Title: Sennheiser Wireless RS 65

Life

1 April 2005

Wireless is the new ‘hot technology’ for consumers. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are becoming more popular with consumers who want to cut the cables in their home office.

However, before Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, there were wireless technologies available that may not be as cutting edge, but are equally as useful. Wireless mice and keyboards operate on an RF frequency, as do some brands of wireless headphones. And if you are feeling constricted by your wired headphones, going wireless might just be the answer.

The Sennheiser Wireless RS 65 headphones allow you to keep your music with you as you move around the house. Complete with a rechargeable battery, the headphones are large and comfortable on your ears – not a single uncomfortable ear bud to be found anywhere.

The headphones work through an RF transmitter. They come with a base station that connects to your radio or television stereo output to transmit the audio to the headphones. To use a mono output with the headphones, you will need a stereo to mono jack plug. The base station also acts as a charger for the headphones’ battery.

Because you don’t need to be in the direct line of sight for the headphones to work, you are free to move around your house or outside in the garden – unlikely at present with Irish winters, but one to keep in mind for brighter days and better weather. The RS 65 is also useful for keeping up with TV programmes when you have to leave the room for a few minutes – especially if you don’t have a TV in every room in the house.

The base station has a button for switching between transmission channels, should the headphones encounter interference from other systems broadcasting on the same channel. At the touch of a button, you can switch channel, hopefully clearing up any interference in the process.

There are several functions that can be controlled from the headphones themselves. First of all, the power button is located on the right earpiece. Once the earphones are fully charged and connected to the audio output, you have to switch on the headphones. The volume can also be adjusted through a control on the right earpiece and, if you are getting a bad signal, the ‘tune’ button will pick up the strongest signal.

The headphones are also equipped with a Sound Retrieval System (SRS), which creates a three-dimensional sound image from a stereo signal. There is a ‘surround’ button on the base station that will activate the SRS function.

There’s no chance of leaving the unit switched on by accident: The transmitter will switch itself off after three minutes if there is no
audio signal in that time.

During trails, these headphones were very useful for keeping up with TV programmes while working throughout the house. There was little or no interference with the signal, despite moving from floor to floor in the house.

Sennheiser RS 65 – EUR199.95

Modulation: FM, stereo
Channels: 2
Weight: 186g (inc. accupack)
Dimensions: 155 x 153 x 105mm