I am currently trialing Oticon and using their Streamer Pro v1.3. It works great and in fact in my opinion is the best streamer and smart phone app available compared to the ReSound, Phonak, Siemens and Widex that I have trialed. The audio sound quality streaming from TV, computer or Smart Phone is superb and it is the only one that has streamer volume control and lets you turn off the AUTOMATIC connection as a Bluetooth A2DP headphone, then turn it on with a quick press of a button on the streamer device. In short, the best quality sound and best design of any I have tried.
HOWEVER! I have read the reviews on amazon.com and on this forum and apparently this streamer has limited battery life when continuously streaming audio or phone calls, and the battery needs replacement after about two years. They want you to keep it fully charged every night and not allow it to ever be fully discharged. That could be a problem if you use it a lot during the day.
I think I have found a cheap and effective answer - at least for the daily battery life problem. I have an external battery pack (Motorola P893) which I bought for my old Motorola cell phone which uses the same USB charge voltage and has the same mini USP adapter as this Oticon Streamer. I tried it and it works to get a backup quick charge on the Streamer. It is available on eBay, Amazon.com and other places for less than $10. Here is a link to the amazon.com listing: http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Universal-Portable-Non-Retail-Packaging/dp/B008RZYN8A
Thanks for the good advice. My mother has Oticon HAs and we’re looking for help for TV sound (I purchased KS6 last year). Does the Streamer Pro require an additional “Connectline TV” to work with TV audio?
Another marginally related thought, is the volume adjustable with digital audio input (optical or coaxial) as well as analog inputs?
Yes they have a TV connect, and also a Phone Connect for connecting a home phone. I have both and they work very good. And I also have a small battery backup that I keep with me for a battery backup.
But to be honest I have to be streaming all day to need the extra battery.
If your television set has built in Bluetooth you can connect the streamer directly to the tv set without buying the additional TV connect device. How this will work will depend on your tv set. On my Samsung tv, the hearing aids then work like any Bluetooth headset, and when connected it will mute the other tv speakers and it relies on the volume control of the streamer to adjust the volume to the hearing aids. So if there are other people watching at the same time I cannot use this, only while watching tv by myself.
Of all the 5 hearing aid brands I have tried, this is working best with Oticon - in fact it is perfect. Very good sound quality and streamer volume control built in the app. It has the same effect as if I was listening to the tv through a good quality headset and no wires needed. Very good stereo sound and distinct dialog easier to understand than with the tv speakers.
I have the streamer pro and connectline TV and can confirm they work very well together. You can stream with the mics on as well, so you can get sound coming in from the tv but also be able to hear someone talking beside you (or conversely turn off the mics and hear only the TV). It uses the audio-out jack on the tv so its independent of the TV’s volume and you can press the buttons up and down for louder/quieter. You can likely buy the connectline used by the way, it does not need to be paired to the streamer by an audiologist. The connectline TV also works with the previous model streamer (non-pro), which is likely a cheaper option. Both streamers allow you to connect to a mobile phone as well.
Skinnerd - i do agree the connectline app is handy. I also notice the streamer in general is faster to connect and activate streaming than my previous Compilot. Whats your use-case for why you like it being able to turn off Bluetooth A2DP ? I’m not sure I understand that part.
Skinnerd - i do agree the connectline app is handy. I also notice the streamer in general is faster to connect and activate streaming than my previous Compilot. Whats your use-case for why you like it being able to turn off Bluetooth A2DP ? I’m not sure I understand that part.
Other streamers I have used connect automatically to Bluetooth A2DP so that every time the phone has a notification signal the streamer attempts to connect to it, causing it to connect in and out constantly. So you either have to turn off the notifications on your smart phone or set the bluetooth connection for phone only. With the Oticon it does not connect to audio streaming until you press the button on the side so you do not get the unwanted connections.