Sony MDR-RF960RK 900 MHz RF Wireless Headphones with Auto Tuning

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 13 x 6.5 x 6 inches ; 9.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0001YFZ46
• Item model number: MDRRF960RK
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 1, 2004

Product Description

10-22-2007 - Brand New Item. Description - SONY MDRRF960RK Rechargeable Closed-Type RF Headphones

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you have problems, try reading the instructions., September 2, 2004

By 

M. Clipper (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony MDR-RF960RK 900 MHz RF Wireless Headphones with Auto Tuning (Electronics)

I wanted a set of wireless headphones to use with my home theater system so that I could watch movies while our baby was asleep. I chose these because they appeared to be the best set that was in stock at Best Buy. Overall, I'd say they are a good set of headphones. It should be noted that no analog wireless headphones will ever sound as good as a comparable set of wired headphones. If you keep this in mind, you won't be as disappointed.

I would like to address some solutions to some of the negative points that were brought up in earlier reviews. If you have problems with these headphones, try reading the instructions. There are many ways to improve your listening experience.

1) Static problems -- If you're plugged into the headphone jack of your receiver and you get static, try turning up the volume on your receiver to the point just before it becomes distorted. Then adjust the volume to a comfortable listening level using the volume control on the headphones. This enables a higher gain signal from the receiver which will override some of the static.

2) Auto Tuning -- Yes, the transmitter does have a channel selector on it, but this does not mean that it's manual tuning. The selector simply sets the range of frequencies you want to use. The headphones themselves have an autotuner built into them which fine tunes the signal. I've found that this works just as advertised.

3) Turning them On and Off -- The off/on switch of these headphones is built into the adjustable head-strap. As long as you're not wearing the headphones (or otherwise engaging the head-strap) then the headphones will be turned off. When not in use, it is best to return the headphones to the charging base. It will automatically stop charging the batteries when they have reached a full charge. The batteries are nickel-metal-hydride (as opposed to Ni-Cad), so you don't have to worry about fully discharging them before charging the batteries to avoid the memory effect.

4) Batteries -- Yes, Sony provides proprietary batteries with these headphones, but if you ever need to replace them, it is not absolutely necessary to use their batteries. The headphones will accept standard AAA batteries; however, in order to be able to recharge the batteries you must use the nickel-metal-hydride variety instead of Ni-Cad.

In summary, these headphones will not disappoint as long as you recognize the limitations of analog wireless, and as long as you read your instruction manual.

115 of 127 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Problems can be solved, October 1, 2004

By 

Marty Pekar (Greenwich, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony MDR-RF960RK 900 MHz RF Wireless Headphones with Auto Tuning (Electronics)

I bought these headphones despite some negative reviews since none of the other wireless headphones seemed significantly better and I already have an older set of Sony wireless headphones that are pretty great. Never mind why I wanted another set...it's too boring to get into.

So now my older wireless set is hooked up to my home theater setup upstairs running off the audio outputs while these new babies are set up by my computer downstairs running off my computer's headphone jack. I put the headphone on and immediately began receiving audio from my satellite channel upstairs! Loud and clear...anywhere in the house...no problem. I soon discovered that by pressing the "Tune" button on the headphones it searched for and found the audio signal from my computer! Great, until I left the room. Then came all the background swissshh noise being complained about. Bummer, until I read the instructions that said when running off a headphone jack you need to turn the volume to maximum. O.K. there was a slight improvement but still the background hash was very much there, very annoying. After a day or so of thinking about the problem it suddenly dawned on me that
A. Winamp, Real Player, Windows Media Player ALSO had volume controls and these were not yet maxed out.
B. Windows Volume control allows you to adjust overall volume, wave volume, etc. These were set quite low!

By turning up the volume in every case the problem is virtually solved. Audio from the upstairs system is still more noise free in more places than the headphone jack audio, but now I'm getting reasonable results from the computer audio setup.

