Ever heard of Rapoo? Neither had we, until last week when the Chinese electronics manufacturer announced its H9080 wireless headphones at CES 2013. Though the year’s biggest electronics show is always accompanied by an explosion of news, things were a bit quiet on the headphone front of late, so let’s dig in.
In an interesting break from the norm, these cans are crafted specifically for home entertainment systems. The H9080 allow users to tune into music, movies, and video games using 5GHz wireless transmission, from up to 10 meters (about 33 feet) away from the source.
Leather lines the headband and earcups, which are meant to provide comfort for extended wearing, and the ‘phones play for 10 hours on a three hour charge – a run-time that compares well to high-end offerings like the MM 500-X from Sennheiser. How these cans are charged, however, may be a a bit more noteworthy. They power up via the included home station, a sweet-looking headphone throne that doubles as a place to store your cans when you aren’t using them.
No word yet on pricing, but we do know the H9080 will be available sometime in the first quarter of 2013.
