You might have happened to read my review on the Philips SHP2000 wireless headphones. If you did not (and it was a long review) Ill summarise it for you: the SHP2000 has pretty good sound (better than an iBall Rocky wired headphone), has a function whereby you can charge the supplied Rechargeable AAA batteries via the IR transmitter. Being a line-of sight device there had to be a direct line of sight between the transmitter and the headphone unit. My biggest caveat was that they were uncomfortable, especially if you happen to be wearing spectacles.
So I went ahead and bought its smaller brother, the SHP 1300. The 1300 is an on-ear headphone and much more comfortable than the 2000. I had looked at the specs and since they were the same for the 1300 and 2000, I thought that they would be acoustically similar. Was I wrong! The 2000 was way superior to the 1300 in terms of sound quality.
I dont know what bug it was that bit me, but I began to look for something high-end from the renowned experts in headphones SENNHEISER.... and I wanted wireless. I was in the process of getting an RS130 until I came to know of the existence of a higher series in the RS160, 170 and 180. These new headphones utilise a technology called KLEER which apparently gives static-free sound. In other words, they claimed to give you a sound that was equal to or better than a good wired headphone. To cut a long story short, I went ahead and got an RS160.
The RS160 comes very well packaged. Too well packaged, rather, since I actually managed to cut my palm while opening the package. I should have used scissors, but was too impatient to look around for a pair big enough to be able to slice through the thick plastic (blister packing, I believe its called). So I tore it apart with my bare hands (and look where that got me ). The positve aspect of such packing is that it is 100% tamper proof. After the final packing at the factory the next person to open it will be the buyer and the buyer only. If anybody in between opened it you would know about it,believe me. And no, even those experts at Gaffar Market will not be able to replicate this kind of packing.
The package contains
-the headphone unit
-the receiver (along with a 3.5mm male-to-male cable)
-an adaptor (along with various plug types, and a splitter so that you can recharge the headphone batteries via the transmitter)
-one pair of rechargeable AAA batteries.
For starters, you are advised to charge the batteries for 16 hours before using them for the first time. Subsequent charges are to be for 8 hours. (Yes I actually read the manual!). But I did mention somewhere that I am rather impetuous. So I did not wait to charge the batteries but used the rechargeables on the Philips headphones. And it worked straight out of the box. No fiddling required.
P.S.: If the packaging spells quality and careful attention to fine details, the included accessories reinforce this impression. A point worth mentioning in this connection is the bundled rechargeable batteries- they are Sanyo eneloop batteries. Now if you know anything about rechargeable batteries then you probably know that Sanyos eneloops are arguably the best rechargeable batteries in the market. In fact they are the first of the now popular ready to use rechargeable batteries. The problem with traditional rechargeable batteries is that they self discharge very fast i.e. they lose their charge very fast even if they are not used (at the rate of as much as 1% per day)!. In contrast, Sanyo claims that their batteries retain a 85% charge even after being stored for a year. Which is why they can be used out of the box in the first place. I charged them and the charging light on the headphones came on. But the orange light went off after a short while, which I suppose, means that they do not require the mandatory 16 hour charge. All thanks to the low self discharge rate of the batteries. (BTW Sanyo claims that the batteries are shipped with an initial 75% charge, which would explain the short charging time, and which would also imply that the batteries virtually did not lose any of their stored charge before being used.) This is a really convenient feature since it implies that the headphones can be left lying unused for days and then immediately used without having to worry about the batteries having lost their charge in the interim.
One thing about the KLEER headphones is that one transmitter can support upto 4 headphone units. So that would beg the question. What if your neighbour has a similar pair of RS160s (slim chance)?? Will he be able to hear what you are listening to and vice versa? The answer is no. For a headphone unit to receive a signal from the transmitter it has to be first synced with the transmitter. To sync a transmitter and headphone both devices have to be within one metre of each other and a button has to be pressed on both devices simultaneously.
One advantage of the RS160 is that the transmitter can be powered by a pair of AA batteries. Which means that it is portable. The transmitter is not very big but you might want to put it in a bag or pouch rather than in your pocket. To give you an idea of the actual size of the transmitter, I have placed the cover of the LX90 next to it.
About the headphones themselves, they are very, very comfortable. Take this from a person who has been the victim of innumerable uncomfortable headphones. Even with spectacles on, comfort does not take a hit. But the thing is that they are a closed back design so your ears do tend to get sweaty after a while. But it is nigh on winter time so Im not really bothered. So if I were to give them a comfort rating out of ten, Id give them a 9. One shy of a perfect score due to the sweat inducing earpieces, though this is a feature of all closed back headphones (experts correct me if I am wrong).
