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About this item Whether you are watching television or listening to music, the RS 195 ensures that you won’t miss a thing: Highly innovative digital wireless technology guarantees crystal clear signal transmission with low latency even while you move from room to ro With the RS 195 you’ll be able to hear the subtle nuances of dialogues and the slight details of your favorite music like never before. And although these headphones deliver state-of-the-art performance, their user-friendly design keeps things simple. The convenient controls make it easy to take advantage of the host of features, and the ergonomic design provides a comfortable fit, even after hours of listening.
| Weight | 4 lbs |
|---|---|
| Customer Reviews | 4.2 out of 5 stars |
| Best Sellers Rank | #17,131 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics) #743 in Over-Ear Headphones |
| Brand | Sennheiser Consumer Audio |
| Model Name | RS 195 |
| Included Components | RS 195 Wireless Over-Ear Headphone System with Selective Hearing Boost |
| Age Range (Description) | Adult |
| Model Number | RS 195 |
| Target Gender | Unisex |
| Package Type | Standard Packaging |
| Unit Count | 1.00 Count |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Color | Black |
| Theme | TV Series |
| Style | RS 195 Wireless Headphones |
| Is Autographed | No |
| Water Resistance Level | Not Water Resistant |
| Item Weight | 3.5 Pounds |
| Special Feature | volume-control |
| Control Type | Noise Control |
| Cable Feature | Without Cable |
| Impedance | 24 Ohm |
| Frequency Response | 22000 Hz |
| Frequency Range | 17 Hz – 22 kHz |
| Connectivity Technology | Wireless |
| Wireless Communication Technology | RF |
| Headphones Jack | 3.5 mm Jack |
| Compatible Devices | Television |
| Form Factor | Over Ear |
| Ear Placement | Over Ear |
| Charging Time | 18 Hours |
| Battery Life | 18 Hours |
| Warranty Description | 2 year coverage for parts, 2 year coverage for labor |
| Specific Uses For Product | Music |
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veeblefetzer –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Works ok
I have a less expensive Sennheiser RS-120 which I’ve been using for a while for TV viewing and it is working just fine for that purpose. However, I do have some high-frequency hearing loss and wanted some headphones for use with the computer for music editing. I was concerned that my music mixes would overemphasize treble due to my hearing loss, so I wanted headphones which would compensate for it. The RS 195 has several settings and I found I have to put it on the maximum (G) for me to hear certain sounds (like a tambourine) clearly. So it does work but either it doesn’t provide a huge boost or else my hearing is worse than I thought. The other problem I have with it is one that won’t affect most people. There is a slight latency (delay) in the sound through the earphones. You wouldn’t notice it with TV or even listening to music, but I make recordings where I play instruments along with recorded tracks from the computer and the delay is enough to make the earphones unsuitable for this purpose. Still, I am keeping them since they work well for the mixing part of my work but I need to use wired headphones for recording.Bottom line: They work but for watching TV you may be able to get by just fine with the less expensive headphones.
3 people found this helpful
Donald K Krivec –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect Voice Clarity
I have almost 100% deafness in one ear and 50% in the other. I wear hearing aids – one to stream sounds from the deaf ear to the 50% ear. With or without the hearing aids, clarity of speech with this headphone set is perfect. I’m an engineer, so I won’t give you any hype – just the facts. I could not clearly understand speech from a TV or (especially) from a TV-movie with background noise or accents. With or without the hearing aids, speech from the TV is now 100% understandable. For TV-movies (especially modern day movies with loud music background and other background noise), speech is now also 100% understandable using the noise reduction feature which is simply turned on or off with one button pushed from the headset. The hearing disability I have is high frequency-deficient (i.e., treble-deficient). A simple twist of a switch on the “cradle” for the headphones puts out the frequencies required to understand the words (generally, a one-time setting requirement), and a push button on either the cradle or the headphones kills the background noise when required. (Because the hearing aids adjust for some of the high frequency deficiency in my hearing, a simple twist of the switch on the cradle adjusts my hearing perfectly if I decide not to wear my hearing aids when wearing the headset.) My hearing aids do a good job for day-in and day-out hearing, but for TV or TV-movies, they were not sufficient. By using these headphones, I went from understanding about 50% of speech during a movie to 99.99% understanding. Price is high, but I liked them so much I bought 2 for use for 2 different TVs in my house. If only someone could design something like this for portability — like taking them to a movie theater… For me, the price was well worth the result.
4 people found this helpful
R. Clark –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice unit, but not for severe hearing impaired
Bottom line, if you have severe hearing loss and are looking for a great unit, buy the RS120. This was my second try to upgrade my existing RS120 wireless headphone purchased in 2011. I have severe hearing loss, and have been completely pleased with the RS120. Previously, I tried the RS180 and now the RS195 in an attempt to upgrade my experience. Both the RS180 and RS195 a very nice units, well built and what I have come to expect from Sennheiser. I like their sleeker charging bases as compared to the RS120, although both headsets suffered from poor design on volume and tuning controls on the headset as compared to the RS120 in my opinion. The bottom line for returning both was that I was unable to get the volume high enough to adequately hear the TV. By comparison, I can tune the RS120 to about half way on a full charge and listen to the TV very comfortably. As the charge fades I have to gradually increase the volume but rarely had to max out the volume control. I was never able to get anywhere close on either the RS180 or RS195. So I bought another RS120 (having damaged my existing headset a month ago–still works, but the left side won’t stay in place). It came in yesterday, charged it overnight and am extremely happy again. Kudos to Amazon for their return pollicy. I hope Sennheiser continues to make the RS120 or maybe increases their volume controls on their newer products for folks like me.
16 people found this helpful
Dan_McShades –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Sound, just not that comfortable to wear
The sound is pretty good with this headset but it’s not very comfortable to wear for extended periods of time, within 20-30 minutes of watching a movie it started to feel uncomfortable as the headset was putting pressure on the sides of my head, It’s also feels like it’s made from cheap plastic.
One person found this helpful
Ann T –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Difficult to set up
These headphones were purchased as an upgrade to my very old (less expensive) Sennheiser model.I will keep these headphones as I don’t want to go to the hassle of returning them.I spent an hour each day for a week trying to connect these to my LG TV using the optical digital connector. (Yes, I removed the plastic caps before attempting to plug in.) After spending an hour on the phone with Sennheiser, the guy helping me was just as confused & frustrated as I was. His advice was for me to disconnect them, take the batteries out & re-insert them, and try all the steps we did again, & see if it worked then. When I reinserted the batteries it was like starting all over again (charging for 13 hours).I never was able to connect using the optical digital connecter, & was never able to see the red light coming out the end (whether plugged into just the tv or just the headphones, which were plugged in & powered on.)I Finally got them to work using ‘wired headphones & internal speaker’ & the headphones set to analogue.Once I was able to use them, I’ve found them to be Very uncomfortable as they actually hurt my ears.Very frustrating, & I’m the ‘techie’ in the house!I like Sennheiser, but not these. Regret this purchase.Would not buy again.
3 people found this helpful
Amazon Customer –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Being able to better hearTV movie speech
1) it works2) relatively easy to install1 ) one of the cables provided didn’t work. Fortunately I had one that did2) Sound quality could be better
2 people found this helpful
kyle juresic –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellence.
Perfect sound out of the box. Overall sound is extremely full.I can walk all around my house and not have static or loss of signal.The top dial can optionally steer the onboard EQ more bass-heavy or treble-heavy.The mode button increases vocal clarity for TV shows or Music for an even more full sound if you want to disregard the musicians mastering (Music is obviously the listener’s taste afterall)Very little latency – I performed a latency test and couldn’t tell the difference vs wired headphones.Only two cons for me are the earpads and price. I had to replace the pads with velour, the original ones made me very hot within a few minutes. As for the price… you get what you pay for I suppose.Thank you Sennheiser! You made a wonderful product!
4 people found this helpful
John S. Powell –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Headphones are Life Saver
At 82 I developed a problem hearing which seriously impacted my life. Retired and home bound (by choice) I spend a couple of hours each day watching TV. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear dialog and just had to guess as to what the actors were saying. Bummer. My wife has excellent hearing and couldn’t tolerate the volume to which I tried to turn up the sound. Didn’t do much good anyway. Voices, etc. were still Just mumbled. Then…then…then I found out about the Sennheiser 195. What a difference. I now can hear all spoken words which allows me to follow along with my wife. We purchased a new LB TV along w/ a Zvox sound bar. At first we couldn’t figure out how to hook up the soundbar and the headphones (the TV only had one audio Out which went to the sound bar. Then we looked at instructions from Zvox which advised us to use an digital optical splitter (Zexmte $10.50) which we hooked to the TV. We ran one line to the headphones and one to the soundbar. SUCCESS! I can now hear all dialog and adjust sound volume for the headphones while my wife can mute the TV in order to read or use the volume controls on the soundbar to watch TV and not be blown out with high volume noise. This Sennheiser 195 has improved my quality of life by many, many multiples. It also helped that they recently lowered the price of the 195. My recommendation? Try it. You’ll like it and hopefully it’ll improve your quality of life like it has mine.
