Customer Reviews

Audiovox Advent AW720 Wireless 900 MHz Headphones

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

About a month ago I wrote an extensive review of this Advent product. I was very critical. Awkward controls, poor reception, etc. The bottom line is that I thought the quality was so bad that I returned it for a refund. Then I bought a Sennheiser wireless model, and I have been mostly pleased with it. 9/25/01

There are a number of glaring flaws with this product. I bought it to plug into my TV so I can watch the Today show in "silence" while working out or walking on the treadmill in our exercise room. I am sorely dissapointed on many levels.

Several reviewers mention the "hiss". The volume control is a cheap resistive control which gets dirt and/or oxide build-up very easily. This causes an enormous amount of static when you change the volume control and the poor connection comes through as "hiss" or static. The solution is to buy "tuner cleaner" at Radio Shack and drench the volume control in it while furiously turning it back and forth until it cleans. But for the price they could use a higher quality part...

There is ironically the same kind of connection problem with the battery. If you use "real" alkaline batteries, it works fine, but the batteries supplied with my unit are real sensitive and sometimes I have to gently tap the side of the battery door to get them to seat right.

The feel of the headphones is like a vice. They are heavy and the grip on your ears is WAY too tight, particularly if those little cartilage flaps in the front stick out like mine do. After wearing these phones for 30 minutes, it starts to hurt.

These phones are maddenly succeptible to interference from each and every other source of 900 MHz device in your neighborhood, like somebody else's phones, cordless telephone, cell phone, police phone, pager, etc. I find standing just 5 feet from the transmitter, all kinds of interference will occur and the sound will come and go. If I walk around the house, I get micro dead zones where if I stand in one place the sound turns to noise and if I move 6" the sound is fine.

The only redeeming value to these phones is that the sound is relatively good.

I would strongly recommend either a wired headphone (and just live with the cord) or one of the much more expensive models with error correction (although since I have no direct experience with them, they might not really be better.)

Knowing what I know now I would not buy these again, but would try for the more expensive "digital" spread spectrum models. At least the sound might be steady and the radio interference would be gone.

I like them alot! The tuning dial on the base allows for a slight changing of the frequency just in case you need to alter them. Then you just tune the headphone dial to sync them up, simple! Tuning the input is easy also if you read the directions thoroughly. I'm surprised at how well they sound, much better than I expected. The only thing I don't care for is the headband. They should have a soft headband of some sort. I also think that they squeeze a little too tight. I do like the hear through design too, so that your able to hear sounds around you while listening, so you don't miss the phone or the door being knocked on. Overall, I think they're worthy. Oh yeah, battery life in mine seems really good. Fell asleep with them on last night. Started using the H-phones about 3pm yesterday, used all last night, and am using them today for 3 or 4 hours so far, all on the same charge. I have a 900mhz security cam system, a 2.4 DSS phone, am frequently next to a PC w/2 monitors, and have no interference. Check your frequencies to see if their different before purchasing if you have other wireless stuff.

I got these for my 15th birthday and since I'm always up watching movies in the late hours, listening to music around the same time and in close proximity to parents I can't use speakers which I'd always rather have, but can't always. Anyways, I love these headphones. My brother got a pair about 2 years ago and loved/s them, but I had no need really. All of a sudden I'm in his position so my parents got me these about three months ago and haven't proven any huge problems. I had read before on here that people had a problem with them breaking, which mine did not too long ago (and seems too be a common problem), but other than that they're SOOO perfect. I went around the block and they cut out a little bit, but I hadn't tuned them for a month and it was still way above average and far beyond my expectations.
All those other people giving 3 and fewer stars complained about too much and gave them a whole lot less credit than they deserve - technology always has flaws but these are just about top of the line technology even for now. They need to figure out about that little "Frequency Adjust" knob on the back of the receiver and try it out - turn it all one way and it'll work for you up to about 600 feet - or at least it did for me. I hate the breakage, but it's been taped and they work still, so I'd have to give them a 4 7/8 star if I could. I would super-recommend these to anyone who wants or needs them, but be warned about the left side and if you have a fat head like mine they get a little tight after a while.
They came with a standard large headphone jack; a 2-prong wall adapter and an adapter to plug into those excessively large stereo jacks if you have one that big. I never get any hiss unless I'm too lazy to tune (which takes about 30 seconds max - if you know what you're doing), and even then a little turn of a knob fixes everything. My review is super long and you should realize these are great things and take advantage of technology - even if it does break in little places. I LOVE these.

Very happy with this product. I am able to walk through my whole 4 room apartment without missing a word or a song on these quite clear sounding headphones.It took a couple of minutes to tune the transmitter, but after that I never had to retune .

