The Sony MDR-DS-3000 wireless surround-sound headphones let you watch a movie at a thunderous volume without disturbing your neighbors, and also without being tethered to your television with wires. When you first open the box, start charging the included head-set batteries right away. It takes about 16 hours to get a complete charge the first time around, but if you're anxious to try the headphones immediately, you can use two regular AAA cells instead. (Just don't try to recharge them.) Press the battery door release button on the left ear cup housing to open the battery compartment. Install the batteries and then use the included 9V AC adapter to connect the base station to wall power. The headset recharges by sitting on the base station, but getting the electrical contact points on the bottom of the ear cups to line up with their counterparts on the base station can be a bit tricky. Start by placing the headphones vertically on the station and then tilt them back until you hear the contacts click into place and see the red Charging light illuminate on the front panel.

You'll have two options for connecting the headphones to your audio source: one analog, one digital. If your receiver or DVD player has an optical digital audio output, use the included digital cable to connect it to the base station's digital input. Make sure the digital signal it's outputting is 48KHz or lower—the MDR-DS3000 won't work with 96KHz and higher sample rates. You can usually use your DVD player's audio options menu to select the correct rate. If you don't have a digital output from your stereo system, you can use standard red and white RCA cables to link the headphone base station to your system's analog outputs. Take care to match the red output to the red input and the white output to the white input to ensure that you don't end up reversing the right and left audio channels. Finally, be sure to select the input you choose, analog or digital, with the base station's front panel input selector switch.

For best results make sure the base station faces the area where you'll use the headphones most. Although it has a range of 23 feet when the station is pointed at the headphones, it quickly drops to only 10 feet when aimed 45 degrees away. The system uses infrared light for audio transmission, so you need a clean line of sight to the receiver. Direct sunlight, strong indoor lights, and plasma displays all can interfere with transmission, as well, so keep the lights down for the movie and don't sit too close to the TV.


Tweak Your Headphone's Sound

The Sony MDR-DS3000 really shines in the optimization it can provide for your sound. Begin by using the Volume Level control on the right ear of the headset to set a comfortable volume. The MDR-DS3000 can get pretty loud, so if you're not experiencing the level you want, it's likely the source device is set to a low volume level. Sony anticipated this situation and included a volume tweak on the back panel of the base station. Change the attenuator switch (marked ATT) from the-8 dB position to the 0 dB position for a significant boost in volume.

The headphones also have special digital signal processing built in to simulate surround sound. If your sound source is producing Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, or DTS audio, the base station will automatically detect the encoding and display the decoding mode with a front panel indicator light. The experience of listening to music and movies through headphones is different than in a room or a theater. To help bridge the gap, Sony added an Effect switch to the front panel of the base station. In the Off position, it does nothing. In the Cinema position, the effect changes the audio to simulate a sound field similar to what you would experience in a movie theater, enhancing the surround sound and low bass. In the third Music position, the headphones simulate the effect of listening to music from speakers in a typical room. Generally, the Cinema setting works best for movies and Music works best for audio, but experiment with both to see what you prefer. The difference between the three settings is fairly dramatic. It may be that your tastes change among different movies and music recordings.

If you're experiencing problems with your sound, there are a few things you can try. If you're not getting any sound at all, charge the headset batteries and then check the connection to the receiver to make sure your cables are connected correctly. If you have loud background noise or distorted sound, first move closer to the base station to see if a weak signal could be the cause of the problem. Next, double-check to be sure your hair or clothing isn't obstructing the infrared receivers on the headset. If you're using the digital input, make sure your DVD player isn't putting out 96KHz digital audio instead of the 48KHz that the headphones are compatible with. Finally, if you're using the analog input, try changing the position of the ATT switch to make sure you're not providing too much or too little signal.

by Joseph S. Bell