Customer Reviews

Sennheiser RS 85 On-Ear HiFi Stereo Wireless Headphones (Silver)

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

 

 

I have readed some complaints about this product, so i have decided to write a small FAQ to everyone, because they are very easy to solve.

Q)The volume goes up and down without user intervention.
A)The headphoenes is tryng to compensate a too high input volume by lowering it when it would be clipped. To resolve it turn down your input volume.
Q)I hear static, pop or simply noise in SOME points.
A)A)The headphoenes is tryng to compensate a too high input volume by lowering it when it would be clipped, but without success. To resolve it turn down your input volume.
Q)I hear static in the background.
A)The input volume is too low. Try increasing it carefully. if the source input is very dynamic, with silences and very strong sound explosions it may seems difficult, but is always possible.
Q)The range is very limited.
A)Try moving the transmitter even by only 10-20 cm, often works.
Q)The battery last only 3 hours
A)It's true. But in Italy, at my local reseller, I have paid 10 euros for every additional battery (1 euro=1 dollar), and 20 euros a small additional 2 battery charger , so with 3 battery I can rotate them and get a 9 hours a day autonomy, which I think is enough for everyone.
Sorry for my english.

Sennheiser RS-85 is by far the best among all the 900MHz headphones I tried. I stayed away from 2.4GHz because I have other 2.4GHz devices. My experience tells me 2.4GHz devices always interfere each other.

The first pair I tried was Sennheiser RS-45. Its sound quality was just acceptable, but the biggest problem was it's not very comfortable.

The second pair I picked up was Sony MDR-RF975RK. It's got some decent reviews online but I had a lot of problems with it. First of all, you don't want to be seen wearing them because the appearance is ridiculous. Then there's the endless static noise, hissing sound, even when you are sitting right in front of the transmitter. And forget about listening to anything other than loud music because otherwise the background noise would become too irritating. It has some upside such as long battery life and auto-shutoff feature, but they in no way offset its problems.

I also tried a few more 900MHz headphones at stores. All of them have major problems, mostly static noise.

Then I bought RS-85. This pair is amazing. It delivers the clarity of wired headphones as long as you are reasonably close to the transmitter. When I'm not in the same room as the transmitter I can occasionally hear skip of sound. The skips are usually less than one second long. But one thing for sure, you never get any static noise. The sound compression becomes noticeable when listening to music with high dynamic range at high volume, but it has never become a big problem for me. The ear cushions are relatively comfortable, not as good as HD-600's but no complaints. The battery life is only 3 to 4 hours long on each full charge, but RS-85 comes with a second battery and you can rotate between the two. Overall I'm very happy with this pair even though it's a bit pricy.

When I first researched this product, I was impressed by the positive reviews. There were, of course, a few negative reviews which focused on interfearance, etc. I decided to take a chance and buy this product.

Overall? I'm satisfied. The sound quality is excellent. Top knotch. I've placed the base in my basement, next to two CRT monitors and a whole lot of transformers, and I recieve little to no interfearance. If I walk around upstairs, they will occationally pop or crackle, but never for long. My only real complaint is that they seem to get suddenly softer for a few seconds, and then increase in volume. I'm sure it's not the signal strength, because it happens even when my head is perfectly still sitting next to the trasnmitter. But i'm now noticing it less and less.

Bottom line, if you're looking for a great pair of wireless headphones, and are willing to accept the fact that "wireless" will never work perfectly, by all means, buy this product. Dont buy this product expecting them to behave as though they have an invisible wire of infinite length connecting them to your stereo.

I can't believe this product has an average rating of only three stars. This model is far and away the best pair of wireless radio headphones I have seen on the market, and I have tried the RS-60s and RS-40s (which used to be the best before these came out) as well as products by Advent and Amphony. Any criticism of this model must be based on unrealistic expectations for radio frequency headphones, which do not reach the level of the best infrareds but are close and have significant other advantages. The sound quality and range on these (even through walls) are unbelievable and the comfort is unsurpassed. Being the best product in its category for a marginal price increase over inferior brands, which is entirely justified by the clear edge in quality, these headphones deserve five stars. The only weakness I can think of is a certain fragileness (don't roll over on them while taking a nap).

I have readed some complaints about this product, so i have decided to write a small FAQ to everyone, because they are very easy to solve.

