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We've recently released our Test Bench 1.6 update for Headphones! Read the Latency R&D Article to learn more.

Sennheiser RS 195 RF Wireless Headphones Review

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1
Reviewed Jun 23, 2017 at 12:06 pm
Latest change: Writing modified Dec 22, 2022 at 10:23 am
Sennheiser RS 195 RF Wireless Picture
5.6
Mixed Usage
6.6
Neutral Sound
5.6
Commute/Travel
4.4
Sports/Fitness
6.1
Office
5.8
Wireless Gaming
4.4
Wired Gaming
2.1
Phone Call

The Sennheiser RS 195 are decently comfortable home theater headphones that unfortunately do not improve much on previous designs. They perform worse overall than the RS 165 but have a slightly better sound than the RS 175. They also have a greater wireless range but the highest latency of the RS series. This makes their asking price a bit unjustified, especially when compared to the previous models.

Our Verdict

5.6 Mixed Usage

The RS 195 looks like the RS 165 but with a better build quality. Unfortunately, they might not be worth the upgrade as they perform slightly worse in sound, isolation, and latency. It's not a big difference but it's notable enough that the price gap doesn't feel justified. On the upside, they a slightly better wireless range and a few more features on the stand that are not available on the previous models.

Pros
  • Decent sound quality.
  • Low latency connection.
Cons
  • Poor noise isolation.
  • Limited range and usability.
  • Bass delivery varies significantly across users. Sensitive to glasses.
6.6 Neutral Sound

Average for neutral listening. They have a lot more bass than the previous models which may make some movies a bit more exciting but it's not ideal for neutral listeners. They have a great mid-range and thanks to the "personal hearing" profiles you can somewhat alter the bass to better suit your listening preferences. But overall, due to their bass-oriented sound and subpar Soundstage they're not as good as the RS 165 or the RS 185 for neutral listening.

5.6 Commute/Travel

Mediocre for commuting and traveling. The fact that you must have the transmitter in range means they won't be the ideal headphones to use anywhere but at home or at the office in front of your TV or PC.

4.4 Sports/Fitness

Not intended for sports. They have a fixed transmitter, they're bulky and a bit unstable which is not ideal for running or working out.

6.1 Office

Average for office use. They have a decent line-of-sight range, and they're comfortable and easy-to-use. However, they're a bit leaky and don't isolate enough for particularly noisy office environments.

4.4 Wired Gaming
  • 5.6 Mixed Usage
  • 6.6 Neutral Sound
  • 5.6 Commute/Travel
  • 4.4 Sports/Fitness
  • 6.1 Office
  • 5.8 Wireless Gaming
  • 4.4 Wired Gaming
  • 2.1 Phone Call
  1. Updated Dec 22, 2022: We've added a comparison between these headphones and the Insignia Digital Wireless Headphones in Portability.
  2. Updated Sep 14, 2022: We've added a comparison to the Avantree HT5009 Wireless in the 'Controls' test.
  3. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
  4. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
  5. Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
  6. Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
  7. Updated Jun 23, 2017: Review published.
  8. Updated Jun 21, 2017: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
  9. Updated Jun 21, 2017: Our testers have started testing this product.
  10. Updated Jun 19, 2017: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.

Compared To Other Headphones

Avantree HT5009 Wireless

The Sennheiser RS 195 RF Wireless are better TV headphones than the Avantree HT5009 Wireless. The Sennheiser headphones are more comfortable, better built, and have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer. However, the Avantree are Bluetooth headphones with better battery life and lower latency. They have a mic, so you answer calls while watching TV. 

Insignia Digital Wireless Headphones

The Sennheiser RS 195 RF Wireless are better TV headphones than the Insignia Ditial Wireless Headphones. The Sennheiser are more comfortable and better built. Their sound profile is more neutral, which some users may prefer, they have controls like music and speech modes to help customize their performance, and their continuous battery life is a bit longer too. That said, the Insignia have lower non-Bluetooth wireless latency.

Test Results

Design
Design
Style
Type Over-ear
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless Yes
Transducer Dynamic

The RS 195 look practically identical to the RS 165. They don't have the textured back of RS 175 and they're not open like the 185. The biggest difference comes with their stand which has two dials; one for balance and another to switch between personal hearing profiles. They feel a bit more premium than the RS 165 thanks to some minor finishing touches and their much heavier build. Overall, like the rest of the RS series, they're kind of bulky headphones not meant for outdoor use.

