xdream Wireless Headphone Review - Freespan Digital Technology

(Update:) xDream Wireless Cans now $120! Click For Details

Sometime in December, (2000), I received an E-mail from Mr. Neoh Chong Lim inviting me to visit his booth at CES in January. He had read some of my articles on headphones posted on the Internet at www.GoodCans.com and was particularly interested in my negative comments concerning wireless headphones. You see, his company, FreeSystems Pte Ltd., has a new trade marked technology called “Freespan”. He thought I might be impressed with his new wireless, infrared, digital transmission headphones with the trademarked name, “xdream”. Though not a regular CES attendee in the past, I just happened to be preparing to take in the show this year. Anyway, I visited his booth, tried out some of their xdream headphones, sat in a seat and listened to wireless surround sound speakers, and spoke briefly to Mr. Neoh. My first impressions were favorable, but as you might guess, judging a product from such a brief encounter in a noisy environment is not really very telling. Thankfully, Mr. Neoh again contacted me by E-mail after the show and offered to send a pair of xdream headphones for me to personally review in the comfort of my own listening environment. The following are my thoughts and comments on this new product and technology:

xdream headphone The first thing noticeably different about the xdream wireless Cans is the red oval mound placed on top. It looks like a product drawn for the Jetson’s cartoon... you know, the 21st century family that travels in flying cars and lives in high rise buildings that look like flying saucers! Well, anyway, the red bubble is obviously the receiving unit, which I am assuming is a necessary evil required to receive the best infrared signal possible. And the transmission unit, it looks like a little toy version of a space ship from Star Trek! You’re going to have to work hard to convince the kids that these aren’t toys, but rather, a serious wireless listening setup!

xdream transmitter The transmission unit set up is rather normal for a wireless transmitter. A left and right input using standard RCA jacks. You need to connect to an audio out or use a Y-connector to plug into a standard mini headphone jack. BTW, I think most of the cords for connection are included, even a USB cord. What’s this? A USB connection! FreeSystems must be planning on marketing this product towards computer users and gamers in addition to music listeners and home theater (Note: since this is a computer thing, USB connection is not supported by the folks at Listening Station Headphones). In fact, there is a switch on the transmission unit for switching between close and further away positions, (I guess sitting at a computer with the headphones on, 2 or 3 feet away from the transmission unit requires a bit different signal output?). Not having a high quality sound card in my self assembled computer, I bypassed testing the xdream with my computer for now. Just to note that some of the simplest tasks, don’t always get done right: The xdream review unit I received was easy to connect, and seemed to work fine without a hitch. Then, when comparing the sound to some other headphones, I noticed a problem. The left and the right channels were switched? I double checked my connections, and all seemed correct? After some thought, I just switched the left and the right RCA connections, and all seemed to be fine at this point. Upon later contact with Mr. Neoh, he assured me that my test unit was a pre-production model and that the problem shouldn’t exist in the final product. (Note: left/right problem was corrected)

OK, let’s get to the sound! Can wireless Cans even come close to comparing to the sound quality of a wired headphone? Up until I listened to the xdream, my answer to this question was a resounding “NO”! But wait, this headphone is sounding pretty darn good! Could it be that a wire strung across the room in order to have good sound quality is no longer needed? Yes, this “Freespan” technology does have some real potential. I am moving freely about the room, receiving a super clear signal... I am even dancing with these headphones on! Oops, when I ducked my head, and my body came in between the transmitter and the receiver, I lost the signal. Unlike RF, (radio frequency), wireless technology where reception can even go through walls, Infrared needs a clear line of sight and is limited to about 20 feet from the source. But in Freespan’s favor, RF reception does not even come close to sounding this good!

Now about the headphones: Haven’t I seen these before? Yes, I did a review of some RF wireless Advent headphones about a year ago and the Cans looked exactly the same! Full sized, circumaural, “Closed” headphones. Soft velvety type earpad material. Quite comfy. But frankly, I wasn’t too impressed with the sound quality of the Advent. They were bass heavy and muddy. Well, in the world of electronics, a company can’t build everything from scratch. I am assuming FreeSystems has sourced the generic headphone housing from a third party and adapted their Freespan technology into it? And judging by the sound, possibly the transducers are different than those Advents because this sound is clearly superior!

What's Included: The xdream headphones come with the infra-red transmitter, the AC/DC adapter to power the transmitter, the headphones with the built in IR receiver and amp, a USB cable, a Y-cord interconnect (mini-headphone plug to two RCA's) to connect the transmitter to a headphone output, a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter to plug the previous cord into a standard size headphone output, two rechargeable batteries for the headphone unit, a cord to plug the headphones into the transmitter while recharging the batteries, and the instruction manual. Basically, it comes with everything you need to connect the xdream up as long as you connect to a headphone output or a computer with USB ports. In a few cases, some of you may need to supply a standard RCA to RCA interconnect to plug into a standard line level output on a TV, receiver or pre-amp. My HDTV doesn't have a headphone output so this is how I first connected to my TV, (if you are like me, I have about a dozen of these inexpensive cords lying in drawers all around the house).

