Bluetooth Headphones?

[Greg Barker]

I apologize if this ground has been covered, but I'm looking for something better than using my iPhone earbuds as headphones with my Casio PX160. Actually, the only problem with the earbuds is that I don't have quite enough reach when I head for the right side of the keyboard. Akk!

I've determined the Casio's USB port doesn't work with USB headphones. What a shame.

A friend of my daughters uses bluetooth headphones with his keyboard and loves them, but my daughter could not provide any details.

I've looked up the plug-in Koss headphones that Gary recommended in another thread, but was wondering if anyone had experience with bluetooth headphones that will work with my Casio.

Thanks.

 

[Rayblewit]

I personally find that earbuds and bluetooth are very uncomfortable. I use proper audio head phones. mine are TDK brand. They are so much more fitting and sound proof from others nearby. The ear buds emit high pitch crackle sounds for others to hear.

 

[Greg Barker]

Wow! I could not understand what crackle sounds Rayblewit was referring to. Long way around, I was thinking about my two favorite Keyboard artists, Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman, and found the Keith Emerson Dead at 71 thread. I started listening to the video of the more recent performance of Tarkus using my Apple earbuds (my wife was listening to dulcimer in the other room), and the crackle was so bad I could not listen all the way through.

There must be a particular frequency or range that was hit that just doesn't work with the Apple earbuds! So far, however, none of my repertoire produces the same results on my keyboard listening with earbuds. I just can't stand the cord getting in the way of my arms and yanking at my head when I'm striking C-8.

By the way, I checked what TDK has to offer. Their wireless headphones use the Kleer standard, which is supposed to provide a better approximation of analog sound than Bluetooth, but makes the headphones incompatible with just about every possible use without using their transmitter dongle.

 

[happyrat1]

Actually now that you mention it, when he was still alive, my father had horrible hearing impairment and in order to be able to listen to TV at human levels in the same room as he I bought him a set of Sennheiser Wireless Headphones.

The Sennheiser RS120's use tunable FM wireless instead of bluetooth and because they use readily available NiMH AAA rechargeable batteries they will never be obsolete.

They had much better range and fidelity than Bluetooth and recharging them was a simple as setting them back on their cradle.

Battery life is well over 4 hours on a charge.

The one caveat is that they do tend to get warm after wearing them for an hour or so, only from your own body heat.

But I did my research before picking these up and I was extremely pleased with the performance for the price.

https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-RS120-Wireless-Headphones-Charging/dp/B0001FTVEK

Gary

 

[Greg Barker]

Ironically, the final decision was made by my daughter, who gave me Sennheiser RS-120 headphones for my birthday. They work adequately, and are an improvement over the short leash imposed by my earbuds.

The manufacturer recently discontinued them, but they are still on the market, so probably worth a couple of comments.

They are comfortable to wear, but sometimes slip off my head (awkward).

I would not call them portable. They have to be within range of their charging base, so the base has to go with the headphones. So when I travel with my keyboard, it will be back to the earbuds.

The transmitter has three channels, and the headset has an analog dial to both select and tune to the channels. I was able to find a sweet spot with relatively little background noise, although when I move my head sometimes I get a swishing sound with the movement.

For being wireless, the system has a whole lot of wires, power to the base, cable between base and audio jack on the keyboard.

These Sennheisers are FM frequency analog headphones, but I also came across something regarding Bluetooth headsets for people to consider if you are thinking of wireless headphones. Some have a delay of up to a couple of seconds between the source and the headphone, which would make them totally unacceptable for keyboard use. This is apparently not intrinsic to Bluetooth, but a software problem with some specific manufacturers. For example, Aluratek headphones have this problem, so while they would be acceptable for listening to the play list on your smart phone, they would not work for keyboards, gaming, or television viewing (one of the markets they go after). As of a couple of years ago Clearsounds Bluetooth headphones had the same problem, but I could not find whether their current models had solved this.

 

[happyrat1]

Glad to hear you found a solution. While it may not be perfect, nothing really is.

The problem, as you pointed out, is that high fidelity and cordless portability don't really co-exist well in the electronics world unless you are willing to spend huge bucks on some professional gear.

Gary