Hauppauge XFones PC-2400

Performance
Perhaps all this 'I'm-not-being-friends-with-Bluetooth' nonsense makes a little sense, as true plug-and-play functionality without any pairing meant we were up and running within seconds. Thanks to its decent bandwidth, it also means there's no additional audio compression happening between PC and headphones, and pumping some lossless audio into the wireless cans gave pretty decent results for a sub-£100 pair.

But the real fun started when we fired up PowerDVD and switched on Dolby Headphone. The difference it makes is extraordinary, and turns the convention 'in-head' stereo image into a wholly 'out-of-head' experience, with very realistic pseudo-surround performance. The XFones performed well with Dolby Headphone, and as wireless headphones go, they're certainly capable of producing a realistic movie experience. Music sounded fine as well, with good bass and decent enough overall tone.

On occasion, we noticed significant interference from other Bluetooth devices, and again once when hooked them up to a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop. But this was remedied by easily changing the broadcast channel on the USB dongle, so it was never a major issue. Reception was generally good, too, and the 10m range of transmission seemed accurate, as we didn't notice any major drops in signal quality until a significant distance from the PC.

If you're using a Mac, you'll get the headphones to work, but the included software will not. This means you won't get the pseudo-surround sound experience from Dolby Headphone. Sadly, this is really a PC-lover's package for the most part.

Conclusion
With generally decent sound quality, a comfortable build and a good price point, Hauppauge's XFones PC-2400 are a sound choice.

Do bear in mind though that the virtual surround sound processing is handled solely by software available from any good retailer. If you've already got a good pair of cans and just want an amazing headphone movie experience, you needn't pay this much. But as a complete package, we're impressed.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday

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