6 Of The Highest Rated Wireless Headphones For TV Audio
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It is no secret that the built-in speakers on televisions nowadays are not exactly great. So much work has been done to increase the quality of the picture on these sets with improved colors, contrast, and resolution, plus TVs continue to get thinner and thinner. Excellent work has been done on that front, but in the process, the speakers themselves have taken a hit, resulting in people having to purchase external devices to properly hear the movies and shows they watch. For many, that means soundbars or surround sound systems, but for others, they have taken to watching their televisions with wireless headphones.
The concept may seem a little strange at first, but wearing headphones for TV watching can be extremely helpful in a number of situations. The most basic is that it improves the poor sound quality of TV speakers probably pointed in the direction opposite of you or being muffled by a wall, but the benefits go beyond that. If you are someone who lives in an apartment building with thin walls, likes to watch TV late at night, or have any other reason that requires you to keep noise levels down, wearing headphones solves all of these issues. If you're hard of hearing, it can also be a lot easier to hear the TV with headphones.
Luckily, there are many headphone options out there for you to wirelessly connect to your television. However, they aren't all created equal. Let's break down six of the best options on the market, all of which were chosen based on technical specs and features and reviews from many different publications.
Sennheiser RS 195-U
When it comes to wireless headphones, most people's automatic inclination is to go for Bluetooth headphones. While these are fine for most uses, television watching isn't one of them. This is due to latency issues you can experience with Bluetooth connections, causing the sound coming from your headphones to be slightly behind what is showing on screen. A far more reliable connection that you should be looking for is RF, or radio frequency. With an RF connection, you can expect shorter latency along with less compressed audio.
One of the best pairs of RF headphones on the market is the Sennheiser RS 195-U. These, like any other RF headset, you can attach to your TV by plugging in a transmitter into your TV's digital output or audio output connections. Although they aren't noise-cancelling headphones, per se, they do a great job of pushing out the world around you. The RS 195-U also offers a tremendous amount of flexibility when it comes to balance, bass, and volume, even letting you control the left and right side of the headset separately if you so choose. For those who are hard of hearing in a particular ear, that is a fantastic feature. The headphones also have seven different settings, like "Speech Mode" and "Music Mode," to tailor your headphones for a specific listening experience.
The Sennheiser comes with rechargeable AAA batteries, which can be done on the device's charging station, but you may use standard AAA batteries as well. The official MSRP is $399.95, but more often, you can often find them on sale for $260 on Amazon.
Sennheiser TV Clear Set 2
Even though the Sennheiser RS 195-U are a great option, not everyone is a fan of over-the-ear headphones. Others simply want to have lightweight, comfortable earbuds. As audio technology has evolved, companies have been able to create earbuds that deliver extremely high quality, not unlike their over-the-ear counterparts. Sennheiser has an option for these people as well with the TV Clear Set 2 earbuds.
These earbuds have many of the same properties as the company's RS 195-U headphones, but utilize them in different ways. For example, to control all of the various settings with these headphones, you will have to connect them to the TV Clear app on your smartphone, which is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. This app will let you move between the different modes like "Speech Clarity."
Unlike the RS 195-U, the TV Clear Set 2 earbuds utilize a charging case rather than AAA batteries, and it works for up to 15 hours on a single charge. You are also able to connect these earbuds to devices through the included RF transmitter or Bluetooth, if you want to be able to use them on other devices as well. If you are worried about the earbuds falling out of your ears, Sennheiser also includes three different adapters that can suit most ear sizes. The TV Clear Set 2 has the sticker price of $399.95, though Amazon lists them for much less at just $160. The actual sound quality is somewhat hit-and-miss, and at full price, it's not a great bet. However, that significant Amazon discount makes it much more acceptable.
AirPods Max
Although radio frequency connection is less laggy and compressed than Bluetooth, that doesn't mean that there aren't quality Bluetooth options available. The next item on our list is a headphone that many people out there are already quite familiar with, the AirPods Max from Apple. These boast an incredibly hefty price at $549 MSRP, but luckily, you are able to use them for much more than just watching television and stores like Amazon usually have them quite a bit cheaper.
These are headphones with active noise cancellation and are capable of delivering both Dolby Atmos and dynamic spatial audio, which are particularly exciting if you are watching movies. Yes, the main draw of these headphones is how they play music, but something like Dolby Atmos has become far more commonplace with home viewing of movies and TV. It would be a shame to not indulge in it, even when circumstances require you to wear headphones. Plus, the AirPods Max can run for 20 hours on a single charge, meaning you probably won't have to worry about your battery dying in the middle of a movie or show.
