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Senior Rambler
Contributor I
April 29, 2017

Sonos surround sound and playbar while also listening to earphones.

  • April 29, 2017
  • 9 replies
  • 805 views
My husband has cancer. As a result he can't hear the TV. We like to watch together. Is there anyway he can listen to the tv using headphones while I listen through the Sonos surround sound? :? Otherwise we need to turn the volume way up and it hurts my ears!
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    9 replies

    John B
    April 29, 2017
    It may depend on what your your TV allows in terms of audio outputs, but mine certainly allows internal and external speakers to play at the same time. So I think I could put some headphones into the TV and have sound come out of both. I don't actually own any headphones to try it, but if you have any pair you could experiment with, why not give it a go?

    You could get a pair of headphones with a Bluetooth transmitter if that works.

    What make and model is the TV?
    Senior RamblerAuthor
    Contributor I
    April 29, 2017
    Samsung LN46A650A1F is the Brand and model number. It's about 8 years old. We purchased it when the transition to digital couldn't be avoided with out a box.
    Senior RamblerAuthor
    Contributor I
    April 29, 2017
    Thanks.
    John B
    April 29, 2017
    Do you have any headphones you can test with? Even just a pair of phone headphones? It looks from the manual that if you have TV speakers set to "On" and plug in headphones, you should get sound through headphones and Playbar. But can't be sure - you have to try. TV speaker setting is under Menu, Sound.
    SMD Technical Services
    Contributor I
    May 4, 2017
    I achieved this for one of my clients whose tv did not allow both audio outputs to work simultaneously by fitting a passive optical splitter between the playbar and tv, and fitting a set of wireless gaming headphones which featured an optical input on the transmitter. That solution has worked flawlessly for the last couple of years.
      John B
      May 4, 2017
      I achieved this for one of my clients whose tv did not allow both audio outputs to work simultaneously by fitting a passive optical splitter between the playbar and tv, and fitting a set of wireless gaming headphones which featured an optical input on the transmitter. That solution has worked flawlessly for the last couple of years.Hey, neat solution!
      SMD Technical Services
      Contributor I
      May 4, 2017
      Not that it would be of much use in this situation but the headphones featured surround sound processing and i was impressed at how well defined the surround effect was for a pair of headphones.
      JakeBC
      Lyricist I
      October 23, 2017
      I achieved this for one of my clients whose tv did not allow both audio outputs to work simultaneously by fitting a passive optical splitter between the playbar and tv, and fitting a set of wireless gaming headphones which featured an optical input on the transmitter. That solution has worked flawlessly for the last couple of years.Thank
      JakeBC
      Lyricist I
      October 23, 2017
      [quote=JakeBC]I achieved this for one of my clients whose tv did not allow both audio outputs to work simultaneously by fitting a passive optical splitter between the playbar and tv, and fitting a set of wireless gaming headphones which featured an optical input on the transmitter. That solution has worked flawlessly for the last couple of years. Thanks! This is exactly what I was hoping. I have Sony wireless headphones with optical, and was wondering about splitting the optical so I can mute the Playbar later at night so I can use the headphones to watch movies without disturbing neighbours.
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