Now on to the sound. KLEER technology claims to be able to provide static free CD quality sound(44.1 khz, 16 bit). And they deliver. While listening to music I suddenly put the player on pause to test this claim of static/hissing-free sound. And what I get is a deafening SILENCE. Yes, zero static with no crackling or hissing or humming. Unlike the old RF models or IR models which give you a really irritating crackling sound every time you go out of range or get interference, this model simply cuts out the sound when the headphones are out of range and creep back in again when they are within range. The manual says that you should maintain a direct line of sight between headphone and transmitter, but here they clearly err on the side of caution. Which is a rather honest approach, because it is in stark contrast to the false advertising made by so many companies. For example, the IR headphones I have, advertise a range of 7 metres, while the signal dramatically drops after 5 metres or so. The transmission in the case of the RS160, goes through walls but through walls the advertised range will be reduced.
Im no expert here, but as per my observations, the sound is very well balanced. This is an excerpt from one user review who claims to be an audiophile. (Source is Sennheiser RS 160 Digital Wireless Headphones with RS160 B&H). The reviewer says that The sound is clear, bass is enhanced by the headphones (compared to Senn HD 545).
Soundstage is excellent. I was watching a stand-up comedy show and the artist was interacting with the audience. Someone from the audience made a remark and I actually thought that it was my idiotic neighbours shouting (at each other). The sound is that good! Again I was watching the movie Donnie Darko and about 6 minutes into the movie, there is a scene where the family is having dinner and discussing whether or not to vote for Presidential candidate, Dukakis. In between the dialogues I could clearly hear the ticking of the clock.. and this was with the volume at a not very loud level (I dont want to go deaf anytime in the near future ). Again the movie has a few scary moments. Really, they were not that scary but the sound from the headphones made them appear more scary than they would have sounded if normal speakers were used. I can imagine whats going to happen once I start watching those Thai and Jap horror movies!!!
I did quite a bit of research before making my purchase. One of the negative points pointed out by various profesionals and users is the volume adjustment. There are 3 buttons. One for volume up, the middle one for on/off and the third one for volume down. Now many reviewers have pointed out that it is easy to accidentally hit the on/off button while adjusting the volume. Personally I did not find this to be a problem. The on/off button has a symbol embossed on it and you can easily feel the contours while running a finger over them while adjusting. I guess any other button placement would still draw the same response from such nitpickers who would never be completely satisfied until and unless the thing starts responding to voice commands. The fact is, if you are nitpicking and looking for faults, you will find them even in an HD650.
Another useless complaint- the headphone unit is plasticky. Err Ahem they ARE made from plastic and this is rather an advantage since this makes them light. If they had a solid lead feel then there would be a big complaint about the weight. But most of these 'plasticky' whiners also admitted that they were sturdy at the same time. So not really a complaint, I guess. Anyway, even these finicky reviewers do not complain about one thing SOUND. I have not come across any respectable review which had any complaint about the sound. There was this one reviewer who complained that the sound was not loud enough.. to each his own, but when I tried to listen at max volume I had to quickly reduce the volume since my eardrums were literally getting massaged, and none too gently either. Thing is, if you listen at the maximum volume for more than 5 minutes at a time you are in real danger of suffering from premature deafness.
The difference between the RS160 and RS170.. very obvious difference is the price. The RS170 costs about 3000 bucks more than the RS160. The RS170's transmitter also claims to have 3 times the range of the RS160. The RS170s transmitter is bigger and acts as a charging cradle. Also the 170 has two added features in the form of the bass boost and the surround sound features. But the bigger advantage of the RS160, at least in my book, is that it is truly portable, since the transmitter is only about the size of an ice-hockey puck, and can be powered via a pair of AA batteries. The 170s surround sound is just a simulated surround sound and you can get the same effect by adjusting the source. For example on the PC, assuming you are using Realtek HD Audio Manager, you simply change the environment to generic (or arena or auditorium) and you will get the same echo-ey effect. The bass boost on the 170 really works and this is because of better circuitry on the headphone unit. But the RS170 works with the RS160 transmitter, and vice versa. So if that bass feature means all that much to you, you can opt to go in for the HDR170 (headphone only) which you can get for around 5.8k. That way you can still have a portable RS170 with enhanced bass, which you can take with you on your travels. But if you are all that crazy about bass you might want to consider the HD212, which is known for its great bass response, but you will lose out on the wireless advantage and you might not find the supra-aural style all that comfortable.
One oft pointed out con that I would agree with is that it is quite expensive. However, that is the price you pay for getting wired quality sound out of a pair of wireless headphones. And since KLEER is a relatively new technology, you are paying a premium for the tech. But it works as advertised, so you cant really complain. If you want you can always go in for the cheaper RS130, but you will have to live with the occassional static, which is quite acceptable to many users.