3 people found this helpful
JAMES E HOFFMAN –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lots of flexibility to adjust setting to optimize sound per user preference.
I’ve had a RS 175 unit for five or six years and was pleased. Really pleased with the additional features on the RS 195 unit. Be advised they are tight on your head but I find that an appealing feature. Would definitely buy again.
EnalanX –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Helps me with watching TV
I have a mild high frequency hearing loss and I got tired of having to crank up the volume when trying to understand what women characters on TV were saying — not to mention the occasional whispering. This have good sound quality, and the ability to control some of the sound settings on the headphones is very convenient. The only thing I don’t like is that fact that they don’t isolate you from the environment sounds, so if you’re watching TV you hear a bit of an echo. I can put up with this, and if no one else is in the room I can just turn the main sound down, but it’s a little distracting at times. One problem with the documentation is that the brief quick start enclosed in the box doesn’t explain the various audio settings on the base station, but says that you can find an advanced manual on the Sennheiser website. Unfortunately, I could never find it on the Sennheiser US site, but with some persistence I tracked it down on a European site. Since the setting are a major part of the headphone’s function, it’s odd that they neglected this.
Traveler –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revised Review
Just received my RS 195 headphones and am very disappointed in the very low volume.I love the features but they are basically useless on earphones with such limited volumeSave $200 and get the HDR 160. Much better sound and volumeI am updating my review of the Sennheiser RS195 headphones. I obviously did not wait for the headphones “bake-In”.I have now had the headphones for 2 months and I have fallen in love with them. I just finished watching Game of Thrones again and astounded at what I have been missing. The clarity is amazing and I can now understand everything that is said. I love the sound of the pounding hooves of the horses, the creaking doors etc. I could go on and on but again I fall back to the clarity of the voices, it’s amazing. If you are hard of hearing like I am, these headphones will bring back the pleasure of watching and HEARING a great movie. I do wish for a little more volume but that is now a small complaint. I now give it the full 5 stars. You won’t regret this purchase but be patient and allow them to break in before judging them.
One person found this helpful
lawrence belisle –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Good RF Wireless Headphones
I use these headphones to practice on my bass while listening to CDs. There is an ever so slight response when first plucking a note but after that, the phones are able to receive with little delay. Audio quality is very good as well as good SPL loudness. Has replaceable rechargeable batteries. My only gripe is that there was no 3.5mm to stereo RCA cable supplied. Not a deal breaker but sufficient for a 4 star rating. Balance and listening response curves better suited for TV/ Gaming or people with compromised hearing.Highly Recommended!
One person found this helpful
MA Hughes –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent sound
Very Pleased with the quality of these headphones. Sound is great – easy to hook up -some good features – mute button – can customize sound quality for either TV or just music. Very well insulated – you don’t hear any room noises and no one hears what you are listening to.
Bob –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love this product
I get up early and do not want to wake anyone
One person found this helpful
Garrett T. Moore –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good for movies. Music, not so much (unless you are a bass head)
These are great headphones for watching action movies privately. The sound signature seems to be designed specifically for this purpose. Bass is intense breathing life into action movies that other headphones seem to fall flat on.That being said, they really are only good for watching movies. I found the different sound signatures that can be selected on the front of the unit to not be useful (I do not suffer from hearing damage and thus don’t really need to adjust the sound stage).These headphones are also not great for listening to music with. The bass overwhelms in most music types and even throttling down the lower frequencies using an equalizer (Spotify on iOS has one, for example) only turned the bass down a bit… it was still overwhelming and lowering the bass altered the sound stage and made the song sound strange. These remind me of beats headphones with the amount of bass they produce.Battery life overall was good and reception was mostly clear. I did occasionally notice micro dropouts while using the headphones when the base station was located close to my wireless router. Moving it a little further from the router seemed to eliminate these dropouts though.Overall these headphones really only seem to accomplish one goal: to watch TV with. In that case, they perform well. I otherwise wouldn’t recommend them for anything else.
5 people found this helpful
Amazon Customer –
1.0 out of 5 stars
Dropouts
I’ve owned the Sennheiser 170 for many years, but the dropouts got worse and worse to the point where it ruined my enjoyment and I just couldn’t use them anymore. I bought this hoping that it would be better engineered and fix the problem. Although it does appear to have fewer dropouts than the 170, it still has dropouts even when I’m sitting 10 feet directly in front of it, fully line-of-sight. So…. I’m going to try some other kind of system and hope for better results. Maybe bluetooth has better interference rejection, if, indeed, it turns out that interference is the root cause of the dropouts.——————I’m finding that Bluetooth 5.3 has much better range and no dropouts, so…. I’m returning this RS195. because dropouts at 10 feet line of sight is unacceptable. In contrast, Bluetooth 5.3 seems to “just work.” It’s too bad that Sennheiser allowed even their flagship technology to become obsolete.
One person found this helpful
NC. movie man –
5.0 out of 5 stars
They can be made louder.
I’m not upset because it happens but the next day after three weeks of making up my mind to order, it went down fifty dollars in price. I read that they are not loud enough that has me worried because my hearing is very bad. When they came I had the 170 so I just plugged into the speaker wire and was very disappointed it wasn’t loud enough. I ordered RS speaker wire (sound by light) and turned up the output volume to the RS jack in the back of the tv. That made it worth the fifty extra dollars. Love how I can cut all sound but human speech. I ordered an 8 battery charger AA, AAA so I have charged batteries at all times. When I wake up I change them out. They will last 24 hours. I’m back with another one coming, glad I only ordered one to start with. The sound is great my son who hearing is fine and he said he has never heard as clear as these headphoned puts out. unless something happens they stop working anytime soon I am very happy.
3 people found this helpful
Fly On The Wall –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Five Quality Sound – 4 Quality Fit Compared to RS 180
I almost gave it five. For sound, I’d say a five. I went to this from an RS 180. I noticed the improvement. I wouldn’t say overwhelming but maybe a little more solid bass and a little more clarity in voice. I know that because there was a word in a movie I couldn’t hear until I used these. Didn’t happen much but I guess that is an indicator of improvement. I didn’t give it a five because I find the headphones a little too tight and a tad less comfortable than the RS 180. Maybe that’s part of the tradeoff for a closed design but these also don’t have as soft a material around the ears as the RS 180 had. I’ve gotten used to it but I find my ears sweat a little more. It’s been worth the move because of better sound and clarity. It would have been even better if the fit and comfort were just a tad better and, of course, that can vary from person to person.
21 people found this helpful
AY –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Does not work on Samsung TV’s with “ONE CONNECT” box, It works fine on a Sony TV with all the connections on the back.
It works as advertised on my sony TV. It does NOT work on the Samsung TV with “ONE CONNECT” — that is unique to large Samsung TV’s.The idea is good – they have a box that connects all the cables away from the back of the TV — a single wire connects this box to the back of the television. I have the “one connect” on a 78″ Samsung. The optical “out” from this external box goes to my external sound bar speakers and all is well. PERFECT SOUND. One Connect — is great for wall installation since you never have to go to the back of the TV. The Optical output on this box provides NO sound for these headphones. I spent weeks using different headphones and external sound providers —- the Samsung box will not provide sound to these Sennheiser RS 195 headphones — so I have to use it on a TV in another room — I sent them a long note explaining that their “one connect” box has a defect. They have not responded in 5 weeks. They are selling a useless pair of phones to a large number of Samsung TV owners.AW
33 people found this helpful
OMjack –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gets pretty uncomfortable after a while – needs better padding.
After wearing these for an hour or so they really begin to get uncomfortable. the earmuffs need to have thicker and softer padding. I don’t feel like I should have to pay more to get aftermarket comfort for a very expensive set of earphones. Also, I find it difficult to identify which button on the ear cup to push in order to change volume without taking them off my head – kind of defeats the purpose of putting them on the cup in the first place.
