| Don't let a sleeping family keep you from your new action adventure movie, DTS 5.1 concert, or online video game tournament by setting up these Pioneer wireless surround sound headphones. The SE-DIR800C phones, which connect to any 5.1-channel source--including a DVD player, game console, digital cable box, or satellite receiver--are equipped with Dolby Headphone technology, which produces up to five virtual loudspeakers in your head by directing and reflecting the sound from each channel. The effect is a stunning surround experience, far more dimensional than with typical headphones, and, some say, even better than with a high-performance surround speaker system. The audio is natural sounding and doesn't cause "listener fatigue" as do many other headphones. The phones also work with a variety of surround formats, including Dolby Digital, DTS, and Dolby Surround. Most conveniently, the SE-DIR800C phones are completely cordless. The small wireless transmitter connects to your source (DVD player, game console, etc.) and broadcasts a clear, strong signal via infrared technology to the headphones. Thanks to the wireless technology, you won't snag a headphone cord on furniture, your dog, your glasses, or anything else. The phones feature a trio of "virtual room" presets from which to choose. The options actually reproduce the sound of a playback system in up to three different listening environments based on the acoustic measurements of real rooms. The small room setting (DH1) re-creates a small, well-damped room with very little reverberation that's perfect for both movies and music-only recordings, while the medium room (DH2) is a more acoustically live (or "wet") room that's well suited to both formats as well (with moderate reverberation). Meanwhile, the large room setting (DH3) offers a bigger sound, more like the audio within a concert hall or movie theater. A final bonus stems from the onboard volume control. With a volume dial on the headphone itself, users can easily turn up the audio without getting out of the chair. The SE-DIR800C phones, which offer a transmission range of up to 26 feet, are an ideal choice for folks who live in busy households where people go to sleep early, or for anyone who wants a little audio privacy while watching movies or listening to music. The phones are backed by a 90-day warranty on parts and labor. What's in the Box
Wireless headphones, transmitter, rechargeable AA batteries, charger, coaxial digital cable, two-way stand, user's manual. |
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 The solution |
| Review Date: March 22, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Astral Traveler, Englewood, CO |
I had purchased an inexpensive Sony home theater in a box system that was a pretty nice system for the money spent. But I found myself with problems that had nothing to do with the quality of the system. As I watched movies, I was bothered by various ambient noises from my apartment... street noises, the people upstairs, water running through pipes, the hum of the refrigerator, etc. And, if I was hearing noises from the outside, it's a pretty good bet that people on the outside can hear what's coming from inside. So, I needed a solution, and it seemed the mutually beneficial solution was headphones. Unfortunately, while my HT receiver has a headphone jack, it only outputs 2 channel stereo sound, and it seems like a waste to have to rely on that when I have a system capable of outputting 5.1 channel sound. Doing some research I realized there was no way to get surround sound through headphones with the equipment I had, even if I purchased expensive headphones. In fact, many tech-savvy posters on message boards scoffed at the notion of headphones producing surround sound altogether. Fortunately, they are mistaken.
In my research I found out about Dolby Headphone technology and read about the Pioneer SE-DIR800C. Dolby Headphone technology treats the sounds from different channels in a way to make it sound like it's coming from different directions, the directions they would be coming from in a traditional 5.1 based speaker set up. I had heard the effect for myself with cheap stereo headphones and was not overwhelmed. But since the reviews of the Pioneer system were all so good, I decided to blow my tax return on them.
What this Pioneer system does, based entirely on the movie watching experience, is everything I needed. The simulation of surround sound is completely convincing. So much so that I have a hard time believing its simulated. The headphones are well designed, lightweight and comfortable and do a great job of keeping out sound. I've watched several movies so far with them, and often the sounds of the movie are all I can hear through the length of the film... a far cry when I watch movies with my speaker based system. Invariably you forget you are listening to headphones and lose yourself in the film, if you are watching a good film. The sound is clear and open, and the bass is deep, though it can't recreate the effect of an earth shaking subwoofer. But it's such a joy to have the volume cranked up without worrying about disturbing anyone. There are some minor inconveniences with the design of the unit... there's no outputs or remote, for example... but that wouldn't be a problem if you had a separate receiver with an output and remote... just have a single digital output going from your HT receiver to the pioneer receiver and you can still control all your inputs with the HT receiver remote. I wouldn't have minded using a wired headphone but this wireless set is flawless for watching movies (if you're listening to music and want to walk around you'll lose the signal if you leave the room).
