Help finding wireless headset that isn't bluetooth.

Bolero · Sep 27, 2015

Hope this is the right place to put this.

Right. I am trying to buy a wireless headset so I can listen to audio books while painting. (Only way to stay sane). Not having a lead connecting me to something would be such a gain (have used an iPod for many years with wire, and the dear old thing is dying..

)

So what I want is a headset that stays well on the head, and talks to a transmitter that you plug into a USB socket. Nice and simple, no software or compatibility issues to worry about as you can get with bluetooth, just plug and play. I have been looking on Amazon and there is no filter to screen out "Bluetooth" - so I've been wading through stuff and getting fed up.

Can anybody point me to such a headset?

(Ideally less than £20 but can go over by a bit.)

Could be rechargeable, or work with rechargeable batteries. The latter is better for me as I can have two sets of batteries on the go.

WriterBN · Sep 27, 2015

That would be a tough item to find. Basically, you're looking for an RF headset--I'm not even sure those are manufactured now.

I'm curious why you want to avoid Bluetooth, though. You shouldn't really have software issues, as all Bluetooth headsets I've seen are plug and play (at least, for the Mac).

Bolero · Sep 27, 2015

Well, firstly I've had bad experiences with Bluetooth that were not plug and play, and when you did get it talking I was forever having to log in again - was about four years ago but still...... and I've seen recent Amazon reviews that say the purchaser had a lot of trouble getting the particular headset to work in Bluetooth with their particular machine.

Secondly we each have a laptop on which we want to be able to play the audio files - and only one has a blue tooth thing in it.

Ditto the PCs - when at home, would use a PC for this and they are not bluetooth enabled either.

I have seen some transmitters + headsets on amazon which are not bluetooth - still for sale - but not many reviews, first couple I looked at were not sold by Amazon, had to go to third party website and not sure how independent the rave reviews were. So I was drowning in search items which were mostly bluetooth (hundreds of returns on wireless headsets), no way on Amazon to eliminate Bluetooth from the search and was hoping there was a person here with experience of it.

robjvargas · Sep 27, 2015

I use a BT headset on my Lenovo Yoga2 Pro laptop. No issues. Bluetooth does have a bad habit of not recognizing when the laptop drops into sleep mode. Usually, I simply go to the BT settings in the laptop, turn BT off, then back on, and everything connects.

BT isn't designed to work beyond 10 meters (30 feet, basically).

I'm seeing lots of PC's with BT anymore, both portable and desktop.

Anyway, non-BT is getting harder to find. Here's a broad list of wireless headphones, with ratings by C|NET. Sadly, the cheapest headphones I could find on that list was the Skullcandy Grind. £40, according to C|Net.

Bolero · Sep 27, 2015

Thanks.
Off to look at that.

For me anything that needs settings on laptop turning on and off is less than ideal - when the process involves cursing, climbing down the ladder, parking the paint, taking off gloves, etc etc

And yes, we are a bit budget restricted second hand re-conditioned laptops that were corporate ones bought from eBay and the like. I can play the books via a pair of old speakers, but if I have to have windows open while painting, traffic noise then gets in the way, etc, sad, frustrating life, etc

And painting is so, mind-numbingly boring.....

Laer Carroll · Sep 27, 2015

There are two kinds of products which might work for you.

A lot of gaming headsets communicate wirelessly to transceivers connected to your computer via USB. If you don't want to use the microphone, just fold it out of the way.

Another kind of headset is used with entertainment consoles and TVs. It attaches to the console/TV via RCA connectors. It sends sound to you via infrared. This requires you to stay in line of sight with the transmitter but that may not be a problem for you. This is what I use to watch TV without bothering the rest of the family. I also play music on my computer which is connected to my TV, which sends the sound to me as if it came from the TV, but actually came from the computer via the TV.

Osulagh · Sep 27, 2015

A few issues.

Yes, like Laer said, you can get wireless gaming headsets or entertainment headphones. The problem with them is that their range is not very good and their receivers have to be plugged into wherever you're getting your sound from, and we're looking at $100 and up. And then they are not made for someone to be active and will most likely shift and fall off your head.

To be honest, just keep using your iPod. Hell, go out and get a Sansa Clip if your iPod is just about dead. Get some sport headphones and you're good to go. Run the cable under your shirt, put the player in your pocket, get to work.

Bolero · Sep 28, 2015

Thanks for the input on IR and other things.

Sansa Clip looks nice for MP3 files thanks for that idea - I'll take a look. Tried wire under the shirt with the iPod and the bit sticking out above the collar always catches on something at some point and yanks the headphones off.

Usually when I am all painty.

Bolero · Sep 28, 2015

Further comments and questions.

With the extra magic search term "RF" in wireless I was able to narrow things down to a non-mad making level. Quite a few of the reviews mention hiss with RF wireless.

Question - does hiss happen with Bluetooth? Not seen it mentioned in a review but....

Second question, on the MP3 player - does it:

1. Remember where you get to in the book and go back to it?

2. Cope with a series of separate files for the book? I had an early cheap MP3 player (possibly Xansa??) that was OK for music, but do whatever I tried, it randomised the order of playing the book files. Or sorted by some strange system of its own.

Sorry to keep asking questions, hoped AW would have lots of people who've done audio book file players - ideally on tight budget.

(If I ever win the lottery, I'm hiring a painter and decorator

)

Osulagh · Sep 28, 2015

Hiss can come about in headphones for many reasons--one of the most common problems. Hiss is typically a sign that your amplifier section of whatever you're hooked up too is not as sensitive as your headphones. With wireless headphones, this could mean that the amplifier inside your headphones is too powerful, or something with the transmission, or whatever. It's hard to tell without fully testing it all out.

Are we talking the Sansa? It'll play like your iPod, if not better. If you're in the middle of a song/section of book and turn it off, it'll resume playback when you turn it back on as long as that's selected in the options (probably already selected). And if your files are listed in order, it'll play them in order as long as it's set to play in order (not random).

Bolero · Sep 29, 2015

I'm talking a little thingy bought about 8 years ago for about £10, white oblong (not flat) running on AAA batteries. Thought it was called a Xansa. Long since thrown to the back of a drawer in complete frustration. (The files were in **** order, it wasn't on ***** randomise, it was just *$%*&

). Hence became a fan of using the laptop where I have a nice big screen on which I can build playlists and see what I am doing.

THe MP3 player you recommended is totally different (flat and black for starters

). Thanks for giving more detail on how well it works.

Help finding wireless headset that isn't bluetooth.

Bolero

WriterBN

Bolero

robjvargas

Bolero

Laer Carroll

Aerospace engineer turned writer

Osulagh

Independent fluffy puppy.

Bolero

Bolero

Osulagh

Independent fluffy puppy.

Bolero