Sennheiser RS 130 Wireless Headphone

The RS 130 wireless RF headphone system with switchable surround sound is an ideal choice for both hi-fi and TV use. The lightweight RS 130 lets you enjoy freedom of movement up to approx. 150 metres from the audio source. In addition, the transmitter features a convenient metal stand for storing and recharging the headphone.

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• Reviewed by: moris4wildlife

  01-10-10

  Duration of ownership: 14 Days

  Strengths: Ease of setup; practical design of recharging unit; clarity of sound; comfort of headphones.

  Weaknesses:Perhaps size of headphone in extended use; batteries took nearly 24 hours to charge.

  Overall Evaluation: These are not audiophole headphones, of course. But for the type of use it was intended, that is, TV viewing while not disturbing others with loud volume, it functions superbly. The sound is rich, clear, without static and most importantly, engaging. I recommend giving it a try. The comments I've read regarding location of tuning/volume buttons didn't seem to pertain to me.I did however, panic at first because I wasn't getting any response from the headphones after 16 hours of charging. No sound, no static, nothing. I first thought this was a lemon, but after 24 hours and giving up hope, they suddenly started to work. Afterwards, a response from Senheisser to my e-mail indicated that 24 hours of charging was necessary; they should write that in the manual.

• Reviewed by: 1_eighty

  03-16-09

  Duration of ownership: 1 Years

  Strengths: sennheiser quality sound, volume control on headphones, straightforward design - & wireless of course.

  Weaknesses:loud beeping noise as phones detect sound/auto-tune, which isnt controlled by volume control, some hiss, not the most comfortable.

  Overall Evaluation: I really enjoy these as my main headphones for the simple reason it's very liberating to walk around and not feel like you're tethered to your audio device/computer. I also really like the on-headphone volume control (as opposed to on-cord or none). Havent had any issue at all with them being hard to reach or in the way like 1 or 2 other reviews. But I really do have an issue with the quite loud beeping autodetect tones. I have these phones attached to my computer to listen to music while I work. Sometimes I'll shut the music off for a while. After a minute or 2 the phones will go thru its autodetect trying to see if an audio signal is still present, otherwise it goes into powersave mode. All well & good, but the tones are very loud (to those who have good hearing anyway), & its really jarring to hear these loud electronic beep tones. I really consider this a design flaw, since otherwise Sennheiser is very audiophile-friendly. It'd be fine if at least the volume of the beeps was controlled by the volume control, but it's independent, so if you've had your music down low or its quiet, all of a sudden you'll get these really loud beeps as it tunes. So if you dont have music on constantly, you'll run into this. For those who just want something for working out or whatever, it may not be an issue. At any rate, for the price I would've expected more care on this feature - its an audio device after all. At least the audio features should be conscientiously designed.The phones arent as comfortable as I would've hoped for the price. I have some cheaper Sennheiser's that are much better. But all in all, like I said, I use them the most, and I have a few pairs to chose from. The wireless feature is just that important and otherwise its pretty good sound for wireless.

• Reviewed by: tnhiker

  12-05-08

  Duration of ownership: 3 Years

  Strengths: Sound quality, range, reliability, comfort

  Weaknesses:Rear placement on speaker cups of controls results in inadvertent triggering when laying your head on a headrest or pillow while listening.

