Sennheiser Consumer Audio RS 175 RF Wireless Headphone System for TV Listening with Bass Boost and Surround Sound Modes,Black

I bought these to replace a pair of Sony MDR RF-6000s and use them mostly for TV/Movies. The Sonys cut out and picked up lots of interference from wifi and other 2.4ghz traffic (I live in a city environment with easily 25 wifi networks in range). Overall, they’ve been great and are well worth the money.Signal:So far, the Sennheisers have been flawless with no dropouts or signal loss. As above, I live in a pretty interference-heavy environment. Haven’t really range tested them, but they’ll easily go into the next room with no problem.Sound Quality:I played around with the bass boost and surround, but find things sound best with all that off. There’s no shortage of bass and sound quality is full and on par with any high-end headphone from Bose, Sennheiser, or Sony. There’s a slight signal delay, though that’s only perceptible when the audio is also playing through speakers, and I’d expect that from any RF headphones.Batteries:I haven’t tested the battery life yet (had them on a couple hours and no issues). They use rechargeable AAA batteries, which allows for the use of standard AAAs if the rechargeable ones die. Each earcup has a battery, accessible by twisting/unlocking the pad. That evens out the weight, but adds a step to change batteries.Cradle/Transponder:It’s a pretty sleek looking stand, both with the phones on and off. Takes a little bit of practice to get them on and off just right, but nothing too difficult.Comfort:They’re a pretty tight fit, which is good for keeping them on while moving around, though maybe not the best for all-day listening. All considered, no complaints about comfort. My only long-term concern would be the foam pads on the headband – foam tends to wear and these don’t look replaceable. The headband is a standard adjustable model, though a bit thicker than some others due to the larger size and weight of the electronics/batteries. The Sonys had a band that turned them on automatically when you put them on (and then beeped annoyingly if there was no signal). These use a button for on/off, which is slightly less convenient but more durable and reliable long term. You have to hold the button for a few secs, so they aren’t prone to accidentally being turned off.In all, these are a good buy and decent balance between price and quality with no significant flaws. My main driver is signal quality in a high-interference environment, and these have certainly solved that so far. Also, the packaging and instructions were easy and clearly well thought out. That’s often an afterthought, but a bad experience there can set the tone for the product long term. Nice work, Sennheiser.UPDATE: 10 Months in, and these are still going strong. Battery life is still excellent – I’ve had a few “marathon” sessions (use these for TV) and they’ve yet to run out. Often, I get lazy and don’t throw them back on the charger after an evening of TV and they’re still good to go the next time. In our old place, I finally found where the signal would cut out – in the basement three floors down. Our new house is lath and plaster, which is murder on all kinds of wireless signals, and they’re good for about one floor in either direction and probably 70-80 ft from the base station. Unless you live with lath & plaster (and you’ll know if you do) or in a stone castle, I can’t imagine a scenario where you wouldn’t have whole-house roaming. Still never had even a blip of interference, despite a neighborhood of wireless routers screaming at high volume in 2.4ghz.UPDATE 2: Almost 4 years on and these are still performing as they did when new. I did wear through the earcups (every headphone I’ve ever had does this) and easily replaced them with no tools – it’s a twist-lock change. Original batteries still going strong with almost-daily usage.UPDATE 3: 5 years in. Just replaced the headband pads (peel off old ones and stick on new ones). Replacements available for ~$19 on Amazon. Battery life and sound quality still as it was in the beginning.UPDATE 4: I have owned these for almost 9 years and still use them almost daily for evening TV. Just changed the earcup pads again. A couple years ago the original batteries failed to hold charge, so I swapped with AAA rechargeables from Amazon – no discernable difference in use or charge time. So few technology things fit the “buy it for life” model, but these might be the ones.

