Product Description

Don't let your headphones cramp your style... go wireless, and roam free. Sony's MDR-RF960RK 900 MHz RF Wirless Headphones have a transmission range of 150 feet, allowing you to move about your house or yard without missing a beat (or word). The 900 MHz radio frequency delivers high quality sound, and the 30mm driver units provide deeper bass, lower distortion and a wider dynamic range.These lightweight headphones are easily recharged by placing them on the transmitter, and the package includes rechargeable NiMH batteries. The MDR-RF960RK come with automatic tuning for optimal reception of signal.

Product Details

• Brand: Sony
• Model: MDRRF960RK
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 6.00" h x 6.50" w x 13.00" l, 1.84 pounds

Features

• RF wireless headphone system using FM transmission system
• Up to 150-foot transmission range with auto frequency tuning/reception
• Lightweight closed-type headphones with 30 mm drive units for deep bass; volume control on headphones; automatic on/off headphone function
• Self-adjusting headband for precise and comfortable fit
• Up to 24 hours battery life using 2 AAA batteries; includes 2 NiMH rechargeable batteries with up to 15 hours' use

Amazon.com Product Description
The Sony 900 MHz RF Wireless Headphones with Auto Tuning have a range of up to 150 feet, letting you roam about inside or outside while still enjoying your music. The featured 30 mm drivers provide a wide dynamic range with less distortion and deeper bass, and the single NiMH battery, which can be recharged by simply putting the headphones on the transmitter, can last for 20 hours. Automatic tuning ensures optimal signal reception, a self-adjusting headband fits snugly but comfortably, and a rotary volume control makes it easy to adjust sound. You can manually adjust the tuning on the closed-type headphones themselves, and the 900 MHz frequency gives sound accuracy and a broad range. The headphones' diaphragms ensure high rigidity with minimum distortion as well as low mass for excellent high-frequency response.

What's in the Box
Headphones, charging base/transmitter, AC adapter, connecting cord, and UniMatch plug adapter.

From the Manufacturer
Don't let your headphones cramp your style... go wireless, and roam free. Sony's MDR-RF960RK 900 MHz RF Wirless Headphones have a transmission range of 150 feet, allowing you to move about your house or yard without missing a beat (or word). The 900 MHz radio frequency delivers high quality sound, and the 30mm driver units provide deeper bass, lower distortion and a wider dynamic range.

These lightweight headphones are easily recharged by placing them on the transmitter, and the package includes rechargeable NiMH batteries. The MDR-RF960RK come with automatic tuning for optimal reception of signal.

Features

• Double Headband with self-adjusting mechanism conforms to the curve of your head for a fit that stays comfortable even during extended listening sessions.
• Volume Control is rotary type for easy, convenient adjustment.
• 3 Transmission Channels help ensure optimum signal reception; convenient tuning control on headphones.
• Automatic Power On/Off for both headphones and transmitter conserves battery life; transmitter turns on when it senses an input signal; headphones turn on when you place them on your head.
• Automatic Tuning on Headphones for best reception of signal.
• Complete Kit supplied, includes transmitter, headphones, connecting cord, UniMatch plug adapter and AC power supply.
• Supplied Connecting Cord goes directly to headphone output of your high fidelity system for easy connection to hi-fi system, TV or VCR.
• Wireless design lets you move inside and outside your house and still enjoy music and TV sound, and lets you turn up the volume late at night without disturbing others.
• 150 Foot Transmission Range for listening enjoyment upstairs, downstairs, virtually everywhere in your home and outside in your backyard.
• 900 MHz Radio Frequency (RF) Transmission provides better sound quality and greater range than earlier wireless systems, and uses the same advanced technology as 900MHz cordless telephones.
• Mute Function helps eliminate noise through the headphones and cuts out the sound when no audio signal is available
• 30mm Diameter Driver Units are larger than many portable headphones for deeper bass, lower distortion and wider dynamic range; low frequency response extends down to 20Hz.
• PET diaphragms ensure high rigidity for minimum distortion, and low mass for excellent high-frequency response.
• Ferrite Magnets combine high energy and small size for ample sound output.
• Comfortable closed type headphone system fit securely for maximum frequency response reception.
• FM Transmission System resists static and distortion for higher fidelity; convenient sliding selector control on the side of the transmitter.
• Easy Rechargeable Battery System automatically charges the headphones when placed onto the transmitter.
• Included NiMH rechargable batteries are more convenient than ordinary replaceable batteries, and when fully charged provide up to 20 hours of operating power.

