Customer Reviews

Sennheiser RS-65 Wireless RF Circumaural Headphones with SRS Surround Sound Processor (Black)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

These headphones wear out fast. The brackets holding the earpieces (both sides) came apart in less than a year of careful daily use due to the thin plastic they use. I glued them back together a few times, but it became a real hassle, and they didn't fit quite right from then on. The headphones themselves are quite ugly, and the earpieces are small and a bit tight around the ears. These are not practical to use for extended periods of time--more than an hour and you'll want a break.

Even within the effective range (about 50 ft. before the constant static becomes way too annoying for me) there are certain spots where the signal will just fade away. I most commonly used these headphones about 12 feet from the base, and sometimes I'd have to tilt my head a few degrees before the sound was clear again.

If you're in the right spot, you'll find the sound quality is better than most wired headsets. Sennheiser is synonymous with excellent sound, and the "SRS" feature does seem to add a little more depth. Overall, it's accurate, with tight bass and clear highs, but the all that high quality sound is worthless because they're wireless, and they have no option to use the set with a cord. Even at its best, there is a distinct background hum--which is not so annoying that you can't get past it, but it would make a dedicated music listener cringe. Re-"tuning" does not work at all, nor does changing the channel on the base.

I like how they designed the batteries. It included two of them (one for use, one on the charger) and you can change them quickly without removing the headset. Putting the headset on the charger base could be easier.

If you want a good high-quality set of headphones DON'T get these. The fact that it's wireless negates all the excellent engineering Sennheiser put into the sound reproduction. Spend the "extra" money from the wireless feature on a high-end set of real headphones and an extention cord.

If you want wireless headphones DON'T get these. The extra care taken in improving the sound quality makes them too expensive, and they're so delicate they aren't good for moving around with you. If you really need to go with wireless, you're better off getting a cheaper set.

Currently these headphones are gathering dust on my shelf--I'm back using my $20 Sonys on a 10 ft. cord.

I have now owned two sets of wireless Sennheisers, the RS-65 and the prior design, the T4-9. Sennheiser has made great design improvements in the past few years, especially regarding comfort. Specifically, the prior version had a flat foam surface that pressed against your whole ear. This version has a velvet-like cup that surounds your ear without pressing it into your head. It's interesting that some people say they are uncomfortable. I disagree - I find them light and reasonably comfortable.

The sound quality is good, but there is an important caveat: wireless headphones always come with more static than wired headphones. I found that it was not a problem when I was in the same room as the transmitter. In the old version the static would increase slowly as you walked away. The RS design blocks noise until a threshold S/N ratio is reached - then there is no sound at all. It would be nice if you could choose that functionality because when I'm using them for the TV it's more important to at least hear something than to hear clear sound and then no sound.

MY BIG COMPLAINT: The first Sennheisers I owned lasted for a year and then the structural headband broke. They still worked but you had to tape them up. The second Sennheisers I owned lasted for a year and then, you guessed it - SAME PROBLEM. I'm not knocking these things around, just taking on and off. For expensive headphones, these are just not made well enough.

I don't know if I would buy Sennheisers again without evidence that the band was made better. I strongly recommend you buy them with an extended warranty.

UPDATE: I have since moved into a city from a sparsley populated suburb and have found that the interference from neighboring buildings makes it impossible to use these. If you live in a densely populated area, be aware that you may need to return them because of transmission difficulties. However every area is different. I would only buy these again if a new model used a more advanced transmission scheme like 2.4GHz, and of course, if it appeared they had redesigned the headband.

these headphones rock. i've hooked them up to my pc and when i'm not able to listen to my sheet-rock-unfriendly, thx-certified klipsch speakers, i put on these bad boys from Sennheiser.

