Sennheiser RS120

Sennheiser's latest RF wireless-headphone set is that rare midrange model that outperforms its pricier sibling. The RS120s look hip and offer home-theatre and music performance that's considerably better than that of Sennheiser's more expensive RS65s. Were it not for the occasional interference, we'd think we were listening to corded headphones.

The RS120s weigh a slight 230 grams and enclose and coddle your ears. They proved comfortable even after a long evening of listening to DVDs. A built-in volume control lets you crank up the action, while a transmitter control lets you fine-tune the reception. A minor annoyance is that these two controls are located next to each other on the right earcup, so we were sometimes treated to a blast of static when we just wanted to adjust the volume.

The transmitter base serves as a charger for the headphones' included pair of AAA nickel-metal-hydride batteries, and you can place it near your components or mount it on a wall. Just remember that you must hook up the transmitter to the analog stereo outputs or the headphone jack on your HTIB or receiver. Reception was generally clean and free of noise, but at times whistling and buzzing sounds distracted us from the sound of our DVDs and CDs.

The RS120s' sound quality is even better than that of Sennheiser's wireless RS65 headphone set, a more expensive model that was a little too mellow for our taste. With their excellent detail resolution, the RS120s shined on DVDs and CDs, although their bass power and definition were only fair.

Home-theatre or music aficionados tired of being tethered to their receivers should give the RS120s a listen. If, however, you can't stand even the slightest interference, consider a corded model such as Sennheiser's HD515 set.