Sennheiser RS-120 Review - Testing
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There are two main factors we will look at: the range, and the quality. The whole reason I got these headphones was to be able get rid of the cord. Over the last few years, I have had awful relationships with cords; none of them fit for what I wanted. Either the cord was too long, and got in the way of my typing -- or it was too short, and when I turned my head, the cord snapped it back like a dog on a leash. Wireless headphones would solve this problem, and also allow me to chase after my dog, and whatever it had stole from the table, while still listenign to my music.
These headphones come with three different channels to chose from, and operate on the frequencies from 926 to 228 MHz. Sennheiser gives you the different channels to help you avoid interference from other home appliances. I tested all three, both inside and outside my home.
Inside, all three channels were able to provide a solid signal throughout the house. I did have some problems with channel two. It seemed to lose the signal in the laundry room, and also when the kitchen was between the receiver and the headphones. I lost the signal suddenly, which leads me to believe it was interference. Channel three didn’t have any problems with interference, but it did acquire a slight hiss when I was on the other side of the house -- nothing bad, but I could definitely hear it. Channel one was crystal clear. I could hear static when I jacked up the volume and stopped the feed, but not during operation with an audio signal.
For the outdoor test, with single digit temps and snow up to my knees, I went outside to see exactly how far away I could listen to the music until the static made it unbearable. I started in my front yard, made my way down the driveway, and got as far as the street before the static took over. That was a little short of the 300ft range listed, but considering the signal was going through my home entertainment center, kitchen, and garage, I don’t feel that the headphones let me down.
I slowly made my way to the backyard. My backyard leads to a field, which would max out the distance. The only thing standing in my line of sight was one pine tree. I began my march, and after 350 feet it was still relatively clear -- a little static, but still comfortable to listen to. I continued to march, and at around 400 feet, the static overwhelmed the signal. I could still get some kind of signal if I twitched my head around, but I’m not going to count that as being in range.
After going back inside and warming up I did the quality test. This is where many wireless headphones show their weaknesses. I turned the sound output to the highest level I could, and turned the headphones down until I found the level at which I wanted to listen. I don’t know if there is any scientific proof that this makes the best quality, but it worked for me. I began by listening to a Trans-Siberian Orchestra CD, this is the closest I have to Classical. Also it was Christmas time -- I wait all year to play this CD, so why not listen to it some more?
I normally buy headphones in the $50-$70 range, and these currently retail for a little more, but they’re wireless. I expected them to be equal or a little less in quality. Shortly into the first song I realized they were better than the headphones I normally use. The tones were rich and the bass was better than average. I have had some deep bass headphones, and these were only a notch or two below that. I went through my collection of CDs and pulled a variety of genera of music. I listened to a few songs on each CD, and came away with the same qualities: richer tone, decent bass, and crisper quality than headphones in the $50-$70 range.
Next I hooked them up to my DVD player. The first DVD I popped in was Pearl Harbor. I hadn’t watched since I lost it behind the couch, and the section where the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor provides great action scenes. The bass was considerably less than before, but the sound precision was better. You really noticed it when guys were being fired upon, which was often. The explosions didn’t quite match what I hear through my wired headphones, due to the lack of bass, but the quality seemed to be a little better.
I decided to watch one more DVD -- this time, Star Wars Episode II. I’m a fan of the music in Star Wars, which to me is one of the great features of the series. I watched the last 30-40 minutes of the movie, when I felt the biggest variety of music was played. Everything was at par with my wired headphones except the bass. I was very disappointed. The explosions were much weaker, and some of the sounds of lasers fired from the heavy artillery were too similar to those fired from the laser rifles.
The last test I ran was on an MP3 Player. It was mostly just for kicks. You would very rarely use wireless headphones with a portable system. The headphones themselves aren’t truly portable, so it defeats the purpose. I played some of the same songs as I did when I tested them with CDs, but this time using the MP3 versions, encoded at 128 kbps and 192 kbps. I didn’t notice any difference between these and wired headphones. The quality of the files was the bottleneck.
There’s a few more details I would like to tell you about, but don’t fit into any of the above tests. The batteries pose no problem; I have used them for about a week, without recharging, and the batteries have not died once. Getting the headphones to charge is not a problem, you just have to make sure the metal stays in contact with the headphone holder.
I do have one other complaint: the auto turn off system sucks. There are times where I am surfing the Internet with my headphones on, but without listening to any music. The base will turn itself off, and complete static instantly filled my ears. I would rather have a switch to turn this feature off; battery life is not a problem here.
Getting the base to start transmitting for the first time after being off for a while doesn’t always work. A few days this week I have hit play and heard no music coming out of the headphones. The base should turn back on when audio is sent to it again, but it did not. I had to unplug the power cord and then plug it back in again to get it working.
Next: Conclusion >>
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