Question

Output sound from sonos to my hearing aid

  • 17 February 2020
  • 9 replies
  • 5934 views
alex4buba
Badge +1

I am a Sonos customer for many years and happy with it.

In recent years, I had to get a hearing aid and am researching a way to connect it via bluetooth to my Sonos, so that I can control my hearing through it, without upsetting the neighbours….

I read that the CONNECT box has an Analogue output that I could connect a Bluetooth device to be paired with my ear buds… But it seems:

  1. The connect box is an old technology
  2. The Analaogue output is not via a 3.5mm plug and all Bluetooth I can find require that type of interface

So, what are my options?

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9 replies

ratty

Connect units sold since 2015 are evidently ‘modern’ since there was an increase in onboard memory around that time. The current model that Sonos sells for this purpose is the Port, which has basically replaced Connect.

As for linking to a Bluetooth transmitter all you’d need is a 2xRCA-to-3.5mm cable. I don’t know whether one is still included in the Sonos box. If not they’re readily available from Amazon. You won’t need anything fancy.

J

Hi.  A cable with RCA stereo (red/white) at one end and 3.5mm jack at the other can be bought easily and cheaply.  The Connect has been replaced by the Port.  It is an expensive way of achieving what you want.  A cheaper option would be a second-hand Connect, but this requires care at the moment to make sure you don’t end up with an older ‘legacy’ Connect, or worse still one that has been disabled as part of the current trade-up offer.

alex4buba
Badge +1

Hello good people,

I have that cable mentioned by you, this is not really the problem.

I am prepared to by that “Old” technology Connect box, but not clear , what maybe the risk in going that way? One that has been disabled??? Why?

 

Thanks again

 

 

Stanley_4
Userlevel 7
Badge +22

I’ve used a Zone Player (older than a Connect) and a Play 5 Gen 1 to connect to my hearing aids.

Only thing I needed to do was pick the right cables to go from the player to the hearing aid transmitter. I’ve used 3.5 mm, RCA and Optical with no issues.

Tell us about your hearing aids, with a link to the instruction manual if possible.

 

alex4buba
Badge +1

Hi Stanley_4,

Thanks for the feedback. Well, here is what I did:

  1. I purchased the Sonos - Port device (Expensive) it becomes a Sonos device once setup, except it doesn’t have its own speaker (It doesn’t need that)
  2. I purchase a Bluetooth transmitter box, plugged it into the OUTPUT Analaoge points of the Port Device.
  3. Then, I paired my bluetooth ear buds (Samsung) to the Bluetooth transmitter.
  4. Volume control was done with the Sonos app on my phone

All worked fine, except - while watching a movie, news etc… on the TV, there was a long leg between the peaple speach and when the sound got to my ear buds. It was double problem - the sound was coming to me from the TV and then on top of that, delayed - the bluetooth signal….

I returned the Bluetooth device. Got an extension cable from the Sonos OUTPUT plugs, plugged my phone headset into it at the other end, controlling the sound with the Sonos App…

All good, just have to put up with the need to have the actual wire around me….

Cheers

ratty

With the Port + Bluetooth option and the TV you’d have suffered from the intrinsic Sonos delay of about 75ms plus -- at a guess -- the standard Bluetooth SBC codec delay of 150-200ms. Taken as a whole this could well have ruined lipsync.

The best Bluetooth option for TV would probably have been to wire an aptX Low Latency Bluetooth transmitter directly to the TV (perhaps via a spare optical output) and use matching aptX Low Latency earbuds/headphones. At 30-40ms latency overall this arrangement would have preserved lipsync, although there could still have been a small echo if the TV’s own speakers were audible at the same time.

alex4buba
Badge +1

Hi Ratty,

The problem is with the LG TV. Once I use the HDMI2 / ARC channel connected to Sonos, all other Audio channels are disabled and the ARC channel can’t be split

Thanks

 

 

ratty

The problem is with the LG TV. Once I use the HDMI2 / ARC channel connected to Sonos, all other Audio channels are disabled and the ARC channel can’t be split

Really? I’d be a bit surprised if an optical output on the TV wasn’t live at all times.

alex4buba
Badge +1

Ratty,

Don’t be… It is an economical question, not a technical one.

The response from LG was that I can use the Optical output, but then I can’t use the HDMI2/ARC

To reduce cost, they have obviously reduced the Power / watts of the audio output at any one given time.

Thanks

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