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#1 2009-10-19 04:44:00

Xs1t0ry
Member
From: Canada
Registered: 2007-07-01
Posts: 181

Wireless Headphones: Bluetooth or R/F?

I am trying to decide between getting a pair of wireless headphones that are Bluetooth and ones that are R/F FM. I've thought of some pros and cons and would like your input.

Bluetooth

Pros

-Smaller implementation (no big receiver needed)

Cons

-Possibility of sound cutting out because of cordless phones, cellphones, wireless internet?
-Possible lower sound quality
-Possible driver/compatibility issues in Linux

R/F FM

Pros

-Little to no chance of interference
-No drivers or compatibility to worry about
-Good sound quality (most of these are made for Home Theatre use)

Cons

-Bulky receiver needed

How does Bluetooth fair in Arch? Especially for PCs that unlike laptops, don't natively have BT and need a USB Bluetooth adapter which may have it's own proprietary drivers? It seems like IR/non-Bluetooth is the safe bet.

Thoughts?

Last edited by Xs1t0ry (2009-10-19 05:23:03)

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#2 2009-10-19 09:01:59

ngoonee
Forum Fellow
From: Between Thailand and Singapore
Registered: 2009-03-17
Posts: 7,354

Re: Wireless Headphones: Bluetooth or R/F?

Am using a pair of Jabra Halo headphones right now (free from the competition at the company's website). Haven't noted any BT-related sound quality issues, sounds as good as when plugged in, honestly (this one comes with a plug-in cable as well). Sound doesn't cut out unless I leave the room (5+ meters and a wall in between), but in the labs 10 meters seems fine. Not affected by handphone signals etc as far as I can tell.

Concerning drivers, you'd want to use the Pulseaudio/Bluez stack for this. I've been keeping tabs on the developments on the Pulse side, basically all the possible issues are with the bluetooth dongle, so that would probably be the ONLY problem you find. Ease-of-use is terrific, I paired with bluez (gnome-bluetooth applet) and it just worked.

IRs are good rep, but yes, the bulk is one concern. For me BT is just more convenient, this set doubles as my handsfree for my phone as well..


Allan-Volunteer on the (topic being discussed) mailn lists. You never get the people who matters attention on the forums.
jasonwryan-Installing Arch is a measure of your literacy. Maintaining Arch is a measure of your diligence. Contributing to Arch is a measure of your competence.
Griemak-Bleeding edge, not bleeding flat. Edge denotes falls will occur from time to time. Bring your own parachute.

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#3 2009-10-19 12:36:32

Knute
Member
From: Minot, ND
Registered: 2009-03-17
Posts: 604

Re: Wireless Headphones: Bluetooth or R/F?

I just got a dongle from walmart  over the weekend.

The biggest issue that I ran into was with the pin.
After I installed blueman (with it's gnome dependencies, that til now I hadn't needed so didn't install) the pin issue wasn't an issue any longer.

HTH


Knute

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#4 2009-10-20 05:18:27

jwwolf
Member
Registered: 2009-06-29
Posts: 74

Re: Wireless Headphones: Bluetooth or R/F?

Sennheiser R/F.

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#5 2009-10-20 06:18:38

MadTux
Member
Registered: 2009-09-20
Posts: 553

Re: Wireless Headphones: Bluetooth or R/F?

I am using Hauppauge XFones (R/F). You don't need drivers for these and they work on Windows as well as Linux without installation. They come with their own firmware on a usb-stick like sender/receiver (far from bulky) and provide something Hauppauge calls "Virtual Surround Sound".
With respect to interference, these headphones work in the 2.4 GHz spectrum, so if you have a wireless mouse (e.g. the newer Logitech models), they may interfere with the mouse.

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#6 2009-10-21 05:38:54

stephenmorphey
Member
Registered: 2009-10-21
Posts: 6

Re: Wireless Headphones: Bluetooth or R/F?

I have been using Sennheiser RS 110 Consumer Wireless Headphones, they are good. I would suggest you to view reports on line on this topic and then decide keeping your requirements in mind.

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#7 2009-10-21 15:05:59

alexandrite
Member
Registered: 2009-03-27
Posts: 326

Re: Wireless Headphones: Bluetooth or R/F?

The Bluetooth protocol stack has a direct link just for audio, so phones and whatnot wouldn't generally interfere with it afaik.  Still, I have never seen a high-sound-quality set bluetooth headphones.  I would recommend RF if you were going to go wireless.

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#8 2009-10-21 22:27:31

ngoonee
Forum Fellow
From: Between Thailand and Singapore
Registered: 2009-03-17
Posts: 7,354

Re: Wireless Headphones: Bluetooth or R/F?

alexandrite wrote:

The Bluetooth protocol stack has a direct link just for audio, so phones and whatnot wouldn't generally interfere with it afaik.  Still, I have never seen a high-sound-quality set bluetooth headphones.  I would recommend RF if you were going to go wireless.

Depends what you mean by high-quality. The latest offerings from Jabra and Sony are pretty good IMO. Of course, your wired will still beat them flat, but its just about the same issue with RF, due to size limitations on the headset itself.


Allan-Volunteer on the (topic being discussed) mailn lists. You never get the people who matters attention on the forums.
jasonwryan-Installing Arch is a measure of your literacy. Maintaining Arch is a measure of your diligence. Contributing to Arch is a measure of your competence.
Griemak-Bleeding edge, not bleeding flat. Edge denotes falls will occur from time to time. Bring your own parachute.

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#9 2009-10-22 00:06:18

Echo
Member
From: Ohio, United States
Registered: 2006-05-16
Posts: 239

Re: Wireless Headphones: Bluetooth or R/F?

I'd go w/an extension cable myself for wired headphones vs wireless. You'll hear the slightest interference from the wireless headphones.

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#10 2009-10-22 01:02:37

iphitus
Forum Fellow
From: Melbourne, Australia
Registered: 2004-10-09
Posts: 4,927

Re: Wireless Headphones: Bluetooth or R/F?

Echo wrote:

I'd go w/an extension cable myself for wired headphones vs wireless. You'll hear the slightest interference from the wireless headphones.

That wouldn't be an issue for bluetooth transmission as it's digital. I guess for RF it depends on the implementation. Some of sennheiser's RF are digital, some aren't.

Last edited by iphitus (2009-10-22 01:05:10)

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#11 2009-10-22 07:51:44

ngoonee
Forum Fellow
From: Between Thailand and Singapore
Registered: 2009-03-17
Posts: 7,354

Re: Wireless Headphones: Bluetooth or R/F?

For BT the primary concern would be drop-outs rather than interference. But the newer stereo BT (jabra halo and samsung BH-600 AFAICR) don't really have that problem. I've been using my Halo daily since getting it, only get drop-outs at maybe 5-6 meters from my machine (through a wall). Just today I walked to the next office and didn't have problems.

Its not comparable to audiophile equipment, of course, but easily beats earbuds and standard headphones.


Allan-Volunteer on the (topic being discussed) mailn lists. You never get the people who matters attention on the forums.
jasonwryan-Installing Arch is a measure of your literacy. Maintaining Arch is a measure of your diligence. Contributing to Arch is a measure of your competence.
Griemak-Bleeding edge, not bleeding flat. Edge denotes falls will occur from time to time. Bring your own parachute.

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