Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First off let me say that I thought long and hard before deciding to spend $280 on headphones. I can't hear as clearly as I once could. Even with the sound turned up, I sometimes have trouble understanding what is being said. My wife has no trouble hearing the TV so we are constantly at odds on how loud to keep the volume. If she is reading a book in another room she is always asking me to turn the TV down. So I decided headphones were more practical and less expensive than a surround sound system that would have provided a speaker close to me. I figured good set of headphones should make the sound more understandable. I plan to use these for TV, DVDs and CDs played through my DVD player. I did a lot of comparison of brands and models before deciding. Ultimately the key deciding points to my choosing the Sennheiser RS170 were (in order of importance to me): 4-1/2 star rating by consumers, digital audio transmission, closed back on earphones, charging/storage stand, reported performance, number of years this model has been sold, well rated high & mid-range sound, frequency response 18Hz - 21,000 Hz, simulated Surround Sound, ability to add on another headphone set if my wife ever needs a set, quality appearance, battery life up to 24 hours. Quality: The 4-1/2 star rating on the RS170 on Amazon was the highest rating of all the brands and models of headphones that Amazon sold during March 2012. Price: I paid $279.95 on Amazon mid March 2012. I looked up the price history of RS170 by googling "price history of RS170" then I clicked on the link to "Sennheiser RS 170 Prices (headphones) - CNET Marketplace" then clicked on "Price History" and found if I would be willing to wait until October - December I could probably buy them for considerable less but I wanted to use them during spring / summer of 2012 so I paid "through the nose" . Brand: I choose Sennheiser because they seemed like the best value and selection for the money. They also make studio-quality headphones so I figured the wireless models might be engineered well. Most reviewers gave the brand high marks for performance, appearance, durability and use. Features: I compared the RS170 ($279.95) to the RS160 ($199.95) and the RS180 ($329.95) on Amazon plus I looked at the specs on the Sennheiser website at [...] All three models use 2.4 GHz digital 'Kleer' wireless technology which is reportedly superior to the brands and models that use 900 MHz analog RF technology which is more susceptible to hiss, noise, and interference. I preferred the convenience of having a charging /storage stand that comes with the RS170 and RS180 over the plug-in charging on the RS160. I preferred the closed-back earphone design of the RS160 and RS170 over the open-back design of the RS180 because the open-back design would allow an 'echo effect' from the 'lag-time' sound if my wife had the TV speakers turned up. The RS170 was the only model of the three with selectable simulated Surround Sound and Bass Boost. So the $80 up-charge from the RS160 to the RS170 got me the 'easy charge' cradle and docking station with function indicator LEDs, 1/4 inch and RCA adapters in case I would ever need them in lieu of the 3.5mm jack, up to 200 feet more transmitting distance, 4 dB more Sound Pressure Level (perceived loudness), simulated Surround Sound and Bass Boost controlled at the transmitter or at the headset. Shipping: Yesterday I received my headphones (only took 4 days using Amazon Super Saver Shipping - yeah!). Both the shipping carton and the headphone box inside were in pristine condition. Like a kid with a new toy, I had to try them out right away. Since the rechargeable batteries take up to 16 hours to for initial charge (mine only took 8), I put in 2 AAA Alkaline batteries (one per headphone). Connecting the transmitter up was easy - I have a "line-out" 3.5mm jack on the TV so I just used the jumper that came in the package that had the 3.5mm jack on both ends. The transmitter/charging stand has 4 LEDs - orange shows when headphones are charging, blue to choose surround sound on/off, another blue one to choose Bass Boost on/off, and green to choose transmitter on/off. The headset right earphone has buttons for headphone on/off, volume up/down, bass boost on/off and surround sound on/off. I am sure that with practice that I'll be able to "feel" where these buttons are so I won't have to take the headset off to adjust these controls. The headset is well padded and comfortable although as some others have pointed out I can see where these "earmuffs" might be a little warm with extended wear. Performance: Now comes the really cool part...the sound quality is amazing. I have never been so impressed with any product I have purchased. The stereo separation is noticeable distinct and really enhances the enjoyment of listening. I can't hear any hiss, background noise or cut-out. The voices are clear and seem to be louder than the background sounds so the words are easy to understand. My acid test for how well these headphones performed was to try a DVD called "The Devil's Own" where Brad Pit plays a character with a heavy Irish brogue. The first time I watched it using the TV speakers I had to strain to understand his dialog but when I watched it again using the headphones he was easy to understand. The engineering that has gone into these headphones is really impressive with the way they handle voices, background sound and separation. Surround Sound: The simulated surround sound isn't that impressive. It does add a bit more depth to the sound but nothing like having real surround sound. I'm sure it is limited by only having one speaker per earphone. True surround sound would need two sound sources per earphone plus some fancy separation engineering. I'll probably use this feature for some of our 5.1 DTS stereo DVDs and music CDs. Bass Boost: This works pretty well. It isn't overwhelming but adds richer bass to the sound without taking away from the clarity of the spoken words. I'll probably use this feature for some TV show, 5.1 DTS stereo DVDs and music CDs.