 much better then expected |
| Review Date: January 18, 2010 |
| Reviewer: busy dad, nj |
Let me say that the main reason I bought these headphones was for watching movies with out hearing lip for having my home theater too loud.
I enjoy using the surround feature and the Bass boost for movies. I have a high end home theater and I do not miss it as much as I thought I would. Does the Bass feel like my two 1,000 watt powered subs. Of course not, but the bass is very good.
The main time I would use the headphones is times when I have my system very low so the headphones sound much better then my system when it is played at a low decibel level. While I have a movie in I can walk all over my house and it never breaks up. The sound is crystal clear all over the house.
The closed headphones are a nice feature so you can shut out most noise but you can still hear someone calling you if needed.
The only problem I have so far is an occasional sound dropout. I moved the transmitter and manually paired the headphones. Since then I have had no problems but it is too soon to be sure if it worked.
I highly recommend these headphones for watching movies. I am not a music guy so I could not comment on that.
7/14/10 I would like to give a quick update. The sound from the headphones for movies is still great. I do not get any sound dropout when I am close to the unit. I do tend to agree with a previous post that the range is not great. My house is decent size and when I go to some rooms the sound does drop out. |
Love these headphones.
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| Review Date: February 10, 2010 |
| Reviewer: John English, Torrance, ca United States |
I just love these headphones. I also own Sennheiser's HDR 65 and HDR 140. My only complaint is there is no hard-copy user manual, just a CD or online. There is a quick guide, but it is only a picture guide with almost no text. The sound quality is great. Periodically, I have to turn off the headphones to verify what I am hearing is actually from my TV and not somewhere inside my apartment or just outside the door. I was watching the FX cable show 'Damages' and heard voices just outside my apartment door and after taking the headphones off I realized it was from the show. It was a scene inside the law office and evidently the voices were from people supposedly standing behind the people in the scene. The headphones might not have actual Surround Sound but they sure sound like they do and I didn't have the simulated Surround Sound turned on. Also, they seem to have noise canceling, even though its not stated. When I use the microwave with the headphones on, I can't hear the beep when I push the buttons. Again, I had to take the headphones off to tell if the microwave was working; it was. Even if I don't need to wear the headphones, I do when I what to hear the best sound.
There is no interference from any room in my apartment and or outside for about 50ft. |
best headphones ever. period.
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| Review Date: March 12, 2010 |
| Reviewer: pharaoh, fort smith, ar |
i am an audiophile, and i HATE digital music. for the better part of 20 years, i've amassed an assortment of electronic gear, but 3 years ago, i decided to strip everything down to a 5-disc sony upconvert dvd player [which allows the the ability to have a variety of sound settings] and a pair of senheisser rs 130 wireless headphones.
the rs 130s were at that point the best headphones i had ever owned, the sound quality was far greater than all of my previous sony headphones, but the one thing that always bothered me was the hissing noise. when the music got going, the hissing was unnoticeable, but in quieter moments, i could hear it. also, should i get up and walk around, move my head or sit a certain way, i could get rf interference, and the headphones would hiss and pop. they were what i could afford at the time, but after about 3 years of hissing, i wanted some without hiss. naturally, i came back to sennheiser, and i found the rs 170s.
these are now the best headphones i have ever owned. it is as advertised: they sound wired. there is no hiss at all. not only have they improved the hiss, but everything about these headphones is an improvement over the rs 130s:
1. the srs feature, which in the rs 130s just gave everything an echo, has vastly improved in the rs 170s, but all it really does is pushes up the middle sounds, killing the bass. an improvement still, but something i don't use because i can adjust the surround settings through my dvd player to create a truer surround sound.
2. the bass boost function. this is the best, especially if you listen to tons of music like i do. the 130s had a meh ammount of bass, but the 170s make all bass and drum parts pulse, punch, and throb. most importantly, the bass doesn't kill the lighter parts of the music. usually when bass is increased, the mids and light parts of the music, giving songs a surround sound, are compressed and any sort of musical atomosphere is lost. this is not so with the 170s.
3. they have a closed design, which blocks out virtually all sound. i don't hear anything but music with these headphones, nor is any sound leaked. i am skeptical about the velour ear pads. i had some velour ear pads with my last pair of sonys, and one, hot summer day, i sweated and the velour disintegrated. i picked up little black flakes of velour from my carpet for several months. should that happen with the 170s, i'm not too worried. the ear pads are detachable and replaceable; sennheiser recommends they be replaced over time anyways.
