"
Yesterday Santa delivered Sennheiser T80 wireless headphones to my house.
www.sennheiser.com/headphones/rfw/rs80.htm
I put them to work on my G4 (after a initial, mandatory 48hr battery
charge). Recharge time is shorter. Claimed listening time is four hours per
charge. The T-80 comes with a second battery that charges in the base. The
first battery can charge in the headphones while on the supplied stand,
which is also the transmitter.
While the T80s aren't up to the sound quality of the upper end, hard wired
Sennheiser headphones, I really can't fault them. They are lightweight and
seem to adjust to a wide range of head sizes. Perfect for listening to MP3
tunes on my virtual G4 jukebox while my family is sleeping. I really like
being able to listen to my favorite SoundJam or Audion mp3 playlists while
wandering around the house, or working in front of the computer. The
wireless thing is a good thing. Just ask any Airport wireless network user.
Fast head turns in the outer most reaches of my house do lead to a little
static or signal loss. The transmitter/headphone stand is in the basement in
dedicated computer room connected to my G4. I doubt this is an optimal
placement. Ground floor or second floor placement would probably extend
listening range of these headphones. One other warning, having computer
"system sounds, or Microsoft 2001 Office launch sounds come up in the middle
of a B.B. King concert can be a bit of a surprise! But that is only going to
happen if you or someone else is using the host computer. This of course
would not be a problem if your using your stereo system or other dedicated
music device as a music source.
I'm looking forward to listening the MacOSRadio, and MacShowlive streaming
broadcasts without being tied to the G4, or the Airport networked Powerbook.
In the end I think the freedom of movement factor outweighs the less than
audiophile quality of the headphones. Then again if your an audio purist
your probably not going to be doing any serious listening via a computer and
mp3 files. Don't get me wrong. I'd like to be an audio purist. I just can't
afford it ;)
The headphones run on 925 Mhz and so far I've had not problems with the
other wireless devices in the house. My Airport network, and Siemens
cordless phones system don't seem to be effected by the T80s.
There are less expensive, Sennheiser wireless headphones in this series. One
of them, the RS-60 has SRS surround sound. That may be a better choice for
gamers, or DVD movie watchers.
Santa also dropped off a pair of RS-40's for the kids. I've found that of
the three radio frequency channels provided two worked best. So the three
users are going to have work it out amongst themselves. The chances of my
pre-teen, and teenage daughters, foregoing the pleasures of blasting music
over loudspeakers are slim. So in the end I'll probably have at least one
clear channel most of the time ;)
Enjoy the Holidays!
Regards,
Bill Hennan"
If you received an interesting Mac related Xmas gift and would like to share your experience with it, send a report.
