Customer Reviews

Acoustic Research AW771 900 MHz Wireless Stereo Headphones

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

These are some great headphones with a few minor flaws:

Pros:
1. Great sound quality
2. Very comfortable
3. Light
4. Worry-free charging

Cons:
1. Achieving good wireless connection is not always easy, could require pressing the tune-in button several times
2. Interference noises could sneak into the broadcast
3. Turning them off could be annoying (requires precise timing)

My experience: I've had two pairs of these for over a year and I like them very much. I enjoy great sound watching TV or listening to music while everybody is asleep. This is really great, I can enjoy music at comfortable levels at any time of the day or night. The sound is much better and clearer than the sound produced by the speakers of the TV. You have the same clarity and volume even though you might be moving around the rooms away from the TV (closet or the garage for example). The headphones are light and very comfortable. I tried other brands and the aw771 were the most comfortable by far. So, overall wonderful product. However, there a few flaws to be aware of. Consider the following before buying. It might require several attempts before the unit tunes in at the right channel. Sometimes, turning the headphones ON results in poor reception if any at all. To correct this, you have to press the only button (power, search, and turn off) and wait until the unit picks the signal at the right channel. You might have to repeat this operation two or three times and it is a bit annoying. Once you get good reception, everything is ok although you might get some interference (alien noises) when you turn your head or move around. The last problem is with the turn off button (again the only multifunction button). You need to press and hold the button for a certain amount of seconds and release it in order to turn off the unit. That is not always easy and usually the unit comes back on. You think you turned it off but it is still on and if it's not in the charger base you drain the batteries completely. Well, I hope my description is helpful.

Regardless of the flaws, I recommend the AW771. I use them every day and best of all I enjoy great sound when other people are asleep.

Here's my story, bear with me, it has a point.

I work in a loud woodworking shop (about 100 x 60 feet dimensions) I bought an mp3 Cd player in order to listen to music during my day, however I was constantly annoyed by the cable running from my headphones to the cd player on my belt - not to mention it getting in the way all the time, and getting ruined by sawdust.
I looked around online for some wireless headphones, almost bought a set of Sennheisers, then found out about these ones. They seemed to get decent reviews and were quite inexpensive.
My criteria was that they either had to be 'in-ear-canal' ones to protect my hearing at work, or allow me to wear ear protection underneath them. They also had to be comfortable enough to wear for a few hours (I hate having pressure on the sides of my head for long) Well turns out (obviously) that they don't make wireless 'in-ear-canal' headphones, so they were out. The AW771 fit all the criteria, so I bought them.

The first day I used them they sounded great, although I noticed some directional sensitivity, and much more when I entered a different room. I was still happy, since this is what I was expecting. I also was concerned that they may not be loud enough to overcome the sound of the machinery as well as penetrate my sound blocking ear plugs at work.
There are a few buttons and controls on them and so I thought I should check out the manual (who reads manuals?) I discovered that I needed to adjust the knob on the back once the sound on my CD player was turned up quite high (I maxed it out in fact). Once I did this, the red light on the front lit up and the sound was perfect! And LOUD. I could walk through multiple rooms with no loss of sound at all, no directional sensitivity! No fuzzing at all!
I took them to work the next day for a full test. Set the transmitter and CD player up in a plastic bag, put in my ear plugs and turned them on. Perfect! I had to turn them up a bit to get through the ear plugs, but they still had plenty of volume to give. In fact I could turn them up enough that others could hear them too, kind of like portable speakers that I can hang around my neck!
The other guys at work bring their players and heaphones too, but after having a listen to my ones, they are all wanting some of their own. They are especially impressed with how clear and loud they are. One guy at work has a set of industrial ear protection/radio headphones, but they are not nearly as clear or comfortable as these.
The 5-6 hour estimated battery life (before recharging is required) is accurate. I listened to these the other day for about 6 hours (quite loudly) and they never died.

I guess what I'm saying is that these are really great, I love them!

PROS:
Clear.
Loud.
As comfortable as you'll find (though I get uncomfortable with them after about 3 hours).
Great range.
Comes with RCA-to-headphones-jack for watching TV
Self charging.

CONS:
Seem a little delicate, I would hate see what happens if you drop these.
Controls a little un-intuitive - read the manual.
I wish the self adjusting headband-thingy wasn't self adjusting, let the user adjust their stuff to their taste I say!
The connector to charge the heaphones with is a little dodgy, and they have to positioned carefully to get good contact.

When these headphones are working, they are great. I never have trouble receiving sound. They are amazingly comfortable. Great battery life, and batteries are rechargeable. Long distance is great too, I can walk throughout the whole house on multiple floors without any trouble.

But... it's FAR to often that these are NOT working. As a matter of fact I've gone through FOUR pair in the last 2 years. The first pair didn't work out of the box. The second pair lasted two weeks and then the headset just would not turn on. The third pair lasted about eight months before the same thing happened, they just would not turn on. The forth pair lasted about a year and then yesterday the very same thing happened.

I did some research online, here at Amazon before purchasing. I had wanted to buy a Sennheiser, but most people said they broke too easy and had lots of problems getting them to work without too much static. For the price, I thouvght, "No." So, doh me bought the Sony MDR-RF960RK 900 MHz RF Wireless Headphones with Auto Tuning. That was a mistake! They were nearly impossible to set in the charging base AND its power would turn off randomly. If my 900mhz phone was being used at the same time, I'd pick up the conversation and LOUDLY! Nearly blew my hearing. The static and interference were ridiculous, and I was thinking that maybe it was because of where I lived. NOT! So I had them replaced, just to get the same thing happening. Sony units are totally defective! So Best Buy let me exchange that mess for these.

