New crowd-funded usb-c based, platform-agnostic transmitter:
https://audioxpress.com/news/savitech-launches-lhdc-one-hi-res-bluetooth-audio-transmitter
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Just skimmed and haven’t looked around much, but it sounds like this is the first USB that offers both Classic BT and LE Audio (plus a high audio quality codec) Also seemed to imply that some LE Audio headphones are shipping with a USB that only works with LE audio. This may remain confusing for awhile! :>)
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I haven’t seen any earbuds at all that are LE Audio only. Not sure where they got that from. I’d like to see a LE Audio-only transmitter. Less buttons to push probably and potentially more reliable. Still, here’s a $30 transmitter. It shows the direction we’re going hopefully.
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And now there’s Open Ear Wireless Wireless for TV | Avantree Medley Pebble. Avantree used to be the go-to for cheap (but not the cheapest) AptX LL transmitters.
I really don’t see how Resound can ethically justify $500 or whatever it is for their LE Audio streamer.
Edit: LE Audio is mentioned prominently in the text, but not the specifications. Strange.
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Just wonder whether it is Plug and Play for HA. Plug into the TV, then we can hear directly into the MFI HA’s? or using Avantree gadgets as assisted device for HA’s.
It’s not going to work at all for mfi aids. It may not even have Auracast. The transmitter and the buds come pre-paired. You’d hope that other devices can connect but they’re light on details. They do say “Transmitter is only compatible with devices that also support LE audio” which implies that other devices can connect. We’re still waiting for the first person to connect their Nexia or Jabra Enhance Pro 2 to a third party transmitter.
It’s not clear to me if LE Audio devices are required to be fully open. It would defeat the purpose if manufacturers are able to create their own ecosystems.
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Still blown away by how long this is taking. Talked about in 2020. Standard approved middle of last year and it seems like MAYBE it’s just starting to be available now, but we’ve yet to hear anybody confirm it other than demos.
I would say this is pretty typical for new standards. It takes 2-3 years from release of the standard for end products to start showing up in the market.
Of course, if Apple announces support for this, it would suddenly greatly accelerate its adoption!
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I don’t see Apple being early adopters for this, unless their MFI can be integrated with this (Perhaps changing the MFI BT protocol to LE Audio). It seems more likely that MFI and LE Audio will be separate, and Apple have too much (relatively) invested in the MFI development.
The specifications says: Supported Audio Codecs: aptX-Adaptive, aptX, SBC. LC3 codec is required to be Auracast compliant.
I pointed that out earlier. Can only assume someone copy-pasted the wrong specs.
Yes, but there seems to be a bit of momentum building (he says hopefully). And there’s CES in a month (he says for about the third time). The Nexia release was a bit of a surprise.
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I’ll be at CES and hoping to attend their Auracast Experiences room. I’ll report back after the event with any interesting news and updates.
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Great article by Stephen Frazier. At one point, IIRC, he was high up in Loop New Mexico.
Auracast Is Actually Here and It’s Not Just About Hearing Loss — Hearing Health Foundation
Frazier forecasts an 8- to 10-year span for Auracast to take over. He seems to predict earbuds, not HAs, will be the driver, and he cites the example of earbud wearers in a stadium being able to hear the play-by-play announcer clearly over the roar of the crowd as an example of the utility that will drive Auracast adoption. He reviews the performance of the VOCE Auracast transmitter (the HERE NOW part).
Edit_Update: Stephen O. Frazier: Articles on HearingTracker.com
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Searching for Auracast on Amazon brings up several transmitters starting at $45.
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Audiology Online now has a course on Auracast presented by somebody from GN.
Two things I found interesting. Any version of BT 5.x could theoretically be updated to BT 5.3 via firmware, but as they stated “could, not will.” So my take is it won’t happen.
Second were these statements suggesting there are still some bugs to work out.
Challenges:
• Bluetooth SIG can test and qualify
products to comply with Bluetooth®
standards and requirements including
Auracast
• Bluetooth SIG can NOT verify that
Auracast hearing aids work properly
• Bluetooth SIG can NOT verify that
Auracast transmitters are properly
installed
• A new IEC standard under way to deal with
these problems.
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Further reading and I think I understand some things I didn’t before. Assuming you have an Auracast compatible phone, it will act as a “Broadcast Assistant” (essentially a user interface for whatever Auracast receiving devices you have) My next thought is where do I find this Broadcast Assistant. Poking around I found a Reddit post that was helpful. IF one has both an Auracast compatible phone AND Auracast compatible hearing aids or ear buds, one can go into Bluetooth settings on the phone, click on the gear icon next to the compatible device and be presented with whatever broadcast sources are available. I have compatible phone, but not aids or bud so I can’t check it. If anybody has Resound Nexias and a compatible phone, I’d be curious to here if/how this works.
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5 years is quite possible, even longer. I always hope for sooner, but this stuff takes time.
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I think part of the problem for something like ReSound Nexias and Auracast is that you have a relatively small company, even though they make Jabra stuff, compared to the likes of Samsung and Apple and big TV, appliance, and electronics manufacturers. So GN ReSound tries to get a leg up on a competitor like Phonak by being on the bleeding edge, but Apple, Samsung, and Phonak are more successful in what they do now. Usually, a big business has trouble undercutting its bread-and-butter products with something very new and different. Samsung might be more forward-looking than Apple as Apple almost owns the personal audio business with products like AirPods and Beats Audio. In the Stephen Frazier article that I posted above: LE Audio and the Future of Hearing - #924 by jim_lewis, Frazier did write (as of March 2023) that It’s not clear yet whether companies like Apple and Samsung will make LE audio software upgrades available for existing devices. Still, Stephen Frazier wrote that Apple is reportedly working on LE Audio–compatible AirPods and iPhones.
That blog post was nine months ago, and the iPhone 15 was announced months ago. Maybe the problem, besides the inertia of Apple riding on its current audio wave, is that Apple sees no point in coming out with something that’s not compatible with the forthcoming ISO standard that @MDB references in his post about the GN ReSound Audiology Online course on Auracast.
(right now, I’m too consumed learning about Ford vehicle ECUs to worry about whatever affects my hearing future!).
How to access broadcast assistant on Samsung S23:
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