[sproton]

Hello everybody,

First time on this forum, glad to join you. Please forgive me if the post is not relevant here.

A - Situation:
I want to setup a new sound system for my grand-parents TV that will suit their different levels or deafness but I could not find help in regular stores, so I'm here to find help and explanations on what technologies I could use.

B - Specifications:
I want a sound system that allows four situations ranking from greater importance to lower importance:
1. watching TV normally (truism).
2. only one of them is watching TV. But with wireless (bluetooth preferably) headphone.
3. one of them is watching the TV normally (no headphone) and one is watching with wireless headphones, they can also choose the volume individually (changing TV volume not affecting the headset volume).
4. they can both watch the same TV with wireless headphones and individually choose the volume in their respective headset.

I am also to buy a new TV for them and the headphones, so I am not bound to any technology. However, I am looking for quite a small TV (below 32") which could limit the technologies. If wireless headphone is an obstacle, I can go with wire.

C - My discoveries so far:
I have been looking around and found two technologies about which I am a bit confused.
1. some audio jack outputs are exclusive (if plugged, the regular tv sound is muted) and some are not.
2. bluetooth transmitters like PRIVA II by Avantree.
3. separate volumes (headphone/headphone configuration or tv-set/headphone configuration) is the big issue for which I have not found any answers in regular stores.

D- My Questions:
Is it possible to satisfy all the specifications in section B ? What technologies should I use with a limited budget ?

Thank you for your help,
Cheers

sproton

 

[NBPk402]

I have an idea... What about buying wireless headphones, and hooking them up as zones on the AVR? I have a pair of wireless headphones that hook up via optical cable, and I have them plugged into my Media player (this is how I view all my TV/Media). My TV still gives me volume control for speaker listening, and my headsets give me adjustable volume on the headsets. In my situation I didn't even use a AVR, but they would have to learn to use a Media player, and I am limited to 1 optical cable (unless someone makes a device that could split the optical to 2 runs...which would be ideal in your situation).

My headphones are WiFi.

These are the ones i have (expensive, but i went to a local Frys and they price matched, and i saved about $100 over their normal price at Frys), but I got these because of the range. https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-R...9316308&sr=1-8&keywords=Sennheiser+headphones

 

[tonyvdb]

I wonder if a soundbar might work for them in this situation? Some have Bluetooth and have the ability to have more than one input. They make it simple to operate.

 

[Gdaddy]

Easy... get two TV's and place them side by side. The headphones can be used (or not) in either one.

 

[DqMcClain]

Easy... get two TV's and place them side by side. The headphones can be used (or not) in either one.

Nice.


If they're sitting near each other, there's a fairly simple and inexpensive way to pull this off by NOT going wireless. You'd need to run a stereo signal to and from a multi-output headphone amp like a Presonus HP4 (I have one, and they're great!). You'd have a volume knob for "monitor" which passes signal through and could then be sent back to the AVR on the return line. Then you have 4 amplified headphone outputs that they can plug into and control volume independently of each other and the monitor out. There are plenty of headphone amps that would serve this purpose well, but I'd recommend this one specifically because of it's quality and simplicity... no extra buttons/knobs/holes, just volume knobs on the front, and In/Out/DC Power on the back. Also, they'll drive pretty much and headphones you can throw at them and still sound good.

PROS
No reliance on wireless technology, or batteries
Easy signal routing
Analog control of volume at all outputs
No compatibility issues with headsets/TVs/AVRs
Near-infinite availability and selectability of headphones


CONS
Potentially long unbalanced cable runs to MLP
Listeners are "on a leash"

Would that work for you?