Hearing Loop Recommendations

[Monk]

Greetings hive mind.

I need some help upgrading a theatre hearing loop system. Currently use a Sennheiser SI 1015 IR system however the coverage is spotty, the headset charging station is terribly designed and has died again. Ive also been informed that Senny are discontinuing their IR kit at the end of the year. So need to find a new system for my 300 seat theatre.

Im reluctant to go down the Sennheiser Mobile Connect route or the WilliamsAV WaveCast routes as my customers are generally older in age and not particularly tech savvy, so relying on them to download apps etc doesnt seem wise to me.

Do any of you have suggestions of other systems I should look at? Its a small auditorium (15m x 15m), raked seating. Im after 5-10 dedicated headsets and a suitable transmitter.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance!

Monk

[Don Allen]

Your venue seems small enough for a hearing loop, but what options do your audience have available such as hearing aids with T option ? Perhaps a survey ?

[Bryson]

I generally like the RF based systems, but it looks like they're not an option in the UK?  I guess the frequencies are spoken for.

 

The WaveCast has dedicated receivers if that helps:  https://av.ampetronic.com/products/wf-r1n-wavecast-wi-fi-receiver/

[J Pearce]

We use the Sennheiser Tourguide systems for both assisted listening and audio description, which work on RF. Ours sit in the license free portion of C70. We have a mix of stethoscope and bodypacks with neck loop listening devices (which also have 3.5mm sockets for headphones or whatever else the user might have).

(We also have mobile connect in our main auditorium. It's great, very clear, has some onboard processing at the user's end to adjust sound clarity, but ultimately downloading an app and connecting to the correct wifi is usually too much hassle and most users just collect a RF receiver. We're looking at whether we hold some devices in stock and just issue a device instead of working on BOYD - these may also double up as caption tablets too).

Edited May 30, 2022 by J Pearce

[Simon Lewis]

Listen Technologies Infra Red is very good, with excellent coverage from even just one IR radiator. In common with many ALS technologies though, it doesn't really have sensible input monitoring or level management.
The Sennheiser Tourguide 2020D (that Jon P mentions above) is also very good if you are not using channel 70 for something else. It has excellent coverage - in fact we checked a system in use at a velodrome, and it was getting a signal to changing rooms and backstage areas in addition to all of the arena's main performance and seating areas.

Both system obviously need a receiver per user and need charging up.

I have tested the Sennheiser Mobile Connect system, and even in its revised form, it still exhibits sufficient latency to make direct lip reading from a little difficult to well nigh impossible. The degree of latency depends not only on the transmission system but also the phone or tablet used to listen. The very latest Apple device is barely passable. Testing using my more modest Motorola G7 actually made it hard to associate the received ALS signal with the talker, such was the delay. The BOYD concept also requires the user to have a good means of getting sound from the phone to the aid. Not so many users have this. Add in the poor usability factors for older folk that you highlight, and I too would suggest steering away from this approach. I have yet to test the Williams Wavecast system that Ampetronic are selling, but suspect that similar issues will be faced.

There are still a large number of hearing aid users in this country with NHS aids, and these will have telecoils fitted. It's possible that they may not have the telecoil enabled by the audiologist though (although that can be remedied by a visit back to the hospital).

An induction loop is usually the preferred option for actual users, as there's typically no need for any additional receiving equipment, it is simple to make use of and it doesn't draw attention with hardware or extra technology. It also removes that layer of being dependent upon the venue managing the maintenance, distribution and collection of receivers. If your floor layout and building structure is amenable to induction loop, it's certainly an option that is worth considering. In terms of manufacturers, I believe that the Ampetronic loop amps are the best available. You pay a bit of a premium, but they are excellent units and they offer first class support too.
Of course there are potentially some issues with loop spill and musical instrument pickup, so it's worth discussing this with a supplier before purchase.

I encounter quite a bit of disinformation being spread around concerning assisted listening systems these days...
One line is:
"loops are an old fashioned technology that needs retiring". I would suggest this is false - there are new loop amps coming to market with DSP, Dante and built in set up and optimisation routines. The use of induction loop - either as a perimeter/array system in its own right as an AFILS or personal neck/earhook is still the basis of reception for most IR, FM and even VoIP systems.

Another is:
"aids don't have telecoils fitted anymore". This is again false for the majority of NHS aids. Small 'vanity' type aids may not have the space for a telecoil, but these do tend to be lower powered units for people with more moderate hearing loss.

Another is:
"all aids will have Bluetooth soon". Well, there is a move towards Bluetooth in the private sector, but the uptake in NHS circles is much slower. Bluetooth will consume more power and (depending upon version etc.) is likely to introduce some degree of latency. As mentioned above, latency is a killer when it comes to lip reading, and most hearing impaired people will rely upon this, even if it is a subconscious skill. Even with a Bluetooth enabled aid (or an aid that is coupled with a Bluetooth pendant receiver) the venue still has to transmit the Bluetooth signal, cope with limited range and simultaneous connections, plus help with those struggling to pair devices.

The other is:
"VoIP based systems are the best way forward (with the hint it's the 'only' way forward)". Well, I really like the technology and what it can offer. It does, however, shift the onus and responsibility onto the user. They need to have bought their phone with them, have enough battery, have the right app, find the right network and password, sit through the performance with the reprobation of other patrons bearing down on them as they fiddle with a brightly lit phone. There's also the issue that whilst some deaf users can hear or couple with a phone well enough to hear a predictable phone call from someone they know, many won't have a neck loop or earhook adapter that would be necessary for them to hear a performance when using VoIP.

Some of these lines are being spread quite aggressively, and one can only guess that it is the purveyors of newer technologies who may be behind this push to discredit older technologies.

[TeeJay]

We upgraded from our previous Sennheiser IR system to the Tourguide 2020D and in many ways it has been a marked improvement.

Able to remove all the various radiators situated around the auditorium for two transmitters (we broadcast two different feeds); a better quality of sound; able to hire additional headsets from a local supplier when needed for the larger audio descripted shows; and a recent Bluetooth induction loop user was able to use one of the stethosets when she couldn't connect to our array for some of the best sound she has heard at a venue in a very long time. And as far as our users go, there was no functional change from the IR headsets (certainly less than when we upgraded the headsets ten years ago or so).

It is on Channel 70 so we were a little concerned but there is a lot of metalwork in the auditorium walls which helps to mitigate against any interference from external sources (including C70 microphones elsewhere in the building) and the stethosets themselves are noticeably heavier than their IR counterparts (not excessively).

We tried MobileConnect and similar to previous posts, it just wasn't suitable for our space or audience - though I could absolutely see it for a non-live sound broadcast situation with a younger audience. We are in the process of rolling it out to two more venues - however for a third due to open in autumn '23, we are also considering the Listenhear options as they'll interface far easier with the audio network being installed.

We did also check in with Vocaleyes, and our usual freelance describers as well to see what they, and their users, were expecting to receive. Little point in installing a system if it's widely different from what your patrons are presuming they will receive