You should purchase wired headphones for $600, so why not throw a dear cordless pair into the combo? That appears to be Sennheiser’s approach, which quietly launched the RS 220 wireless headphones at CES Unveiled in Ny city tonight. These cord-free cans pipe analog, coaxial or optical sources from a glossy black base station over a 2.4GHz DSSS connection, which looked as if it would work fairly well even within the crowded event space — chock packed with hundreds, even perhaps thousands of wireless devices.
A packed noisy environment is not the ideal location to conduct audio tests, but given the conditions, the RS 220 performed well — Aerosmith’s Love in an Elevator was clear and crisp, with an affordable amount of bass. The headphones were quite comfortable in addition — the velvet-like cups formed a reasonably secure fit without putting an excessive amount of pressure on our ears, as you could expect given the sky-high ticket. They’re rated for a distance of as much as 300 feet, though the relationship brought to just over 50 feet during our test tonight — you will likely see a stronger range outdoors, however. Jump past the break for a video walkthrough and the PR from Sennheiser.
OLD LYME, Conn., November 8, 2011: With its RS 220 wireless headphones, audio specialist Sennheiser is opening up a brand new class of wireless listening enjoyment. As a result of their uncompressed transmission technology, the digital headphones combine high-end quality with absolute freedom of movement.
“Reproducing music as naturally as possible and therefore as closely as possible to
the unique has always been the dream of audio engineers and audiophiles alike,” explained Maurice Quarré, Director Product Lifecycle Management at Sennheiser Consumer Electronics. “The traditional strategy of transmission for reproduced sound is the cable. It conducts the analog signal directly and with out delay from the audio source to the transducer within the headphones.” The drawback of wired transmission, regardless of how expensive the cable is, is that the listener’s freedom of movement is specific.
The RS 220 is the primary wireless headphones model that fulfils the demands of essentially the mostsome of the most discerning audiophile. “The Sennheiser RS 220 opens up a master class in wireless audio transmission,” Quarré said. “This can be a pioneer of wireless high-end headphones.”
Wireless transmission on the highest level
The transmitter for the recent RS 220 wireless headphones also transmits the digital signals to the headphones without compression via a stable 2.4 GHz connection. The wireless system uses what’s called Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) technology. “It is a frequency spreading process within which the output signal is spread to a width of twenty-two MHz by the use of a specified bit sequence. If interference occurs at one point within this frequency range, the output signal experiences no interference, because the data are transmitted with redundancy, in other words, several times. Consequently, the whole sound quality is fully maintained,” explained Axel Grell, Senior Acoustical Engineer at Sennheiser. an additional good thing about the method is its low latency.
Selection of input sources
“The RS 220 will be connected to varied outputs: analog, coaxial digital and optical digital,” Grell said. “Discerning users can therefore decide themselves at the type and quality of the audio signal being fed in.” If a digital input is used, to illustrate, the conversion step from an analog to a digital signal is not any longer necessary. With an analog input, the standard of the audio signal might be influenced by the selection of cable.
Loopthrough mode
Several audio sources may be connected to the transmitter of the RS 220 even as. Signal loopthrough is likewise possible, allowing the transmitter to be integrated into an existing connection between an audio source and another device. On this loopthrough mode, the signals are passed on even if the transmitter is switched off. Sensor buttons at the transmitter or directly at the headphones enable users to interchange from side to side between the sources.
Dynamic range fully maintained
A necessary process of making a musical effect is the gradual transition between quiet and loud passages, as may be heard, for instance, in Ravel’s Bolero. Conventional digital data transmission sometimes reduces this dynamic range, as an optimum signal volume for the full data package is regularly assigned to the ideas when the analog signal is converted right into a digital data package.
This challenge have been resolved within the further development of Sennheiser’s wireless digital headphones system by completely dispensing with the automated level control function. The knowledge of the digital sources are transmitted unchanged, and the user can manually adjust the reference volume for the analog inputs. The RS 220 therefore comes very as regards to the audiophile ideal: a lifelike, completely unrestricted sound experience.
The RS 220 (street price: $599.95) might be available soon from select retailers.
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