Wireless TV audio for Dad, tried all sorts (Bluetooth not loud enough)

[VaderDSL]

I've been trying all sorts over the years for my dads situation :

• He wears hearing aids due to being hearing impaired.
• He can't listen to the TV via speakers/sound bar due to how loud he has it, when he's up at 5am he doesn't want to wake people.
• He likes his Sennheiser headphones, HD599 and uses those.
• He can't wear his hearing aids whilst wearing the headphones, comfort reasons but also they exacerbate his ear infections.
• He likes to be able to sit at the table and listen to the TV in the morning. So static location sadly not an option.
• Standard bluetooth is too quiet, even at max volume it just isn't loud enough. When testing with a standard aux > bluetooth transmitter and bluetooth headphones

Because of these criteria I've found it difficult to find a good solution. But I did find the Sennheiser Flex 5000. It was great because he could change the volume levels of both channels to account for the differences in his hearing. The voice clarity stuff actually worked for him and was invaluable.

Problem now is the RF receiver has failed and because Sennheiser sold their business to Sonova, I just cannot get a replacement receiver for the unit.

He asked me to look into this, so I bought :

• Avantree Bluetooth transmitter with BT5/APTX LL
• FiiO BTR5 Bluetooth Amplifier

They pair fine and the APTX LL works well with minimal latency issues, but the volume is still pretty low. With the FiiO set to max volume 60/60, the volume on the TV (via AUX > Bluetooth Transmitter) is at 80/100, this gives similar volume levels as the Flex 5000 was at full volume on the receiver but 30/100 volume on the TV.

I don't know enough about AV stuff to know what is the best way to get wireless audio from the TV to a wireless receiver, into which we can use our own headphones.

Anyone able to give me some more advice?

Should I be looking into going TV [Optical] > Amplifier > Bluetooth Transmitter > Bluetooth Receiver

Is this how it works?

Cheers.

 

[VaderDSL]

Are there any induction loop devices for TV? I would have thought it’s a great use for something along that lines if he wears hearing aids

Cheers, it's worth a look but a lot of the time he doesn't wear one of them, he only tends to wear the one hearing aid in the ear that's worst. But he has said he'll look at those options, but I know right now he'll eventually want to go back to not wearing them and simply wearing a nice set of headphones due to the comfort factor.

So I have setup the avantree transmitter and the Fiio receiver, and while it works and he can get the volume he was getting from the Sennheiser, it lasts 6 hours or so, due to needing to be turned up to near max volume. Honestly, there doesn't appear to be anything remotely close to the Flex5000, for our usage it was perfect.

I think I'm going to have to go down the route of wiring in a headphone amp installed next to his sofa, and attaching the bluetooth transmitter to that on one of the outputs. When he sits at the sofa, he can have the headphones plugged into the amp and not worry about battery life. Then have a second set of headphones with the Fiio bluetooth receiver for when he's sat at the table.

I honestly can't figure out any other option at this point. Next thing to figure out is best way to cable around 5-7 metres, as it'll have to go around the skirting. What cable/format is best taking an audio signal from a TV or Sky box via optical, 5-7metres into an amp? Toslink?