The Pioneer receiver has a separate headphone jack, so if you have one friend over (or two perhaps, with a headphone splitter), they can listen. Since I have no headphones as nice as the wireless ones included in the set, I'm not sure if high end headphones plugged into a Dolby Headphones processing jack would be as effective as these headphones. If I didn't already have a speaker based HT system, I might have considered looking for one that has Dolby Headphones processing and purchasing a pair of expensive, high end headphones. But since I already had a system, purchasing this Pioneer system was less expensive (though expensive none the less) and offers me everything I could have possible needed. There is one problem with the headphones... you might get spoiled. After using them I saw a movie in a theater with great DTS sound. But I could hear people whispering, eating popcorn, sucking down the last of their sodas, and a man with respiratory problems, and I found myself wishing I could have been using these headphones in the theater.
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Excellent Choice
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| Review Date: December 28, 2006 |
| Reviewer: James Igoe, NY, NY |
I had several high quality products to choose from, but primarily this one along with sets from Amphony. Our home is heavily electronicized, with several 5.4 Ghz products, wireless networking and a phone system, and we live in a high density metropolitan area, so I opted for infrared (IR) transmission since it cannot be interfered with like radio-frequency (RF) systems.
Overall, the experience has been exceptional:
- The quality of the audio is wonderful, and there are user-selectable settings for ambience and material.
- I'm using the analog input for the input from my receiver, and the optical input for the output from my 24" iMac; the optical input requires specialty cables, as does the coaxial input.
- Reception is excellent, although it worsens if I sit 90 degrees off center; our unit is on a swiveled TV, minimizing this kind of problem.
- I am tall, with a fairly large head, but the fit of the headphones has been very good, as well as feeling fairly light, and I have had no issues with comfort.
- We use rechargeable batteries around the home, and the unit uses AA batteries, as well as comes with high-quality Sony rechargeable batteries and a built-in recharger.
- Reviews from several online sources were very positive, the only middling review from a self-professed audiophile who preferred the Amphony headset.
Cons (minor):
- Replacing the batteries is a little cumbersome, as I require a small prop, like a letter opener, to pop out the batteries.
- Unlike RF headphones, you can walk outside the range of these, either via walking far away, or by walking into another room, but that is the primary issue with this type of headphone, and I bought it with the awareness. |
After Two Months, I finally recieved my headphones.
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| Review Date: February 12, 2007 |
| Reviewer: The Aqua Snake, Vilseck, Germany (Stationed |
My headphones were lost during shipment and they re-shipped them again but that's a different matter.
My roomate has these headphones as well, so the time I didn't receive my headphones, I was using his. So I had two months of testing for this review.
Comfort: Like you've heard time and time again, these headphones are very comfortable. There very light, and has a headband that rest and streches on top of your head in which adjusts to all types of head sizes.
Convenience: The wireless feature is a huge plus, and is the main contributor to the convenience factor. The transmitter emits an infrared signal in which the headphones pick up. The sensor on the headphones is located on the left side of the headphones, as well as the battery compartment with on/off switch. The volume control dial is on the right side. The transmitter sends the infared signal in a cone shaped direction with the infared cone zone reaching 3 meters wide (Which is 60 Degrees) and a range of 8 meters.
You heard me mention that my roomate has a pair of these headphones as well. There's a positive and negative side of the infared technology. The positive side is like me you and someone else has a pair of these headphones. If for example I was playing Gears of War on Xbox 360 with my headphones, my friend would be able to jump in with his headphones as well. You can share the same wireless headset on one transmitter, but I have yet to determine if you can share another different brand of wireless headphones which are infared compatable.
The downside is if I'm using my own headphones and reciever, and he's using his own too, then there would be a conflict with the infared beams crossing one another. Since I mentioned earlier that the transmitter emits the infared in a cone shaped direction, you would have to adjust and ensure that you are inside your infared cone zone and vice versa with your roomate. If your headphones overlaps both transmitters then you will pick up either yours or his signal.
The headphones include two Ni-MH "AA" batteries in which the transmitter has a battery compartment so you can charge your batteries. Charge times consits of...