7.5
Design
Comfort
Weight 0.75 lbs
Clamping Force
1 lbs

The RS 195 are the heaviest headphones in the RS series. They also use the same padding as that of the RS 165 and 175 which s not as soft as that of the RS 185. However, they're still comfortable headphones with spacious ear cups that should fit comfortably around most listeners ears. Unfortunately, they have the same issue of poor pressure distribution which causes a bit of soreness between your ear lobes and your jaw. It's not painfully uncomfortable, but it's not ideal either.

6.5
Design
Controls
OS Compatibility
N/A
Ease Of Use Good
Feedback Good
Call/Music Control No
Volume Control Yes
Microphone Control N/A
Channel Mixing
N/A
Noise Cancelling Control N/A
Talk-Through
N/A
Additional Buttons Music mode

The Sennheiser RS 195 have an efficient controls scheme, but it's slightly limited. Like the rest of the RS series, they can't take calls or play/pause your music, so if you're looking for these commands from TV headphones, you should consider the Avantree HT5009 Wireless instead. However, the buttons provided are responsive and offer functionality for volume control, and toggling between music and speech modes. They also have two dials on their stand that control balance and switching "personal hearing" profiles, A-G and normal hearing.

6.7
Design
Breathability
Avg.Temp.Difference 5 °C
1.1
Design
Portability
L 7.6"
W 7.6"
H 3.9"
Volume 225 in³
Transmitter Required Yes

The RS series are not portable headphones. Like most TV headphones such as the Insignia Digital Wireless Headphones, they're quite large, they don't fold, and you need the stand for them actually to work. You most likely won't be carrying them around on your person.

0
Design
Case
Type No case
L N/A
W N/A
H N/A
Volume N/A
7.5
Design
Build Quality

The RS 195 look identical to the RS 165 but their build quality feels a bit more premium. The ear cups are heavier and feel a bit denser. Like the previous models, the headband is decently flexible and reinforced with a thin metal frame. Their build quality feels solid enough that they won't get easily damaged by accidental drops but when compared to other headphones in their price range, they do not feel as sturdy, or durable.

5.0
Design
Stability

The RS 195 are not stable headphones. They're notably heavier than all the other models and while they're a bit tighter than the RS 185 they still sway too much during physical activity to be stable headphones for sports. Also, they need to be in range to their charging dock so sports in general with these headphones is impractical.

Design
Headshots 1
Design
Headshots 2
Design
Top
Design
In The Box

  • Sennheiser RS 195 Headphones
  • TR 195 transmitter
  • Audio cable
  • Optical cable
  • (EU) power adapter
  • (UK) power adapter
  • (AU) power adapter
  • (US) power adapter
  • 2 AAA NiMH rechargeable batteries
  • Manual

Sound
Sound
Sound Profile
Bass Amount
2.72 dB
Treble Amount
-0.02 dB
5.3
Sound
Frequency Response Consistency
Avg. Std. Deviation
1.4 dB

Poor Consistency. Like the closed-back RS 165 and RS 175, the RS 195 shows a big variance in their Bass performance. The maximum amount of variance in the Bass Range at 20Hz is about 18dB. The red line shows one of our humans subjects that wears glasses. The Treble Range consistency however, is good.

Sound
Raw Frequency Response
6.9
Sound
Bass Accuracy
Std. Err.
4.35 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
Low-Bass
6.65 dB
Mid-Bass
1.48 dB
High-Bass
-3.58 dB

Decent Bass Range performance. Low-bass and bass are overemphasized by as much as 6dB, which adds extra kick and rumble to the sound. High-bass shows about 3dB of underemphasis, which could make the body of vocals/leads a bit thin. Also, their bass delivery varies significantly across users, and is sensitive to the quality of fit, seal, and whether you wear glasses. The response here represents the average bass response and your experience may vary.

8.0
Sound
Mid Accuracy
Std. Err.
2.63 dB
Low-Mid
-2.95 dB
Mid-Mid
-1.34 dB
High-Mid
-0.52 dB

Very good Mid Range performance. The underemphasis in low-mid and mid, which is the continuation of the high-bass dip, takes some of the body away from vocals/leads and pushes them slightly to the back of the mix. High-mid is mostly neutral, but a bit inconsistent.

