Sennheiser Consumer Audio RS 175 RF Wireless Headphone System, Black

After reading the reviews on these I was cautiously optimistic thinking that the bad reviews were by more likely user error. The optical connection is the way to go.I was looking for a way to listen to the TV without bothering the family. I have insomnia and I listen to something on headphones most of the night. I have been using Sony M3’s and M4’s for the last 10 years and was content that I had the best sound in the price point. Comfort is a big factor for me. The Sonys are comfortable for the long haul no doubt.The first time I put the 175’s on I thought this is not going to be a comfortable fit. They seemed clunky and ‘plastic y’. Then I realized that the large ear pieces were designed to go over the entire ear and seal against the skull.I’m 62 years old and have been through the audiophile generation. I appreciate good to great sound and demand it in my equipment without going broke. After I figured out the comfort issue I could turn to sound quality and user experience. I’m pleasantly surprised by the 175’s. They have range and depth sound quality. If I’m being completely honest they seem almost better than the M4’s.After the initial setup and charging time (a serious 12 hours) I began to put them through the paces. The 175’s passed all my quality checks. Bass boost definitely fills in the lows without muddying the sound. Surround setting gives some feeling of spatial fidelity.As far as watching TV you won’t be disappointed. I had forgotten about listening to soundtracks but these brought it back. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to listen to my Pandora account on the TV. This is where these things really shine. With the optical connection sound is first quality. Have a Samsung 65” TV with a Samsung sound bar, it’s a newer model. Connections were a breezeDon’t not try these because of bad reviews. If you know your way around audio equipment and are not interested in spending too much I say give them a try If you’re looking for a good quality audio answer to watching TV privately and listening to music on your cable get these. If you want to spend more Sennheiser can also accommodate you. For me and my insomnia the 175’s are the answer

I bought these to replace a pair of Sony MDR RF-6000s and use them mostly for TV/Movies. The Sonys cut out and picked up lots of interference from wifi and other 2.4ghz traffic (I live in a city environment with easily 25 wifi networks in range). Overall, they've been great and are well worth the money.Signal:So far, the Sennheisers have been flawless with no dropouts or signal loss. As above, I live in a pretty interference-heavy environment. Haven't really range tested them, but they'll easily go into the next room with no problem.Sound Quality:I played around with the bass boost and surround, but find things sound best with all that off. There's no shortage of bass and sound quality is full and on par with any high-end headphone from Bose, Sennheiser, or Sony. There's a slight signal delay, though that's only perceptible when the audio is also playing through speakers, and I'd expect that from any RF headphones.Batteries:I haven't tested the battery life yet (had them on a couple hours and no issues). They use rechargeable AAA batteries, which allows for the use of standard AAAs if the rechargeable ones die. Each earcup has a battery, accessible by twisting/unlocking the pad. That evens out the weight, but adds a step to change batteries.Cradle/Transponder:It's a pretty sleek looking stand, both with the phones on and off. Takes a little bit of practice to get them on and off just right, but nothing too difficult.Comfort:They're a pretty tight fit, which is good for keeping them on while moving around, though maybe not the best for all-day listening. All considered, no complaints about comfort. My only long-term concern would be the foam pads on the headband - foam tends to wear and these don't look replaceable. The headband is a standard adjustable model, though a bit thicker than some others due to the larger size and weight of the electronics/batteries. The Sonys had a band that turned them on automatically when you put them on (and then beeped annoyingly if there was no signal). These use a button for on/off, which is slightly less convenient but more durable and reliable long term. You have to hold the button for a few secs, so they aren't prone to accidentally being turned off.In all, these are a good buy and decent balance between price and quality with no significant flaws. My main driver is signal quality in a high-interference environment, and these have certainly solved that so far. Also, the packaging and instructions were easy and clearly well thought out. That's often an afterthought, but a bad experience there can set the tone for the product long term. Nice work, Sennheiser.UPDATE: 10 Months in, and these are still going strong. Battery life is still excellent - I've had a few "marathon" sessions (use these for TV) and they've yet to run out. Often, I get lazy and don't throw them back on the charger after an evening of TV and they're still good to go the next time. In our old place, I finally found where the signal would cut out - in the basement three floors down. Our new house is lath and plaster, which is murder on all kinds of wireless signals, and they're good for about one floor in either direction and probably 70-80 ft from the base station. Unless you live with lath & plaster (and you'll know if you do) or in a stone castle, I can't imagine a scenario where you wouldn't have whole-house roaming. Still never had even a blip of interference, despite a neighborhood of wireless routers screaming at high volume in 2.4ghz.UPDATE 2: Almost 4 years on and these are still performing as they did when new. I did wear through the earcups (every headphone I've ever had does this) and easily replaced them with no tools - it's a twist-lock change. Original batteries still going strong with almost-daily usage.UPDATE 3: 5 years in. Just replaced the headband pads (peel off old ones and stick on new ones). Replacements available for ~$19 on Amazon. Battery life and sound quality still as it was in the beginning.UPDATE 4: I have owned these for almost 9 years and still use them almost daily for evening TV. Just changed the earcup pads again. A couple years ago the original batteries failed to hold charge, so I swapped with AAA rechargeables from Amazon - no discernable difference in use or charge time. So few technology things fit the "buy it for life" model, but these might be the ones.