In an earlier post I had mentioned that I was in the market for a new pair of wireless headphones. Well after much researching I decided to go the IR route instead of the RF way. And thus settled on the Philips SHC2000. Well there was a slightly cheaper alternative in the form of the Philips SHC1300, but I thought the 2000 model would be better because of the recharging function.
Among the major accessories included in the box is a transmitter unit which comes along with an adaptor. The transmitter does not have the battery option so you have to connect it to a wall socket to get it to work. Coming out of the back of the transmitter is a long-ish (about 1.5 metres) 3.5mm wire, the end of which is to be connected to a 3.5mm audio device. Also located at the rear of the transmitter is a port to charge the headphone unit directly for which rechargeable batteries are included (the batteries can be charged using a normal AAA battery charger). And of course there is the huge headphone unit itself.
About the headphone unit. Like I mentioned before it is huge. It is non adjustable. There is an elastic band however that stretches to fit your head. The ear cups are movable, for the purpose of adjusting to different head shapes, I suppose. The ear cups are made of a cloth material that are somewhat like satin. Now if you look at the box, you will see a model sitting and (supposedly) watching TV with a big smile on his face, with of course the headphones on his ears. Now look closer.... notice that the guy's got an Afro type hairstyle? I think this is a great piece of advertising on the part of Philips because the hairstyle makes the headphones seem unobtrusive. The fact is that when you put on the headphones (assuming you don't have a curly mop like the guy in the picture) you are going to look like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Agreed you are not wearing the headphones to make a fashion statement but the damn thing looks ridiculous. And it's not just from the aesthetic point of view. The unit looks bulky and IS bulky which also means that it is heavy. So please read the item description about them being "so light you'll forget you're wearing them" with a pinch of salt. The ear cups are circular and not oval. I personally prefer the oval ones as they enclose the whole portion of the ear.
The headphones are advertised as being wireless working on IR technology. Now I knew even before buying them that IR = arguably better sound (because it streams separate channel audio) than RF. I also knew that IR means it is a line of sight device and thus there needs to be an uninterrupted line of sight between the transmitter and the headphone. The range is advertised as 7 metres. Maybe it is the particular unit I bought, but I can assure you that the range is NOT 7 metres even with a clear, unobstructed line of sight. After about 4 metres there is a slight hissing noise which becomes audible (but like I said, maybe it is the unit I got). The hissing is not very loud and will not be noticed by most regular users (not that I am an irregular user) but I can definitely hear it.
Moving on to the earcups, they are not the leatherette material that most headphones of this size use. I feel they are not very comfortable for hot climatic conditions, though in winter they would double up as a great pair of earmuffs. But again my gripe is that the foam is not of the softest. So if you are wearing spectacles, then you might want to drop the idea of using these altogether because they clamp over your ears and push the ear against the frame of the spectacles which might start to hurt after a few minutes. I find the clamp force a bit on the stronger side but I am trying to loosen them out by folding a pillow and them clamping the headphones on the pillow (the idea of using the pillow is so that the foam does not get hard). So I will not hold the tight headphones against Philips. Tight headphones can be loosened over time but loose headphones cannot be made tight.
The headphone unit has an on-off button and a volume knob. There is a green LED indicator which glows when the batteries are charging. I don't know if the light goes off after the batteries are fully charged, impatient me!
Now on to performance. I am comparing them against a pair of wired iBall ROCKY headpones. Now these iBall's were bought for under 400 bucks. They have a decent amount of bass and I was quite happy with their performance until I started using the Philips. The sound of the Philips is way better than the iBall. Now you might be tempted to say that there is no comparision between Philips and iBall as companies go, but the iBall headphones were WIRED. Despite this advantage the Philips were noticeably better sounding. The bass on the iball is overemphasized whereas on the Philips it is much tighter and the mids are much clearer. So are the highs. I tested this listening to some Indian Ocean songs which emphasize Rahul Ram's bass guitaring. So performance wise, I have no real complaints. What could have made the package complete would have been the option to convert the headphones from wireless to wired via a 3.5 mm jack input on the headphones (this option is found on many of the Intexes and Frontechs and other no-name brands).
The limited range is what spoils the deal for me. I feel it is too limited. And if you are far enough away then even a slight inclination of your head can cause the headphones to start hissing. Oh yes, I'll mention here that when the headphones go out of range there is a loud hissing which will cause you to jump if the volume is set to maximum. The lack of comfort is also a real turn-off. What is the use of good sound if you can't comfortably use the headphones for a long stretch of time? But then again that's just me and there might be people who find them comfortable.
So now I'm thinking of maybe going in for the "lower" model SHC1300. The 1300 has an adjustable headband and the earcups are foam covered like the Sennheiser RS110. So that might translate into greater comfort,... or does it? I'd be really grateful if owners of SHC1300 could put in a few words regarding the comfort level of the 1300. Looking at the specs of the 1300 and 2000 they appear to be exactly the same. The only difference seems to be the option of charging the batteries from the headset which is there on the 2000. The long and the short of it is that I am happy with the sound but not with the comfort of the 2000. So if the 1300 can provide me with a greater comfort level with similar performance then I am quite happy to switch to the "lower" model. Oh yes, and it should look appreciable less bulky.
