Wireless Headphones Recommendations?

Professor Snugglesworth

My wired headphones for my TV are on the verge of dying, so I'm in the market for a new pair. I've been interested in using a wireless pair of headphones, ever eager to eliminate as many cords as possible, but the last attempts I made years ago were too expensive and too lousy with static.

Supposedly wireless headphones these days work much better, but I first need to make clear what I'm looking for: I know they sell wireless headphones for PS3 and Xbox 360, but what I want is a universal pair that will work with everything connected to my home theater receiver (which includes my TV, PS3, Wii U, 360, and PC).

Secondly, 5.1 surround is optional, but something I would ideally like to have. It depends on the price difference, and I've heard about how you're better off "building" your own 5.1 headphones then nabbing the official ones sold in stores.

So I'm hoping with your help I can educate myself on either option, and pick whatever is both affordable and good quality.

Hewn

Do you want to be able to voice chat, with this headset, across all these devices as well?

Professor Snugglesworth

That's not a major priority, but if that's something I can do that doesn't dramatically increase the cost, then sure.

The most major priorities is that it sounds good and won't suffer from interference from other devices (of which my room has all of my electronics, including handhelds and i-devices). If I can also get surround and voice chat without a significant increase in cost (or there are headphones that offer the best sound quality in addition to those features, thus justifying a higher cost), then so much the better.

Hewn

No matter what you'll be juggling a lot of wires, but if you wanted voice, that would get tricky fast, particularly across 3 platforms. Xbox headsets tend to work fine on the PC, so you can dual that fairly easily.

$250 is the magic price range for these types of things:
http://www.amazon.com/Premium-Wireless-Digital-Headset-Playstation-3/dp/B00B3PDHBU/ref=sr_1_33?ie=UTF8&qid=1367884722&sr=8-33&keywords=xbox+wireless+headset

Alternatively, with no voice, I think you'd do well with a Sennheiser set like this one for around $200:
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-RS-170-Wireless-Headphone/dp/B002TLT10I/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1367884951&sr=8-2&keywords=sennheiser+wireless+headphones#productPromotions

And there's a less fancy option in the $90 range:
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-RS120-Over-Ear-Wireless-Headphones/dp/B0001FTVEK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367885012&sr=8-1&keywords=sennheiser+wireless+headphones

No matter what you choose, map out all the wires and connections you'll need and how you'll switch between sources. Nothing like getting it all set up only to find you need one more wire you don't have... boy that always burns me.

Professor Snugglesworth

When you say wires, are those included with the three headphones you listed, or are they sold separately? And does this mean that the headphones have to be plugged into all the devices simultaneously (since you mentioned source inputs)?

I was hoping for something where I could just plug it to the headphone jack on my receiver, and it would instantly catch whatever is playing on the source of that receiver (which I use to switch between devices; all of them are connected to the receiver via HDMI).

Just for reference, are there simpler/cheaper solutions for wired headsets? If the price difference is that dramatic, I wouldn't mind sticking with the cord.

Hewn

Professor Snugglesworth wrote: »

I was hoping for something where I could just plug it to the headphone jack on my receiver, and it would instantly catch whatever is playing on the source of that receiver (which I use to switch between devices; all of them are connected to the receiver via HDMI).

Ah, that could simplify things! Yeah you should be fine. Not for voice, but for audio for sure.

Professor Snugglesworth

How so? Do the headphones you listed plug in to the receiver's headphone jack, or one of the HDMI ports?

Also, how do you get the voice chat to work for all consoles? I don't think they all share the same system for voice chat, unless it's bluetooth (and even if it is, I don't think 360 uses it?). It also makes me wonder if it'll work for future consoles like the PS4?

I wouldn't be averse to shelling an extra $50 for universal voice chat, but if it isn't a guarantee it'll work for all devices then I may settle for the voice-less headphones.

Hewn

So that original Turtle Beach I linked says it works with PS3 in the manual! I didn't know that. It's all branded for Xbox. It has digital in, digital out, and line in.

