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Topic: Any wireless headphones with lossless transport? (Read 17857 times) previous topic - next topic
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Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

AFAIK most wireless headphones (Blutooth, IR, etc.) incorporate lossy codecs for transmitter-receiver transport, are there any which do that losslessly at 44.1kHz/16bit at least?

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #1
I don't think they are still in production, but the Sennheiser MX W1 was said to have "Lossless sound transmission (CD quality)" using KLEER technology. Also the TDK WR700 fit the same description, I believe, but are a different style and more affordable.

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #2
AFAIK most wireless headphones (Blutooth, IR, etc.) incorporate lossy codecs for transmitter-receiver transport, are there any which do that losslessly at 44.1kHz/16bit at least?


You could just send an uncompressed stream digitally.  AFAIK lossless compression will run into some latency/compression tradeoffs.

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #3
Sennheiser RS 160/180/220 for home use, all using Kleer technology.

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #4
I guess there's no chance for something at 50$ / 40 euro price tag?
You could just send an uncompressed stream digitally.  AFAIK lossless compression will run into some latency/compression tradeoffs.

Latency would be bad - I want it for working in DAW which already has its own latency. Hopefully KLEER streams it uncompressed.

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #5
I got the RS160 and RS170. Basically they're the same headphones with different transmitters and functions. I find myself using the RS160 more even though the 170 has a charging dock, cause apparently the 170 is too "smart" for its own good and applies an automatic volume limiter.

I don't know how much latency you're willing to put up with, but for watching video it's negligible. For instruments though it's pretty much unusable (tried with my electric guitar).

Sennheiser RS 160/180/220 for home use, all using Kleer technology.

Are you sure the 220 is Kleer? It's a newer model, I think it came out after Kleer products in general dropped from the face of the earth.

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #6
I don't know about the RS 170 (is there such a model?) but Automatic Level Control (ALC) can be deactivated on the RS 180 with the second button from the bottom on the dock. As for the RS 220, the manual says it uses "uncompressed" 16 bit, 48 kHz PCM.

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #7
Android + Soundwire app and use any headphone you like.

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #8
I don't know how much latency you're willing to put up with, but for watching video it's negligible. For instruments though it's pretty much unusable (tried with my electric guitar).

You mean that plugging them straight into amp without any route through computer/software already gives unusable latency?

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #9
That's what I did, and there was noticeable latency.

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #10
I don't know about the RS 170 (is there such a model?) but Automatic Level Control (ALC) can be deactivated on the RS 180 with the second button from the bottom on the dock. As for the RS 220, the manual says it uses "uncompressed" 16 bit, 48 kHz PCM.

Yeah, I was all over Kleer at the time. The 160, 170 and 180 came out at the same time, the 180 was the flagship. The 220 came much later, and the 170 was discontinued. The 220 has no mention of Kleer, which may be important because with Kleer you can mix and match and even use up to 4 headphones with one transmitter. It's a shame there's no more standards like that. Kleernet is supposed to be out there with even better features, but only one headphone that I know of is using it, and it's a fugly gaming headset.

About the volume, it was not ALC, it seems it was some sort of distortion protection which seemed too trigger-happy to me. Not really a deal breaker, but since I already had the 160 I just use that.


 

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #12
Quote
• Transmission type: FM stereo

Does it mean that transmission is analogue, hence no lossy compression?
...or is it just spam?

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #13
The transmission is analog, but it doesn't mean it's not lossy. You'll likely hear some, maybe a lot, of noise and interference. It's very old tech.

I also wondered if it was spam though.

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #14
is the Sennheiser rs220 not digital !!!!

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #15
the rs170 rs160 rs120 maybe discontinued but are widely still available on all leading ecommerce websites

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #16
The RS120 is also not digital.

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #17
I'm more afraid of psy-model artifacts than noise or interference in this case. At the end I can always use wired headphones or speakers, so analog transmission could do for what I want it for.

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #18
Android + Soundwire app and use any headphone you like.

There's no Android at home except that baby-tablet of my son, but that would be inconvenient.

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #19
The RS120 is also not digital.


Not only that, but it has a fair number of clearly audible artifacts related to its use of analog 900 MHz transmission.

The later true digital models are IME vastly improved.


Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #21
I doubt the Android solution would be less laggy than the Kleer headphones, which are just laggy enough to not be usable with instruments, but OK for everything else including games.

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #22
The RS120 is also not digital.


Not only that, but it has a fair number of clearly audible artifacts related to its use of analog 900 MHz transmission.

The later true digital models are IME vastly improved.

Do you have any experience with IR headphones? I never took them too seriously but only for TV watching, but if you have line of sight and don't have to be too far from the source, could they produce less hiss or more fidelity than the RF headphones?

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #23
The RS120 is also not digital.


Not only that, but it has a fair number of clearly audible artifacts related to its use of analog 900 MHz transmission.

The later true digital models are IME vastly improved.

Do you have any experience with IR headphones? I never took them too seriously but only for TV watching, but if you have line of sight and don't have to be too far from the source, could they produce less hiss or more fidelity than the RF headphones?


IR headphones like RF headphones can be based on analog or digital transport processes.  One the basic link has been established  digitally, then there is really no reason why one would be better than the other. 

There is plenty of anecdotal evidence related to the relative convenience of IR versus RF, and it appears that RF is generally the preferred choice. The third choice is the inductive link.

Any wireless headphones with lossless transport?

Reply #24
I doubt the Android solution would be less laggy than the Kleer headphones, which are just laggy enough to not be usable with instruments, but OK for everything else including games.


I agree that my Kleer headphones (RS 140 and RS 160)  have clearly audible latency.