Sennheiser - RS 275 TV Headphones. Wireless Bluetooth Headphone and TV Transmitter - Black

I got these headphones for my 91 year old mother to use and she loves them. She’s pretty hard of hearing and has been using headphones for watching TV for over 15 years. She’s used various types and brands of headphones during that time and so far, these have been the best she’s used, and she generally doesn’t like the closed over the ear type. I’ve used them too and will compare them to all the headphones I’ve used and reviewed in recent years, and my review will cover that as well. I’m not going to requote specs that are already listed. I’m going to mostly talk about using them, features they have, and how they sound. The primary use of this “system” is for watching TV and there’s a lot to like about the versatility of this kit that includes the headphones and a transmitter. Depending on your TV’s age and connection options, setup can vary, here’s what I found. You can connect it to anything with an audio output. Analog via standard RCA connections or headphone port. Digital via S/PDIF - toslink optical port and HDMI. Optical out on your TV will allow everyone to listen to the TV, if desired, and not the headphone wearer only. The volume to the TV speakers and soundbar (if used) should be independent of the headphones in this configuration. It is on my Samsungs and TCL TVs. You can probably do that with HDMI, HDMI/ARC out as well, but you might need to menu dive on your TV to keep it from auto switching to the transmitter and muting the TV’s speakers. This will vary on TV brands. Analog out should keep a consistent level like optical out but it might change with the volume setting. Again, this can vary by manufacturer and be changeable in a setting menu. Using your TV’s headphone port will likely mute the speakers and most sets won’t let you change that. Some TVs, like a 2013 Samsung we had, only had 2 HDMI inputs. No audio outputs at all. You can’t use this with a TV like that. You can use the transmitter and headphones as a standalone system. Just follow directions for connecting to the TV they will be used with. They come pre-paired and its pretty much plug and play. You can download and install the control app on your phone and pair it to the transmitter to control it, select sound presets, inputs and update its firmware. You can pair headphones to your phone to listen to music and make and take phone calls, adjust EQ settings via presets or make your own and update the headphone’s firmware. You can be listening to what you’re watching on TV and take a phone call without having to remove the headphones if you set them up with app. Of course, the headphones will switch over to the phone call and it gets priority. Phone calls sounded good on both ends of the conversation. As mentioned above, not only can you listen to TV with these, but you can also use them with your phone too. Even if you don’t use the app. Just use a USB-C to USB-C cable to connect them. One thing that impressed me about the headphones is that you can get replacement parts. You can replace the battery and the ear pads, at the very least. This is a bigger deal than you might think. I’ve reviewed a few items, headphones and earbuds, that either broke or quit working. They weren’t handled rough or abused. I liked them and wanted them repaired out of warranty and found out they were disposable products. Yes, $300+ and disposable. I’m talking about Yamaha and Marshall. Sadly, I’m know this is the same with many other companies. So, I consider this a big win for Sennheiser! The quick start will get you up and going, but I highly recommend downloading the instruction manual and reading it first. The transmitter box gets its power from the USB port on the TV and you can charge the headphones with its pass through USB-C port or charge the headphones with any common phone charger. Sound wise, these things sound very good for both dialog on TV, music and phone calls. There are three sound presets on the transmitter box for listening to the TV and she / we liked the middle, dialog enhancing, the best. The surround effects sound like a delay and some filtering is added to widen the field. I thought they sounded strange and didn’t care for it. Overall, they deliver clear dialogue without harshness, and the fit stays comfortable for long sessions. You can switch them on the box or the app. In our case, we use the app because I have the transmitter hidden behind our wall mounted TV. With the app paired to the phone you can adjust the EQ and that can make a huge difference in performance when listening to music. Keep in mind that depending on what music apps you’re using, they may have EQ settings as well, and that can effect how these, or any, headphones sound. Especially if you are unknowingly using 2 EQs in series. If your music app has an EQ, set it to flat, also check for Dolby Atmos and any other audio enhancements and turn them off, then adjust the EQ in the Sennheiser app. You can always go back and turn Atmos and stuff back on to find the sound you like. The music I used to test them was my usual selection of artists: Steel Dan, Alan Parsons, Pink Floyd, Genesis, original LRB and some other artists from ABBA to Zeppelin. They sound plenty good enough for music but not as good as high end headphones meant for listening to music. Bluetooth Auracast is a cool feature that lets others with compatible headphones link into the transmitter and listen to whatever it's broadcasting that you have it connect to. They assume TV and that is the primary use, but remember, you can connect it to any audio source. User can set their headphone’s levels individually with Auracast. My mother, wife and I found the headphones to be very comfortable to wear. Mom has tried several that were too tight and returned over the years. So far, she likes these the best for fit and sound for long sessions of wearing them. The headphones have controls for volume up and down, mute / pause and power. It has voice notifications for certain things as well. See manual for details beyond what I stated. Battery life is said to be about 50 hours and you can set them to automatically turn off when not in use in a set amount of time. We never ran them to they died or even gave a notification, but I know she used them over 2 days on a full charge before charging and never got a notification to charge them. She plugged them up before I had a chance to check the battery life left. Build quality feels good; the headphones are light weight and comfortable to wear for long periods. All necessary cables are included for almost any type of connection you will need. The included stand feels sturdy and the bottom is weighted enough to not tip over easily. There’s also a rubbery mat that covers nearly the entire bottom as well. The only improvement would be to have the stand be able to charge them too. Conclusion: I think these not only hit the mark for what they are marketed for but go beyond that. Especially if you make the best use of the phone app and the options the system offers. Verdict: These headphones do exactly what they promise: reliable, comfortable TV listening for anyone who values clarity over flash.