Here's the manual for the Turtle Beach headset: http://www.turtlebeach.com/assets/products/345/xp510_user_manual_english_022613.pdf

You can see all the options here by clicking the boxes for the devices you want:
http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/headsets

Just noticed there's a bunch of refurbs on woot if you see this before it disappears shortly. XP500 might not be a bad deal. http://www.woot.com/plus/turtle-beach-gaming-headsets

Professor Snugglesworth

Real tempted on that X500 sale, but I have a couple of questions before I decide to finalize it (it's in my cart).

1. What's Woot's return policy?

2. Even if the voice chat doesn't work, can I still get surround sound when using it with a Wii U and PC (probably a dumb question, but figured I'd ask: I want to be able to listen to movies with this thing).

3. Amazon reviews are mostly positive, but some of the negative ones talk about crappy reception (depending how many devices you have in your room....I have a lot) and battery life (didn't the first one you link have a rechargable dock, meaning no batteries required)?

Donovan Puppyfucker

Sennheiser PC323D, 5.1 surround headset compatible with both consoles and p.c., and should be usable as headphones from your receiver for media consumption. Sennheiser headphone sound quality and build construction. $128 on Amazon.

Sennheiser PC363D, see above, only significantly better in every way. $300 from Amazon.

Professor Snugglesworth

Decided not to go with the X500. The XP510, while pricier, sounds significantly better in every aspect. It even connects with your iPad/iPhone, which I think is pretty awesome. I'm constantly bouncing around gadgets at night time, so being able to just switch on the fly without having to take off my headphones sounds real convenient (I guess it doesn't work with 3DS or Vita though).

If possible, I'd like to use Bill Me Later for a purchase that big. I know Amazon doesn't have that, but would I be able to buy that pair through NewEgg or some other place that supports it?

Edit: NewEgg has it, but it's $50 more plus shipping. Blergh.

Edit 2: Found an eBay seller that was selling the headphones new for $260. It supported Bill Me Later, which gives me six months no finance, as well as a 30 day return policy. I ordered it there.

I can feel safe trying them out and returning them if they don't do it for me, and while I could pay it off now having six months leeway to accumulate more funds makes it a safer purchase for me.

Professor Snugglesworth

The XP510 arrived in the mail today. I'm setting it up now, but my immediate concern is finding out the best way to connect the headset to my home theater receiver. As I mentioned before, I want it to work with all of my devices without having to manually connect it to each console or PC; I'm hoping there's a port I can use on the home theater that will work for everything that's connected to it.

The XP510 came with a few cables, including optical audio, "mobile device", and USB. As for the ports on my receiver, here is an online manual: http://usa.denon.com/DocumentMaster/US/AVR-1513 Owners Manual.pdf

So if someone could tell me which port is my magical port to accomplish what I want, and what converter, if any, I would need to make it work, it would save me a lot of time. Ideally I would like to use the ports that are on the front of the receiver (HDMI, Portable In and Phones) so I can easily connect/disconnect the headset depending when I want to use it. Keep in mind I don't want to lose the full surround sound experience, so if using a particular connection option "downgrades" the surround experience, then I'll stick to whatever gives me the full effect.

Professor Snugglesworth

So far I'm not seeing any way to accomplish what I want with these headphones, so I plan to return them soon. I'm still trying to find a pair of quality headphones that will let me connect it to one place (the home theater receiver) and work with every device connected to it. At this point I don't care if it's wireless or surround, I just want that convenience first, the extra stuff second.

But so far I haven't been able to find any solid recommendations anywhere.

Bolthorn

Why can't you digital optical out from the receiver into the XP510 in?

Professor Snugglesworth

Tried that, but it wouldn't work. The whole thing has been a hassle, so I'm looking to return this and stick with a simple pair of headphones where I can just plug it directly to the receiver's headphone jack.

I'm looking at these two from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001FTVEK/ref=nosim/cheapassgam08-20

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000ULAP4U/ref=nosim/cheapassgam08-20

Bolthorn

Well that's a bummer. Sorry to hear that. If you have a cheap pair of anything with what I'm guessing is an 1/4 or 1/8 inch, test with that first to make sure it will work before you spend any more cash.

Hewn

I can't think of any good reason the headset bought wouldn't work. Sorry, man, that's always the worst.

At this point maybe get a long headphone extension cord that runs from your headphone jack and cleverly snake it round the room to where you want to use it. Then you can plug in a nice set of wired headphones and not have a line dangling across the room.