I have a number of Phonak TV streamers and they work great. I’ve looked around and can’t find a pair of headphones that are compatable with the signal these devices put out. Hoping someone from Phonak is on here and can poke their development team. At night when I’m getting ready to go to bed the hearing aids come out and I like to listen to our TV with headphones. I’m making due with some bluetooth headphones but I’d really like a set of headphones that just catch the TV streamer signal and work like my marvels do. They would also be great for being able to share the sound from a streamer with another person that may not wear aid’s (assuming the streamers could transmit to more than one device.) Does anyone else want something like this?
Roger ON iN V2 is no headphone, but that’s how I’m streaming TV these days. Hubs listens to the TV without any streaming, but I use the Roger plugged in its base to stream TV to only ME, so I wouldn’t disturb anyone else in the room. It’s hands-free, headphone-free, only sends audio to YOU, and can be used as a portable mic in restaurants, placed in front of a TV or pointed at someone.
We’ve been waiting for something like that for almost 4 years now. It even has a name: LE Audio. Sadly, Phonak may be the last manufacturer to hop on board. They’re doing very well riding the last wave of the previous technology. Headphones that take output from Phonak’s proprietary tv streamer? Never going to happen.
@butchwhitehouse
Sennheiser’s TV Clear ear buds seem to use the TV Connector. My audi told me they can be used simultaniuosly with Phonak HA.
I guess that would make sense, Phonak has brought into Sennheiser.
Why would they not sell this as an overpriced accessory like their other items? I’m just tired of having to pair my bluetooth Audeo’s with my bluetooth transmitter every time I want to use them and I hate to add a dedicated TV streamer with headphones when I already have the Phonak TV device sending out a signal. I just don’t want to fall asleep with my aids in.
Just looked at them on Amazon…too pricey to just grab a set to try. Wondering if this applies to their lower priced over the ear models as well. Hoping to get some confirmation from others.
I would have said that it’s not their core business, but they own Sennheiser now, so it kind of is. They may have just crunched the numbers and decided there isn’t the market. Or they may acknowledge internally that LE Audio is the future and there’s no point in putting resources into developing a product that will be obsolete in a year or two. Having said that, you’d think it wouldn’t be too hard to add TV Connector compatibility into any existing model of wireless headphones?
I love the way my Marvels just connect to the streamer. I assume that their is some sort of proprietary “handshake” that the TV connector makes with the aids so that they recognize to connect with the streamer. I don’t know what the tech issues are or what the downside to Phonak would be for whatever signal the streamer is putting our to be picked up by some standard over the ear headphones. I’m pretty sure the signal to the streamers is not bluetooth but a standard frequency, just different than what other “TV ears” can pick up. Was hoping someone with the tech knowledge would weigh in and tell me why I can or can’t get the phonak TV streamer signal going to some standard over the ear headphones. If phonak would just do this or license the tech to someone I think there is a market for this.
Not sure if I should start a new thread or just add this here for anyone interested in this topic. I’ve been using my Audeara headphones for years at night as TV ears when I go to bed so I don’t fall asleep with my hearing aids in. They have worked great with the exception of having to pair them with a blue tooth transmitter each time I want to use them. Mostly just an inconvenience but certainly much more trouble than the “always works” connection I get from my phonak TV streamer to my hearing aids. With the demise of my Audeara’s I set out to find replacement that would be compatible with the phonak TV streamers I already own. I read about Sonova’s purchase of Sennheiser. The communication I got from Phonak was that there were no compatible devices. I’m trialing a Sennheiser 175 wireless headphones and can comfirm they are not compatible with the TV streamer. Despite great reviews I’ve been dispointed in their sound compare to my old Audeara’s and also the range seems very limited (10-12 feet). If I walk out of the room for any reason the signal drops off. Way shorter range than the Phonak TV streamer or the bluetooth I’ve used with the Audeara’s. The other item I found is something called the Sennheiser TV Clear Set. These are not headphone but ear buds that pair with a TV transmitter that is almost identical to the Phonak TV transmitters I already have. The directions to set them up could stand some improvement but one I got the ap downloaded and figured out how to pair them with both my phone and the transmitter I was thrilled to see that I could also pair to my hearing aids with the same transmitter and vice versa. I’m trying to de clutter my elctronic equipment and having to have just the small transmitter that I can attach behind the TV is a big plus to me. I also now how the option to use the new Sennheiser buds anywhere I’ve already set up a phonak TV transmitter. I can’t understand why they are not marketing these towards people like myself who have Phonak aids and use the TV transmitters. I bought mine at a discount on Amazon but Sennheiser is selling them on sale on their own website. Tv Clear Set | Sennheiser US
That’s very interesting. So if you have Phonak HAs and you are in the market for a TV streamer you might as well go with that Sennheiser TV Clear Set. Prices are (as with all these things) all over the place, but the set costs roughly the same as Phonak’s TV streamer, and with Sennheiser you also get those earbuds, which your partner may find useful.
I’m still getting myself up to speed on the Sennheiser product line. It appears the devices I bought and the ones on sale on their website are their older tech. They have a newer version called TV Clear set 2 that has the ability to do volume control from within the ap. The streamer I received with their TV clear 1 does not have the volume control on its case like my Phonak TV streamers. Their newer models streamer appears identical to the Phonak Streamer(based on photos Ive seen) . The model numbers on the cases I have are slightly different as well. My Phonak streamers are model number 202-smg059 vs 202-smf049 on the Sennheiser. When I aquired all my Phonak Streamers Costco was still selling the KS-9’s and I got my streamers for around $100.00 each. I’m not sure if they carry them any longer since I believe they dropped the Phonak (KS9 and10) line. Although I would have preferred headphones these accomplish what I was seeking. I think Sonova is missing a great marketing opportunity to sell offer these to their current customer base that uses TV streamers but has situations where they want to listen to a device without their hearing aids in. If you query a Phonak Representative they will tell you that there are no compatible devices on the market that will work with their streamers. I got my new Sennheiser’s on Amazon as an Amazon return for under $100.00 which was worth it to me to try them out.
Am I missing something?
All the Phonak TV Streamer does is to transmit the audio on the Phonak hearing aid frequency.
Any wireless headphones would require a different streamer on their (Bluetooth) frequency.
It’s two different systems.
The Sennheiser streamer and the Phonak streamer share the same frequency. I am unaware of any other ear buds or headphones that do this. This allows me to seamlessly take out my aids at night and switch to the air buds or just use the air buds with all the phonak streamers I’ve already purchased for various TV’s in our home.