Jason pond –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent sound reproduction
The frequency response in the lower range rivals “Beats” by Dre for deep and clear bass. The total package works and wears much better than most and I live with headphones on all day long. Over the ear comfort despite being a little heavy. They are very well worth the investment. I’d challenge anybody to find comparable tech stats and comfort at any price range.The only notable weakness is the extreme upper frequency weakness (above 18K hertz), not expected in such quality units like this. Perhaps a different magnet or voice coil, likely just a filter issue. (Dolby DTS or better AFTER the noise cancelling circuit, not before. To allow cleaner high range throughput. Overall, outstanding!! One plus is the time they can run without re-charging.. I have used mine for 8 straight hours at relatively high volume levels while doing projects around the house without any signal loss or drop off as they lose charge, that is impressive for a unit that delivers such a wide dynamic range even at high volume levels.
One person found this helpful
Adam –
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not noise cancelling. Overall poor quality sound.
I’ve had these for about a month. They work and have decent range but those are the only positive things I can say about these headphones. They are not very comfortable. Since the headphones charge from the headband, there’s a gap in the foam and it creates pressure points on the top of my head that eventually become very uncomfortable. The ear cups are large and shallow and don’t really fit my head well (I have a small head). I’ve seen a few people complain about how delicate the ear pads are on these. Ignore that. That is a design feature so the ear cups fit your head better. The “noise cancellation” would be much worse if they were made of anything else. I have a pair of Bose QC35 II too and the ear pads are made of similar material. The sound quality is horrible. I used every setting on the headphones and even adjusted equalizer setting on my TV to no avail. The sound is always tinny. The cost of these Sennheisers is about the same as my Bose headphones but there is a huge difference in sound quality. This has been my first Sennheiser purchase and it will most likely be my last.
2 people found this helpful
Durkdigglar –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great headphones at a steal of a price
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Great set of headphones! I need the tv to fall asleep, my wife hates it so these should shut her up lol decent sound and great battery life and range and not a lot of sound leakage. I bought mine from the seller “HI-DEF lifestyle” for 124 bucks amd expected to get screwed but they are brand new lol wtf… and there not fakes either…..I’m there new biggest fan, no BS….I’m not affiliated with them at all, I swear, but their listings for these headphones that are “used like new” are definitely 100% legit…mine were literally Brand spanking new and o got them for a fraction of the cost……winning! Thank you hi-def, I expected to recieve faulty used headphones and you blew me away lol
4 people found this helpful
Bill McDonald –
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed in Sennheiser
I am a very satisfied hearing-impaired owner of two (2) Sennheiser RS140 wireless headphone sets that I purchased well over ten (10) years ago and which are still working fine. I purchased this RS195 set thinking that perhaps a newer state-of-the-art headset touting a customized voice-enhancement feature would be an improvement. The new unit was easy to set up since it had digital input and did not require a digital-to-RCA adapter that I use on my RS140s so that I do not bypass the internal speakers on the TV. At first I was happy enough with the sound quality and choice of settings, but after only five (5) days of use, the sound volume range suddenly diminished to a level where even the highest volume setting was not enough for my impaired hearing. A couple of days later, the sound volume returned but went south again just as soon as I turned the transmitter off. I was thankful that I still had my ancient RS140 to replace it. I tried several times to get advice and support from Sennheiser Tech, but after more than a week with no response, I had no option except to return the obviously defective RS195 unit to Amazon. I should have given more credence to the previous reviews which, on second reading, convinced me that this sound control issue is not uncommon. In my opinion, Sennheiser owes it to their longtime reputation to take this faulty product back to the drawing board. I would not recommend this product.
Frank C. Benavidez –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good item but a little expensive.
Selectable modes on the head gear that allows easy switching between music and movie listening and some other mode that is a mixture of the two. Also fairly durable since I have accidentally state on them on the sofa without damage to the ear phones. During viewing I normally set the TV screen to mute and listen solely thru the phones. The best I have found but just wondering if there might be some other brand out there that is not quite so expensive. This is my third and final set of ear phones.
Roy U. –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Instructions need a tweak.
The only problems are the lack of instructions on the digital/optical port on the base that has a “trap door”. I am very sensitive of being careful about jamming an optical cable into a hole where I cannot see the socket orientation. I finally figured it out but it was trial and gentle error. Picture on instructions do not reflect what you see. Also the on switch on the ear phones is small and not obvious. Instructions said turn on and hold 2 seconds but do not show where switch is – on side and not where controls are. With an optical splitter it installed and worked as advertised using a sound base. Head phones fit nicely on my large head. The unit looks and feels high quality. Looking forward to using this after I take out my hearing aids. About to order a additional one for my wife. They do not have stand alone charging units for spare head sets. Also the cables are very stiff. Would be nice they were ore “limp” or pliable.
2 people found this helpful
JEG –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Sound Quality
I am very impressed with the sound quality of the RS 195 wireless headphones. I like the mode settings. One mode I use for listening to podcasts or talk radio. Another mode I use for TV shows and movies. And the third mode I use to listen to music. The RS 195 has great frequency response. The highs are sharp and clear, the lows are powerful but not over done. And the vocals are very realistic. When watching video, there is no lag behind with the audio. The headphones are comfortable and fit completely over my ears. Looking up or down the headphones keep a snug fit. When walking from room to room there is no break in the audio or static. I do not have hearing loss so I have not had to use the ‘ LEVEL’ setting. I know the RS 195 is expensive, but Amazon sells them at a big discount. If the RS 195 is within your budget, I highly recommend them.
One person found this helpful
Bob Nedzesky –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Eliminates TV background noise and improves dialogue clarity
The headphone system greatly improves the audio portion and decreases the background music. There are three settings for adjusting the amount of background music. They are uncomfortable after awhile, especially on the top of the head. I recommend them if you have difficulty hearing dialog.
One person found this helpful
NakedtotheBlues –
4.0 out of 5 stars
For those about to rock . . .
Architecture is not as sophisticated as say Denon, however, for strict use for the hearing impaired, it gets the job done. I love hi end audio, however, I also insist on hearing all the dialog in uncompressed Blu-ray audio. I’ve purchased an OPPO BD-95 at $500+ used, also, a Denon 3808CI Analog / Digital receiver used at $300+ to accept the “analog in” Center, Front, Surround, Surround Sides, Surround Back and Sub -source to playback connections. This audio processing albeit impressive separation, doesn’t do what a select few headphones can do. I also own Denon hardwired AH MM400 Music Maniac, closed ear headphones and find these to be spacially far superior in both audio dialog and music playback. For those who just want to hear dialog and cannot afford to muck around with trial and error, These Sennheiser RS 195 RF Wireless will do what you need and as a bonus give you a bit of dynamic high end music audio as well.
3 people found this helpful
H Cummings –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great design, quality and performance!
Bought this headphone set to resolve TV volume issues with my wife. I’ve got some hearing loss, she doesn’t and the TV volume is always an issue. This was the solution. Overall the product is excellent! Great German design and attention to detail starts with the packaging and carries through to every detail, even the power/plug options. Very easy to set up, works like a charm, contains everything you need to connect to your TV or other audio source (Power/charger, adaptors for US and Europe outlets, optical and phone jack audio cables, batteries.) Fast Start instructions are clear and easy, detailed Instructions are thorough, and configuring the headset is a breeze. The initial charge on the batteries for the headset is recommended at 16 hours, and since I’m a little kid at heart the overnight wait was agonizing, but the next morning it was fully charged and I had the sound profile set within a few minutes. The sound is excellent, and the wife and I have eliminated one point of discord from our marriage.
5 people found this helpful
Kambic –
5.0 out of 5 stars
A simple yet ideal set of headphones
Simple yet ideal! I have had these going on 3 years now and they allow me to hear whats actually going on. I have a hard time hearing regardless of how loud I would turn the TV up. With these Sennheiser headphones, I hear so much more now. If I am multitasking or need to step into another room, I can do so without missing a beat. Depending on line of sight, I can get anywhere from 30-56 feet with uninterrupted sound quality, even outside my house in my driveway in some cases. Between the wireless RF connection and the sound drivers from the headphones, I get the sound quality I want. Keep in mind they are not designed for top of the line bass but for clarity and that’s what you get. They are pricey but worth the dollar. I use an RF splitter bridging my headphones and the TV with the PlayStation or without the splitter and a direct connection to the Apple TV, depending if I am in my bedroom or the family room. Simple setup with a power adapter and an RF cable. Another plus is that they block outside noise considerably (LOL you can easily get away with not hearing your wife call for you while in the middle of your movie). They also allow me to watch TV without disturbing my wife while she sleeps. All in all, a good investment for those who really want to hear whats going on.