The sound is crisp, both for highs and lows. I had read reviews on predecessors of the current rs-65's that dinged Sennheiser for headphones that didn't provide enough bass. It looks as though they took that criticism constructively when they designed the rs-65, because the bass comes out crystal clear. i use the headphones with glee for all my multimedia pc 'tasks'- gaming, dvd's, and music.

also, the distance of the wireless connection is phenomenal. i drove about 1/4 block away from my house before the signal died. of course, i can listen to them throughout my home.

if you're a hardware geek like me who needs the latest to hook up to his/her piv box, these will be a fine addition to your collection.

my one complaint for sennheiser's r&d department is: put a native bass and treble control on the headset. it's no fun getting up out of bed to adjust the pc settings when you're in the middle of the matrix.

last note: don't take just my word. Maximum PC gave these headphones a 9/10 rating in their November, 2001 issue.

These headphones are great, overall!!
Pros:
-Great sound quality. The bass reception is excellent, and if I enable surround sound, they sound better than my 4.1 surround sound system (it's a[n inexpensive]speaker system).
-If you're close to the base, the sound quality is very clear. The reception quality is awesome. The reception is analogous to a cordless phone, though with much better sound quality of course.
-The physical appearance of the headphones is great! As you can tell from the picture, they look nice.
-It gives freedom of movement. For instance, I am a college student. I can have my desktop play lectures in my room while I take my headphones to the study lounge and listen.
Cons:
-MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT about this set is how uncomfortable they are to wear. The design is such that the phones squeeze the head and even hurt my ears at times.
-The reception distance is not 300 ft as advertised; it's more like 150 feet. If you exeed that distance, the sound becomes blurred and begins to cut off. 150 ft is still an excellent range though.
-They appear to be made of plastic. I don't know how fragile the material is but i don't intend to find out by testing its strength.

Sound quality is a personal matter, and one should bear that in mind when reading the following remarks. With that being said, the Sennheiser RS-65 did not measure up to my criteria.

Being in the market for a pair of wireless headphones, I thought I could not possibly go wrong purchasing something with the "Sennheiser" name on it; after all, they have a long and distinguished reputation as being a maker of excellent quality, great sounding headphones. Surely their RS-65 phones would meet or exceed any expecations I had concerning sound quality and overall performance. Unfortunately, I was in for a rude awakening.

To cut to the quick: of all the headphones I've ever used in my entire life, these, by far, are the worst sounding pair I've ever listened to; even including the dinky little headphones that come with the "Walkman" type personal stereo systems. I was unpleasently surprised by just how horrible they were.

On a positive note, the RS-65's do work as advertised. They have very good range (I could get a signal everywhere in my house, even in the basement.) and the static and hiss that comes with any sort of wireless product isn't all that bad. They are very light weight, and made of very sturdy plastic. These might be a useful product for people who like to listen to talk radio while doing yard work, or for those who need to watch TV without bothering other people nearby.

Unfortunately, there are also many bad points to these headphones, so many that I found myself returning them after just a couple hours use. Here's my evaluation in more detail:

SOUND QUALITY: For me, this is the most important trait of any audio product, wireless or otherwise. The RS-65's simply did not measure up to my moderate standards. No matter what type of music I played, classical, jazz, rock, etc.; the sound was rather muffled and a bit distorted. The highs are just about non-existant; this is especailly noticable with cymbals --they become almost invisible when listening through the RS-65's. There is a lot of bass produced by these headphones, but almost all of it is extremely muddled and very distorted. It is nearly impossible to make out individual notes, the bass sounds like just a bunch of distorted thumps --bass drums sound like they are wrapped in cotton guaze. Vocals and midrange are also very disappointing, especially female vocals --vocalists sound like they are singing inside a cardboard box.

Also, though it isn't mentioned in the docucmentation, the RS-65's do have some sort of line leveling when it comes to volume. When listening to a classical piece that has some quiet passages insterspersed with some very loud brass and percurssion, the RS-65's somehow cut the volume, so that the loud portions came out sounding rather unimpressive.