Customer Reviews

If you have problems, try reading the instructions.
I wanted a set of wireless headphones to use with my home theater system so that I could watch movies while our baby was asleep. I chose these because they appeared to be the best set that was in stock at Best Buy. Overall, I'd say they are a good set of headphones. It should be noted that no analog wireless headphones will ever sound as good as a comparable set of wired headphones. If you keep this in mind, you won't be as disappointed.

I would like to address some solutions to some of the negative points that were brought up in earlier reviews. If you have problems with these headphones, try reading the instructions. There are many ways to improve your listening experience.

1) Static problems -- If you're plugged into the headphone jack of your receiver and you get static, try turning up the volume on your receiver to the point just before it becomes distorted. Then adjust the volume to a comfortable listening level using the volume control on the headphones. This enables a higher gain signal from the receiver which will override some of the static.

2) Auto Tuning -- Yes, the transmitter does have a channel selector on it, but this does not mean that it's manual tuning. The selector simply sets the range of frequencies you want to use. The headphones themselves have an autotuner built into them which fine tunes the signal. I've found that this works just as advertised.

3) Turning them On and Off -- The off/on switch of these headphones is built into the adjustable head-strap. As long as you're not wearing the headphones (or otherwise engaging the head-strap) then the headphones will be turned off. When not in use, it is best to return the headphones to the charging base. It will automatically stop charging the batteries when they have reached a full charge. The batteries are nickel-metal-hydride (as opposed to Ni-Cad), so you don't have to worry about fully discharging them before charging the batteries to avoid the memory effect.

4) Batteries -- Yes, Sony provides proprietary batteries with these headphones, but if you ever need to replace them, it is not absolutely necessary to use their batteries. The headphones will accept standard AAA batteries; however, in order to be able to recharge the batteries you must use the nickel-metal-hydride variety instead of Ni-Cad.

In summary, these headphones will not disappoint as long as you recognize the limitations of analog wireless, and as long as you read your instruction manual.

Problems can be solved
I bought these headphones despite some negative reviews since none of the other wireless headphones seemed significantly better and I already have an older set of Sony wireless headphones that are pretty great. Never mind why I wanted another set...it's too boring to get into.

So now my older wireless set is hooked up to my home theater setup upstairs running off the audio outputs while these new babies are set up by my computer downstairs running off my computer's headphone jack. I put the headphone on and immediately began receiving audio from my satellite channel upstairs! Loud and clear...anywhere in the house...no problem. I soon discovered that by pressing the "Tune" button on the headphones it searched for and found the audio signal from my computer! Great, until I left the room. Then came all the background swissshh noise being complained about. Bummer, until I read the instructions that said when running off a headphone jack you need to turn the volume to maximum. O.K. there was a slight improvement but still the background hash was very much there, very annoying. After a day or so of thinking about the problem it suddenly dawned on me that
A. Winamp, Real Player, Windows Media Player ALSO had volume controls and these were not yet maxed out.
B. Windows Volume control allows you to adjust overall volume, wave volume, etc. These were set quite low!

By turning up the volume in every case the problem is virtually solved. Audio from the upstairs system is still more noise free in more places than the headphone jack audio, but now I'm getting reasonable results from the computer audio setup.

In other news these headphones are extremely comfortable and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them for use in a TV or audio system. For use as a computer monitor you'll have to max out the volume in all places. No big deal.

Bad design
I bought these headphones to replace a set of JVC headphones that I bought at Costco seven years ago. I assumed that the technology would have gotten bette in the years since I bought the JVC, and I wanted to upgrade.

After using these for two days, I'm sending them back. There are two things that are just downright annoying about the headphones that make them far worse than the 7-year old unit I was using before.

1. There's no way to turn them on or off. They go on whenever you pull them off the charging stabd and they turn off whenever you put them on the stand. While this may seems like a smart way to have the headphones work, its not. The reason? There's no way to stop charging the unit once the battery is full without turning it on and draining the batteries. Leaving a unit on the charger all the time is a sure fire way to ruin the batteries, and Sony makes sure that you have to buy their replacement batteries by using proprietary batteries in the headphones.

2. Its very difficult to put the unit into the base so that the charging terminals align correctly. I assumed from the picture that the charger was inductive, but its not. And note from my discussion above, that if you don't get the charging terminals lined up correctly, the headphones will stay on and the batteries will drain.

My JVC unit sounds just as good, has an on/off switch, uses standard NiMH rechargeable batteries, and uses a charging cord that's easy to plug in.