Sennheiser wants to fix the way you watch TV — or at least the way you listen to it — with a new product called TV Clear. It's essentially a wireless receiver that connects to your TV and a pair of true wireless earbuds that you wear whenever you want better sound quality.
According to Sennheiser, the audio settings and listening experience can be customized with the TV Clear companion app, and the transmitter’s low latency streaming technology keeps audio and video in sync so there’s no delay in the audio.
Even better, the earbuds also support multi-pairing and can be paired with a smartphone simultaneously to allow you to take phone calls or listen to music.
For those who are hard of hearing, Sennheiser says that the system offers five speech clarity levels that can provide up to 20 dB high-frequency amplification to make it easier to hear what’s happening on the screen. You can also have one volume for the earbuds and one volume for the TV so that people in the room can hear what’s happening without listening to the content at a higher-than-normal volume.
In terms of battery life, Sennheiser expects you’ll be able to squeeze about 15 hours of listening time on a single charge when paired with the receiver and claim that the charging case should have enough charge for an additional 22 hours of listening before recharging.
Not a new concept, but definitely improved
Admittedly, Sennheiser can’t pretend the TV Clear is an entirely new concept — wireless TV headphones have existed for over a decade now — but Sennheiser is promising better customization options via the app, lower latency, multi-point pairing and a more approachable design that most folks are more familiar with.
The bad news? The Sennheiser TV Clear are slated to cost $399 when they come out later this year. That’s a fair chunk of change for a souped-up pair of true wireless earbuds and a wireless amplifier, especially considering that one of the best true wireless earbuds — the Sony WF-1000XM4 — are available for $100 less.
Sony’s true wireless earbuds may not be able to deliver TV sound without the latency and could require a bit more effort to set up than Sennheiser’s TV Clear, but the Sony WF-1000XM4 also comes with noise cancellation as well.
Overall, while the Sennheiser TV Clear aren’t the most original design — or the cheapest — we’re hoping they can deliver crystal-clear sound to the folks who need it the most.