4. the buttons are a bit of an improvement, but not by that much. you don't have to worry about accidentally altering the volume if you lay down, like the rs 130s; the buttons on the 170s are push buttons. my only gripe is that they are harder to find than the 130s and there is less fine tuning of the volume.
other issues:
the only other gripe i have is actually turning on the headphones. my procedure is: playing the music, turning on the base, then turning on the headphones, wait to get them to pair, then stop the music, put the headphones on, then play the music. like the 130s, the headphones won't activate until there is a signal to transmit, but having to turn on the base is an extra step.
another issue i had, which really didn't turn out to be an issue at all, was having to hook up the base to my dvd player via a standard headphone cord with an analogue adapter, splitting the signal to right/left audio jacks. the 130s had an analogue cord running from the base, with a standard headphone adapter [the opposite], and i had negative experiences using the 130's headphone adapter. BUT the adapter for the 170s works just fine. i plugged the right/left audio jacks into my dvd player, then hooked that to the standard headphone cord, then the headphone cord into the base. in total, it took about 7 minutes to take out of the box, plug everything in, and it was good to go.
the instruction book is a disc, but there is an illustrated instruction book with it, that i thought was more than clear an concise. the full manual, on the disc, is like 30-something pages and in a gazillion different languages, so i can see why see why sennheiser tried to save some money and put it on a disc.
also, one might hesitate over the price. these are about $100 more than i spent on the 130s, but worth every penny. there are other features to these headphones i haven't mentioned [like multiple headset pairing], which make these headphones quite versatile for any entertainment needs. though, if you are like me and love music, your music only sounds as good as the gear you use. i highly recommend these headphones. |
Excellent
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| Review Date: January 27, 2010 |
| Reviewer: zeke399, NC |
| I returned a pair of Sony Wireless to Best Buy...sound quality was poor and included echoing...Found the RS 170 to be a giant leap in sound quality..I have it connected thru my DVD player as we watch quite a few movies that do not have sub titles....could not be more pleased...Highly recommend this product. |
Outstanding Sound, Comfortable, Long Range
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| Review Date: February 12, 2010 |
| Reviewer: LD, |
Finally, free of wires, I roam throughout the house and outside without any interruption in reception. Easy to assemble/install on a computer. Straight-forward instructions on set-up and controls. Extensive, easy to read, and understandable operator's manual.
Sound quality is superb! With bass boost and surround sound switched on, I feel the vocals coming from inside my head, nose and mouth. Lip-synch was never my forte, but these cans have changed that! Bring on those operas! So what if an occasional note slips out of my throat, the comfortable earcups block my less-than-stellar voice.
Great dynamic range, no hiss, no hum, no pop. Listening to several pieces of solo instrumentals and minimalist composers - long rests and silences - there's absolutely NO background noise. Sennheiser's are wonderful!
The controls on the right earcup are tricky, at first, but at the end of the first day, easily mastered. TIP: Take them off, look at the controls in the same position as worn on your head. With the right index finger slide down the yoke to the first button. Feel what you are doing. Try it a couple of times with your eyes closed. Open your eyes and confirm what you have felt. Remember, the only small, raised emblem is on the centered, multi-function, control button (on, off, mute, enroll headset, etc). The button before this, is volume up, the one after, volume down. Put them on your head and practice a couple of times. Let your middle and 4th fingers rest on the flat, round surface of the cup, dead-center, let your thumb naturally touch the bottom of the earcup pad. Now you have a side-to-side relationship of fingers and thumb with your index finger being the "instrument" that plays the controls of your Sennheiser's.
People who complain about warm ears need to have their circulatory system re-routed. Any occlusive earcup will capture the warmth generated by the ear's ample vascular supply. Give your ears a rest and breath of fresh air every so often with a set of light-weight over-ear-pads, or earbuds.
People who complain about having to wait when charging the batteries after the new set arrives, can always slip a set of standard AAA batteries in. DO NOT PLACE THE HEADPHONES ON THE RECHARGING STAND WHEN STANDARD BATTERIES ARE IN THE EARCUPS.
Lightweight, adjustable and very comfortable to wear for several hours. Easy to install batteries. Great documentation and CD with instructions.
No complaints. Well worth the money and the self-imposed wait as I searched and researched others.
Now, about those fantasies you will be having, of being in a music video or flim, they naturally arise while wearing these beauties .... |
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