Actually, I’m considering getting a refund on the Philips hearing aids and going with the Jabra Pro 20.
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Yeah go for it, we need some first hand reviews on LE Audio and Auracast, seems no-one has done one here ; )
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I ordered a VOCE Bluetooth Broadcast Transceiver that supports Auracast broadcast that I hope will transmit to my Jabra Enhance Pro 20 hearing aids and they should arrive Dec 1. I’ll post back when I receive them and see if they work with my Pro 20’s. The ReSound TV Transmitter+ also supports Auracast but it is $300 and the VOCE is $75.
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Nice find. I hope it works well. I can already see it being useful for meetings.
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Update???
Yeah i’m definitely not gonna be the guinea pig on this one. Resound/Jabra have already way overclaimed on their previous versions of bluetooth which they still claim works great, which is a total lie. I’m still feeling burned by their outright lies and I’m waiting to see if LE offers any improvement at all or if it’s just another pipe dream.
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If you search forum posts, you’ll find that I previously complained about “iPhone separation” causing loss of BT connectivity and also EMI interference with BT streaming at various locations as I walked around the neighborhood. My Omnias haven’t changed since I made those posts but I’ve upgraded my iPhone from iOS 16.x to iOS 17.x. Now I’m on iOS 17.2 and the streaming is great and the BT connectivity rock solid. No EMI interference at anywhere in my neighborhood. Only very rare loss of connectivity due to iPhone separation whereas before I could cause it by staying a couple of rooms away in my house.
IMHO, Apple has to take the hit for any previous connectivity problems I had - and they are the designers of both the hardware and software on my smartphone. If you’re an Android user, maybe you should cast some blame (or even all of the blame) on Google and your phone OEM for not having a system as good as Apple iOS now is. Maybe that’s your real problem?!
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It didn’t work for me. I couldn’t get it to be recognized by the app or the Pro 20’s. It’s easy to put it into Auracast mode but that didn’t matter. They have a USB broadcaster and a broadcaster with 3.5mm analog input and neither worked so I sent it back.
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Would you be willing to order this Bluetooth transmitter from Amazon and review it or one of the other Moerlab transmitters?
It looks like another manufacture is coming out with Auracast products.
Is there anywhere in the app where you can look for Auracast broadcasts or LE Audio devices you can connect the aids to?
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I ordered this one instead to connect the TV 3.5mm aux input instead of USB connection. It won’t be delivered until early January and I’ll report back on whether it works with the Pro 20s.
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I finally got the Moerlab trasmitter and tested it but it would not connect or pair. The EnhancePro App has a setup item “Pair new wireless accessory” to pair the TV-Streamer+ but the search function on it does not find the Morelab transmitter that was placed in AuraCast transmit mode according to it’s instructions. I also tried to pair the 20s directly with the Morelab but no luck there either. The instructions for the TV-Streamer+ are pretty explicit on how you pair it so it may only pair for now with their device. As far as I know, the TV-Streamer+ is not available at Costco for the 20s so it may be that it doesn’t work with other transmitters even though the documentation specifically mentions AuraCast as a plus for these aids. Also, it might need a firmware update to function. It should work with any AuraCast transmitter since one of the main benefits is that it can receive audio in public locations that broadcast information.
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Have you tried looking for the Jabras in the list of Bluetooth connections and pressing it to see if any options come up? You’ve probably told us before, but what phone are you using?
I use an iPhone 14 Pro. Jabras don’t show up in the list Bluetooth devices. They are connected via Settings, Accessibility, Hearing Devices since they are connected as MFi complaint devices. I’m not sure if they should show up in Bluetooth now since they support Bluetooth LE Audio supposedly.
The Jabras support LE Audio. The iPhone doesn’t unfortunately. Unless the iPhone can act as a an Auracast assistant without actually being compatible with LE Audio itself (which I wouldn’t bet on), it’s not going to happen for you with your current phone.
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Unfortunately no iPhone currently supports BT LE Audio, not even the just released iPhone 15 range. Also Apple has said nothing about the intention to support LE Audio via firmware updates for example, although it’s true that they often don’t pre-announce intended enhancements.
The Mfi specification doesn’t mention BT LE Audio either and existing iPhones support the Resound Nexia/Jabra Pro 20 using conventional BT LE.
I bought the Resound TV Streamer+ and will report back on my experience with it when it arrives. It is “on sale” for $233.99 plus $3.99 shipping at https://www.ashaud.com. The install instructions for it are very specific with one aid at a time going through the pairing process. I was naive to think they would pair with any manufacturer’s AuraCast transmitting device. I’m primarily interested in seeing if the Streamer+ requires less power since my aids can run out of power toward the end of the day with lots of TV streaming.
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Well, that might be the difference. That at this stage of the game, the transmission between the Streamer+ and your JEP 20s is established by a special pairing. Whereas with Auracast, you don’t pair. When one transmitter is broadcasting to a number of Auracast receivers, the transmission is just picked out of the air without any special bond to the receiver (imagine an auditorium where everyone in the audience would have to pair their earbuds or their HAs with the transmitter before a talk or a sermon could be begun, etc.). Normally, for Auracast, picking up a transmission should be more like switching to an over-the-air TV station channel. I think @d_Wooluf’s remark is probably on the mark. Auracast-capable HAs will need a channel-changer, which would most likely be a smartphone or an HA remote (the HA buttons are probably reserved for volume changes, On/Off switching, and HA program/mode changes according to the user’s preference). The pairing part for the TV Streamer+ seems like a temporizing way around the Auracast channel switcher availability problem for now. I think @user990’s suggestion to give ReSound, Jabra, or Costco a ring for an explanation of when full Auracast will be available (and what the current roadblock is) is a good suggestion.
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The issue isn’t with Jabra. Any LE Audio buds or hearing aid will need an LE Audio source (to transmit audio) but also an “assistant” to facilitate a connection or find a broadcast (connectionless). In the simplest case, the phone is both the source and the assistant. When the buds/aids are to get their audio from a third device (eg a tv transmitter), the assistant functionality in the phone facilitates things for the buds. The buds don’t have the UI to take on that role. The iphone doesn’t support LE Audio, so no assistant functionality, so no way to connect the Jabras to that third device even if the Jabra and the transmitter both support LE Audio/Auracast. Without a matchmaker there is no wedding.
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