RECEPTION: Since the RS-65's are wireless, their ability to receive a signal from their transmitter under a variety of conditions is of vital importance. For the most part, the RS-65's perform well, but there is static and hiss that are an always present reminder that these are a wireless product. When walking around opposed to sitting, one encoutners a variety of "snap, crackle and pops" that can be very distracting. The static and hiss seems to increase around electrical appliances, especially personal computers. The static and hiss also increase as you walk away from the transmitter into different rooms, or outdoors. There is also a noticable increase in static when using the headphonse during the day as opposed to night time. If you like to listen to LOUD music, the hiss and static won't be all that noticable. However, if you like classical or accoustic music, it can be rather annoying, especailly during quiet passages.

COMFORT: The RS-65's are surprisingly light weight, but the design of the ear piece is rather bizzare. They are quite small, and don't fit over an adult's ear very well. After just a few minutes listening, I found my left ear throbbing in pain as the ear piece sort of "crushed" my ear against my skull. Needless to say, despite their light weight, I found them very uncomforatable to wear.

OVERALL: In an attempt to make some sort of comparison, I purchased a pair of [cheaper]Sony CDR-280 corded headphones to see how they stood up to the Sennheisers. There really wasn't much of a comparison, the Sony's were superior in most every way, except for the fact that they are attached to a wire. However, having heard such superior sound from the CDR-280's, I decided to keep them and sent the Sennheisers packing.

My search for decent sounding wireless headphonses continues...

I would ditto all of the other reviews; this is a good set of wireless headphones. The only downside is that after using them for a couple of months to give a decent review, I read that I should have received a second battery that wasn't in the box (it does say it on the box, but no mention in the instructions). No big deal for a $20 battery though. It is worth noting that they use a proprietary battery vs. something you can buy at Radio Shack. I am happy with the purchase.

I bought these to use after the rest of the family had gone to bed, so I could listed to music & watch movies without disturbing them.

Unlike some of the other reviewers, I found the sound to be generally perfectly fine. Unfortunately, the sound was only clear when my head was stationary. Moving around the house or even turning my head cause a lot of cracks and pops in the sound.

I found this so intrusive that these went back to Amazon after only a few hours. I couldn't see the point of paying ...for headphones that made my CDs sound like they were being played on a distant radio station. I guess that this is unavoidable to some extent, given that it is a radio signal that carries the sound to the headphones, but I was appalled how bad it was.

So, I guess my take-home message is that if you're considering these as your first wireless headphones, be prepared that the sound quality will not be as good as a pair that come with a cord.

We've had these headphones one year now and have encountered zero problems with them. They work great inside the home from room to room (one level home) and to various points out into the yard (1+ acre). Lightweight and comfortable. No problems with breakage or wear, they still look new. On average, they are used several times per week for about an hour or so per use - but during football season, they are used MUCH MORE! I recommended these to a co-worker whose husband is loving them so much that he bought a set as a gift for someone else.

I really enjoy the mobility and the light weight. The sound isn't bad either. Typical of the better Sennheisers with decent bass and a nicely balanced high end. The downside of the cordless design though is that they lack the extreme detail of the best headphones and the highs aren't extended enough to get a silky topend.
I hesitated to buy these though based upon some comments by reviewers. There is some truth to these comments but they don't bother me. Yes, the headphone cup is a bit small and they do seem a bit tight at first. But I'm an over six foot male with a large head and average size ears. My ears fit fine and after just a couple of minutes they don't feel tight at all. I can wear them for hours comfortably. And reception isn't perfect. I can use them most anywhere in my large house but there are some deadspots based more on how I turn my head than distance. The good news though is that just a tiny head adjustment clears it up.
And lastly I recommend the SR65 as the sweet spot in the line. It has the autotuning feature which I suspect is important to decent reception and it has the surround sound feature which basically seems to feed the deeper bass to both channels. It does give more ambience and better bass. It definitely does enhance the sound of some recordings. The SR85 lacks the surround and substitutes dynamic noise reduction. That's evidently a compander system that according to the SR85 reviews seems to compress the dynamics. No problem here on dynamics.

The sound quality is fine and the range is okay, but the headphones are so poorly constructed that I have been through two pairs in 6 months. I was extremely careful with the second pair and they just broke this morning after only 3 months of use. The joints that hold the the phones are weak and plastic. DON'T DO IT! These won't last.