Review of Sennheiser RS 130 Wireless Headphones

[BoJo]

To review these headphones, I'm plugging the receiver into the soundcard of my MacBook and then using the headphones in a variety of places to test the range etc.

The RS 130s are the higher end wireless headphones from Sennheiser that come from the same couplet as the RS 140s (a closed cup set of cans). I chose the 130s over the 140s because musical privacy is not really a big deal to me, and the sound quality increase of open back headphones is more than enough to compensate for the increase in leakage.

When I got these headphones, the first thing I noticed was how light they were. They weigh in at around 275g (about 10 oz. for those in the US), but you don't feel a thing - it's like your immersed in sound that is coming from within your ears.

Music Test

To test the headphones' musical performance, I played a few tracks that had a varied range of frequencies: Higher Ground (the RHCP cover) [slap bass]; Climbatize - The Prodigy [for techno & bass]; I Don't Know What It Is - Rufus Wainright [for vocals].

They actually had a really good bass response - something that I was pretty surprised at - and maintained their quality over the higher stuff, which was a big change from the headphones that I'm normally used to. Overall the music quality was good, though it is a bit irritating that the NoiseGate function on the headphones (something that reduces hiss during pauses) doesn't really work.

Movie Test

I used Kill Bill Volume I to test the phones SRS function (basically emulation of surround sound in headphones). It worked excellently (actually much better than my 2.1 Creature IIs because it felt like you were in the movie. The bass response was again good - worked really well on stuff like the Tarantino entry music :D

Range

I live in a 3 storey house where I get a bad signal in my 2nd floor room, but suprisingly I get great quality even on the bottom floor. It does hiss slightly once down there, but only noticeable in the pauses/v. quiet bits.

I don't think that the range of 150m is anything like attainable unless you happen to live in the flattest, most barren place in the world, but then again, that's not to be expected from any wireless device really.

At close range, there is no hissing (obviously there is the crackle when there is no input) while playing music, and the sound quality is great.

Base Station

All I really have to say about this is that I love the convenience of the charging - no wires to plug in, just rest the headset on the stand (see picture) and it charges. Smooth.

Sorry for the brevity of this review, and the lack of my own pictures, but I should really be revising...

[Stuge]

Thanks for the review :)

Is it near to any high end phone from Senn like HD595 or HD 6xx series ?

[churchonsundays]

how do they compare to the HD555's? i love my sennheisers. i dont think i would ever replace them..and if i did i would look into something like this.

[BoJo]

I don't think that they are in any way in the same league as the (?300+) 6xx series. I was considering the 595s while considering the wireless ones, but i think that, even though the sound won't be as good, the wireless functionality, combined with the fact that I'm not an audiophile and will just be using it for regular music and movies etc. makes this a more attractive option for me.

As for the 555s they are the same kind thing (high end audio), but I really don't know enough about audio tech to make a judgement.

But as for the wireless vs better sound quality on wired phones, I think that for everyday use wireless is excellent: I love walking around the house listening to podcasts/music/etc.