2 people found this helpful
Colorado Springs –
5.0 out of 5 stars
THANK YOU SENNHEISER !!!!!!!!!!
I5 years ago I was diagnosed with 65% hearing loss–I now have severe hearing loss. My major problems are understanding the clarity of speech and identifying direction and identity of sounds. Could only watch tv and not listen to it because none of the speech made sense. I bought a bluetooth hearing aid transmitter to use with my high tech $10k hearing aids and found that the bluetooth transmitter did not work to improve clarity and the bluetooth transmission would break up as soon as I tuned to walk away from the tv. So, I had to sit still in front of the tv.I received these Sennheiser 195’s today. It took me, (a 61 year old who is afraid of electronics), 1/2 hour to set up the headphones. Loading the batteries is easy. The headphones are so comfortable. The volume and on/off buttons are conveniently located. All of the hearing modes work so you can customize your hearing experience. I can hear through upstairs walls, downstairs walls and about 50 feet outside so far. I intend to keep testing the outside line of sight distance. There is a little sporadic breakup in transmission when standing in front of a microwave. To make a long story short, I recommend these headphones. I can hear tv so well with these headphones. I am so thankful that tools like this are available to help the hearing impaired as well as to provide a more enjoyable hearing experience for those who hear well.
107 people found this helpful
Gary Karasik –
2.0 out of 5 stars
Wait for v2
Sound quality is good–not great, and volume is sometimes inadequate, which for a product that will be used by people with hearing issues is a problem. The digitally processed sound is a little muddy, and voices have that squeezed quality you often here from digitally processed sound. On the plus side, there’s no static or interference. Build quality and fit are so-so, a bit underwhelming for a premium product at a premium price, There are five obvious design shortcomings: Note that I’ve already been through two of these units, and both have the same problem–the headphones lose sync with the base station. The only solution, per Sennheiser tech support, is to unplug the base station for 15 minutes, which resets the unit. So the first design shortcoming is that there’s no reset button or manual reset procedure. Letting the unit sit for 15 minutes while trying to watch a program is annoying. The first tech support call the tech told me the loss of sync was due to power-line fluctuations. The second tech support call the tech started spouting jargon and was so condescending I told him I’d call back to talk to someone else. I still don’t know what the problem is, exactly, but the second design shortcoming is that this unit is much too sensitive to environmental issues and doesn’t recover gracefully. I’m going to hook up a power-line conditioner to try to smooth out the power to the unit to see if that helps. The third design shortcoming is inadequate volume even at the maximum setting. The fourth design shortcoming is the absence of a USB connector for firmware updates that might correct the previous three design shortcomings. Fifth design flaw is that if you have a device that puts out a sound format that the base unit doesn’t recognize, the base unit gets scrambled and you have to unplug it for 15 minutes to get it working again (see above, no reset switch). Playing a DVD through a DVD player not putting out a signal the base unit like will scramble the base unit. Hint: All audio from all equipment playing through the TV must be, if available, set to send PCM signals to the base unit. This unit has promise. I suggest waiting for v2.
3 people found this helpful
DRG –
2.0 out of 5 stars
Hearing Impaired be AWARE:
Nice quality setup, comfortable head set, easy set up. Two stars for the hearing impaired, maybe a great unit for everyone else!If you need hearing aids for everyday living with significant hearing loss, these may not be for you DESPITE the descriptions of “enhanced speech” and other functions. Sure, the balance adjustment is nice. However, when you use ANY of the hearing enhancement programs or the music / speech selections there is a severe limitation in the available volume.I have been using wireless headphones in the evenings to listen to TV / iPad for years. I prefer my hearing aids out to rest my canals. Sennheiser is my preferred provider and I have a couple of their $100 range wireless sets that work fine but purchased the RS 195’s for enhancement of speech distinction. With high frequency hearing loss, as I turn up the volume speech gets “bass heavy” with the less expensive models.I installed the 195’s to a separate amplifier in place of my Sennheiser TR 120’s. Everything worked except the volume was quite low even if the amplifier volume was max out and the headphones were on full volume. I could barely distinguish speech because the volume was so low. If there had been any ambient noise, I would have required cc to understand the news program. All the adjustments worked and it didn’t matter if I used the RCA or the optical inputs.The Sennheiser web site was very good and prompt help. They told me if I turned off ALL the enhancement features [there is a mode button that you can push and hold that turns off all these features] that the volume would be restored. It worked as promised HOWEVER, that turns my $371 headphones into a $100 unit. My hearing is not keen enough to distinguish optical from RCA inputs.The help site agreed that the description of this product should have been more forthcoming about the volume issue. I suspect if you have mild hearing loss, these would be fantastic. If you have significant hearing loss need to wear hearing aids all day long, this unit is not for you.
7 people found this helpful
H. Fox –
5.0 out of 5 stars
These babies are AWESOME
My wife and I like totally different kinds of TV. I like content with a lot of action that usually means lots of noise. During the day, when my wife doesn’t seem to mind, I use a Sonos Soundbar and Sub with my TV (which sounds incredible, BTW). At night, though, I have to watch and listen a little more privately. So why not just use a set of Bluetooth headphones with my Bluetooth-enabled TV? Appropriate question with a simple answer: EVERY Bluetooth + TV setup I’ve tried suffers from terrible audio/video lag which always seems to get worse the longer it’s in use. These RF headphones are the perfect solution, and I had no problem setting them up with the rest of my TV/Audio setup. I bought a 1-in-2-out digital splitter, with one output for the Playbar and the other for the Sennheisers. When using the headphones, I just mute the TV/Playbar and all audio, including volume, is handled with the headphones. Works like a charm. These are a little pricey, but my old Sony RF headphones just didn’t provide the same experience and the Sennheisers are more comfortable as well. If you like catching ALL of the audio nuances of your favorite shows without bugging your wife or your neighbors, these are the way to go.
6 people found this helpful
Spike –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Riciculously Over-Priced…
First, I use my unit daily and find them just fine for tv viewing. Sound quality is average or slightly less than good headphones. I bought extra headphones $200 for my wife. You would think, at this price point, the extra pair of headphnes should not limit customization of each pair of headphones – not so. If you connect both pair of headphones at one time, customization disappears for both headsets. Whose bright idea was that??? I own several pair of high-end sennheiser headphones and even the cheapest pair sound better than these. I repeat, however, they’re acceptable (just) for typical tv viewing. Also, at this price range, the battery life should exceed 20 hours – and these get less than half of that. Not your best work, Sennheiser. If you’re well-heeled and don’t mind compromising sound quality, these are for you. But, if you’re a typical middle class buyer, look elsewhere for same or better quality at lower prices. Not Highly Recommended.
3 people found this helpful
Amazon Customer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
and it’s been a long time since I could understand dialog in a movie or hear the subtle nuances of my favorite music, even with hearing aids
I suffer from what I would characterize as moderate hearing loss. I say “Excuse me?” a lot, and it’s been a long time since I could understand dialog in a movie or hear the subtle nuances of my favorite music, even with hearing aids. Then I bought these Sennheiser headphones. I can hardly believe what a difference these have made. These things are magic, absolutely magic. Either that, or Sennheiser has invented a time machine and stolen superior technology from the distant future. I don’t know. But I can tell you that these are amazing. I continue to be amazed every time I put them on. As I write this, I’m listening to the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper album, and I’m hearing things I’ve never even noticed before. Every detail is crystal clear.Some of the reviews here say that these aren’t loud enough to be of any use. The headphones do use volume limiting so you don’t blow out your eardrums, and for some people that might be a problem. If you’re the kind of person who likes to listen to Metallica at front-row, concert-level volume, these probably aren’t the headphones for you. But if you’re like me and just want to watch movies and listen to music with detail and clarity, I can’t recommend these strongly enough. They’re really great. Thank you, thank you, Sennheiser!
4 people found this helpful
CO364 –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for watching TV with individual balance controls
My dad has unbalanced hearing along with hearing loss. soundbars are a good way to compensate but he needs the volume a little too high when others are watching with him. These headphones are the answer. He can listen at his preferred sound level and also adjust the balance so he hears everything. One small issue needed to be addressed though and that is how to drive 2 devices (headphones and soundbar) at the same time. Because they have an optical-in connection, he was able to purchase an optical splitter so that he could drive them simultaneously. Now he can hear the high quality, adjustable sound from these headphones and the rest of the users can still hear the digital audio from the soundbar. Problem solved.