So, you might ask, is there any thing that needs improving? Yes, one thing: I just wish Sennheiser would make these headphones 100% waterproof so I can listen to my music uninterrupted, even while taking a shower!
So I went ahead and bought its smaller brother, the SHP 1300. The 1300 is an on-ear headphone and much more comfortable than the 2000. I had looked at the specs and since they were the same for the 1300 and 2000, I thought that they would be acoustically similar. Was I wrong! The 2000 was way superior to the 1300 in terms of sound quality.
I dont know what bug it was that bit me, but I began to look for something high-end from the renowned experts in headphones SENNHEISER.... and I wanted wireless. I was in the process of getting an RS130 until I came to know of the existence of a higher series in the RS160, 170 and 180. These new headphones utilise a technology called KLEER which apparently gives static-free sound. In other words, they claimed to give you a sound that was equal to or better than a good wired headphone. To cut a long story short, I went ahead and got an RS160.
The RS160 comes very well packaged. Too well packaged, rather, since I actually managed to cut my palm while opening the package. I should have used scissors, but was too impatient to look around for a pair big enough to be able to slice through the thick plastic (blister packing, I believe its called). So I tore it apart with my bare hands (and look where that got me ). The positve aspect of such packing is that it is 100% tamper proof. After the final packing at the factory the next person to open it will be the buyer and the buyer only. If anybody in between opened it you would know about it,believe me. And no, even those experts at Gaffar Market will not be able to replicate this kind of packing.
The package contains
-the headphone unit
-the receiver (along with a 3.5mm male-to-male cable)
-an adaptor (along with various plug types, and a splitter so that you can recharge the headphone batteries via the transmitter)
-one pair of rechargeable AAA batteries.
For starters, you are advised to charge the batteries for 16 hours before using them for the first time. Subsequent charges are to be for 8 hours. (Yes I actually read the manual!). But I did mention somewhere that I am rather impetuous. So I did not wait to charge the batteries but used the rechargeables on the Philips headphones. And it worked straight out of the box. No fiddling required.
P.S.: If the packaging spells quality and careful attention to fine details, the included accessories reinforce this impression. A point worth mentioning in this connection is the bundled rechargeable batteries- they are Sanyo eneloop batteries. Now if you know anything about rechargeable batteries then you probably know that Sanyos eneloops are arguably the best rechargeable batteries in the market. In fact they are the first of the now popular ready to use rechargeable batteries. The problem with traditional rechargeable batteries is that they self discharge very fast i.e. they lose their charge very fast even if they are not used (at the rate of as much as 1% per day)!. In contrast, Sanyo claims that their batteries retain a 85% charge even after being stored for a year. Which is why they can be used out of the box in the first place. I charged them and the charging light on the headphones came on. But the orange light went off after a short while, which I suppose, means that they do not require the mandatory 16 hour charge. All thanks to the low self discharge rate of the batteries. (BTW Sanyo claims that the batteries are shipped with an initial 75% charge, which would explain the short charging time, and which would also imply that the batteries virtually did not lose any of their stored charge before being used.) This is a really convenient feature since it implies that the headphones can be left lying unused for days and then immediately used without having to worry about the batteries having lost their charge in the interim.
One thing about the KLEER headphones is that one transmitter can support upto 4 headphone units. So that would beg the question. What if your neighbour has a similar pair of RS160s (slim chance)?? Will he be able to hear what you are listening to and vice versa? The answer is no. For a headphone unit to receive a signal from the transmitter it has to be first synced with the transmitter. To sync a transmitter and headphone both devices have to be within one metre of each other and a button has to be pressed on both devices simultaneously.
One advantage of the RS160 is that the transmitter can be powered by a pair of AA batteries. Which means that it is portable. The transmitter is not very big but you might want to put it in a bag or pouch rather than in your pocket. To give you an idea of the actual size of the transmitter, I have placed the cover of the LX90 next to it.
About the headphones themselves, they are very, very comfortable. Take this from a person who has been the victim of innumerable uncomfortable headphones. Even with spectacles on, comfort does not take a hit. But the thing is that they are a closed back design so your ears do tend to get sweaty after a while. But it is nigh on winter time so Im not really bothered. So if I were to give them a comfort rating out of ten, Id give them a 9. One shy of a perfect score due to the sweat inducing earpieces, though this is a feature of all closed back headphones (experts correct me if I am wrong).
