Sound quality for hard of hearing

[vespertine]

Please help. I have low frequency hearing loss and am not tech savvy. I would like to surprise my husband with a solution to our living room TV sound dilemma. After reading some other forum posts I wonder if the Sonos system would work, but I just can't tell and would appreciate any advice! Here is the dilemma:

Our living room is approximately 34' x 14' with 9' ceilings. We have a fairly new Smart TV (Sony Bravia) in a built in floor to ceiling cabinet that wasn't built to house a flat screen. Although the TV is sitting as far forward in the cabinet as possible, the cabinet channels the sound in a narrow stream directly at the fireplace on the opposite wall. The seating in the living room is arranged so that the TV is on one side of the sitting area and the fireplace is opposite with the chairs and sofa in the center, facing each other. We've got a sub and speakers placed in the cabinet behind and around the TV, but I have to put the volume near max and I still can't make out dialogue unless I'm standing next to the TV. I don't know how to describe my hearing loss, but it seems like higher quality speakers reduce buzzing and background noise, allowing me to hear better at lower volumes. For reference, we have a better quality Sony in another room which puts out enough sound that I can keep the volume in the med./ high range and hear fairly well. We also have a portable JBL Flip that puts out high-enough quality sound for me to understand dialogue. I'd like to be able to reduce the volume in the living room so that it isn't too loud for other people without spending more than $600.00.

Can anyone suggest a system that would allow the biggest sound to be moved away from the TV, like on a table behind the sofa, so I could place a wireless speaker near me and not bother others? There are floor outlets behind the sofa and near the chairs, so we have power there, but every solution I see requires a large speaker to be plugged into the TV with HDMI cables and that fails for my situation because there is not room in the cabinet for something like that and the cabinet will eat up most of the sound if the primary speaker has to sit behind the TV.

Is there a product in my price range that will:

Turn on when the TV is turned on
Be unobtrusive and wireless
Provide quality sound that doesn't lag behind the sound from the TV
Include small rechargeable, portable speakers

Thanks for taking the time to read this- any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[MidnightSensi2]

If you have uneven hearing loss, you may find a system with equalization would be helpful. This would allow you to adjust the sound so that it sounds 'right' to you. Essentially, tune the system to play its best for YOUR ears. From your description that would likely be reducing the treble so that the midrange vocals stand out more.

You can certainly put a wireless speaker by you, use headphones (can be open back so you can still talk to people), etc.

Let's narrow it down.

Oh, subtitles are wonderful too. I use them in some movies and I'm not hearing impaired.

 

[rojo]

I can't say I agree with the use of EQ that way. EQ should be used for correcting room response. Besides, if the midrange is muddy at low to mid volumes, you'd only be boosting the mud.

A better solution would be to employ a 3.1 speaker configuration. Adding a center channel (and a worthwhile receiver, depending on what you already have) will allow you to boost the volume of dialog without increasing the overall volume.

You might also consider moving your TV and speaker system to another wall, and turn that built-in into a rather excellent bookshelf. If you're concerned about the location of the coax cable, you can probably run it wherever you want without too much modification, just a grommet or two plus maybe 40 bucks' worth of adhesive-backed wiremold (or similar cable management / cord covers). Or you might even consider running a new cable line around the outside of the house and just poke it through the external wall if there is one.

It'd be much easier for us to make recommendations if we could see at least a pic or two of the problem room. Also, when you say you've got speakers and a sub around and behind the TV, what is their brand / model, and what are you using to drive them? (Or is it a speaker bar with sub that has its own built-in receiver?)

 

[Tomorrow]

Hi,

My wife has hearing loss similar to yours. Please tell me...do you wear aids? If so, there is a cheap, easy, wonderful, potential solution to your problem. It's called "TV Link" and sends a stereo signal to hearing aids via bluetooth (if the aids are so equipped). With her's, my wife can walk all around the house and hear a constant, stereo sound from the tv (or connected dvd/cd player).

If you do not wear aids, there are good quality wireless speakers that may fit your needs. They just require audio-out jacks from your tv or receiver. We recently installed a pair from Aperion that are fairly high fidelity for a small, wireless set. The amplifier and tone/volume controls are onboard each speaker and are engaged with a little remote unit. Here's a review of the Aperion Zonas. Review: Aperion Audio Zona Wireless Speaker System | Sound & Vision

Good luck with your search.

 

[vespertine]

You nailed it!

A better solution would be to employ a 3.1 speaker configuration. Adding a center channel (and a worthwhile receiver, depending on what you already have) will allow you to boost the volume of dialog without increasing the overall volume.

Our Harman Kardon receiver is outdated and incompatible with HDMI, USB, etc.. We have an old Sony home theatre plugged into it, but in order to use newer wireless speakers the receiver should be replaced. I didn't realize that we could get a good updated receiver for that price or how a new receiver would help us use other audio tech more easily. THANKS!

Incidentally, it is funny about the equalizer. Back when I didn't know I had hearing problems, my husband and I used to argue about the equalizer all the time. I thought he was crazy when he kept telling me I had the system sounding like it was playing underwater

 

[vespertine]

Thanks for your response! I don't wear a hearing aid yet, but I am certain that a hearing aid will figure in my future. TV Link sounds like it is ideal for my situation- thanks for the tip!