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A Practical Technology Guide to Headphones Basics
Wireless Headphones and Multichannel Dolby Headphone Technology

Ever get told to 'turn it down' in...?  Wireless headphones may be your relationship-saving solution! Today's technology is such that one can still enjoy a great home theater sound experience and feel immersed into the movie action with a good pair of wireless Dolby Digital headphones.

Pioneer SE-DIR800C Wireless Dolby Digital 5.1  Headphones

An Introduction:

Surely, there arise many instances when you have to refrain from using the home theater or listening to your favorite CD because someone in the house is sleeping or studying in another room. Or simply, it is too late at night to switch on that AV receiver without getting told to turn it down by your neighbor in no uncertain way! In these circumstances, a good pair of headphones is the only way forward.

You can find some really interesting headphone options - some will cancel out all ambient noise - these are the classical headphones.

Other headphones are so small that they fit right into your ear canals.

In this series of article on headphones, we focus mainly on wireless headphones rather than wired types. And not any wireless headset but wireless Dolby digital headphones.

This does not mean that we do not cover also wired headphones. Where applicable, our articles take a more holistic approach to headphones - in particular, when discussing headphones basics and buying tips. This is necessary as both wired and wireless headphones have their pros and cons, which one needs to be aware of before to making a headphone purchase.

Why Wireless Headphones?

A wireless headset lets you enjoy the flexibility of moving around without catching a long cord on something and wreaking disaster; there is no cord to get tangled up in!

Connecting cords are no longer an issue and you no longer feel 'tied up' to your AV receiver.   This non-restrictive feeling is a big plus in favor of wireless headphones - psychologically, it helps in making the headphone experience closer to that enjoyed through standard speaker systems.

But there is even more...

In reality, wireless headphones open up a whole new world of listening possibilities. Not only, you can use your home theater whenever you want, you can even hear your favorite music while moving around the house - without carrying a portable player.

Models using a 900Mhz radio frequency (RF) transmitter send audio from your AV receiver or stereo system to a pair of battery powered headphones. Most transmitters can connect to an audio source headphone jack or stereo RCA output. Some models support an optical audio input.

These RF based wireless headphones let you walk anywhere within the transmitter range - typical anything between 100ft and 300ft - and still get great sound. By contrast, wireless headphone models using infra-red technology (IR) requires that you stay within line of site of the transmitter to operate.

Obviously, as with everything wireless, wireless headphones have their cons as well. Not only are these more expensive than wired headphones - for the same price, you get better sound quality from a wired than from a wireless set of headphones. In addition, they run on batteries to operate, and therefore, models incorporating re-chargeable batteries are more convenient and cost-effective in the long run.

Not just wireless but...

Wireless Dolby Digital Headphones

If you really want to enjoy the best sound when listening through your headphones, then a wireless headphone solution is simply not enough - you need Dolby Headphone technology.

A major difference between speaker and headphone listening is the unnatural effect produced by the classical stereo headphone, whereby sound appears to be coming direct from inside your head, instead from around you. This contrasts heavily in particular with the more relaxing enveloping sensation produced by speakers in a multi-channel audio set-up.

Extended listening to this unnatural in-the-head effect often leads to listener fatigue - more precisely, a state of mental fatigue in this case caused by the state of confusion that the mind finds itself in. Confusion because the mind knows better that sound cannot be generated inside the head and therefore, it no longer believes the source of the sounds that the ears are hearing.

The use of Dolby Headphone technology changes all this - it makes use of digital signal processing (DSP) technology to convert a multi-channel audio source into a special 2-channel sound track that can be played over an ordinary stereo headphones.  The process introduces sonic spatial cues such as different delays between the different channels and signal phase-shifts to trick our ears into believing that sound is coming from a multi-channel audio or home theater speaker system.

And the really good thing is that these wireless Dolby digital headphones are easy to own. It is true that there is always a price to pay for quality; in particular, some entry-level systems may exhibit an audible hiss during quiet music passages or movie scenes, but...

Products like the Pioneer SE-DIR800C, the Sony RF MDR-DS6000 and the IR MDR-DS3000 wireless headphones, as well as the Sennheiser RS 130 - 900Mhz Wireless Headphones, all represent attractive virtual surround options for late-night movie watchers who don't want to wake the neighbors.

The Sennheiser RS 130 is an inexpensive solution while the Pioneer is one of the best around though it comes with a rather limited range (circa 25ft) in view of its use of an IR-based wireless link. For an extended wireless range, you will have to use an RF-based wireless system such as the Sony MDR-DS6000 or the Sennheiser RS130. Note however that the DS6000 uses the 2.4GHz band - so be careful if you have a wireless network around.

Section Contents:

• Dolby Headphone (1) - An Overview
  We take a look at Dolby Headphone technology, or rather the acoustic principles that make this headphone listening technology possible. In particular, we examine the use of 'virtual speakers' to generate the out-of-the-head effect and that helps reduce listener's fatigue. More info here.

• Dolby Headphone (2) - Continue
  In this second part, we look at what is needed to enjoy Dolby Headphone technology. We also examine its limitations vis-à-vis a multi-channel speaker set-up. Finally, for those who would like to discover more, we present a short list of links for further reading. More info here.

• Headphones Basics and Buying Tips:
  We also look at Headphones Basics - and in particular, identify the features to look for when making a wireless headphone purchase. More info here.

• Headphone Accessories:
  We conclude this series of headphone technology guides by taking a look at how one can maximize the headphone listening experience by using of one of the most important headphone accessories - dedicated headphone amplifiers.

But not only! We also reveal how to treat the [.1] in a multi-channel audio. Many complain that when it comes to headphones, they do not 'feel' the bass. Surprisingly as it may seem, yet it is still possible to feel the shake when listening to your headphones even though the subwoofer is turned off! More info here.

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