StrengthsSound quality really good for wireless, the best i have heard in fact for wireless. Better than a lot of wired too, to my ears these sound wonderful. I have a lot of headphones and am into audio as well. I think the sound would suit the tastes of 90% of people. For movies these kill, got me though when my daughter was in infant 🙂 They extremely conformable with easily replaceable pads. i upgraded to the felt pads you can buy the 185 pads and they work fine. They are better than the stock ones that come with these for those of us that like the feel of felt.Simply fun to listen to. Close as you will get to a 2k home theater on a budget.Really just want to cut to the chase these are fun to listen to, and i feel they sound wonderful for movies. I can honestly say i don’t think they could be any better for this usage.Also love having replaceable batteries. I have had this for a couple years now, and a buddy has has his a previous model for more than 10 years old (180) so i know they hold up fairly well.WeaknessesThey don’t leak sound, but the sound isolation isn’t the best as compared to some other over year phones i have tried. It isn’t bad, just don’t expect super isolation.The head band pad is not the best. Fake leather feels a little thin there too. The build is also not the most robust. I haven’t had any issues but i am also really careful with my things. I wouldn’t drop it. I’d be surprised if it could sustain a fall from 4-5 feet on a hard surface with out breaking.The price i paid for the full unit with the base station was 171. It is a buy at that price, no regrets, in fact i like the sound so much if i could find it for that price or lower i’d consider picking up a second done for work since i like it better than Bluetooth. while it isn’t quite as flexible as bluetooth since you need this station, it performs better, and there are no hiccups with either lag, or bluetooth issues like jitter etc. In fact in all the years of owning this i have never had any issue audio or otherwise. I think 270 which i see from time to time is asking way too much though they are good but let’s not be crazy. The mark up on head phones is absurd. I’d wait for a sale. For what these do they are wonderful. If you want a pair of cans for your home theater system or computer, and don’t need as much flexibility as bluetooth provides and have a scenario where audio performance is paramount, you’ll totally love these.It really is significant in terms of quality it is a rich sound, with a nice sound stage and imaging which helps for movies and games.While not perfect if I am being picky, after years of owning this i am giving it 5 starts because i still use it, and it has served me really well, and i have been totally satisfied with my purchase. In fact i used this and my Bluetooth cans more than any of the corded ones i have these days, and i have some nice ones. This sound just about as good as some of my high end cabled head phones especially for things like movies. They are particularly tuned for that. My main gripes are I would love to see 1.) more isolation, 2.) more robust build quality 3.) this quality of sound on Bluetooth if it is possible. I mean i feel like i have to treat these things like fine china which they are 🙂 I can honestly say these’d would by far be my go to head phones in all scenarios if i could get this sound quality on Bluetooth and not paying 500 dollars.Here is hoping. These have great imaging and are almost as good as open back headphones in sound stage. there is almost a surround sound nature to them, but they just sound great. If you want uncompromising high end sounds for your movies in a head phones these are the ones to get.

5 stars, but not quite perfect. The button necessary to turn the headset on/off (on one of the ear-cups) when you put the headphone on is a bit tricky to find in the dark; it’s on the rim of one side of the headset ear cover and you find it without removing headset as you would use braille. Note that you must hold the tiny almost flush on/off button in for 3 seconds or so to accomplish task; one quick press will not do it; at first a bit annoying but probably a good feature to avoid an accidental bump resulting in no sound. The volume; sound control is done with 4 additional large buttons on the flat/outside of the same side ear-cover. These buttons (all nearly flush, which is fine- there’s enough protrusion to find, not so much as to interfere with operation) have raised dots for sound quality on two buttons, and a + and a – for volume which are quite visible, but not as easy to distinguish by fingertip with the headset on. The single raised dot on the sound quality buttons should be doubled on one side (1 dot on one button, 2 dots on the other) since you will forget which button does what. The same controls are repeated on the base unit, but frankly, I have never had need to use these. The different shape of the ear covers is very useful to distinguish right from left by feel when you pick the headset up, as in the dark. I find the range as described is adequate but exaggerated. I had a similar Sony set before this and a similar (earlier) Sennheiser set before that and both gave substantially better range (say, walking outside to check on the weather or whatever). Sorry, I have not measured actual range, but I use this only for watching TV (my wife listens to the TV’s sound bar +/Bose speakers, since we have much different hearing sensitivity: she hears like a bat; I hear like a post), but as I walk around inside house there are areas where I lose sound. I was a bit disappointed, but the loss is limited & acceptable if not ideal. Otherwise, the sound quality is super excellent (recall my hearing). I hear MUCH better with these than in our super new multiplex IMAX theater. For others with hearing problems, turning off the surround sound/bass boost features at times gives me more distinguishable dialogue; so being able to change modes may be a useful alternative for most people. The surround-sound is quite convincing; I use it or not, depending on the program. I have marathon-watched TV series or films and have never had a hint of battery weakening. The docking station is good looking and solid, never falls over from imbalance or a bump. I hope the ear pad material is an improvement over previous sets I have owned, which frayed long before the rest of the system showed wear. The ear fit & design are excellent, excluding all but loud ambient noise. When my wife and I are sitting on our long sofa, I cannot hear her normal speaking voice, but if she raises it just a bit, “Can you hear me?” I always answer, “Yes, I can,” then loosen the fit on one side and can hear her fine. Overall, highly recommended.

I took a chance on a used but described like new headphones. They work perfectly and really are as good as new. It’s good to be able to trust Amazon and the sellers description on the site.

This pair of headphones phones are the best that I have ever owned. The quality is outstanding. They are made sturdy. Very comfortable. The sound the put out very crystal clear. The bass and treble are separate adjustments. With surround sound. Well worth the money paid for. I would recommend this product to everyone.