Not disturbing others while watching TV at night is likely still the main use of wireless headphones. Wireless headphones in particular are enjoying a high popularity by not being tied to a cord. Traditional wireless headphones could however never match corded headphones in terms of sound quality and realiability. The main culprit would be the wireless transmission itself which would be prone to noise and interference. New advances in wireless technology promise to remedy these drawbacks. We will review two models of wireless headphones which utilize the latest transmission technology to find out how these products compare to traditional corded headphones.
The two review models are the Sennheiser RS180 and the Amphony Model 2500. Both models use the latest digital audio transmission technology. This means that prior to transmission of the audio signal by the transmitter, the signal is first converted to a digital data signal which then gets transmitted. Inside the digital wireless headphones, the signal is then converted back to an audio signal. Using this digital transmission, none of the two models showed any hissing or distortion that we are used to from previous wireless models. Both headphones claim to transmit true CD quality audio.
Looking at the headphones, we immediately noticed that the Sennheiser headphones are designed as open headphones which means that sound from the transducers can easily penetrate to the outside while the Amphony headphones are closed. Choosing between an open and closed design is a matter of preference and there is no way to state that any particular design is better than the other. A closed model will tend to reduce the sound level heard by others which is useful when listening at loud volume. At the same time a closed design will tend to attenuate exterior noise more. Both models are equipped with soft velours ear cushions and fit snugly.
When not in use, the RS180 headphones can be suspended from the transmitter which acts as a support base. The RS180 transmitter offers a regular analog audio input but no digital audio input. The Model 2500 transmitter offers one analog audio input, one coaxial digital audio input and one optical digital audio input. The digital inputs are useful when connecting the transmitter to a plasma TV for example which normally don’t have analog audio outputs anymore. The Model 2500 transmitter will automatically switch to the correct audio input by detecting which audio input has a valid signal.
Comparing both models in terms of sound quality, the RS180 has a light sort of quality and excels at the midrange but is low on the bass. As such the RS180 is most suitable for listening to vocal racks and light music. The Model 2500 has a more pronounced bass response, but in no way aggressive and is well balanced. The wireless transmission no longer has the problems of older headphones and the sound quality of both models rivals corded headphones. The only limitation is the fact that wireless headphones are powered by batteries and thus will never be able to blast the same volume as corded headphones connected to a good headphone amp. However, both models were able to achieve reasonably loud levels, the Model 2500 more so than the RS180.
The RS180 transmits it’s signal at 2.4 GHz. Up to four headphones can operate simultaneously per transmitter. The Model 2500 transmits at 5.8 GHz and supports an unlimited number of headphones. The operating range of the RS180 is specified by Sennheiser at 300 ft. During our indoor testing we were able to get a clean signal up to around 100 ft with both models which should be sufficient for most users. The Model 2500 transmitter comes with an extension port though that allows connection of secondary transmitters for cases where you really need to have reception all over the house.
Battery life is 15 hours per charge for the RS180 and 30 hours for the Model 2500. The RS180 wireless headphones sell for around $300 and the Model 2500 for around $200.




