Review on SENNHEISER SET840 - TV RF Stereo Assistive Listening Headphones System for TV Optimization by Jasmine Leon

Bought this a few years ago and had to give it to my 104 year old mum so she could watch TV. She is very hard of hearing and cannot wear a hearing aid. I missed them so I just bought a second set. There are so many questions about this product that I thought I should write a review that will answer most of them. This device consists of a headset and a base station. The headset includes a removable battery that is said to last up to 9 hours. Place the headset on the base to charge the battery. You can purchase a spare battery and insert it into the slot on the base, where it will charge at the same time as the headset. This means you can replace the batteries every 9 hours (if you wear the headset for 9 hours) and keep using the headset indefinitely. Although the headset is intended for watching TV, you can plug it into almost any audio output such as a stereo receiver, FM radio, etc. and listen through the headset. Because it's a radio frequency (RF) device, you don't have to look at the base station to hear it; In fact, you can probably walk around your house or apartment until you know how far you can walk without losing signal. To set up the device, turn on the base station by plugging it into a power outlet. You then connect the base to the audio output of your TV, stereo, etc. The audio output usually consists of two RCA connectors, usually colored red and white. If you don't have these jacks, you may find a mini jack or other jack labeled "AUDIO OUT". The headset comes with some adapters so you can connect it to any audio output. WARNING: If your audio output is optical, you cannot connect the base unless you buy an expensive converter. What if you want to connect a TV with no audio output or only optical output? If your TV is connected to a cable box, you can use the audio output from the cable box as this is the same sound that is sent to the TV. connected to the TV, you will not be able to hear the DVD unless you disconnect the cable box and connect it to the audio output of the DVD player. If you want to avoid moving the cable, you can probably buy an inexpensive switch that plugs into your cable box and DVD player. What if you have a TV with no audio output and no cable box? Well, you can still use the headset as it comes with a small microphone. You connect a microphone to the base and place it next to one of the speakers. I don't think you will get a stereo signal anymore. If someone with hearing loss wants to use the headset as a hearing aid, you can connect a microphone and use it to speak to that person. You may need to purchase a microphone extender so you can sit next to the person wearing the headset instead of standing next to the TV with the base station plugged into an outlet. The headset has no switch. . It turns on automatically when you open the earbuds to put them in your ears. They're comfortable enough for my 104 year old mom and I find them comfortable enough (if my mom is 104 then I'm not a spring baby either) so they should fit most people. There are 3 different ear tips so you can find the most comfortable one for you. If you care about sound quality, they are very good. they are stereo. They have a balance control that allows you to adjust the sound so that it is the same for both ears. You can set them to stereo or mono. You have 3 speech intelligibility modes of operation that you can adjust with a knob on the top of the base unit, including compression and treble boost. The base station emits an RF signal that is automatically detected by the headset. If the signal is weak or there is interference, you can switch to another channel until you find a better one. The volume control is a very large dial on the front of the headset that is easy to reach and turn. Now that you know what to expect when you buy this device and need help setting it up, you know what it's made for. to do and you can easily find instructions in the manual.