Wilkins over the phone and how he had met John Bowers when he was testing some BBC monitor speakers he wanted to buy in Shepherd's Bush and said I'd not be disappointed if I stuck to that brand...

/memory lane

Literally, cool story bro.

How cool to have met him!

Funny how ears hear different things though, Wired recently reviewed the P5s and commented particularly on how good they are at the mid-range.

Glad you're happy though.

[borked]

Kids went off up to Paris with the wife (half term) a few hours ago...

Me on my tod with these suckers on my ears cooking in the kitchen singing away like a right fag to Kylie's "all the lovers" at the top of my voice.

Oh, to be single again.... wooohooo

[borked]

Originally Posted by DamianJ

Funny how ears hear different things though, Wired recently reviewed the P5s and commented particularly on how good they are at the mid-range.

Yeah, I know but until you get an oscilloscope hooked up to things, it's like you say. It all comes down to personal preference and what your ears pick up on... plus the B&W's were €230 as opposed to €200 for these and I did prefer the Sennheiser's for the piano pieces.

Actually, all I care about was I came out of the shop happy wanting to get home to get them on my head... the wife came out mumbling something about fridges....

thank god we have separate bank accounts for shit like this ;)

[borked]

fyi -
microwaves interfere with the signal grrrrrr

[John-ACWM]

Good recommendation!