WD200711ZA-sm.pdf

GENE LEE, STYLED BY ROB OXENHAM/ARTIST UNTIED
Home Audio
EDITORS’
PICK
Surround-Sound
Headphones
A sleeping spouse needn't come
between you and blockbuster
sound. For late-night movies, these
wireless headsets will turn any
room into a megaplex for one. —J.T.
LTB Q-Home-FX
$260 •ltbaudio.com
These cans come billed as “true 5.1 spatial surround sound.” No kidding.
Each channel has its own separate speaker. The result: You always know
where the bullets came from and where they’re headed. The subwoofers
provided convincing bass, but dialog and music were muddy. Dropouts
were a huge problem with our test model, although LTB tells us it’s fixed.
WIRED Supports optical, co-ax, or two-channel stereo inputs. Deep tone.
TIRED The lightest phones we tested, but awkward weight distribution
makes them feel heavy. Slight head movements interrupt the signal.
Pioneer SE-DIR800C
$399 • pioneerelectronics.com
You don't need a pair of surround headphones to watch Steel Magnolias;
they're built for films that go boom. And the DIR800Cs are the demolition
experts of the wireless headphone army, delivering clear explosions with
no audible distortion and more volume than we could handle.
WIRED Audio quality rivals corded headphones. Dolby Headphone
processing provides convincing surround imaging. Comfortable for hours.
TIRED Pricey. IR transmission means the sound cuts out when you
run to the kitchen for a beer. Battery must be removed for charging.
Sennheiser RS130
$170 • sennheiserusa.com
Surround sound is an adjective, not a standard, which means manufacturers
can interpret it as they see fit. To Sennheiser, it means no Dolby or
DTS compatibility and no digital input. That doesn’t matter much in noisy
action scenes, but quiet, dialog-heavy passages get lost amid the hiss.
WIRED SRS “surround” codec opens up the sound convincingly, making
these a solid, relatively low-cost alternative to standard phones.
TIRED Noisy. Even with the SRS option activated, the RS130s failed
to provide much surround imaging.
Sony MDR-DS6000
$300 • sonystyle.com
The DS6000s are masters of disguise—four tiny speakers that sound
like a dozen. Credit Sony’s signal processing, which the company has been
working on since 1994. Watch 12 Monkeys and you’ll swear you’re in a
post-apocalyptic wasteland. (We mean that in the best possible way.)
WIRED Clear sound, minimal background noise. Lightweight and supercomfy.
Swanky automatic-on function activates when you don headset.
TIRED Some distortion at high volumes. Awkward charging station
requires practice to get the contacts to engage. Not cheap.
WIRED TEST
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