One person found this helpful
Kindle Customer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Elderly father can now watch TV
My dad is 85 and severely hard of hearing. He hasn’t been able to truly enjoy watching television for the last few years, but loved to watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune every night. We used subtitles and that helped for awhile, but the past few months he’s just given up and gone to bed right after dinner. My husband ordered these headphones so he can watch television and movies and we can listen too without raising the volume so high the house shakes! We made him a movie playlist and he’s been watching two movies a day all week! Tonight he said he feels like he’s gotten his life back. We had a meeting using Zoom the other evening, and my husband cast it to the TV from his phone, and for the first time in a long time my dad was able to participate in the meeting and “heard every word”. These are amazing! He wears them without any hearing aids and says he hears perfectly.
4 people found this helpful
Amazon Customer –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Sound and Battery Life – Odd Audio Balancing
Sound from these is fantastic. Especially for music. I use them for overall computer audio, including video meetings and playing games. One of the things I’ve noticed that seems to be handled in the audio balance of the headphones themselves is how it handles multiple sources of audio. Sometimes it’s got a weird balance, but I haven’t found a consistent trigger for it as it doesn’t do it all the time.Still a fantastic set of headphones and I don’t mind the minor audio imbalance every once in a while.
David C. Meyer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easy to use and good sound quality
I read several reviews that said the controls were impossible to understand, and complaints of volume and other issues. So it was a bit of trepidation that I ordered these to replace my RS175 headphones which are fairly worn out after five years of almost daily usage. Hooking them up was an easy task, and by doing a minimal amount of fiddling around with the controls I had pretty good sound. I’m a pretty unique customer in that I’m hearing impaired in one ear (using a hearing aid) and with no hearing whatsoever in my other ear. So quality sound is essential for me, not because I need high fidelity, but because I need clarity. And these headphones do a good job.Some other reviewers mention the weight of the headphones. I see that as a non issue. They’re fine. Other thought they didn’t fit right and were too tight. Again, that’s a non issue. Yes, they are snugger than my 175 model, but I find that works out well.Not having the ability to hear well means that my needs are substantially different than the true audiophile, so I cannot address if these babies can produce the absolute most faithful reproduction of sound. I can only attest to the fact that they are the best headphones for someone such as myself who needs the most clarity to understand the spoken word. But I would think that if the headphones can do that, then they should be good at all things sound.
12 people found this helpful
David Russell Hill –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great if you have “moderate” hearing loss
I have had these a few weeks now and am overall very happy with them. I have moderate age related hearing loss and on the verge or needing hearing aids according to my audiologist. Since I am retired, having “good” hearing is not important to me. Especially when I consider the high cost and hassle of fooling with the darn things. The only important deficit I notice is not being able to understand the dialogue on the TV. Maybe 6 years ago I bought 2 Sennheiser Headsets (840 series.) I got both the infrared version and the RF version. I prefer the RF version as the sound does not cut out when you turn away from the TV, or when something comes between you and the base station (like a bowl of popcorn.) The thing I did not like about these stethoscope-looking headsets is that they never remained pointed down the ear canal. They would always slip a mm or 2, and transmit the sound up against the soft tissue of the ear. I was constantly fiddling with them. When one of my 840s finally broke I was excited to buy the new RS-195 I had been reading about. These are a big improvement. They don’t need constant adjusting so the sound goes down the ear canal. The RS195s are a big jump forward in most respects. They have more adjustment to fine tune for the type of hearing boost you need. They also block out other sound in the room. They are not capable of playing as loud as the 840s but I do not require that with my level of hearing. The 840s had a volume dial that went from 0-6. I would say the RS195s max volume output (with speech correction on) might be 4 on that same scale. The rechargeable batteries seem fine for my purposes as they have never failed even after many hours of use. The only minor complaint I have is that the top of your head gets a little sore after a while. This is a complaint that I have had with every headphone I’ve worn. If you have more profound hearing loss, these will not help you. Many reviewers have complained they don’t go load enough. If that is the case you may be better buying a less expensive normal headphone and look for one that says it can play LOUD. Make sure it is an over the ear version so you can keep that loudness too yourself. Also put on the closed caption option on your cable or Netflix systems. If you want to see if they will work for you, make sure there is a good return policy. Amazon is usually pretty good about that.
16 people found this helpful
Mark –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding sound, Speech Mode, noise reduction. Mediocre range.
Pros:I love these for the great sound. The “Speech mode” is _really_ effective; I was surprised and impressed. For me it’s the killer feature, because my hearing isn’t great, and I have a hard time understanding speech on the TV. I agree with the other revewiers who say this is a “headphone for the hearing impaired”. It’s worth the price.For music the sound is also really great (in “high dynamic range” mode). Even with my poor hearing I can tell a big difference between this and my Bose.The battery life seems pretty good. And I really like that the batteries can be removed for a quick change if you’ve forgotten to recharge, or need to use them all day.Noise isolation is also superb. I must take them off if somebody wants to talk to me.Cons:The “330 foot” range is totally BS (or at least, only exists under ideal conditions). In my home the maximum range is around 25 feet with 1 intervening wall. This is after following the advice on their website to reduce interference. At 25 feet with 2 intervening walls I need to turn off my Wifi to avoid interference. Note that the signal doesn’t degrade gracefully: rather than gradually increasing amounts of static, you start getting intermittent sound, then it just shuts down. (This is typical for digital transmissions, and whether it’s good or bad is a matter of taste.)It’s really annoying that you have to press the On button for several seconds before it turns on. Every. Single. Time. Designers, please stop doing this to us! Over the last 3 years I’ve spent a more than hour of my life holding down that button.The latency is noticable (but not severe), around 100ms. Fortunately my TV has a setting to adjust for this. I imagine this is pretty normal for any digitally-encoded wireless headset.While the Speech Mode is really great, the other numbered modes are pretty lame; they sound just like different levels of high/low balance.The charging stand isn’t designed very well; it’s extremely difficult to put the headphones back on the stand with one hand. Also, placing and removing it from the stand abrades the bottom of the ear muffs; this wasn’t noticeable for a couple of years, but at 3 years they’re now in complete tatters.
16 people found this helpful
BB –
5.0 out of 5 stars
best wireless tv headphones that you can buy on the market today
I would like to start by saying that I have been an audiophile and videophile for over 10 years now (since I’m only 31). I have a 15,000 system (not including the upgrade that is about to come for the HI-FI loudspeakers for the audio which will prolly run me about another 10k) comprised of about 4,000$ in AQ cables 3,500 display, oppo 203, three panamax 5300’s…..these headphones at best buy are 500$ I bought them on amazon for 295$ along with the ASUS 5300 triband router also a 500$ item at best buy for 295$ on amazon; keep in mind that you must ask best buy to price match otherwise they will not even attempt to look and if the item is sold by amazon they must price match. The headphones are the Sennheiser’s top of line when it comes to tv headphones. The dialog and noise dispersion are top notch you can hear things that you typically wouldn’t hear on other models such as the RS 175’s which I also have using a AQ cinnamon Toslink. I have the RS 195 running thru a vodka AQ Toslink which may provide my set a better listening experience however it is doubtful that you would hear a notable difference with use of another cable. They work great for late nights or if you want to jack up the volume without disturbing the neighbors. I will say that for me the RS 175’s were not loud enough so I made the upgrade to the 195’s and I paid about 200$ for the 175’s at best buy. I haven’t heard the 185’s but the 195’s are definitely the best set you can purchase at this time. There was a significant difference between the sound quality between the 175 and 195 and these are well worth the money. Any magnolia system designer will tell you the same thing and say that this set is the best of the best and as they say if your going to do something or in this case buy something do it right the first time and don’t make the same mistake that I did. You don’t want to compromise your sound. I would highly recommend them to any audiophile that is looking for a tv headset of this nature. Hope this helps for those who don’t know as much as others about this kind of thing. Also they are much better then the SONY’s which will run you about 300$ for their top of the line model, although I’m sure they are a nice set any audiophile will tell you that Sennheiser’s are the best!
15 people found this helpful
Charlie –
1.0 out of 5 stars
DOES NOT WORK WITH SURROUND AUDIO, AT ALL!
