Customer Reviews

Sony MDR-IF540RK Wireless Headphone System with Rechargeable Battery

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

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.

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).

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.

I really like these earphones. Clear sound. Got shocked on the shaking setting. Didn't realize it was on. I can live without that. I charged them once and have used them many times and still have not had to recharge them. Headset on the large size is the only reason I gave them a 4 if the headset was smaller I would have given it a 5.

This is a great pair of wireless headphones for the money.

They enclose your whole ears and are comfortable to wear. However it felt kind of bulky and when I first put them on. If there's one area I'd like them to improve on, it's the size and weight.

It is very user-friendly as the headphones automatically turns itself on when you wear them and turns off when taking it off. If you're using the included rechargeable batteries, it also charges up when you place it on the base station and there's no need to take it off since it stops charging when the batteries are full. The strap adjusts to your head so it fits anyone comfortably. There is also no need to calibrate or tune as it does so automatically without any problems. The set includes everything needed to connect to any av source so you don't have to buy them separately.

These headphones use infrared so you need to be in the same room with the base station and not have anything obstruct it. There is also a lesser amount of static noise when compared to RF-based headphones and virtually no chance of interference with other wireless devices. So, these headphones are the perfect choice for use when watching tv.

The sound quality is very good and the SRS function enhances the experience. I have not encountered any problems with it. I hear reports of static or hissing from other reviews, but those people probably didn't bother to read the instruction manual. You have to turn up the volume on the audio source as loud as possible before adjusting the volume on the headphones, and that will get rid of the static. I have no problems with the way the charger is set up as well. The vibration function is nice but I can't see it as really useful except for video games.

Be aware that some of the information Amazon provides is inaccurate. They state that the headphones run on 1 AA battery, but it is actually 2 AAA batteries. They also say that the battery life is 30 hours with the rechargeable batteries and 100 hours with alkaline batteries, but the manual lists it as 26 hours with rechargeable batteries and 45 hours with alkaline batteries (vibration turned off). I bought this product based on their info and was a little disappointed when I received it, but it still works well.

I love these headphones. They work great with Dvd, Tv, Radio and especially my PS2. The vibration mode rocks when playing games. There is some audible hiss when I put it into SRS mode, but hey, the price is right, and the hiss goes away when I turn off the SRS mode. Now I can enjoy myself after the kids and wife go to sleep and I can crank it up as loud as "I" want, and they have no idea. Looking for the right price on wireless headphones that give good sound? Then give these a shot. Please note too that I am only about 10-15 feet away from the transmitter when I use these, so for bigger rooms or if you want to walk throughout the house then these would probably not be for you primarily b/c there IF Wireless. Well I hope I helped someone make a decision easier on wireless headphones. And the charger works fine for me. I just take my time putting the headphones on the base and click there charging. Good luck shopping!!!

works well with standard IR transmiters such as sony tv's and audiovox dvd players. Very comfortable

I had originally thought that there would undoubtedly be something wrong with a pair of wireless headphones that boasts so many features with a paltry price tag of $70. I can easily say now that I own them that I would have paid $150 or more for them, they are simply that good.

First and foremost the Bass is just excellent with great drivers making for powerful bass while listening. Using this on my TV, the bass alone makes me want to watch more Action flicks, which brings me to another feature --

The Rumble feature. This sucker really helps to immerse you into whatever experience you are having with whatever media you are using. I can't wait to try them out on Jurassic Park!

If these features haven't sold you, then the rechargeable batteries (NiMH that can technically also be charged in a Sony Rechargeable NiMH dock, which I also own) that charge on a dock and require only minimal recharging might just do the trick. Why do I say this? Well, to be honest I've saved what I consider to be the best feature for last --

It automatically turns itself off when not being used. There is a strap that automatically adjusts to your head; When the strap is pushed up by the head, the headset automatically turns on, but when the headset is taken off and the strap falls back to its original position, the headset automatically turns off saving HOURS of battery life, and allowing for possibly the most laziness of any headphone product I've ever used.

To be honest, there is only one problem with these headphones -- if you turn the volume up on the headphones past about 5, you will hear the fuzz from the wireless connection rather loudly. This isn't too big of a problem for me, though, because I can turn up my TV pretty loud, which makes the audio more than loud enough for me to hear on a lower setting FUZZ FREE. Thusly, I have to say that I hadn't expected anything like this from Sony, and I am so impressed that I have to give this five stars.

Great reception, fantastic sound. The infrared capability means no hiss or other radio interference. This headset keeps peace at home. A bonus is the fantastic sound effects when used in conjunction with the surround sound of my older TV. The only down side is the slight difficulty getting the headset to connect properly to the charger, although this is easily overcome with a little experience.

This is my first pair of wireless headphones. Upon plugging them in for the first time I was dissapointed to hear lots of background noise, and I mean lots. With the headphones turned up the source i'm trying to listen to is almost blocked by all the static. I'm in a clear line of sight between the headphones and the base, and only 2-3 feet away, so there is no environmental distortion, its just not a very strong signal.
The one way I found to get around this was to turn the headphone volume down to as close to zero as I can get, which minimizes the background noise. The only drawback to this is that I need to turn the source that I'm listening to all the way up. I guess I didnt know what I was getting into when I bought wireless headphones based on an infrared signal. I just thought that for the price the signal should be good enough to not require any juryrigging on my part.

Also, the vibration option seems to me to be a bit... silly. Unless you really want this feature I suggest not shelling out the money for this item and to look torwards other headphones.

So like I said, the headphones aren't great, but with a little tweaking on my part they work fine, and its great not being attached to any wires. I do suggest researching other products however, as the wireless signal quality has to be better...