Bluetooth headphones for TV

Merlin5 · 2 Sep 2015 at 18:09

I dd bump my other thread but it went unnoticed so I'm making a new one, hope you don't mind too much!

Further to my quest for wireless headphones for my mum, I'm now wondering about bluetooth for TV instead of just regular wireless. As far as I've discovered, I can plug a bluetooth device into the optical out of the TV and control the volume on the bluetooth headphones (if they have a volume control), and it also means nothing has to be unplugged to switch to TV speakers as it works independent. The TV speakers can be just be muted with the mute button I think. If this is the case, I wonder if this device would be correct?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LAYEN®-Digi...135&sr=1-1&keywords=bluetooth+adapter+optical

Or anything similar and cheaper like that which uses optical out? And bluetooth headphone with volume control?

Merlin5 · 2 Sep 2015 at 23:41

Cheers wellibob and Marsman. I won't bother with the bluetooth and will stick to plan A, regular wireless headphones. Marsman, I was looking for some in between the price of the two you recommended but didn't find anything, so shall I just go with the £30 Thomson and be done with it?

Merlin5 · 3 Sep 2015 at 15:17

wellibob said:
I have several sets of FM Thompson wireless (on tvs with optical to rca adapter) . Brilliant apart from very finicky to charge them on the stand (requires careful positioning... you get used too it).

Enjoy

Ok, I'm going to buy the Thomson, thanks.

One other point. In my other thread it was basically going to be a case of plugging the wireless headphone receiver into the 3.5mm headphone jack socket of the TV, and that would mean unplugging it whenever the TV speakers are needed. I can't recall if we discussed about optical to RCA adapter with wireless headphones. Would that be better as far as switching between headphones and tv speakers, or would we still have to unplug something to get the TV speakers back?

Merlin5 · 3 Sep 2015 at 16:58

Thanks guys. Yeah Marsman, I took a quote from the other thread where you said:

Marsman said:
Edit: Just thinking over what I put above about having headphones with a DAC in order to use the optical out. You could get a cheap DAC, then connect the wireless headphone base unit to that. More wires, extra power point used and more cost, but it would operate independently from the TVs speakers.

Ok, so can you recommend a not too pricey DAC?

As long as the DAC and base unit are sitting on or under the TV stand, it presumably means all wires can be hidden behind the unit, and all my mum would need to do is use the wireless headphones as normal, but how would she control the volume of the headphones since it's separate from the TV and she will have muted the TV? Sorry if I'm asking questions that may have been answered, this stuff can get a bit confusing!

Merlin5 · 4 Sep 2015 at 00:36

Awesome, thanks! Sorry Marsman, yeah, I just saw in my other thread that you had already told me the headphones have a volume control, that's the problem with me making two threads!

Right, all ordered! Thomson WHP3001BK headphones at £29.99, the £11.95 DAC, and I added these cables

£47 total, ETA sometime next week.

Merlin5 · 9 Sep 2015 at 17:24

Ok, I've got it setup and it works fine. My mum was out so she'll come home to find the surprise.

However, I've got a couple of niggles with it. The volume is acceptable at max volume but really not very loud at all. I don't know yet if my mum will want it louder. I tested with the other RCA cable to the headphone jack and that can go very loud, but it's not really ideal to use that cable.

The other issue is that placing the headphones on the base doesn't always make a connection between the charging contacts on the headphones and the pins on the base and often takes a few goes of seating the headphones before the green light comes on. I suspect my mum will have trouble with that.

So assuming she's happy to use the headphones and she feels it's making a difference, I was wondering if it might be worth me replacing the Thomson with the Sennheisers, if the Sennheisers have no problem with charging pins and perhaps even go louder? I'll be keeping the other cables and DAC though.

Merlin5 · 9 Sep 2015 at 20:46

Thanks Marsman. Well, whole thing was a waste of bloody time. My mum says the headphones are uncomfortable, too heavy for her so now I've got to send it all back and get refunded. I thought she was going to love it :rolleyes:

Merlin5 · 9 Sep 2015 at 23:07

Oh not your fault at all Marsman! No, it's something I should have thought about although I honestly didn't consider they would be too heavy. In fact, they're pretty light. Then she said she thought she could only hear the sound out of one ear but I tested it before I left there and it was all fine. Then I asked her if she felt a benefit from the sound and she said not really, at which point I did everything I could not to sound annoyed

Nah, it's a hopeless case, I'll just send it all back including the DAC and cables. No doubt I won't get reimbursed for return postage as nothing is faulty. Ah well, lesson learned. Don't make technology suggestions to 80+ year old mums!

Marsman, all your help has been much appreciated!

Merlin5 · 10 Sep 2015 at 00:30

Marsman said:
Glad to help, even though the outcome was not as desired!

I understand trying to get older parents into technology. My dad had great difficulty using a tablet. He does much better with laptop, but he does forget what I tell him sometimes. He sometimes thinks I do not want to show him how to do things, but I just know he will only forget things that are not really simple.

Some people pick things up easier than others. I think for some people, you've got to get a grasp of things a bit earlier in life.

Yeah I'm with you on that. With my mum, she's always been technology challenged, plus she's from a very different era. With her eyes failing, it compounds the problems. All she wants to do is be able to watch TV and record her favourite soaps.

I can't win though. She thinks I'm patronising if I explain things too simply, and if I don't she gets frustrated. And if I show the slightest sign of impatience, if there's any edge to my voice, all hell is likely to break loose.

Add to that her fingers going to the wrong buttons on the remote controls or not clearly being able to focus on menus onscreen when I'm trying to explain to her she needs to go down to this option and that option, and it's nigh on impossible tbh!