ReSound Multi-Mic+

Hearing Aids
21

Well yes I can see it is advertised as having Auracast. I have looked all through the user handbook that came with mine (which I bought only a month ago with my new Vivias) and there is no mention of Auracast though.

It’s very hard to see from the video in that Resound advert what the guy is doing, but I can’t find anything similar with the Resound Smart 3D app for iPhone. There is a slider for Auracast Assistant, but that is something else - nothing to do with the Multimic +. The user handbook mentions unicasting to several users, so that is where the Multimic + is paired with more than one pair of hearing aids and sending them audio at the same time, but it doesn’t call it Auracast. And true Auracast doesn’t need any pairing.

I wonder whether Resound hasn’t enabled Auracasting from the Multimic + yet. Or originally enabled it originally but doesn’t now.

Maybe someone else who has a Multimic + can add to this and explain what is and isn’t possible.

22

Random thoughts…

If you have insurance, check it. If I buy an accessory with HAs, the accessory is covered. If I buy it separately, it’s not covered. YMMV.

My TV lacks both headphone and analog jacks, and I haven’t seen TVs with those facilities for some years - but I don’t look very closely. Check your TV.

An Auracast transmitter might replace the TV Streamer+. Similarly, Samsung has included Auracast in some of its TVs since 2023, and LG puts it in some of its TVS, so you may not need a TV Streamer if your TV includes Auracast. Or … since you saved several thousand by going to Costco … maybe you could justify buying a new TV. :innocent:

The connection between the TV Streamer+ and the TV is either analog or optical, neither of which provide the quality that HDMI can provide. That’s a bummer, IMO.

The Multi-Mic helps me a lot in meetings, especially small meetings. I can place on the table, and it streams voices from other people around the table. The TV Streamer can’t do that. But from what I read, the Multi-Mic isn’t anywhere near as effective as the Roger. Can you connect the Roger to your Jabras and stay within your budget? (I think you might have to acquire an FM receiver to plug into the Multi-Mic, so it would be more expensive - but you’d probably get better results.)

I watch a lot of TV, and I don’t know how long the Multi-Mic’s battery charge lasts. That uncertainty makes me stay away from using it for TV. Again, YMMV.

Some Roku devices can stream to HAs by, IIRC, treating the aids as headphones. It may cut off sound to others, though. If you’re dingle, though, and you have a media streamer that will transmit to your aids, that may be good enough.

1 Like
23

Thanks for the info re mono / stereo above, very helpful.

Admittedly, I am still in the pre-purchase research stage, trying to get enough of an understanding to be able to ask what are hopefully intelligent questions.

I did find a page that refers to Auracast Assistant.

Introducing Auracast Assistant

Use the world’s first Auracast Assistant for hearing aids in the Jabra Enhance Pro app to connect to Auracast broadcasts with a tap!

How it works

  1. Scan and connect to Auracast broadcasts
  2. Select from available private (encrypted) and public (unencrypted) streams
  3. Enjoy sound directly streamed to compatible Jabra hearing aids with the Jabra Enhance Pro app (version 1.39 or later)

And below that there are Apple store and Google Play links to download.

Thanks to everyone’s comments I am leaning towards getting the aids first, getting used to them with the apps and whatever, then looking at the accessories.

I’ll confirm that when I talk to my Costco fitter before ordering.

24

Would that be while using it’s own microphone?

The reason I ask is that on this YouTube video @ 1:03 it shows them plugging in a stereo jack.

25

Yes the Multimic + is actually “Mixed mono”. So what that means is that it takes the left and right signals and mixes them into a mono output. That applies both when it uses its own microphones and when it has a line input plugged in from a computer, hifi or stereo audio system.

The reason Resound do this is apparently because the purpose of the Multimic + is to help with speech understanding in difficult situations like when the speakers are quietly spoken or at a distance. Many people with hearing loss have one ear less good than the other and using mixed mono means that the audio, wherever it comes from, is always presented to both ears, so that the better ear gets the best input to work with.

The TV streamer + on the other hand is truly stereo. The sound quality with Vivias is truly excellent and it’s incorrect to say that the lack of an HDMI input means worse audio quality, although that may be true for some older TVs.

I know all this both from researching what Resound have said using Chat GPT to help me, but also from my own observations using both of them with my Vivias. Fed with an analog input from a very expensive Hifi system gives me a fantastic streamed audio experience.

1 Like
26

The Vivias and the Jabra EP30 do indeed have Auracast and Low Energy Audio. And the Auracast Assistant shows up in the Smart 3D app if the hearing aids support Auracast. So I can see the Auracast Assistsnt with my Vivias, but not if I connect to my old Omnias (which are the same as Jabra EP10) for instance. The current version of the Smart 3D app for IOS is 1.41 by the way.

But Auracast Assistant is nothing to do with the Multimic+ accessory. It allows the hearing aids to select from whichever Auracast broadcasts are available.