WHAT AN IMPROVEMENT! They set in the charging base easily, NO interference, sounds decent, rarely cuts out (usually when I am moving suddenly to the ground, but will find itself again quickly), my microwave and phone don't interfere, and its power stays on! I can't say they'll last more than two months, but hopefully so. At least I bought Best Buy's extended 2-year warranty... ;-)

If you're thinking of those Sony's, get these instead. They're the same price and these work!

I got these for a stop gap until my supposid expensive ( I paid 179$) Sennheiser Rs85 fancy schmancy headset arrived. I paid 99$ at Best Buy for the AW771s (unlike others below that paid 36$?) Only because I already had a pair of Advent corded headphones that I needed to return, so I bit the bullet.

Like others said these are WAAAY more comfortable than the Rs85s which have surprisingly uncomfortable small ear cups for a 200$ set. the AW 771s SURROUND your EAR with comfy foam that allows your ears to BREATHE. Being an Avid gamer i have these on for hours at a time and like my old plantronics they allow my ears to breathe. I find the quality to be very good, they sound better than the SH 85s IMHO too.

They are solidly build and not that heavy. I would like a little more adjustabilty on the headset to make them ride just a bit higher, the elastic strap between the hard strap self adjusts for the most part, I would like some kind of manual adjustment. I like the way the earcups pivot to get just the righ fit.

Only knock I have on them is the signal gets interrupted in my house when im just a room away. Not sure what causes this others may do better. Every house is different so its hard to compare. This is ONE area that SH 85s beat out the AWs. The signal in the SH 85s was stronger further away it seemed clearer with less static, but the crappy feel and cheap build of the RS 85s signal or not, just doesn't justify the price.

Why? Becuase for my needs the base is right next to my puter where I use them soley for gaming an listening to streaming radio. In the same room two feet away... crystal clear crisp reception. They are OK a few rooms way if your in the right place.. We are only 1 mile away from Cal Tech and JPL so God knows what kind of signals I got penetrating my living area to scramble this set far away.. but I can handle it.

I would recommend these highly for comfort, build and quality of sound. If AR can fix the signal strength they will have the Market cornered IMHO. Great buy, Sending back the SH 85s tommorow and keeping these!

I bought this wireless headphone AW771 in Dec. 03 at Circuit City. The first one was defective - On/OFF switch would not turn on the headphone. I exchanged a new one next day I bought it. It worked for 2 month. Then the on/off switch broke again. Now I could not turn on the headphone. Acoustic Research web site (WWW.Acoustic-Research.com) did not exit. I am not pleased this product at all.

While the sound quality is fine, the construction of these earphones is a disaster. A duster pushed the unit off of its base from which it fell six inches or so onto the table on which it was sitting, resulting in the breakage and separation of the right part of the unit. As a consequence, the right earphone just dangles and cannot be reattached, rendering the unit useless. The earphones were less than one year old, not subject to heavy use and are either made of flimsy material or engineered poorly. If this is representative of what AR is turning out, one may wish to avoid the brand. Certainly avoid these earphones.

I like to tell people I've done everything in music except make big money. That includes studio engineering and production, concert audio, performing and criticism.
These headphones give good reproduction across all frequencies and enough isolation to keep you focused solely on the music.
Here's a few tips to demythologize setting up for those of you don't spend your life with things like these.
First, Radio Shack makes a nice right angle adapter for those of you with clearence issues because your stereo is in a cabinet. It's only $4.99 and makes for a cleaner installation.
The flashing red light on the base the manual makes such a fuss about flashes in conjunction with the music, so don't be confused if it doesn't flash the same way or even all the time.
Just listen to what comes through phones. The controls on the back are just trial and error.
For setting sound levels on the phones, I suggest listening to something with really powerful bass, then something like acoustic guitar(steel string)followed by classical. That will help you find distortion-free volume levels. Also, set the volume level on your receiver very low and turn the volume on the headphones pretty high. This allows you to make the best use of your receiver which is likely to have better quality electronics than the phones.
Don't expect perfection, you won't get it for this kind of money.
Expect really good......and spend the savings on something that's fun for you.

I baught this headphone as a gift for someone and I can honestly say I was truly embarrased to give such a low quality gift. The minute everything was connected I tried to charge the headphones on the provided stand. The charge light would come on for a few seconds and then go back off. I would then move the headphone slightly and it would start to charge again for a few seconds. After looking at how the charger connects to the headphone I could clearly see what a horrible job the engineer who designed this product really did. I never did get them to charge for more than a few seconds at a time. I also can't see how a company can put out products like this and expect to stay in business for very long. I'm not surprised other people have had similar results. I am returning it today after I repackaged it with the same care AR spent on the design. You can bet I don't plan on buying from this manufacturer ever again, and I will probably not buy any more products from the company who sold it to me, either. You have to question thier corporate goals, too.

I read a few negative reviews and I am glad it did not stop me from getting these headphones. The setup was all of 3 minutes and they sound great. I guess if you are looking for true "audiophile" sound quality, you would be disappointed but for stereo and TV these are excellent.