Audiovox Advent AW770 Wireless Headphones (Silver)

The AW770 comes with two main parts: the transmitter and the headphones. About five inches in diameter, the transmitter plugs into a standard wall outlet and hooks into your desired audio source via a single stereo RCA cable. It has one control wheel for tuning and another that serves as master volume. The headphones have their own volume control as well. In our tests, we found that transmission noise was lowest when the transmitter volume was left at maximum. We positioned the transmitter's tuner arbitrarily while setting up and found that the headset's tuner zeroed in on the appropriate frequency with little adjustment.

The transmitter range, rated at 300 feet, seemed surprisingly large, but sound proved enjoyable at distances in excess of 300 feet. However, static and crackle did intrude as distance from the transmitter increased. Some locations required us to "retune" the headphones for clearer reception, but in general, the system worked smoothly once it was set.

The sound from our test CD closely resembled that of clear FM radio: dynamically compressed, slightly hissy at its quietest, and somewhat pronounced in the high frequencies though very listenable. The compact headphones, which can be powered by either standard or rechargeable Ni-Cad AAA batteries (supplied), sounded warm and full in the bass though slightly harsh at the top end, especially at very loud levels. However, this effect was counteracted by the headphones' sealed-enclosure design, which blocked out enough ambient noise so that we never had to crank them too high.

For convenience, comfort, and good overall sound, the Advent AW770 is a steal.

Pros:

• Clear sound
• Good bass response
• Usable over wide area (even different floors)
• Comfortable headband

Cons:

• Headphones sound harsh at loud levels
• Different battery states require different tuning

I use them in bed late at night when the household is asleep. A second convenient bedside charger would be nice. I tend to put them down on the bedside table before I doze off rather than get up and walk across the room hook it up for recharge. If you're a late night TV watcher, you too might call this justifiable laziness. Too many times I put them on the next night and find the battery's down.

I honestly think that before I replace them with another wireless, I'd find a way to sneak an extension wire across the room through attic or basement space and go with a standard wired headphone.


Experimental Head Gear   February 17, 2004
 9 out of 10 found this review helpful

I thought wireless would allow me to move freely while listening to music, but that has been anything but the case. With my pair, there is a constant 'fuzz' almost like I am listening to an old AM radio. It falls out of frequency so often I find myself adjusting the tuner usually after 3 or 4 songs. If I simply move four feet away from the receiver I am punished by extremely loud distortion. It's painful. Since I've had these I've yet to be able to find the 'perfect' frequency, never getting the clear sound I had hoped for. In addition to the flawed usability, these are a lot bigger than they look and a just a little too cumbersome. I've learned that with wireless headphones it's best to spend a little extra for better quality. But it cheap, buy it twice.


Decent sound for music, poor for talk   January 1, 2004
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I had to return these phones as they were essentially unusable for spoken words. I use headphones on the computer for both music listening and internet phone calls. Music sounded okay, although there was some detectable hissing. However, talk (or anything with silent patches) was very choppy. You could make out what was being said, but it made extended calls somewhat aggravating.

On the plus side, the phones were very comfortable.