  Overall Evaluation: Wireless RF (radio frequency--think cordless phones) headphones allow you to move from room to room while listening to your favorite audio. Sennheiser is one of the top-rated manufacturers of headphones and after considering wireless headphones by Accoustic Research, Sony and Sennheiser I settled on the RS-130 by Sennheiser. If you have a cordless phone then you have a good understanding of how wireless headphones that use RF work. Just like cordless phones these headphones work best when you are close to the base/transmitter station. Initially I had a bit of static but once I moved the transmitter away from my TV about 2' then the static went away. I found that within about 50' of the base (even in adjoining rooms) there was little-to-no deterioration in sound quality which was, by the way, on par with a really good set of wired headphones. Moving farther away I began to get a bit of fade-in/out with a bit of static but this was easily overcome by just a slight turn of my head--a lot like what you might have noticed when using your cordless phone. I have a detached workshop that is about 120' from my headphone transmitter; even in the workshop I get reception on the RS-130 headphones although at that location they are very picky about position: If I turn my head the wrong way the reception goes completely away but will come right back with a 90 degree repositioning of my body/head. If I close the 16' wide metal workshop garage door then reception gets really lousy. Again, they work about the same as I've found my 2.4 GHz cordless phone so if you wonder if you'll be able to use the headphones in a particular location then check out how well your cordless phone works there and you'll probably have a good idea (assuming you've got your cordless phone base station in a decent location). Setup was easy. The unit has a small pyramid-shape base that does triple duty as a transmitter, storage rack and charging station. Two AAA nickel metal hydride batteries go into the headphones and the base station plugs into a 120VAC outlet. An 8' long audio cable connects the base station with your audio source. The audio cable has right/left RCA jack connectors as standard with two adapters being included to hook these to either 1/8" mini or 1/4" standard stereo headphone jack. The unit works best if you let it charge the batteries overnight but if you are anxious to get started you could substitute any good set of AAA batteries until you have time to charge the others. I cheated and tried-out mine with the "uncharged" batteries that came with it and it did work well enough to test it. After an overnight charge the unit worked even better (less static, better range). The batteries are supposed to last 22 hours on a single charge but I've not tested this. Sound quality is excellent. The unit is comfortable to wear and the velour covered (not leather or plastic) earcups are large enough to enclose even larger-than-average ears. These are an open design so that you can hear normal conversations and background noise while wearing them. I could converse on my speaker phone with them playing but could not hear the phone handset with the headphones on my ears. The surround mode (SRS) function seems to add a nice rich quality to the sound and unlike some reviewers, I did not notice any echo with the SRS switched on. The volume control is easy enough to adjust and although I'd read lots of negative comments about its location being too close to the tuning button, I didn't find this to be a problem. The placement on the back side of the earcups does, however, result in inadvertent movement of the volume wheel whenever you lay your head back against a headrest or pillow while listening to the headphones. There is no hiss or clicking as long as you are within a decent (50') range of the transmitter. Some differences between this unit (RS-130) and the RS-120 (besides the price) are that the RS-130 has automatic tuning vs. having to rotate a tuning wheel on the headphones and the RS-130 has the surround mode enhancement. Also, the RS-130 is a 900 MHz RF design which gives clearer reception over a longer range (again, think current cordless phones vs. those of 5 years ago). If you are going to be using the headphones in the same room as your base/transmitter unit then save yourself some money and buy the RS-120. You won't get the surround mode but with most audio systems you can adjust the bass & treble output that goes to the headphone jack. If you are using a headphone jack from a CD player(no bass/treble adjustment) then you might want the surround mode that comes with the RS-130. Warranty on the RS-130 is two years. Be careful that what you buy is a complete unit and not just an additional set of headphones (without the base/transmitter). Lots of lowest price search engines come up with low price hits on the "extra" set of headphones that can be purchased for use with the complete system

• Reviewed by: bbiegel

  03-15-08

  Duration of ownership: 2 Days

  Strengths: Very good sound, comfortable, simple recharging, easy set-up including auto-tuning, easy set-up, long range.

  Weaknesses:Large recharging base, high cost.

  Overall Evaluation: I needed wireless headphones for watching TV after the kids bedtime, and for other times when someone watching TV didn't want to disturb others. I did a lot of online research to choose ones that would work well. The Sennheiser RS 130 does indeed work well * good sound: clear, no discernable hiss * comfortable: I have worn the headsphones for up to 3 hours without discomfort * recharging whenever put on the base station * easy set-up: It just worked when I plugged it in, including auto-tuning to make sure the sound is clear * long range - when I walk around the house, the sound starts to get scratchy only at the far end, through 40 feet of walls and whatever is in them). These headphones are a bit expensive, and it would be nice if the base station were a bit smaller, but I expect to buy a second pair, for when my wife and I are both watching TV late at night. I have not tried using the headphones for other purposes such as listening to music remotely.

• Reviewed by: brokerjack

  03-14-08

  Duration of ownership: 14 Days

  Strengths: Convenience, easy set-up, easy to use

  Weaknesses:Sound quality

  Overall Evaluation: I'm ripping my vinyl and tapes onto my computer and editing them-- a lot of work. The Sennheiser RS 130 Wireless Surround Sound Headphones are a god-send compared to my wired headsets. The system was very easy to set-up and is a snap to use. The thing I love the most is the convenience of not being tethered to the computer/sound system. But, I disappointed with the background "hiss". It's more of an annoyance than a problem. So far it hasn't affected my ability to edit the songs properly. Hopefully, I discover a way to eliminate this noise.

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