Among the major accessories included in the box is a transmitter unit which comes along with an adaptor. The transmitter does not have the battery option so you have to connect it to a wall socket to get it to work. Coming out of the back of the transmitter is a long-ish (about 1.5 metres) 3.5mm wire, the end of which is to be connected to a 3.5mm audio device. Also located at the rear of the transmitter is a port to charge the headphone unit directly for which rechargeable batteries are included (the batteries can be charged using a normal AAA battery charger). And of course there is the huge headphone unit itself.
About the headphone unit. Like I mentioned before it is huge. It is non adjustable. There is an elastic band however that stretches to fit your head. The ear cups are movable, for the purpose of adjusting to different head shapes, I suppose. The ear cups are made of a cloth material that are somewhat like satin. Now if you look at the box, you will see a model sitting and (supposedly) watching TV with a big smile on his face, with of course the headphones on his ears. Now look closer.... notice that the guy's got an Afro type hairstyle? I think this is a great piece of advertising on the part of Philips because the hairstyle makes the headphones seem unobtrusive. The fact is that when you put on the headphones (assuming you don't have a curly mop like the guy in the picture) you are going to look like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Agreed you are not wearing the headphones to make a fashion statement but the damn thing looks ridiculous. And it's not just from the aesthetic point of view. The unit looks bulky and IS bulky which also means that it is heavy. So please read the item description about them being "so light you'll forget you're wearing them" with a pinch of salt. The ear cups are circular and not oval. I personally prefer the oval ones as they enclose the whole portion of the ear.
The headphones are advertised as being wireless working on IR technology. Now I knew even before buying them that IR = arguably better sound (because it streams separate channel audio) than RF. I also knew that IR means it is a line of sight device and thus there needs to be an uninterrupted line of sight between the transmitter and the headphone. The range is advertised as 7 metres. Maybe it is the particular unit I bought, but I can assure you that the range is NOT 7 metres even with a clear, unobstructed line of sight. After about 4 metres there is a slight hissing noise which becomes audible (but like I said, maybe it is the unit I got). The hissing is not very loud and will not be noticed by most regular users (not that I am an irregular user) but I can definitely hear it.
Moving on to the earcups, they are not the leatherette material that most headphones of this size use. I feel they are not very comfortable for hot climatic conditions, though in winter they would double up as a great pair of earmuffs. But again my gripe is that the foam is not of the softest. So if you are wearing spectacles, then you might want to drop the idea of using these altogether because they clamp over your ears and push the ear against the frame of the spectacles which might start to hurt after a few minutes. I find the clamp force a bit on the stronger side but I am trying to loosen them out by folding a pillow and them clamping the headphones on the pillow (the idea of using the pillow is so that the foam does not get hard). So I will not hold the tight headphones against Philips. Tight headphones can be loosened over time but loose headphones cannot be made tight.
The headphone unit has an on-off button and a volume knob. There is a green LED indicator which glows when the batteries are charging. I don't know if the light goes off after the batteries are fully charged, impatient me!
Now on to performance. I am comparing them against a pair of wired iBall ROCKY headpones. Now these iBall's were bought for under 400 bucks. They have a decent amount of bass and I was quite happy with their performance until I started using the Philips. The sound of the Philips is way better than the iBall. Now you might be tempted to say that there is no comparision between Philips and iBall as companies go, but the iBall headphones were WIRED. Despite this advantage the Philips were noticeably better sounding. The bass on the iball is overemphasized whereas on the Philips it is much tighter and the mids are much clearer. So are the highs. I tested this listening to some Indian Ocean songs which emphasize Rahul Ram's bass guitaring. So performance wise, I have no real complaints. What could have made the package complete would have been the option to convert the headphones from wireless to wired via a 3.5 mm jack input on the headphones (this option is found on many of the Intexes and Frontechs and other no-name brands).
The limited range is what spoils the deal for me. I feel it is too limited. And if you are far enough away then even a slight inclination of your head can cause the headphones to start hissing. Oh yes, I'll mention here that when the headphones go out of range there is a loud hissing which will cause you to jump if the volume is set to maximum. The lack of comfort is also a real turn-off. What is the use of good sound if you can't comfortably use the headphones for a long stretch of time? But then again that's just me and there might be people who find them comfortable.
So now I'm thinking of maybe going in for the "lower" model SHC1300. The 1300 has an adjustable headband and the earcups are foam covered like the Sennheiser RS110. So that might translate into greater comfort,... or does it? I'd be really grateful if owners of SHC1300 could put in a few words regarding the comfort level of the 1300. Looking at the specs of the 1300 and 2000 they appear to be exactly the same. The only difference seems to be the option of charging the batteries from the headset which is there on the 2000. The long and the short of it is that I am happy with the sound but not with the comfort of the 2000. So if the 1300 can provide me with a greater comfort level with similar performance then I am quite happy to switch to the "lower" model. Oh yes, and it should look appreciable less bulky.
