OK...not the brightest bulb on the block when it comes to hooking up sound system stuff. Though this really isn't the sound system itself...it's more of what headphones can I get that will allow me to hear sound from the speakers at the same time.

Equipment and Setup:
Sony Bravia KDL-60EX720 TV
Sony DVD Player
Roku Premiere
Sony STR-DH590 AV Receiver
Bose Acoustimass 10 5.1 Home Theater Speaker System
Amazonbasics Wireless Headphones (base is what is wired and connects to TV)

Connection:
*Everything but the headphones is connected to the back of the Receiver via HDMI cable.
*The TV is ARC compatible, but in order to receive sound while watching OTA TV, I still had to connect a Digital Optical Cable between the two. Manual says this might happen even if TV is ARC compatible.
*There is no cable/satellite box, as I ditched Comcast cable YEARS ago; the cable is plugged directly into the TV.
*Unless my mother is visiting (see "issue" below), ALL viewing is conducted via Roku or DVD Player with no problem whatsoever.

Issue:
When my mother visits, her lack of hearing requires she use headphones while watching TV. Under my old setup before getting the receiver and Bose system, I had no problem getting speaker sound while the headphones were in use (Bose Cinemate GS Series II didn't require a receiver). Now with the new setup described above, I am not able to hear sound from the speakers if I plug the headphones into the jack on the Receiver to hear sound from the Roku and DVD Player.

Desired Result:
When viewing programming from Roku or the DVD Player, I need headphones that will allow me to hear sound from both the speakers and the headphones when used concurrently. Any and all suggestions are appreciated. TIA!!!

the two important items are the TV itself and the AV receiver

I believe that when you plug in headphones, it disables the connections to the speaker and I don't think you can circumvent that

however if you connect your tv to the AV receiver, you should be sending a sound signal to the TV, so use the audio out on the TV as the signal source for the headphones

It's not headphones you need. The receiver knows headphones are plugged in and does not output to the speakers. If the receiver is not capable of doing both then you need one that is (and I don't know if one exists that is).

A solution I do know exists isn't cheap - the Bose Soundbar 700 can send audio to the NC 700 headphones and play through the bar at the same time.

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
...use the audio out on the TV as the signal source for the headphones

That is currently how I have the headphones hooked up, but I'm only able to receive sound from OTA programming and it DOES transmit audio through both the speakers and the TV at the same time. That setup, however, does not work for Roku or DVD...it's speakers ONLY. Sure wish the Receiver had an "Audio Out"...

Thanks for your input... (pun intended)

quote:

Originally posted by bobtheelf:
A solution I do know exists isn't cheap - the Bose Soundbar 700 can send audio to the NC 700 headphones and play through the bar at the same time.

Yeah...that's what I'm afraid it might come down to.

Does the receiver have 4 speaker output on separate buttons? As in speakers a, and speakers B.

If so is there an adapter which can use the output as Bluetooth source. Perhaps then a set of Bluetooth headphones would work.

What about a different angle. Getting a set of headphone that amplify the sound coming into the room? Sorry I don’t have any recommendations.

How about these earbuds with wireless mic?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085...60-9d4c-b858ce5cd79d

Does the Roku remote have a headphone connection? Some do, which might be a workaround the receiver detecting headphones and turning off the speakers.

I have a pair of these Sennheiser RS120 Wireless Headphones plugged into the headphone jack on my TV. With this setup I have independent volume from both the TV speaker and the headphones. I can also mute the TV speakers with no effect on the headphones. Good, inexpensive, and simple solution.

Thanks for all the suggestions and thinking outside the box, y'all...really appreciate it!

preten2b - the Receiver does not have that feature or setup

Jamess1 & Krazeehorse - possible solution. Would have to test and see what the quality of the sound would be. I have Jabra ear buds that have a "pass through" feature that I could test out.

TAllen01 - That's the Roku Ultra. I read through the documentation and I can't make a determination if the sound would go to the headphones ONLY when plugged into the remote.

bigdeal - The wireless headphones I have sit in a recharging base. It came with a standard 2-channel audio cable...red and white RCA plugs on both ends. I got an adapter cable with RCA plugs on one end and a 3.5mm plug on the other that goes into the AUDIO OUT from the TV. This setup works GREAT for viewing OTA programming, and I get sound from BOTH the receiver and the headphones. Problem arises, however, if I switch over to Roku or the DVD Player that's routed through the Receiver via HDMI, I get speakers only; no headphones.