I use headphones to watch the tv in our bedroom so the sound doesn't bother my husband. They also enable me to have a clearer sound that is easier for me to hear and understand. I have used Sennheiser headphones for years. I have worn out 3 different pairs. So I was happy to get the opportunity to try out these. Opening the box, I was impressed. Everything was well packaged and clearly labeled. The box contains the headphones, a nice heavy stand, the transmitter, and an assortment of cords for different set up variations. The cords were good quality and clearly labeled. There is a YouTube video that gives excellent set up instructions for a wide variety of configurations. The video helped to clarify some issues I was having with set up and the one that followed it furthered it. The headphones come with a transmitter that can be used to allow multiple device to connect to the tv at the same time. It also gives you choices for settings similar to an app. There is also an app that can be downloaded from the app store that allows access to even more features. A big problem that I had with set up involved the transmitter. Initially, I couldn't get any sound to the headphones. After hours of trying different things, I wound up disconnecting the transmitter and connecting the headhones via Bluetooth on the tv. Then I tried starting over from scratch. Using the app and the broadcast settings and turning off encryption, I could only get sound from the headphones. I could not get sound from the tv unless I disconnected the transmitter. I wound up connecting the headphones directly to the tv via Bluetooth, which is what I've done with my other pair of Sennheisers. I plan on calling tech support to see if there is a solution to this issue. Beyond all of this, there headphones are lightweight and comfortable to wear. The controls on the sides are easy to use and the app is good as well. The foam ear pieces are easy to remove to clean. The battery is replaceable as well, which is a nice bonus. The battery holds a charge for approximately 50 hours of use which is a really long time. The Bluetooth range is extended so you can walk away from the source without losing your audio. This is great for those times when you need to go to the other end of the house for something. The sound is crisp and clear as well. The headphone stand is nice. It is metal and heavy duty, not a lightweight plastic. It has some weight behind it so it isn't tippy. It sure is a lot nicer than the yoga block I usually use. Overall, I am pleased with these headphones although not being able to get one of their key features to work is a disappointment. Hopefully I can rectify that.

As I’ve gotten older, my hearing has gotten worse. I noticed it many years ago when dialogue on TV shows became particularly hard for me to understand. Shows like NCIS were almost unwatchable for me because of the reliance on heavy dialogue to move the story along. Since then, I have gotten hearing aids, but I still feel like I miss something. This set of headphones is remarkable when it comes to speech clarity. What makes them nice is I can increase the audio levels as I need to without disturbing anyone else because I have my own personal Dolby speakers attached to my head. Sound Performance: I’ve been a super fan of Sennheiser for more than 20 years and I think they really did a great job with these headphones. I used them for watching TV, listening to podcasts, and listening to music. All of them were enhanced by the speech clarity feature. I was especially impressed when I pulled a podcast up on my iPhone. There was just something to the crispness of the voices and how easy it was to distinguish between different words. With the RS 275, they words don’t run together or just melt into one another. Each one can be heard easily. For me, this is the biggest selling point. When it comes to music, I think it seems to be just as clean, but what really makes the music more enjoyable is being able to hear the singers more clearly. Even though the headset doesn’t have traditional noise cancellation, it does isolate the user from ambient noise really well due to the over-ear design of the headphones. There is also a Transparency mode, which not only lets ambient sounds in but it also amplifies and enhances those noises a bit. Setup & Compatibility: I was very happy with the easy set up. I did connect the headset to my iPhone and after pairing to it via Bluetooth, the app detected the headphones and I was able to access the extra features. As far as hooking up the headphones to the TV goes, I was impressed by the plug-n-play experience. It was very quick and painless and the instructions did a good job illustrating how the connection should be. The only hiccup I ran into in the headphone set up is that the headphones become the audio output method for the TV. That means, your setup with the headphones could limit your viewing experience with other people. This headset supports Auracast, which means you can have more than one set of headphones connected to the same transmitter, but you probably can’t have one person listening to the TV through a soundbar or the TV speakers and the other using the headphones. This is a roadblock for me since I like to watch shows with my fiancé, but when I watch TV alone, it works great. Comfort: The headphones are very comfortable. They are lightweight and the headband has a nice soft cushion on it that keeps the headset from feeling too tight on your head. The ear cushions do get a little hot for me, but since they block out a lot of ambient noise, I see it as a trade off. The headphones do work well for longer listening sessions. Overall, I think the RS 275 are great headphones for people who have trouble hearing dialogue when they watch TV. They are comfortable and they provide a better viewing/listening experience than TV speakers do alone.