I have severe hearing loss and Tinnitus. I purchased these headphones to use in the TV room so that the entire family could enjoy movies and programs together without the volume up so loud that others are driven from the room. This seems to be the idea behind the headphone unit. In all fairness, the Transmitter / headphone combination seem to be good quality, as I have come to expect from the Sennheiser name, across several decades of familiarity. That said. . . If this was still the Seventies this unit would be right at home. However the Seventies are ancient history. Entertainment electronics are light years beyond the simple stereo of that era. Unfortunately, Sennheiser has failed to keep up.finding an stereo output on a modern receiver or amplifier is practically impossible because most audio is transmitted digitally and in more than two channels. i.e. Surround Sound.The reality of this situation is that this unit needs to be plugged into a headphone jack, which most always mutes the speakers. So it’s an either / or for listening.I understood this dilemma going into it so, I purchased an HDMI splitter, and an HDMI audio breakout box so that audio could flow both to the headphones and the speakers. Problem solved. . .But wait theres more!This is when I discovered that these alegedly modern headphones DONT SPEAK SURROUND SOUND! practically the industry broadcast standard of this era.If you go into settings of whatever program you wish to watch you will, usually, find a 2 channel setting. Sometimes simply labeled English (or whatever language you speak) with no numbers after it. However, not all programs offer simple 2 channel audio nowadays, so if it’s not in the setting you don’t hear audio from the headphones.A call to Amazon Tech support verified this conclusion.If you live alone and don’t want to disturb the neighbors with your audio, this could be the solution. But, If you want to share a program with normal hearing people, at the same time, this IS NOT the solution. I would have thought that Sennheiser would have thought this through a little better since the entire point of this combination was to help the hearing impaired.So now I have this $300 white elephant that I will move to my computer to replace a pair of wired headphones already there, and continue my search for headphones that will work with the surround codec. I’m pretty sure the solution will not involve something labeled Sennheiser.
33 people found this helpful
Dr. Muck –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for watching TV
Without this headset I wouldn’t be able to watch TV. My brain was allowing the music to drown out the speech, so it became very frustrating. My audiologist recommended these and I’ve been using them for years. Now the speech is clear and the sound is rich. I don’t mind the size at all because they’re very comfortable.I have two televisions, one which I watch while working out, and I wear the headphones while on the exercise bike and elliptical trainer, and even when lifting weights.I visited a relative with a huge TV and a very expensive home theater surround sound system, and couldn’t understand half the words without my Sennheisers. They are worth the price!
One person found this helpful
Gary Howell –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Actually, improve TV voice clarity.
These RS 195 headphone set my 3ed Sennheiser product primarily used for TV listening. Advertised having speech audio improvement for mild-moderate hearing impaired, they actually work!Human voice, especially at a whisper, creates an exceedingly low pressure wave, on the order of 1 billionth of an atmosphere, .000,000,0147 pounds per square inch! Miraculous an anatomic structure [ear] can discern this minute a pressure disturbance and partially why hearing-aids work so poorly; they lack this sensitivity and on the other side, cannot faithfully replicate this low a pressure disturbance; a complex topic especially and we introduce the phenological Organ of Corti?Kudos to Sennheiser!
3 people found this helpful
K. C. –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Regrettably Underwhelmed
After all the reviews and Youtube commercials, I have to say I am a bit underwhelmed. I chose the 195 because it was the top model. However, I m wondering if I would have been better off with the 175 instead. At least that has Bass Boost. This product has line level at best, and the sound is not nearly as robust as all the reviews would suggest.The construction is pedestrian, plasticie and not that comfortable. I was tempted to buy a line level amplifier after 10 minutes. This would have given me louder fuller sound that I expected. Trying to find a splitter for my Optic out for my TV was much harder than I thought. I eventually have to buy a powered Toslink S/PDIF 1×2 Splitter. The $9 passive splitters are a complete joke. Somehow I was expecting to be confronted with a gripping sound that justified going with Sennheiser-This product is over priced, should sell for $100. The fact that they have 4 models in this lineup is nothing more than a pure marketing ploy that is dubious at best. If they spent less money on differentiation and offered 2 models, they could save resources to make them more impressive products.Sony’s Bluetooth with Bass boost is better and delivers a more impressive alternative. I originally replaced my Bose On Ear Soundlinc headset for this Sennheiser. I am beginning to regret it. I am not hearing a nuanced sound, clarity, and separation that sparkles, or any of the welcome artifacts that take advantage of a headset closed environment. They just built a headset that barely justifies being on my ears. I always take steps to avoid the dreaded buyers remorse. For the most part, my preparation pays off. Most people write, “I really wanted to like this…” I want to say that my preparation succeeded. Best advice to anyone wanting to buy this product is to ignore the ‘name brand’ and go out and try the alternatives in person first. I ignored this advice, and may be returning this set for something else in a matter of days.
17 people found this helpful
C. C. Black –
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Frustrating Machine
In spite of its hefty price, I selected this product for two reasons. (1) I am the happy owner of two older Sennheiser headphones. (2) This instrument was pitched as a perfect apparatus for the hard of hearing.After two weeks of fumbling with the RS 195 RF, here’s my report (07.07.22):1. Instruction booklet and quick-start guides: clear in multiple languages (mainly English, German, and French) with helpful illustrations. However, this apparatus has so many built-in gizmos that I nearly feel as though I need a degree from MIT to figure it all out.2. Easy set-up and connection with my plasma TV and a Blu-Ray player. After hours of experimentation I still cannot get it to connect to an auxiliary Bose DVD player. For the life of me I can’t figure out the problem. While the set comes with multiple plugs for American, British, and European outlets, Sennheiser neglected to include a simple, six-buck adaptor to connect an RCA plug to 3.5 mim sockets. Sheesh.3. Initial charging of headphones (sixteen hours): tricky. The handbook says you can rest the headphones in either direction atop the transmitting unit. I did not find this so, and for eight-hour of recharging I still don’t. I can make a secure connection by resting the headphones in only one direction.4. Comfort of headphones: I’d say 5 on a 10-point scale. These suckers are heavier than my predecessor Sennheisers. Their firmness around the head, cupping the ears, do create a secure fit.5. Blockage of ambient noise: in my case excellent, but I’m almost deaf as a fence post anyway.6. Ease of use: Oh, boy. Here it gets confusing. First, you must make sure that an inconveniently located toggle is switched to your preferred (in my case, only) setting: digital or analog. Second, I’m having major issues with volume control. It’s too complicated to try explaining here, but, basically, you have to fiddle with buttons on both the transmitter and the headset, neither of which is especially easy to find. Even when boosted to what I can identify so far as the highest volume level, I still must wear my hearing aids. That shouldn’t be the case, especially given instructions that caution against excessive volume that can damage your hearing.7. The transmitter comes tricked out with rotary knobs for adjusting balance and preferences for listening to speech or music. The first seems to me needless; the second, superfluous. My hearing is so rotten I can’t tell the slightest difference among a half-dozen gradations, allegedly engineeered to a person’s “listening profile.”8. For both more than I wanted and less than I expected, I’ve paid over four hundred simoleons. At this writing I honestly don’t know whether the unit is defective or its user is too stupid to operate it. I’ve consulted several YouTube videos for additional help.I have one week left to decide if I’m going to return this unit.If you’re interested, stay tuned (no pun intended).REVIEW REVISITED (07.10.22): Before the window closes on my refunded return of this product in five days, I have continued to experiment with these headphones. I have corrections to make in an earlier report and updates on what I have encountered. I want to be fair to the manufacturer and true to my experience.1. INSTRUCTIONS: The enclosed booklets are clear enough for basic installation. However, I have found on YouTube a more helpful, five-minute Sennheiser guide for the RS 195. Since I’ve found that Amazon frowns on insertions of links to other websites, just scrounge YouTube. Your should it find it. Make sure, however, that you locate the video for the RS 195 model. Its instructions are very clear.2. SET-UP: For basic digital capability—installation of the Sennheiser unit to digital input of a TV of fairly recent vintage—you should encounter no problems. Just remove the plastic protectors at either end of the insert jacks, keep turning until you find the properly secure inserts, and you should be good to go.After too many of hour of experimentation with simultaneous connection of the unit to a Bose DVD player that uses 3.5 mm. connections, I still cannot get the headphones to connect to it. C’est la vie—but beware.3. CHARGING AND RECHARGING: My previous report was incorrect, and I apologize to Sennheiser. I can now rest the headphone in either direction on the transmitter (base) cradle, and they will recharge—IF I have made a firm connection between the two components. The trick is is not to be careless and simply lay the one atop the other. One unit has rows of tiny spindles, intended to be securely seated into small receptacles. Make sure that you have that firm fit, and you should be fine.BTW: Although I haven’t tried the alternative, I believe this unit accepts regular AA bateries, which in time are depleted, as well as rechargeable batteries whose energy is replenished over hours of use.4. COMFORT OF HEADPHONES: I’ll stand by my original assessment, with some caveats. These are heavier than average. Possibly the manufacturer could have