Not sure what the solution is at this point...I'll get with someone at Sony. Great weekend!!!

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
the two important items are the TV itself and the AV receiver

I believe that when you plug in headphones, it disables the connections to the speaker and I don't think you can circumvent that

however if you connect your tv to the AV receiver, you should be sending a sound signal to the TV, so use the audio out on the TV as the signal source for the headphones

Agreed the headphone jack on the receiver is probably wired with a switch that disables other audio output when cans are plugged in.

^^^^^
That is the fly in the ointment right there. I can't be the only one in the known universe with this issue.

Does your Mom wear hearing aids? I have a box, an accessory for my hearing aids, that connects Via an optical cable from my receiver. It allows me to wirelessly connect my hearing aids to this unit. I can have both the sound sent to my hearing aids and the speakers at the same time.

My Pioneer amp has both an optical output and traditional speaker outputs for the same audio source, both which can be used at the same time.

You need something that can accept a digital output. This would work:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S...Eb7GJRVTG

The weak link here is your receiver. It has no digital output or ability to output to two different zones. Your TV has a digital output. (Toslink) So you could conceivably connect that wireless headphone receiver directly to the TV and output at the same time to the receiver through HDMI. But there’s a catch. That wireless system cannot accept Dolby digital (most can’t), so in order to listen to both simultaneously, you would need to change the TV output to PCM stereo.

That will suit your mother fine, but it won’t be multichannel. If that’s OK with you, it should work. Or you could simply leave it for when she visits.

Use a Line Output Converter + a RCA->Headphone adapter.
The LOC will connect to the speaker-level outputs from your receiver & turn that into a Pre-amp output for the headphones.
It's a kludge solution, but it's cheap (~25-30$) and should work.
You might want to research if impedance matters for the LOC - most are geared towards car audio (4ohm) and a lot of home theater stuff is 6 or 8ohm. I don't think it does, but I've been out of audio for a long time. The amp/receiver SHOULDN'T notice a difference, but I'd want to be sure.

quote:

Sony STR-DH590 AV Receiver

Looked at the product manual. Sure looks like if it can tell headphones are connected, that's the only connection that gets audio output.

Another angle, maybe?

Does the TV itself have a headphone jack? If the sound signals are getting to the TV (not every setup does this), that headphone jack might be a way to connect headphones without affecting what the receiver does. (Call this a 'What Happens on the TV, Stays on the TV' approach.)

^^^^^
Yeah...the TV has an AUDIO OUT jack that connects to my headphone base with a 3.5mm plug. As stated above, that setup does allow me to hear OTA programming through the speakers and also through the headphones.

But when I select either the Roku or DVD Player sources, both of which are connected to the Receiver via HDMI, the headphones don't work.

This surprised me, since the TV has an ARC Compatible AUDIO IN HDMI port, I thought SURE the headphones would work regardless of the INPUT source. The TV might be just a tad old enough to where it's not playing well with the Receiver...

************
Thanks again for all the suggestions and ideas. Certainly gives me something to think about!! Hmmmmmm...maybe a new TV is in order.

You did not mention a budget for the solution, but a receiver that has a Zone 2 option would absolutely take care of the issue. For around 225$, you can get a new receiver that that has a zone 2 option. It allows you to play sound from whatever source you are using and play it to both zones. With you already having your Sony receiver, you can run an RCA cable between the two receivers. Plug your existing headphones into the Sony receiver and you can hear and control the audio. Volume is separate from Zone 1, so headphone user can have whatever volume they want without affecting the others.

I have a 2018 Onkyo TX-NR 686 that I got for a downstairs rec room. Sony also has a model that will do the same thing, and in the 200 to 250$ range. Here is a link for what looks to be this years Sony, it is a touch higher in price, but last years model can still be found new for less, and Best Buy even shows open box items from 202$.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/s...7502.p?skuId=6187502



It also works with listening to a different source by itself, or at the same time as the main source. Uses can cover anything from listening to a satellite radio station for a sports broadcast that you are watching, to playing a video game and listening to music.

A couple of other benefits to this setup would be 4K upscaling and passthrough, as well as getting Dolby Atmos and other Digital formats. Also if you use anything like Tidal, Amazon Music, and other various digital music services, these types of receivers will work directly with those services. There are differences in the services that are offered on the different brands, so you will want to look at the specs to see if any that you use are supported. Accessing music on a computer or media server in your house is pretty simple as well.

I don't want to keep going with the features in these receivers as there are more, but definitely feel free to let me know if you have any other questions for sure.