Like many here who are older my hearing is not what it was 30 years ago. I sometimes have trouble understanding voices on the television at a volume level that is comfortable for my lovely wife. The Samsung television gives me more trouble than our Sony. The speakers in the Samsung are directed to the rear whereas the Sony speakers are forward facing. What do you guys like in an added sound system that works. I'm not looking for loud Star Wars Theater sound. I don't mind spending a couple hundred or more bucks if that would help the problem. I do not wear hearing aids and don't think I need them currently. Thanks for any suggestions.

Wireless IR headphones for you and your wife than can have whatever level she likes.

I did this for my Father In Law years ago before he passed away and they work very well.

https://www.amazon.com/XO-Visi...b1ea0317f25a_m_1_b_p

I'm not even that old and am also having difficulty with hearing dialogue on TV. Between the crappy speakers they give us with these new LED TV's, coupled with most shows interlacing a soundtrack (music or effects noises) along with the dialogue making it muddy, trying to fully make out the dialogue was becoming a pain. I solved that issue with two different solutions in two different rooms. For the Family Room, I installed a Roku Streambar. I doesn't provide the booming bass and effects of a full soundbar and sub, but it does wonders for aiming its speakers directly at you and clarifying the vocals. It also includes a ROKU streaming device in it which prevented me from having to buy one separately. It works well allowing me to lower the volume to where it should be for everyone watching TV in the Family Room. Second solution, I bought and installed a pair of these Sennheiser RS120 Headphones on the TV in the bedroom. That allows me to watch TV with the TV volume off. Another very good solution to the issues I was having.

Zvox have soundbars designed to enhance dialogue. WE have an older one for our bedroom and it does help. They now make several with hearing aid technology . Zvox is focused on making dialogue easier to understand.

I've gotten to where I use subtitles on most all dramas, movies, etc.

https://zvox.com/

I have a Bose sound bar that works pretty well although the wireless headphones work really well if you don't mind having headphones on.

I have the same problem and for me the best solution was just turning on the captioning.

turn it up loud enough for you to hear it and ask your bride to use hearing protection to lower the volume to an acceptable level for her.

I have that issue without my hearing aids in and have determined, not missing much when they are out.

Looked at all the settings in the soundbar and TV, have an optical cable running from the TV to the soundbar so it limits what we can modify regarding output.

Even so, it's obvious that the sound track for tv is set to be just loud. I've resorted to putting CC on with certain shows because otherwise you'd have the volume loud enough for the folks in the next county to hear it...

quote:

Originally posted by vandrv:
I have the same problem and for me the best solution was just turning on the captioning.

Yup. Even with Bluetooth to hearing aids, some programs I have to turn the captioning on to understand the dialog.

I have a 5.1 System in the living room with my 65" Sony A-1E OLED.

It's all Paradigm Reference made in Canada - 23 year old tower fronts (dual 6.5" drivers) and the matching center I got off ebay about 12 years ago, and the dipolar surrounds I got off ebay about 5 years ago. All powered by a Denon X4300 AVR, which I should probably upgrade. Oh and there's a Paradigm Reference Seismic 12 sub with it's internal 1500 watt Class D amp that I got 11 years ago. I also have some matching bookshelf speakers I might use for something.

With the Denon's Audyssy MultQ XT 32 room correction EQ it sounds fantastic and no need to upgrade the speakers. I'm not sure if speaker technology peaked 20 years ago but I really haven't heard many significant improvements in sound quality of late.

So with this setup everything is clear and nothing is too loud. The Sub only makes its presence known when there is appropriate low bass content. And then you really know it's there. Plus most AVR's have features to increase the volume of voices by boosting some EQ bands on the center channel.

Interestingly enough the Sony A-1E, and the other "easel" OLED's have transducers behind the screen that vibrate it and cause it to become a large planer radiator. On it's own, it's about the best TV sound I've heard, so that's fine for the 55" one in the MBR.

I find that I have zero problems hearing and understanding the commercials, and some channels(i.e. food channel) but can not hear/understand most of the major network programs. It is just garbled and turning up the volume doesn't seem to help. Granted my TV is 12-13 years old, but my ears are much older!!

Turning up the TV volume has diminishing returns. As I turn the volume up and up, I could hear it but not understand it. A couple of soundbars and an old stereo were tossed when I put together a decent 5.1 system and the quality of the sound made all the difference. That being said; late at night, a couple of Jamisons, I still can't understand shit.

I have a similar problem plus I have tried much of the suggestions above with poor results. What seems to work best is turning on the sub titles at the bottom of the screen. I was quite surprised how quickly we became accustomed to them, it helps a lot and the wife likes knowing the few mumbled words that actors sometimes speak.

Older TVs had the ability to tailor the sound spectrum--to emphasize the highs more than the lows, for example--but my current TV does not have that ability, it appears. I'd route its audio through my sound system (which does), but I'm using it as my computer sound system (my 27" monitor does not have speakers).

I miss my old Phillips CRT TV.

flashguy

No one thinks they need hearing aids, at least no men do. Have your hearing tested by a reputable audiologist anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
No one thinks they need hearing aids, at least no men do. Have your hearing tested by a reputable audiologist anyway.

Just did this. $3500 later I discovered the world is a noisy place.

I bought my Dad wireless headphones and they worked well for him until he finally got hearing aids.

I bought a zvox voice enhancing sound bar for myself and have been very happy with it.

It's not the volume.

You need a center channel speaker. 80% of the dialogue is mixed to come out of a center channel. When the mix is downsampled to stereo, the dialogue has to compete with all the background noise and sound effects that normally come out if the left and right channels. Turning up the volume does not help much, as all that background noise gets louder as well.

It's not about how loud the sound is, it's about how discrete the channels appear relative to one another. That's why the Sony sounds better than the Samsung, as the rear firing speakers further muddle the sounds together as the sound reflects off the wall behind the TV.

You need a sound system with a least 3 channels. A 2 channel stereo soundbar will not cut it.

quote:

Originally posted by 21bubba:

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
No one thinks they need hearing aids, at least no men do. Have your hearing tested by a reputable audiologist anyway.

Just did this. $3500 later I discovered the world is a noisy place.

This!! I gained back my life with hearing aids! Don't be that guy that asks what at everything!

My problem is that tinnitus makes understanding the dialogue difficult. I can hear it OK, but the ringing blurs it. Turning up the volume does not help; closed captioning does.