Q)The volume goes up and down without user intervention.
A)The headphoenes is tryng to compensate a too high input volume by lowering it when it would be clipped. To resolve it turn down your input volume.
Q)I hear static, pop or simply noise in SOME points.
A)A)The headphoenes is tryng to compensate a too high input volume by lowering it when it would be clipped, but without success. To resolve it turn down your input volume.
Q)I hear static in the background.
A)The input volume is too low. Try increasing it carefully. if the source input is very dynamic, with silences and very strong sound explosions it may seems difficult, but is always possible.
Q)The range is very limited.
A)Try moving the transmitter even by only 10-20 cm, often works.
Q)The battery last only 3 hours
A)It's true. But in Italy, at my local reseller, I have paid 10 euros for every additional battery (1 euro=1 dollar), and 20 euros a small additional 2 battery charger , so with 3 battery I can rotate them and get a 9 hours a day autonomy, which I think is enough for everyone.
Sorry for my english.

I wanted wireless headphones to listen to movies and play PS2 games when the kids went to bed. Let me set the record straight. These things work great. I was hesitent because of all the bad reviews. I ordered anyway. Boy was I glad I did. They work all throughout my house (3 diff. levels). Best performance is in the TV room, but they still allow roamimg to different rooms while listening to a movie. Sound quality and volume are both very good. They are plastic, but what isn't these days. With a little care they should last a long time. I use them w/ a 2.8ghz wireless PS2 controller, and have 3 900 mhz
phones, as well as a 2.8ghz phone. I have no interference whatsoever. I have an home theater system that is better, but these allow me to crank-up the volume when the kids are sleeping.
They are pricier then some, but I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for (normally). The instructions were sparse, but still easy to plug in and use without any problems. I have never tried any other wireless headphones, but do give these high marks. By the way, I am typing this with a wireless keyboard/mouse. I have no interest in this company, but am finally getting sick of reading horrible reviews on products that do not deserve it.

I live in a 3 bedroom ranch (1 story). I hooked up the headphones in a back bedroom corner to my computer speakers and listened to web broadcasts. The sound quality was awesome with NO background noise. No manual tuning was necessary, they worked great. The sound was perfect throughout the house. I took them to my sunroom that is off the opposite end of the house from my computer and there was some "broken" transmission. They worked perfectly there, however, when I stopped moving around.
I'm thrilled, couldn't ask for anything more from headphones. These were factory refurbished so I didn't get the original packaging (who needs it). Consumer Reports was right, I saved a lot of money.

This is my first pair of cordless headphones, and for regular listening I have been used to AKG studio monitor quality. For cordless operation I was prepared to compromise on overall sound quality, but I was very pleasantly surprised with this product. The sound is very good, the earphones are comfortable and light to wear, having two sets of chargeable batteries will give you up to 7 hours of listening enjoyment, and moving around with the headphones has less interference than I anticipated. The range is comparable to any good quality 900 MHz phone, so you can walk into the yard and pretty much cover a normal single-family home without too much trouble. The accompanying instructions are a little fuzzy and the regulator dials on the headphones themselves are a bit counter-intuitive, but those are pretty much my only complaints. Install is extremely easy, so you get past those instructions pretty quick. I have tested them with both classical and pop music now, and I am quite happy with the sound.

I bought my first pair of these Sennheiser headphones so that I could watch HiDef/DVD in bed while my wife went to sleep. It's not my first experience with wireless, but the best to date.
Good enough that I've ordered a second pair for use in another room.

And it's actually my third set because the first pair I bought was a gift for someone who allowed me to try them out for a few days. That was enough to convince me.

I've previously used other Sennheiser professional gear. In some cases in the past I found the sound satisfying but the ergonomics less so, i.e. an earlier set of noise suppressors worked wonderfully but were awkward to carry on a plane. And I've tried a variety of other wireless headphones of assorted major brands. These are the best to date. No they don't quite measure up to wired very high end headsets, but they're pretty darned good. Signal carries from one room of a largish house to another with very few artifacts, also much superior to other wireless phones tried.

I can't explain people who cite almost immediate failure. They are well made.

After owning a pair of Sony MDR-V900 for well over 10 years I thought it a good time to break down & upgrade to the advances made in the last decade with a dive into `wireless technology'. Unfortunately what I received upon the $170 purchase of these "top of the line" headphones was thin bass free, static laden audio that was sub FM sound quality at best. The reception on these is worse than my cordless phone (I live in a small apt & the sound fades if I walk into my bedroom which is well under 50 feet away!). These might be ok for soft-core listeners who might need to run to the kitchen for a snack while watching a movie or something but not for anyone who takes music listening a bit serious (my beat old Sony's still sound better by far!). To boot these are constructed out of plastic that is the quality of milk jugs & the audio channels (R/L) are backward.
Hope I can break even on eBay...