However, the AirPods Max are not a great solution for every circumstance. In fact, there's really only one way to get the most out of them with your TV, and that is not by connecting them via Bluetooth to your TV. Instead, you will want to connect them to your Apple TV device. They'll work directly connected to your TV, but latency issues won't be as significant with the Apple TV. That does limit its usage, but if you stream all of your entertainment through an Apple TV, which many do, then this is the perfect accessory.
AirPods Pro
Just as Sennheiser had earbuds for those who are not too keen on wearing large, over-the-ear headphones, Apple offers the same when it comes to its listening devices. Instead of investing in the very expensive AirPods Max, Apple also offers the more moderately priced AirPods Pro earbuds at $249 (though Amazon often has them for $199). The company also has its regular AirPods as well, which includes both second and third generation models for sale, but for the purposes of television watching, the AirPods Pro are the better bet for this purpose.
Like their larger Max counterparts, the AirPods Pro are also able to support both Dolby Atmos and spatial audio, allowing for a very dynamic experience while watching a movie or TV show. They also support noise cancellation, but you are also able to enable adaptive audio to greatly personalize your listening experience, as well as Conversation Awareness that automatically lowers the volume in your earbuds if you are engaging with another person. In fact, the AirPods Pro are the only headphones that Apple makes that have these features.
There are drawbacks compared to the AirPods Max. Namely, the AirPods Pro only have a six-hour battery life. Also, while the sound for them is impressive, you just will never get as full of a sound as headphones that completely cover your ears. Considering the AirPods Pro are roughly half the price as the other headphones from Apple, you can expect some diminished performance. For Apple TV owners who want Bluetooth earbuds, though, these are an excellent option.
Sony WH-RF400
Sennheiser is not the only company that makes quality radio frequency transmitter headphones. The RS 195-U model is a somewhat expensive model, so it may not be the right fit for people who are on a tighter budget. Wireless headphones are rarely cheap, but there are less expensive models out there. This is where a company like Sony can come into the fold with its WH-RF400 headphones. With a price tag of $139.99, they are a much more accessible option for those looking to get themselves a pair of RF headphones.
These also connect by plugging a transmitter into your television's digital output connector. These do not utilize AAA batteries though and instead go for a more traditional built-in battery system, which runs about 20 hours on a single charge. It does take seven hours to fully charge the headphones, though. These are not exactly noise-cancelling headphones, but Sony instead refers to them as "noise-reducing," as they are able to tune out other surrounding devices and form a strong connection solely with the television's transmitter. The WH-RF400 also has a feature called Voice Mode to best hear the dialogue of the movies and shows you are watching.
With a $139.99 price tag, you aren't going to be getting things like Dolby Atmos with these headphones. They are built to be dependable, comfortable, and deliver decent sound. Customer reviews across sites like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Sony's own website all show this to be a solid choice. Not the best, but solid.
Insignia RF Wireless Over-the-Ear Headphones
The last pair of headphones on this list is an even more budget-friendly option than the Sony option, and it comes from the in-house brand of one of the biggest electronic stores there is, Best Buy. Although this is a place you can buy your Sennheiser, Apple, and Sony headphones, Best Buy also produces products under the brand Insignia. This is a division that produces everything from televisions to microwaves to USB cables, and among its many offerings is a pair of RF headphones for the fairly low price of $119.99.
Even a $20 discount from the Sony WH-RF400 headphones shows quite a drastic downshift in abilities compared to the slightly more expensive model. The battery life on the Insignia headphones is 10 hours, and the distance from which you can be from the transmitter plugged into your television's digital out connector is a maximum of 33 feet, compared to the 150 feet of the Sony model. However, there is a significant decrease in charge time at just two hours, which comes in handy if you have forgotten to charge it and require a short turnaround.
There are no fancy voice and speech modes, no noise cancellation, and certainly no Dolby Atmos, but the Insignia RF headphones are essentially meant to be the bare minimum of what these kinds of headphones can be. That doesn't mean they are bad, though. With nearly 2,600 reviews on Best Buy, these headphones have earned 4.4 stars out of 5 from customers, showing that you don't necessarily need to spend a lot of money to have a quality experience.
Why these headphones were chosen
Several different factors went into selecting these headphones. A preference was given to headphones that use radio frequency connections over Bluetooth, as that is the best option to combat latency issues, but it was important to show that both options are available to customers. Bluetooth headphones are far more plentiful on the marketplace than RF ones, so finding the right RF headphones to spotlight was dependent on finding some kind of consensus amongst different publications, such as PC Mag, Rtings, The New York Times, The Audiophile Man, Richer Sounds, and Gizmodo, and customer reviews on various sites that sell these products.
Once reviews and opinions were taken into consideration, a range of options needed to be presented. This was not just including both RF and Bluetooth headphones, but it also included over-the-ear and in-ear options, as the preference depends on the customer. A range of price options also needed to be demonstrated to show that budget does not necessarily have to be an impediment to having a wireless headphone set for your television.