Charging Time = Usage time
2 Hours = Approx. 4 Hours
10 Hours = Approx. 16 Hours
These batteries takes a max of 10 Hours to charge. When it's done charging the charge light will go out. The batteries have only about 15 minutes of juice out of the box so remember to charge them when you first open the package.
The headphones includes a verticle stand for the transmitter for those with not enough room on the desk or wherever.
Oh, there's no holdster for the headphones so store the headphones in a safe place.
Input/Outputs:
The transmitter has one AV input, one Coaxial input (Coaxial Cable included), and one Fiber Optic input. There's one output for an extra set of wired headphones. You can plug the Xbox 360's (Or any other system's) fiber optic output directly to the Input fiber optic port of the transmitter.
The AC adapter of the transmitter is 110 Voltage only (No Dual Voltage), so it's made for american outlets only.
Sound: The headphones are compatable with Dolby Digital 5.1 (Duh...), DTS, and Dolbly Pro Logic II. The sound is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. You definately have surround sound with these headphones. You definately can't go wrong with these headphones. The sound can leak out of the headphones if played at the maximum volume level.
Final Verdict: These headphones may be expensive, but they are definately worth the money. Never have I heard headphones that sound this good.
I give my highest recommendation.
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Flawless
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| Review Date: August 26, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Digiguy, Denver, CO USA |
| Wireless, great sound. They use InfraRed instead of radio, so there is absolutely no statis. Surround sound is great. |
Simply put, worth the money.*
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| Review Date: December 29, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Monsoon777, Mahtomedi, MN |
*Major update below
These sound incredible. Seriously. Every time I watch a movie they continue to impress me. Even my wife who is not so "particular" about digital toys loves them. They are twice as much as other name brand headsets, but these are definately worth the money. Sound so much better than my corded Sony V-600's. I spent hours trying to find a set that could replace my need for playing my Bose Acoustimass 15 set and Yamaha receiver ($2400 in audio eqiuipment). (Once you have a child you can't enjoy some things at night),I also need a good set of phones for my XBOX 360. Let's just say Rainbow 6 never sounded so good. You can tell where people are so well, because the sound seperation is incredible. The bass is very good, but if you're spoiled like me you're still going to miss "feeling" the bass in your stomach from huge (or well designed) subwoofers. In fact it's strange to hear good bass without feeling it physically. But for headphones, especially cordless, I couldn't be happier with the sound and bass. (Wish I had them when I was apartment dwelling). Would have saved me some trouble :) Hookup is as easy as possible. Plug it in, and use an fiber optic cable from your dvd player/receiver or whatever player you want to use, in my case an XBOX360. (Can't believe anyone can't figure this out). Other inputs are also avaiable.
Only thing I really wish they came with a stand for the headphones. The transmitter is sleek and compact, but it would be nice to not lay the phones down...
These use AA's and have a built in charger. I think they are rechargable Enegizers just re labeled "Pioneer". Because they are just like them. They last a long time too. Plus I'm heavily vested because of all the toys in our house already use rechageable Energizer AAs.
One bit of advice, because the unit aleady does a bit of magic with the digital signal coming in and sending it to the headphones, I've found that using the audio track "Dolby Digital Stereo" sounds a bit better than the "DTS EX" or "Dolby Digital 5.1" tracks. It's a bit counter intuitive, but try it yourself and see what you think. Also you'll probably need a second pair once you get them. My wife and I just watched the LOTR trilogy, and we were just smilin' over the sound! (and we didn't wake the baby). We bought a second system, as you will find getting a second pair of headphones alone isn't that easy, and isn't that much cheaper than getting a second system. (we'll use that in our theatre room, once it's done). You can plug in a corded set into the front of the unit and use the wireless at the same time. You will be a little surprised that your corded phones sound better than you're used to.. but not as good as the wireless. Good luck!
*Just this week one of these broke. Right under where the swivel headphone connects to the headpiece two little plastic pieces broke from fatigue. I simply removed them and they broke. Right now I am waiting to see what pioneer will do for me, as it has been a little over two months since I bought these. I caution you all that these are amazing for sound, but a design flaw seriously makes these difficult to recommend unless you are willing to really baby them (and I did).
** I did get my headphone fixed after having to pay for shipping. All has been good so far with the other set I own. I just hope they don't break again especially after the warranty is done.
*** Been 2 years. Still uses these often with no issues, and I still love them. |
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