Digital Wireless Headphones Review - The Latest Trend In Wireless?

Being able to watch TV at night and not disturb others has been the driving force of wireless headphones. In particular the benefit of not being tied to a headphone cord has led to rapid growth of wireless products. However thus far wireless headphones could never really match the sound quality of traditional corded models and the wireless transmission would be prone to interference and noise. Is the latest wireless technology able to remedy the problems of previous wireless headphones? We will take a look at two wireless headphones that both utilize the latest in wireless transmission to find out how these models stack up against traditional corded headphones in terms of sound quality and reliability.

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 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.

At first glance, the Sennheiser headphones are constructed as open headphones, i.e. sound from the headphone transducers will penetrate to the outside while the Amphony headphones are closed. Choosing open or closed headphones is a matter of personal preference. A closed model, such as the Amphony, will lower the sound level heard by others which is good when listening over headphones without disturbing others and also will block exterior noise more. Both models come with comfortable 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.

The RS180 has a battery life of around 15 hours the Model 2500 offers 30 hours per charge. The cost is around $300 for the RS180 wireless headphones and $200 for the Model 2500.

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Gunter Fellbaum has been designing audio and electronic products for over 10 years. You can obtain additional details regarding wireless headphones and digital wireless headphones in particular from Amphony's website.

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