Sony MDR-IF540RK Wireless Headphone System with Rechargeable Battery

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.2 x 5.5 inches ; 6.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000092YQK
• Item model number: MDRIF540RK
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (129 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

Pump up the volume and groove about your listening room as you enjoy music or TV soundtracks with Sony's MDR-IF540K Wireless Headphone System. This complete kit that includes a transmitter and headphones offers features like a Lightweight, open-air design, 30 mm drive units for deep bass, Automatic On/Off, and a Vibration Function (with level volume) for an exciting game and movie experience. Also utilize the Two Audio Inputs to accommodate audio and video sources, the Rechargeable Battery, Up to 45 Hours of Battery Life (optional alkaline battery), a Transmission Range up to 24 feet, and a Transmission Coverage angle up to 90°. The MDR-IF540K enables an easy connection to your home audio system, TV, PC or VCR. Hear the difference.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Affordable Wireless Headphones, February 3, 2007

By 

Jstyle (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony MDR-IF540RK Wireless Headphone System with Rechargeable Battery (Electronics)

I love these headphones. I use them at night in bed when my girlfriend is sleeping and she doesn't hear a thing. The sound is surprisingly great and the headphones are very comfortable. The line of sight is flexible - so you can be off to the side and still have reception. The headphones don't look or feel cheap, are not too heavy and the transmitter base looks really sleek. The batteries last a long time before recharging and all you have to do to turn them on is put them on and they turn off as soon as you take them off - very cool feature. The price is great too considering the quality and features - shop around and you'll find better prices.

The extra features of these headphones I use on occasion because they work best for specific content: The SRS surround sound works great with digital music and movies that feature surround sound. The vibration "rumble" function works great with dance and hip-hop music, movies with lots of sound effects and explosions (like Stars Wars) and video games.

One note: the sound will be as good as the source. To reduce background hiss - turn up the source audio and not the headphones volume. Meaning, if its connected to your stereo or TV - it will work sort of as an amp, so turn up the volume there first before raising the volume too high on the headphones. I have no problems with background hiss.


Pros:
- sound great (clear, loud, good bass and treble)
- comfortable
- Infrared = no tuning or inteference (within line of sight)
- SRS surround sound and bass vibration function (nice extras)
- easy on/off

Cons:
- Infrared is short range
- line of sight (lose signal quality if base view is obstructed)
- kinda bulky looking (the looks aren't for everyone)

Overall: For the price, features, quality of sound and looks there's no better choice if you're looking for short-range wireless headphones.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sony MDR-IF540RK Infrared Headphone review, November 5, 2006

By 

J. Lee - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony MDR-IF540RK Wireless Headphone System with Rechargeable Battery (Electronics)

I have a Sony TV with an integrated infrared transmitter which I've used for over five years. T've gone through about 3 different pairs of wireless headphones and these are by far the best I've used. Reception is great as long as your in front of the transmitter, but that's expected since infrared requires line of sight to transmit (unlike radio signals, which I've also used and in my experience introduce noise). In addition, these headphones cover around my ears instead of pressing against them which makes them more comfortable for use over longer periods (main reason I like these over the others I've had).

67 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't work with plasma TV, May 19, 2008

By 

R. Jacobson (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony MDR-IF540RK Wireless Headphone System with Rechargeable Battery (Electronics)

I wanted to like this product. I have a set of Sennheiser RS140 wireless headphones that has fairly mediocre performance (lots of hiss and static from the radio transmission.) I was hoping that the IR technology in the Sony headphones would overcome this.

After I plugged my new Sony headphones in and gave them a try with my TV, it was a hundred times worse than the Sennheiser. The sound was mostly static, with faint hints of barely-audible dialog. The sound would improve with certain scenes on my TV, such as dark indoor scenes, but then get far worse during bright outdoor scenes (such as on the beach in an episode of Lost).

After hunting through the manual, I realized the problem: Buried in fine print, there's a statement "Plasma displays may interfere with normal operation of this system."

Sure enough, my Pioneer plasma TV was causing huge amounts of interference with the IR transmission. The bright outdoor scenes apparently generated IR interference, with rendered the dialog inaudible.

Saying that a plasma TV "may interfere" with operations is an understatement. This product is completely unusable with my plasma TV.

If this problem had been advertised with a warning "not suitable for plasma TVs," I'd be understanding. However, hiding this problem in the small print is unconscionable. At least Amazon seems to have a good return policy, which will be used in this case.