My dad has expressed a wish for a set of wireless headphones for his upcoming birthday. He listens to CDs using his (pretty new and fairly high-spec) desktop tower PC. He doesn’t use streaming media as far as I know, apart from the odd YouTube video. He’d want proper headphones, not earbuds.
I kind of assumed that wireless headphones all use BlueTooth these days, and that worries my slightly - not having owned one for a while, I’m not sure if desktop tower PCs have BlueTooth built in. If not, could I still use BlueTooth headphones and get him some sort of dongle? Are BlueTooth dongles still a thing?
That said, I discovered that Sennheiser make wireless headphones which have their own transmitter which connects over a standard (I think) audio cable from the computer and then has a dedicated digtal wireless connection of some sort to the headphones. Anyone have any experience of these or similar?
Yes, I’m quite experienced with all sorts of headphones and headphone amps. My advice: wireless units are a poor second to hardwired units (with a decent headphone amp).
With that said, go Sennheiser if you have to get wireless.
A truly good hardwired set of headphones and headphone amplifier will be in the $1500-$2000 range. Wireless is much less expensive.
Oh my, yes. I have a similar pair, not Sennheiser, but still awesome. They have great clarity and volume. They’re loud enough to hear when you’re not wearing them, so be sure to adjust the volume to a safe level. They have enough range that you can wander out to the back yard and still hear your music. The transmitter plugs directly into the standard 3.5 mm earphone jack, so you’ll have no problem using them with a PC.
I have some Sennheiser RS120 headphones. I’m an early riser, and use them when I watch television in the mornings to keep from waking the house up while binge watching Netflix. They work fine for that purpose.
I have a pair of wireless headphones, but not Sennheiser (can’t remember the brand and I’m not home to check). The sound quality as reproduced from the source is very good but there is a lot of background hiss. So if you go this route get really good ones.
I have a pair of Sony Bluetooth headphones that are pretty good and if he is not looking for audiophile quality 'phones these are very reasonable if you’re not getting the noise reduction models, maybe $100-150.
I don’t think most desktops come with Bluetooth but some do. You can get BlueTooth transmitters that plug into a USB port.
I have a pair of Logitech headphones that I use for conference calls using Skype from my laptop. This par would NOT be great for listening to music, but I mention it because they work either with bluetooth and their own dongle. I think the reception is slightly better with the dedicated dongle than when using the computer’s bluetooth connection.
Will your father be in the same room as the PC? If not, I doubt wireless would work well at all. If he will be in the room, how far will the PC be from where he’s sitting? Will he be pacing around? I find that my headset gets staticky if I step into the next room even if I’m well within the supposed 30 foot range.
Bluetooth dongles absolutely do exist. Can your father check his desktop to see if it has it built in? If not, the adapters seem to be 15 bucks or thereabouts on Amazon.
If you’re looking something in the under-$100 range, I’ve enjoyed the headset I bought myself for Christmas last year, a Turtle Beach 350. Wireless, uses the USB port on my PC. I live in a studio so I can’t get more than about 15 feet from the transmitter, but I enjoy the sound I get. Plus, it’s an actual headset, with a mic that unplugs when not needed.
Hm. Actually, I’ve got the Turtle Beach 350, not the 350 VR, which looks to be specifically configured for virtual reality on game consoles. Mostly the same hardware, I’d assume.