6.2
Sound
Treble Accuracy
Std. Err.
4.93 dB
Low-Treble
1.91 dB
Mid-Treble
-4.91 dB
High-Treble
-1.24 dB

Mediocre Treble Range performance. The overall response is rather inconsistent. Low-treble shows a relatively narrow 5dB peak at 3KHz which is going to push the higher harmonics of vocals/leads to the front by adding extra presence. However, due to the narrow peak the effects will be subtle. The dip around 5KHz tend to have a negative effect on the detail and articulation of the instruments. Additionally, the 10KHz peak suggests that these headphones could sound a bit sharp on certain tracks.

6.4
Sound
Peaks/Dips
Peaks
2.32 dB
Dips
2.2 dB
5.7
Sound
Imaging
Weighted Group Delay
1.04
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
2.98
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
3.65
Weighted Phase Mismatch
11.7
6.3
Sound
Soundstage
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
3.68 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
3.48 dB
PRTF Distance
15.96 dB
Openness
4.3
Acoustic Space Excitation
4.5
7.0
Sound
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.303
WHD @ 100
0.515
Isolation
5.6
Isolation
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-13.99 dB
Noise Cancelling No
Bass
-0.17 dB
Mid
-12.63 dB
Treble
-30.33 dB

Poor Isolation. Like most other Over-Ear non-noise cancelling headphones, the RS 195 doesn't block any noise in the Bass Range. In the Mid Range they achieve 12dB of isolation which is above average. They also reduce the Treble noise by about 30dB which is good. However, the RS 195 has one of the highest amount of self-noise we have measured so far, which may be noticeable on quieter tracks/movies.

6.4
Isolation
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
43 dB

Average Leakage performance. The significant portion of the leakage sits between 400Hz and 4KHz which is an average range considering the Over-Ear design of these headphones. The overall level of leakage is also not too loud and above average.

Microphone
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
N/A
In-line
N/A
Boom
N/A
Detachable Boom
N/A
Mic No
0
Microphone
Recording Quality
Recorded Speech
N/A
LFE
N/A
FR Std. Dev.
N/A
HFE
N/A
Weighted THD
N/A
Gain
N/A
0
Microphone
Noise Handling
Speech + Pink Noise N/A
Speech + Subway Noise N/A
SpNR
N/A
Active Features
6.8
Active Features
Battery
Battery Type
AAA (X2)
Continuous Battery Life
19 hrs
Additional Charges
0
Total Battery Life
19 hrs
Charge Time
N/A
Power Saving Feature
No
Audio While Charging
No
Passive Playback
No
Charging Port Proprietary

The RS 195, like the rest of the RS series, have a good battery life. They lasted about 19 hours which is a bit shorter than the previous models but should be sufficient for most extended listening sessions. They also use rechargeable AAA batteries that can be charged with the stand. Unfortunately, it takes more than 8 hours for a full charge which is very limiting, but the charge time is heavily dependent on the capacity, age and wear of the rechargeable batteries. On the upside, you can always just swap out the AAA with new non-rechargeable batteries which may be less cost effective but has 0 charge time.

0
Active Features
App Support
App Name N/A
iOS N/A
Android N/A
macOS N/A
Windows N/A
Equalizer
N/A
ANC Control
N/A
Mic Control N/A
Room effects
N/A
Playback Control
N/A
Button Mapping N/A
Surround Sound N/A

No compatible app.

Connectivity
0
Connectivity
Bluetooth
Bluetooth Version
N/A
Multi-Device Pairing
N/A
NFC Pairing
N/A
Line of Sight Range
N/A
Default Latency
N/A
aptX Latency
N/A
aptX(LL) Latency
N/A
7.6
Connectivity
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
Non-BT Line of Sight Range
150 ft
Non-BT Latency
73 ms
5.0
Connectivity
Wired
Analog Audio
N/A
USB Audio
N/A
Detachable Yes
Length 7 ft
Connection 1/8" TRS
Wired Latency
N/A
Connectivity
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC / PS4 Analog
No
PC / PS4 Wired USB
No
PC / PS4 Non-BT Wireless
Audio Only
Connectivity
Xbox One Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
Xbox One Wireless
Audio Only
5.6
Connectivity
Base/Dock
Type
Wireless Dock
USB Input
No
Line In
Yes
Line Out
No
Optical Input
Yes
RCA Input
No
Dock Charging
Yes
Power Supply
AC Adapter