built more cushioning into the earpieces and the headrest itself. On the other hand, over hours of use I’ve grown accustomed to them and don’t notice the weight. And there’s an upside to a heavier headphone: once securely cupped around head and ears, it’s unlikely that they will wiggle out of place. It’s a very snug fit but not torturously so.5. BLOCKAGE OF AMBIENT NOISE: Again I stand by my original evaluation, primarily because of my own hearing problems. Would these headphone block out the shrieks of a newborn? Beats me. Unless you vacate the premises for a moment, I doubt anything would, but that’s a test you must make for yourself.6. EASE OF USE AND VOLUME CONTROL: After experimentation, I’m now more pleased than when I wrote up my original report yet still not entire satisfied. Basically I’ve found that, when using the headphones to watch TV, the volume is just right for me. By way of the digital hookup, their use doesn’t cut out the sound from the TV speakers for the benefit of those watching with me. Where I encounter diminished volume is in playing my Blu-ray unit, and it may be that I need to fiddle it with it to make certain that ITS audio is boosted to the max.One oddity I have noticed: when I fiddle with the rotary knobs on the transmitter, which allegedly tailor the unit to personal hearing (say, turn a knob to the left for more base, to the right for more treble), the volume dwindles. I don’t think that should happen, but my unit does. For those whose hearing is not as impaired as mine, you may not experience that. For myself, I’ve decided just to leave the balance and knobs at 12 o’clock, the manufacturer’s preset, positions, and leave them alone.7. COST: At this writing it still hasn’t come down. As Sennheiser continues to issue new generations of this unit, its price will probably decrease. At this writing, they are expensive.8. RETURN WINDOW: I didn’t address this issue at first, but I will now. Unless, unlike me, you use this apparatus 24/7 and can detect problems quickly, the window for refundable return is not generous. If offered, consider purchasing a reasonably priced, extended warranty, to protect yourself.CONCLUSIONS: Will I keep or return these? Unless more problems (say, audio-dropouts) occur in the next few days, I’m inclined to keep them. They’re operating well enough for my needs, and it’s a pain in the patootie to return a sizable product like this. Months down the road I may realize that my decision was a mistake, but I’m trusting that Sennheiser quality will finally prevail, if I can coax all my entertainment components to cooperate with one another.ON THE OTHER HAND: If you suffer sever hearing loss, I cannot recommend these headphones. I remain somewhat disappointed; you may be very disappointed. And the darn things are still too pricey. Had I visited a brick-and-mortar store and experimented with different units, I’m pretty sure I could have exited with a better set of my headphones for my personal needs at about half the price. That being the case, for now I’m sticking with a 3/5 rating for this product: not bad, not great, and poor value for money.FINAL UPDATE (07.13.22): I gave up and returned this product two days ago. For those with good hearing, they may be five-star fine. For me, with considerable hearing loss, they were 1-star unacceptable. On average that’s a 2.5, rounded down for the toil and inconvenience.
56 people found this helpful
Dborges –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excelente
Excelente, buen precio
Jerry A. –
3.0 out of 5 stars
may not be what you are looking for
i have had this headphone rig for a few weeks now and my first impressions are that if you are struggling with the onset of hearing difficulties this product may not be what you are looking for. in my situation i have the rs195 dac/transmitter/processor/charger connected via optical cable to a lg smart flat panel tv. at start up you have to make sure that the tv’s audio output is set to PCM, i did this setup procedure and followed the headphone manual in regard to preparing the headphones for use. all steps completed, tv and headphones on and i was hearing a very weak output from the headset with the volume on the headset at max output. i tried several different combinations of processing, tried increasing the tv’s volume and nothing i tried seemed to increase the headphone output to the point that i could easily hear the tv sound. i checked the package the headphones came in and sure enough the box stated that the output of the headphones is 117db. speaking from experience 117db should have been far louder than what i was hearing. so i took out my realistic model 33-2050 sound pressure meter to measure what the actual max sound pressure was. the meter was used on the “C” weighted flat scale, with the meters microphone place next to the headphone drivers output the meter read between 55db to 60db, changing processing on the base did not yield any measurable improvement.also noticed was that the sound continually dropped out on the headphones for a second or two while the tv speakers continued to play uninterrupted. this sound interruption on the headphone was very annoying. i gave up at that point thinking that some of the poor reviews i read were true.a few days later i tried again, when i put the headphone on i was disappointed again, they just were not loud enough especially since they are advertised for people with hearing loss. as i was listening i tried pressing the ear cups tighter to my head to see if that helped, while i was doing that all of a sudden the volume increased noticeably. i released the pressure on the ear cups and the volume stayed at the increased level. i looked at the processor/charger/base and noticed all leds with regard to signal processing were off. i then realized what i had done when holding the headset tight to my ears was turn off all signal processing. without this processing the volume jumps up to a reasonable level for someone that has hearing loss. it could be louder and is not at 117db, but it was much better. the headphone sound interruption was still present and annoying as heck.a few days latter i thought perhaps a source other than tv might have a effect on the sound interruptions i was experiencing. there was a dvd player connected to the tv so rather than use a tv station terrestrial signal as source i used the dvd player as the source. big improvement, no more interruption in headphone sound. my best guess is that slight interruptions in tv rf signals are compensated in the tv’s internal sound output to its speakers but not to its optical output. since there are no interruptions in input signal with the dvd player the sound out of the headphones is not interrupted.so if you are at the onset of hearing loss and looking for a headset that you can play as loud as you want while your significant other turns down the tv’s volume level in the room because of their sensitive hearing this may not be the headphones for you. if you decide to try them you may find by defeating the signal processing brings the volume to a more reasonable level.
16 people found this helpful
Vincent T. Lynch –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely pleased
For several years now I have been using a set of SONY wireless headphones, and was very satisfied with the sound quality, but mild hearing loss it was sometimes an issue. And lately the foam around the headphones was beginning to deteriorate. So I looked into replacement headphones, but found nothing from SONY in the similar style. Then I happened upon these Sennheiser headphones. Best sound I’ve ever heard in headphones, and they have 2 volume levels, one specifically designed for the hard of hearing. I’m really impressed. Not at all difficult to set up…but then again I was just replacing my previous set-up, so for me it was essentially plug-and-play. The one thing I dislike is that — at least to me — they don’t readily set well in the cradle for recharging. The only downside I’ve seen so far.
5 people found this helpful
Pat S. –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Uncomfortable
I’ve been using Sennheiser wireless headphones for 3 decades, and this is the most uncomfortable headset, and that was not a problem at all with previous models. It’s too tight, and goes down too far on my neck. I thought it might stretch out, but it has not. I added rings of foam pipe to the top, raising it up gets it off my neck, but it’s still too tight, and I have a small head, most headsets are too large for me. The 180 model was THE MOST COMFORTABLE headset ever! and I wish I could get another one of those, but it’s discontinued. The extra volume controls on the 195 are unimpressive, and I’d gladly go back to the 180 model if I could.
3 people found this helpful
Bertram28Bertram28 –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great objective but compromised
I purchased the RS 195 thru Amazon 6/2017. I do not use it often; only, when I’m having difficulty hearing TV dialog. Can’t now find an owner’s manual, not even at their online web site.I do enjoy the “personalized sound” options that help counteract my tinnitus. I also enjoy the sound quality for general TV listening only. I’m using an optical digital audio connection to the RS 195 from my Oppo UDP-205 Blu-ray that I also route my DirecTV thru for video upscaling.No issues with the wireless connection range or battery life (rated for 18 hours).But there are compromises with this product even though it’s the $350 top of its line for this type headphone.Ah, I shouldn’t have expected great music clarity from a wireless device so my bad on that.Mine is not firmware updated since my 6/2017 purchase. Amazon started shipping in Jan of 2015 and my guess is that product development stopped with that. Sennheiser develops its sound processing technology with Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT. I’m not aware of any methodology to update firmware for the RS 195. Another egregious over-sight (firmware updatable & web site manual availability).Sound pressure is another issue with me (tinnitus). It is rated at 117 dB at 1kHz, 3% THD. Very hard to accept that rating. I end up a max volume nearly all the time and wanting more; with music especially that never seems to have much bass. My Focal Clear alternative headphones sound better and louder rated at 104dB SPL/1mW @ 1kHz with a 55-ohm impedance and same frequency range (not compromised by wireless technology.)Without the manual or looking at the charging device when I wear the RS 195 wirelessly, I have no clue which of the A – G processing modes I’m in; so I just keep tapping the mode button on the right earpiece till it sounds better than the other six options. There is a name for each mode; but “A – G” is all that is on the charger.My final criticism is the flimsy ear cover pad covering (see photo). With little use, the pad cover is shredding; presumably from unshaven beard stubble. Good that there is replacement “OP – RS 195 ear cushions” available for a mere $31.95 plus sales tax but free shipping. I’ve had other Sennheiser over the ear headphones but don’t recall any shredding of the ear pad.