Now on to the sound. KLEER technology claims to be able to provide static free CD quality sound(44.1 khz, 16 bit). And they deliver. While listening to music I suddenly put the player on pause to test this claim of static/hissing-free sound. And what I get is a deafening SILENCE. Yes, zero static with no crackling or hissing or humming. Unlike the old RF models or IR models which give you a really irritating crackling sound every time you go out of range or get interference, this model simply cuts out the sound when the headphones are out of range and creep back in again when they are within range. The manual says that you should maintain a direct line of sight between headphone and transmitter, but here they clearly err on the side of caution. Which is a rather honest approach, because it is in stark contrast to the false advertising made by so many companies. For example, the IR headphones I have, advertise a range of 7 metres, while the signal dramatically drops after 5 metres or so. The transmission in the case of the RS160, goes through walls but through walls the advertised range will be reduced.
Im no expert here, but as per my observations, the sound is very well balanced. This is an excerpt from one user review who claims to be an audiophile. (Source is Sennheiser RS 160 Digital Wireless Headphones with RS160 B&H). The reviewer says that The sound is clear, bass is enhanced by the headphones (compared to Senn HD 545).
Soundstage is excellent. I was watching a stand-up comedy show and the artist was interacting with the audience. Someone from the audience made a remark and I actually thought that it was my idiotic neighbours shouting (at each other). The sound is that good! Again I was watching the movie Donnie Darko and about 6 minutes into the movie, there is a scene where the family is having dinner and discussing whether or not to vote for Presidential candidate, Dukakis. In between the dialogues I could clearly hear the ticking of the clock.. and this was with the volume at a not very loud level (I dont want to go deaf anytime in the near future ). Again the movie has a few scary moments. Really, they were not that scary but the sound from the headphones made them appear more scary than they would have sounded if normal speakers were used. I can imagine whats going to happen once I start watching those Thai and Jap horror movies!!!
I did quite a bit of research before making my purchase. One of the negative points pointed out by various profesionals and users is the volume adjustment. There are 3 buttons. One for volume up, the middle one for on/off and the third one for volume down. Now many reviewers have pointed out that it is easy to accidentally hit the on/off button while adjusting the volume. Personally I did not find this to be a problem. The on/off button has a symbol embossed on it and you can easily feel the contours while running a finger over them while adjusting. I guess any other button placement would still draw the same response from such nitpickers who would never be completely satisfied until and unless the thing starts responding to voice commands. The fact is, if you are nitpicking and looking for faults, you will find them even in an HD650.
Another useless complaint- the headphone unit is plasticky. Err Ahem they ARE made from plastic and this is rather an advantage since this makes them light. If they had a solid lead feel then there would be a big complaint about the weight. But most of these 'plasticky' whiners also admitted that they were sturdy at the same time. So not really a complaint, I guess. Anyway, even these finicky reviewers do not complain about one thing SOUND. I have not come across any respectable review which had any complaint about the sound. There was this one reviewer who complained that the sound was not loud enough.. to each his own, but when I tried to listen at max volume I had to quickly reduce the volume since my eardrums were literally getting massaged, and none too gently either. Thing is, if you listen at the maximum volume for more than 5 minutes at a time you are in real danger of suffering from premature deafness.
The difference between the RS160 and RS170.. very obvious difference is the price. The RS170 costs about 3000 bucks more than the RS160. The RS170's transmitter also claims to have 3 times the range of the RS160. The RS170s transmitter is bigger and acts as a charging cradle. Also the 170 has two added features in the form of the bass boost and the surround sound features. But the bigger advantage of the RS160, at least in my book, is that it is truly portable, since the transmitter is only about the size of an ice-hockey puck, and can be powered via a pair of AA batteries. The 170s surround sound is just a simulated surround sound and you can get the same effect by adjusting the source. For example on the PC, assuming you are using Realtek HD Audio Manager, you simply change the environment to generic (or arena or auditorium) and you will get the same echo-ey effect. The bass boost on the 170 really works and this is because of better circuitry on the headphone unit. But the RS170 works with the RS160 transmitter, and vice versa. So if that bass feature means all that much to you, you can opt to go in for the HDR170 (headphone only) which you can get for around 5.8k. That way you can still have a portable RS170 with enhanced bass, which you can take with you on your travels. But if you are all that crazy about bass you might want to consider the HD212, which is known for its great bass response, but you will lose out on the wireless advantage and you might not find the supra-aural style all that comfortable.
One oft pointed out con that I would agree with is that it is quite expensive. However, that is the price you pay for getting wired quality sound out of a pair of wireless headphones. And since KLEER is a relatively new technology, you are paying a premium for the tech. But it works as advertised, so you cant really complain. If you want you can always go in for the cheaper RS130, but you will have to live with the occassional static, which is quite acceptable to many users.
So, you might ask, is there any thing that needs improving? Yes, one thing: I just wish Sennheiser would make these headphones 100% waterproof so I can listen to my music uninterrupted, even while taking a shower!
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