DP-IF5000 Transmitter

Sony Style

The first thing we said when the DS5000 came in was "now this is a serious piece of hardware." First of all, paying $500 for a pair of headphones may sound crazy, even in the world of moderately high fidelity (why not just apply it to the sales tax on your new speakers, right?). However, as with most things Sony, the MDR-DS5000 speakers are designed for "regular consumers," especially those with decent computer setups.

How can this be? What kind of "regular user" would shell out that much money for a pair of headphones? Well, maybe if there was an added incentive, right? Well, the first thing to note is that you're not paying $500 for just headphones. In fact, more than 2/3 of the price is reserved for the included Dolby Digital decoder. What's that you say? That's right, the MDR-S5000 is unique not its quality of construction, reproduction of audio, or even wireless transmission, but rather for the included decoder/transmitter module, the DP-IF5000.

Transmitter monolith

The DP-IF5000 Digital Surround Processor is designed to stand unobtrusively on your desk or by your theatre setup. Serving as both a wireless transmitter and Dolby Digital decoder, the IF5000 makes the MDR-DS5000 a unique product. Touted as the world's first "Virtual Dolby Digital" system, the IF5000 accepts 3 types of digital input and two types of analog input and contains built-in decoders for both Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic.

The transmitter will accept a digital optical stream for 5.1 and PCM audio, or any coaxial stereo analog input, which will then pass through a 24-bit DSP for surround decoding and output to 2 channels. Support is offered for Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic, an enhanced stereo effect, and standard, unmodified output.

The Transmitter faceplate

Connections on the rear

Faceplate functions

The front of the pane, lmost completely "full-logic," l is certainly just as entertaining as the electronics inside. A standard power button turns the unit on and off. An "Input" button allows the user to manually select between digital and analog inputs, while an "Effects" button allows you to choose between "Dolby Virtual" and "Music" modes for DSP operation.

A simple "Output" button toggles between 3 modes of operation - standard headphone out, Dolby Virtual Surround, Virtual Front, and Off, for no DSP effects. A small button below "Output" activates a white noise test tone, which cycles through each virtual 5-speaker position.

Besides wireless connectivity to the included headphones, the base also includes an amplified headphone jack to attach to any pair of standard wired headphones. Since the DSP elements are in the base, any headphones or Line Out devices connected to the jacks will also benefit from Dolby Digital or Pro Logic sound.