Sound Quality: Can wireless headphones excite this headphone reviewer’s ears... in a word... YES! Detail is quite good, both in the mids and the highs. And even the bass is sounding pretty darn good. Could these compete with my almighty Grado’s... er, well, no. You see, the xdream is a “Closed” headphone. If you have read any of the information at www.GoodCans.com, you may know that “Closed” headphones usually don’t quite sound as natural as do “Open” headphones. This is a known phenomenon that I believe was widely marketed by Sennheiser even back in the 70’s? But I believe there is a reason the xdream is closed. In order to receive the wireless signal and control volume, a little headphone amp is built into the headphone. In addition, two AAA batteries are also placed inside the headphone to power the amp and the wireless receiver, plus there is a volume control and an on/off button. In other words, an “Open” headphone would be kind of difficult given all that is required to be built into the headphone housing. BTW, you may be thinking, “These must be pretty heavy headphones?” Well, actually, they are not all that heavy. I remember a lot of huge Cans from the 60’s and 70’s that weighed more than these things! Additional comfort note: I have listened to over 50 headphones in the past two years, and believe me, these are actually pretty comfortable headphones due to the soft earpad material and the fit around the ears!

OK, so they sound good, but not as good as “Open” Grado’s. What do they compare to? Well, I am currently reviewing four "Wired," “Closed” Sennheisers ranging in price from $100 to $200. The wireless xdream Cans so compare quite favorably. They easily outclass the circumaural Senn HD270. The supra-aural Senn HD25-sp1 seems to match the xdream in detail, but the circumaural design of the xdream gives it a larger sound space resulting in my ears preferring the xdream for both sound quality and comfort. It’s not until I get up to the $200 Senn Cans that the xdream doesn’t quite match up in sound quality. But it’s darn close! I had to listen very closely to determine as such and my critical listening for reviews is more discriminating than would be required by the average listener. And remember, all of the above headphones I am comparing the xdream’s to are “Wired” Cans! To further tout the quality of the Freespan technology, I did have the opportunity to compare the xdream with a $200 RF wireless Senn SR60. Frankly, there was no comparison! Though the $200 wireless Senn is better than the $100 wireless Cans I reviewed last year, the xdream is in a class above them. While I wouldn’t even consider comparing any of the wireless Senns with a wired headphone, the xdream is most definitely comparable to a "wired" headphone!

This wireless technology is the real thing! While the sound quality of the xdream rivals very competitively with some very good “Closed” headphones, if you mated the Freespan technology with some Grado’s, you would have some very serious “Wireless” headphones indeed! And guess what! FreeSystems is working on a project with Grado. Though it sounds like it is going to be quite spendy, it looks like they are going to mate the wireless receiver to a special edition Grado headphone amp and include a special edition headphone that looks an awful lot like a Grado SR325! As someone very familiar with Grado products, I know Grado wouldn’t mess with the technology if it didn’t offer sound quality rivaling corded sound!

Personally, at first I didn’t see the point of wireless headphones that require staying in the same room as the source. After all, a cheap headphone extension cord can be purchased for $10 and a good one for $40! But I have had the xdream connected to my home theater setup for a while now, and I am beginning to realize why some people would want wireless. Being able to pick up the headphones at any time without unraveling the extension cord for use and then having to put it away; not having a cord running across my family room floor makes for a straightened room; and the “no tripping factor.”

Please Note: About the only problems we've even encountered with reception quality had to do with very bright sunlight or plasma TV's. Please don't purchase the xDream if you're primary area of use is in front of a Plasma TV.

Potential Uses: The xdream wireless headphone works quite nicely for home theater watching. I know my family room already has enough cords strung about... now when will I get to use this technology with my surround sound speakers! And the USB connection makes it a natural with computer gaming or music files. In fact, I could see a student in a dorm room using the xdream to listen to mp3 files across the room from their computer. And yes, even a person looking for the best sounding wireless headphones for use with their music audio system will have to consider the xdreams! Just remember though... these are IR and you have to stay in the same room as the transmitter.

xdream logo

I don’t know if FreeSystems plans on tweaking the xdream in the near future, but for a first outing, they have created a very good sounding wireless headphone that demands attention! In other words, if you like the idea of corded sound quality from “Wireless Cans,” the xdream is a “Dream Come True!”