Headphones

Going Wireless - Headphones

Wireless headphones with good sound quality have only been widely available and affordable for a few years. If you're like me and are constantly breaking the wires on your ordinary headphones, wireless ones provide a nice relief. Experts agree that wireless headphones don't match the sound quality of traditional ones, but for casual listening, the convenience of wireless is often worth the occasional hissing noise you may hear.

Four types of wireless headphones exist:

• FM radio frequency (RF) - typically the most affordable option, these units simply broadcast radio signals rather than establishing a point-to-point wireless connection

• Bluetooth - especially popular for connecting with cell phones

• infrared - designed for home theater systems, these units support very good sound quality but their range is limited to a single room

• Wi-Fi - capable of longer range transmissions than the others, Wi-Fi wireless headphone technology is still maturing