I bought these headphones a while back from a store called Factory Direct. They were refurbished, and I got them for only 20 CND dollars! And I must say, they are great for the price I got them for. I use these headphones for my PC, so all you have to do is plug in the receiver -- Pop in some rechargable batteries and go! Some reviewers have said that the headphones are like a 'vice-grip' -- At first, they are... But after a while wearing it, it will 'loosen' up -- I enjoy the headphones quite and bit and they aren't heavy at all! The charging feature is especially convienient. I would totally recommend this product to anyone seeking a good pair of wireless headphones, just make sure you look for the right price!

I purchased this item to use at night so I don't disturb my wife...It is a great product and has worked great, (although I had to replace the rechargable batteries as they were dead, and wouldn't hold any charge). The reception is good up to 100 feet with line of sight, but only about half of that through a wall. The earpieces are comfortable and provide good sound quality. My only complaint is that after using the set for any length of time the ear pada can become uncomfortable as they are very tight against the ears.

Picked up a refurbished pair for... The sound quality is good, thought it took a little time to get the frequency set properly. I don't like the controls as they are small and difficult to adjust. I also think they squeeze the ears a little more than desired; wearing them for extended periods can be uncomfortable.

The headphones work pretty well. I bought them because I already had Advent wireless speakers, and I wouldn't have to set up another transmitter. The sound quality if fine, and I don't have much of a problem tuning the headphones to receive the signal from the stereo. But, after wearing them for few minutes it gets to be painful. They hurt too much to wear them for more than a few minutes at a time, and there is no way to adjust them so that they don't cause pain!

This review is for the Advent AW720. Don't buy it.

1. Very weak battery life.

According to the manual, it takes 12 hours to completely charge the Ni-Cd battery and a completely charged battery yields 4 hours of playtime. 12/4 is unacceptable. The weakest of Sony headphones have batteries that charge for 24 hours but yield 30 hours playtime. So if you charge the weakest Sony headphone battery for 12 hours, you get 15 hours, or 3 times the charge! That's more like it! The Advent battery makes you feel limited and I don't like feeling limited. Second, this may sound silly, it costs you to charge the headphones. If I didn't live in a dorm, I'd care! Those nickels can add up!

2. Poor clarity for anything except music (no dvd, videos, etc.)

Really, when I'm not using my headphones, I always have them charging! I always start off with 100% charged battery. And I play around with tuning knobs on both the headphone and the base. I do everything yet I cannot get rid of the "audio scratches" when watching a DVD on tv or watching a video on my computer. True, the careful tuning can get rid of the "hiss" but the "audio scratches" will be there at least every ten seconds no matter what you do when using the headphones for anything but music.

I tried to use the "special connection" (for my dvd player)that they give you rather than the typical headphone jack connection. Batteries were 75% charged. As usual, with proper tuning, the hiss was gone. But the "audio scratches" stayed! Those scratches totally ruin your movie watching experience! Second, I had to crawl down, disconnect the tv audio input nad then connect the headphone input to the dvd. When I finished trying to use the headphone, I had to crawl done again, disconnect and reconnect the tv audio. Who wants to go through that trouble for a "special connection" that doesn't really work? And how is it even possible if the battery is so weak that after half way through the movie it is signifcantly uncharged? Pathetic!

That being said, the sound quality of this headphone is great for music from my computer. No doubt about it. There are very few "audio scratches" there and with proper tuning the hiss will go down. Also, contrary to some reports, these headphones can be very, very loud indeed without being harsh!

3. Not very durable (then again, how many are?)

Close to the ear cup, there is a strip that is very easy to wear and tear. The ear cups themselves are of hollow plastic (although this is OK). Every time I put on the headphone, I feel afraid to break that part. Even the ear cups are poorly connected to the stem (this doesn't seem to be trouble). I admit it is easy to reinforce that weak area near the cup with duck tape and it won't trouble you at all, but who wants that! But then again, how many durable headphones are there? I wouldn't put my money on the RCA 160 Whip or whatever. I'm sure you can find something better anyway.

4. Range is very good!

I live in a dorm where there are thick walls. I can get out of my room and up to 30 (not 300) feet in the hallway and I can listen to music with no trouble. Hey, that's not bad is it, considering the fact that some headphones promise only up to 24 (of course, you know what they promise isn't the same as it really is, so factor that in). I still think 30 feet near thick walls is very impressive. And I'll bet that if it was a more open area, I'd get even better range. Impressive for that and probably top notch!

Conclusion:

Don't buy it. The battery is unacceptable. Very limited play time. And you are limited only to music. You can't watch movies or videos or watch tv with this headphone! Oh no you can't, not without getting an annoying "audio scratch" every the seconds even if the battery if fully charged and you use the optimum connection they tell you on DVD! And that is unacceptable because it ruins your movie experience!

I paid 17 dollars for these headphones right here at amazon (I hear the current price is 64!). I'd say you cap your price to 40 dollars (be patient, there'll be some merchant selling for a 40 dollars or less) and buy a Sony. I hear that even the Sonys are very poor, but at least you get a stronger battery?

Good luck.