The only reviews I’ve found are customer reviews, are there any independent ones? Read a positive article in ‘Road ahead’ (RACQ), Prices are shown as $549 for the soundbar and, $879 as a package with wireless earphones. - The soundbar is described as better than hearing aids! – Anybody tried this?
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Haven’t tried one but any speaker type product claiming to be better than hearing aids is suspect. When our hearing is diminished no speaker type product is going to compensate like a properly setup hearing aid.
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I suppose a question is do you need a hearing aid device to better hear? If so, then what use is the soundbar? That is just another speaker system, better than the built-in tinny speakers in a TV, but nowhere near as good as a proper audio system.
If you need earphones, then look at the TV Voice product that provides the sound without the cost of the soundbar.
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Thankyou for your post @gowinter ! I saw what I am sure is the same advertisement in ‘The Open Road’ (NRMA), and was wondering whether they were advertising in the other motoring association journals.
I clipped the ad for reference and we are considering buying one for a First Look review.
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Thanks for that - looking forward to your findings!
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I have not tried the Tv voice pro but with loss of most hearing in one ear, and at the same age as you, I do have Sennheiser Headphones which work very well and can be used without blocking sound from the TV for my husband. I do not/cannot watch TV without them.
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A caveat - some TV’s turn off their main sound if headphones are plugged in.
Another option are bluetooth enabled hearing aids with a blue tooth capable TV. But not all TVs work well with every hearing aid unless the hearing aid manufacturer’s ‘TV-bluetooth’ module is purchased for the TV side. One to test/try before assuming they will pair and work well.
ex. My (Costco) KS10’s connect to my Sony TVs but the sound quality and stability makes them unusable as headphones. I have the TV connected to a full home theatre and with the KS10s no worries. For clarity the KS10s are brilliant paired with my mobile.
A related topic
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The Sennheiser headphones I have in the family room connect to the base station which plugs in to the TV (or Set top Box…) They are designed to assist hearing (variable settings) without cutting sound to the room. Another Sennheiser set I have in another room, connects wirelessly to the (TCL) TV, and does cut sound to the room, which is OK there for me alone. Both work really well.
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Phil, the issue I had was that while the Phonak Bluetooth transmitter plugged into the headphone output on the new TV, the plug was the only sound dedicated output on the Sony Bravia TV. It was either the analogue Jack for the Bluetooth or the optic fibre pin for the sound bar so therefore not viable. The Bluetooth works exceptionally well and the sound quality in my hearing aids is great. The response from Sony Customer Care was nonsensical and just showed the agent didn’t get it. It’s just another thing for we hearing impaired to consider when buying a TV. No doubt by now someone has developed a sound splitter that is compatible with analogue and optic fibre.
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I use hearing aids to hear better in everyday life. The sound bar is an improvement on the tinny TV speakers. It does not suit us to have a full sound system. The hearing aids help in the sound definition without having to turn the sound up to a point where it annoys other people in the household. Unless you have tried it, you may not appreciate the difficulties people with impaired hearing face.
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Should there be a curse on the Gods of the TV manufacturers for saving $2, or is this another unwanted penalty imposed by the content providers multi million dollar DRM lobby?
There is a useful discussion and some suggested add on devices for providing split audio streams to serve 2 or more devices.
The limitations of blue tooth are also discussed. It’s a packaged based communications technology. It relies on the design and software of the receiving device/s and serving/transmitting device to ensure synchronisation of audio to video content. Personal experience with Sony Bluetooth head sets have varied depending on the source.
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Look into Sennheiser headphones for TV. They do not block sound for others watching with me.
Do you mean that when you plug in your headphones it doesn’t turn off the speakers? If that is what you are saying it isn’t the headphones but the way the socket is configured. The switching, or lack of it, is a property of the TV not the headphones.
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The Sennheiser headphones do not plug in to the TV but connect to the Sennheiser receiver (without cable) which broadcasts the sound without turning it off to the room.
Thanks for the clarification.
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Cheers. Really appreciate my Sennheisers. So does my husband! 
One review with a techie background of one model from the Sennheiser wireless TV headphones.
According to GadgetGuy they only deliver TV sound plus headphone sound concurrently in one particular setup. IE the Sennheiser (receiver) base unit plugged into the phono/headphone out socket, and the TV setup to use the internal speakers. It may not work for all makes and models.
If one is using an external sound bar or system it will NOT work for many typical set ups.
In brief
- The better TVs have a setting to allow a 3.5mm headphone jack or the Optical Out port and the TV speakers to work concurrently.
- If you use a soundbar to ‘process’ sound from any device (TV, Blu-ray or Media Player), the TV’s headphone jack or Optical out do not work!
- If you use Bluetooth headphones, the chances are that the TV sound will not work.
Some older TV’s may have stereo RCA output. I recollect it is the same outcome.
Alternately,
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I use Sennheiser headphones, but they mute the sound for others on one TV, the other Tv has a soundbar attached and there does not seem to be another port for the Sennheiser base station. - Maybe, get rid of the soundbar is the solution!
I am happy to report that we are about to order one for testing.
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What about hearing loop systems?
Do they fit into a home environment?
They are promoted by some auditoriums, public service areas etc as providing a solution where one’s hearing aids have that option.
Is it also part of a home solution where there may be more than one needing hearing assistance?
Are there headphones that can alternately connect to the FM transmissions?
Hearing Australia also mentions the suitability of some systems to connect more than just audio from a TV in the home environment.
It’s a broad discussion on the issues of hearing loss and solutions for TV listening.
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