The Multimic + and the TV Streaner + show up in the app as accessories and you select the one you want to stream from by tapping it’s play icon in the app. You don’t use the Auracast Assistant for that.

27

I can confirm that both TV Streamer and the Multi Mic + do Auracast. I’ve used an Auracast with Starkey Edge AI at St Paul’s Cathedral, while the TV Streamer will show upnin Android’s Auracast list.

28

How does that confirm that the Multimic+ does Auracast (meaning it broadcasts to several users)?

29

Hopefully this works - a screenshot from my Auracast Assistant showing the TV Streamer as an Auracast source

The Multi Mic+ was used in the St Paul’s trials. The tour guide wore the mic and a dozen or so people could hear her voice. It was a mixture of Samsung ear buds, ReSound aids and also my Starkeys. Sound quality excellent

Screenshot_20250808_124441_Settings
Screenshot_20250808_124441_Settings1080×2340 124 KB

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30

Very interesting. Thanks for posting. It seems to differ between Apple IOS and Android. In IOS the Multimic + and the TV Streamer + appear as accessories in the Resound 3D app, not as Auracast broadcasts. But I haven’t tried either accessory with my Vivias unpaired, which is what would be the case if I had been a member of your group. Incidentally my audiologist said a month ago that St Paul’s is now fitted with Auracast.

31

It’s all a bit confusing at the moment, as there is no clear, unified standard. Different phone manufacturers are doing different things. Hearing aid makers are doing different things. The gadgets do different things…

We will get there, but you have to imagine that we’re on the ground floor of this technology, and there will be a lot of stairs to climb before we get to the top.

Apple doesn’t currently support Auracast. The workaround is via the hearing aid app. AIUI, only ReSound currently has Auracast as an option in its app. Certainly, the Starkeys will only connect via an Auracast Assistant.

Auracast Assistant is built into Samsung (I am using an S25 for this reason) and Android 16.

I haven’t heard that St Paul’s had gone ahead with an Auracast installation, it was the venue for a test event. I wrote about it on my Auracast blog here

2 Likes
32

All very interesting and I am glad to make contact with you. I am a big fan of LE Audio and Auracast and I agree it should be a game changer. I hope that in the iPhone 17 series Apple will support LE Audio. They are using their own Bluetooth chip for the first time (well almost the first time because it is already in iPhone 16E) so this is a bit of a watershed moment, or not. We will presumably know in just over a month. If they do support LE Audio then I will certainly buy a 17 Pro immediately. And if they don’t, then I will probably stay with my iPhone 12 Pro for yet another year.

33

Given Apple didn’t mention Auracast in its iOS26 snoreathon, I’m not holding any breath.
They seem to be really tepid about the tech. Android has been dragging heels, but not quite as much.

34

It’s the same process to listen to an Auracast stream vs. using the mic or TV streamer (just a different icon) for Jabras/ReSound HAs that are Auracast compatible,

35

Here’s a video that shows the multi mic+ features including Auracast.

1 Like
36

Thanks for the link to your blog @PhilCreighton. Nice work.

I made the decision to go with the rechargeable Jabra Enhanced Pro 30’s. I have not quite made up my mind on any accessories yet. But I am leaning in certain directions for different products to be used in different scenarios. I’ll likely purchase these in the order presented below:

The Resound MultiMic+ looks promising. It appears that it will give my old Roger Pen a run for the money. While doing more.

For the TV the HomeSpot BA210 v2 Bluetooth Auracast Transmitter is priced right. Being able to use it elsewhere is a bonus. It will be a trial and error thing. There are a couple of locations outside of the home where I think it would work nicely. I could use mine as a demo to get others to install one.

The FlooGoo FMA120 dongle looks like a great replacement for my existing Bluetooth dongle for audio purposes, while adding some bonuses.

That said, I’m open to suggestions and discussion.

1 Like
37

I am, like many if us, at the early stages of learning about Auracast. It really is a gamechanger.

But it will be a while before we get mass market. So for now these wonder gadgets are brilliant.

More reviews will be coming

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38

If you bought the multi mic+ would you need the FlooGoo dongle?

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39

The Multimic+ is mono, which might be a consideration.

40

I am not really sure.
I was looking at how I use my existing Roger / Phonak stuff.

Live sound => Roger Pen => Compilot II => hearing aids
(I think the pen will connect to my TV but I’ve never used it that way)

Sound from Digital device => Bluetooth dongle => Compilot II => hearing aids

Carry that over to the Jabra Pro 30 and I assume:
Live sound => Multi Mic + => hearing aids
(Like the Roger Pen, I can use a wired connection to some things)

Sound from Digital device => FlooGoo dongle => hearing aids

The FlooGoo Dongle would allow for auracast rather than straight Bluetooth connections. Which I think may have some advantages.