In other news these headphones are extremely comfortable and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them for use in a TV or audio system. For use as a computer monitor you'll have to max out the volume in all places. No big deal.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty darn good, but room for improvement, December 25, 2004

By 

R. Meyer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony MDR-RF960RK 900 MHz RF Wireless Headphones with Auto Tuning (Electronics)

Rather than simply rave or rant about how good or bad these are, I think we need to revisit some of the facts and derive opinions from there. I hope to support some of the other comments made, as well as dispell some of the erroneous information.

RF-BASED LINK

If you're looking to cut the cord and have the freedom to move from room to room, you need to RF (radio frequency) instead of IR (infra red). The RF960RK utilizes a 900MHz FM (frequency modulation) Stereo transmission method, not too much unlike your FM radio, only on a much smaller scale. As such, it is susceptible to all of the fallibilities of FM, including fading and interference. While both are possible, the RF960RK does a considerably good job of minimizing these problems. If you're demanding flawless performance throughout your home, these will not meet your expectations. In the same room, the performance is second to none. However, there will be dead spots a couple rooms away from the transmitter, as well as some degree of static/hiss in certain spots. It would be nice if the transmitter could be a little more powerful to overcome this, but needless to say, I think Sony is limited here by the FCC's Part 15 regs. regarding transmission power/range. Some tips to minimize the problems experienced:

- Place the transmitter up and away from other objects, particularly metal ones. In other words, don't put the transmitter inside your stereo system cabinet, put it on top and in the open.

- Provide the transmitter with an adequate input drive (i.e. higher volume setting on your system). It's a work around rather than a true fix, but it will improve your headphone performance. By providing a stronger drive, you improve the SNR (signal to noise ratio), or in essence, drown out the hiss. The transmitter will automatically limit the input to head off distortion. If you have too much drive, you'll notice it when placing music that is really dynamic in volume, as the quiet parts will slowly get louder. Granted most of us don't have an oscilloscope to set the correct input drive, a little bit of experimentation will allow you to find a happy medium.

- Try a different channel. The transmitter offers three. Unless you are in a very dense population situation, you should be able to steer clear of interference from other 900MHz based products.

Ultimately, the shortcomings of analog transmission (FM) will not be solved until some digital transmission method (i.e. Spread spectrum) replaces it. Such a method is simply an eventuality as the technology matures and prices become more reasonable.

THE HEADSET

Regarding the fidelity of the headset, with the shortcomings of the wireless link set aside, is quite good. The speakers provide a rich bass, crisp treble, and all round good prescence. My speculation is that if these cans were hard wired in, they would be in the class with the higher end consumer wired headphones.

BATTERY PERFORMANCE

Sony, in my experience with their portable products, has always done an above average job with battery management and treatment. These headphones are no exception. They are supplied with two AAA Nimh (Nickel metal hydride) cells, that will provide up to 15 hours on a full charge (16 hour charge cycle). If you're absent-minded, you can also use non rechargable alkaline AAA, which should provide up to 24 hours. The charging base is a little bit tricky to line up, but a green LED lets you know when the headphones have been successfully seated. The green LED goes off once the charge cycle is complete. Leaving the headphones on the stand will not overcharge the batteries. Sony seems to be very good when it comes to battery charge management and designing safeguards to prevent overcharging. When the headphones are removed, a red LED on the base lets you know that the transmitter is active.

The headphones do not switch on until the inside strap is extended (i.e. placed on your head). Thus, you can place the headphones down on a table and they will be in the off state. A red LED on the right side indicates when the headphones are on and the batteries are at a useable charge level. A note about the strap, it does feel a bit loose at first, but I have not encountered a problem with the headset slipping off.

Other controls on the headset include a volume wheel and a tune button. All you need to do to tune the RF960RK is push the button and it will self tune automatically.


CONCLUSION

All in all, I have to say this is a reasonably good product for the price. If you're a purist or otherwise demanding audiophile, you might be disappointed. However, if you're just someone who wants very local portability of stereo audio from your system, TV, computer, etc. without disturbing others, reasonably good quality and acceptable range throughout a typical residence, it may be exactly what you're looking for.