21 people found this helpful
David Douglas –
1.0 out of 5 stars
Should have been great; but, were not
I ordered both the RS175 ans then RS195. I Listened to them and tested them against each other. This is My conclusion. Most of the many reviews of these two seemingly fine headphones against each other point to the RS195 as the clear winner. I Myself could not see for the extra money that the 197s were better. I found them more complicated to use with the added controls knobs. I also was not able to determine that these controls actually did much of anything to improve or even change the quality of the sound. Both headsets seem to be nearly identical and both headsets fit very confortably. In My opinion, The best bet for Your money would be the purchase of the 195s. I like the 195s very much! The sound quality is great and I really enjoyed the bass boost which was great and which the 197s do not have. The volume was one of the largest factors of difference I found. The 195s can be adjusted up to a very loud level. The 197s are very weak in volume, and the top threshold is quickly reached. I also did not like the fact that when an adjustment is made to adjust the sound quality with the knobs and extra buttons, the volume goes to nearly zero which them requires another readjustment to ge the volume back up the level it was originally. I have returned the 197s. Get the 195s and You won’t be sorry. The other many reviews I listened to and read seem to be correct. In My opinion, The 195s beat the 197s by a mile. It’s also nice that 195s are cheaper. The 197s need to be reengineered and improvements made to justify their higher cost, or removed from production.
One person found this helpful
EBOB –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Improves dialogue, but…
I have used Sennheiser RS180 headphones for watching TV for five years.. Although they are still good as new, after a week of research I thought I would try upgrading to the RS 195 to take advantage of the hearing-assist and different sound modes. As a result of my research and trial, I learned several things about my relationship with headphones for use with the TV. CLOSED AIR: Over the ear closed-end headphones are too isolating for me — Even though these are not noise-cancelling, I can’t hear the doorbell, the phone, or my wife, even when there is no signal. Endangering my marriage is a deal killer. Not to mention safety issues when I am home alone watching TV. Any replacement over the ear headphones must be open-air, like my 180s.SPEECH ENHANCING MODE: This depresses music and ambient sounds in favor of dialogue. It works. Dialogue is in fact much clearer which could be an important feature for the hearing impaired who don’t like to use closed captions. But the signal appears to drop the stereo effect. The voices sound like they are coming from the center of your head – in effect, a monaural signal. The music track, although softer, can still be heard, but it is unnatural and distorted. If I can hear music, I prefer it to sound natural. The result is annoying.SOUND MODES: These appear to me to be nothing more than simple treble or bass boosts. That may be useful to some, but for me, the default selection is balanced enough.VOLUME LIMIT: I thought the volume limit described in several reviews here would not be a problem for me, because I use a powerful receiver as my sound source rather than a TV. Much to my surprise, I could not boost the volume above a certain level, no matter how high I turned up the volume on the receiver. Perhaps this is due to an automatic volume control on the headphones, a feature ostensibly designed to protect hearing. If so perhaps there is a way to disable it. But I found it curious that on a set specifically designed for hearing impaired there was a problem with getting the volume beyond a certain (arbitrary?) level. It was loud enough for me, but it might not be for some.BOTTOM LINE: Primarily because of the closed end feature, I returned the195s. I will stay with my 180s for now. When it’s time to replace them, I might move up to the 185s, which are open-air and probably similar to the 180s.
13 people found this helpful
Pikay –
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing degradation in sound quality from earlier model
I needed to replace my Sennheiser RS 180s, which finally gave up the ghost after 6 years … so came to Amazon to find (of course) that they have been discontinued. Well, that’s okay, I figured … after all, the sound and comfort of those 180s were great, but the volume controls were hopelessly difficult to operate by feel. I assumed the redesign would solve this problem, and it has. The new controls on the phones are easy to find and distinguish by feel .. a real improvement. And the ear cushions on the 195 model are much easier to twist off for battery replacement (without breaking the hidden and very fragile/brittle plastic clip) than they were on the 180s.However.So far, the deal-breaker for me is that I find the overall sound to be a significant downgrade … tinny, somehow compressed, not nearly as rich/full spectrum, somehow. This model offers multiple listening “modes” … some seem designed to cut out certain frequencies and thereby suppress “background” noise (e.g., music, environmental sounds) with the intent of making dialogue clearer. This works insofar as cutting out the extra sound prevents some inevitable masking of dialogue. However, the quality of what remains sounds itself thin and reduced.I tried all of the modes available and found that the “music” mode sounds the fullest … but even that mode does not produce sound quality that compares to that of my previous Sennheiser model. If you have some trouble hearing and are looking for phones that will allow you to isolate and increase the volume of dialogue, these may help you. If you don’t have a hearing problem and are looking for headphones that will provide rich, balanced sound, you may be disappointed in these.In other aspects … to me, the replacement of my earlier model’s velour cushions with leather (or leatherette, not sure which) is surprisingly less comfortable, particularly in the head band. Moreover, the phones are much bulkier, on and off the charging stand, than the 180s were, and they don’t slip on and off the stand at all easily, as the 180s did … this headset takes up much more room, and some serious finagling and wiggling is required to get the phones sufficiently seated on the stand to make charging contact for the batteries.I’ll play with these some more tomorrow, and update my review if my second impressions are more favorable than the first … but so far, I don’t like these nearly as much as my 180s, in spite of the control design improvement. Unless I stumble upon some secret to better sound tomorrow, I’ll be returning these. The sound quality is just not worth the downgrade in comfort and charging convenience, and the improvements in control placement/design aren’t sufficient to make up for these minuses. I’ve already gone to eBay to track down a “new” set of the discontinued 180s and purchased them, since I assume they’ll only be harder to find from this point on.On a final note, I hope Sennheiser hasn’t given up permanently on its very comfortable velour ear cushions, which I’ve enjoyed in many of their professional monitoring headphones over the years. I’m a long-time Sennheiser fan and customer, and my less-than-enthusiastic feelings about these headphones won’t prevent me from trying more Sennheiser products in future.
42 people found this helpful
Dennis A. Pratt –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Headset!
Great sound quality. Initially had trouble with the sound cutting out, but went online to find a solution for that …had to …since Sennheiser customer service was too busy to bother answering my question. Once I discovered the solution to the problem, all was well. Only negative is the difficulty in fitting headset onto the charger. Someone should rethink the design on that. But, all in all, a really excellent piece of equipment. This thing is pricey, but so much better than the cheaper models.
One person found this helpful
Dennis –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth the money
Got these for my mom who has hearing problems and she loves them especially as they function as she moves around the house.
One person found this helpful
Electronics Eng. from MA –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Headphones that Help Dialog Understanding When Needed
1. ECHO — Echo [apparent when TV volume is up] cited by others is sometimes a bit annoying. This did not happen with the Sony r.f. [radio frequency] RF headphones I formerly used . Turning down the TV helps but this is a limited fix if you don’t want other viewers in the room attacking you. These units are sold with a promise to improve speech intelligibility for those with hearing problems, which they do admirably. The delay might well be due to the signal processing done to accomplish this speech intelligibility improvement.2. CLOSED HEADSET — The headphones surround and enclose the ears [soft padded cushions rest on skull] rather than resting on the ears or inserting in the ear canal. The good news is that they block ambient noise [washing machines, other audio sources, background noise, teenagers] and don’t irritate the ears themselves. The bad news is that some may find them a bit warm in the summer or when wearing them for a long time. This is not a product fault but just a characteristic of this style of headphone. Basically it’s a matter of taste and personal preference, but I find they enhance the audio experience and fidelity [when not using the signal processing which enhances speech intelligibility at the necessary expense of some fidelity].3. NET-NET — I’d recommend them to a friend. I feel that they are well designed technically to do what they promise, are well build and sturdy, and improve my audio experience [I have some diminished low and high frequency hearing loss — as people age, they naturally lose increasing amounts of high frequency sensitivity, which makes distinguishing some consonants – like b,c,d,f,p,s,t for example – difficult, thus making speech intelligibility problematic, especially in the presence of background noise or foreign accents]. Aging is not for wimps, but then again being an “elder” is an honor that understandably takes work.Cheers.
7 people found this helpful