T-coil at theater. What to expect

[Hila]

Hello

Got tickets to ballet at performing arts center.  I noticed the  Assistive Listening System Device logo at the box office.  Apparently the venue provides with loop to connect to sound system.  I have Sonnets 1.  Has anyone used this type of listening device at theaters and can share the experience?  I most recently been to a theater with Orchestra and was able to enjoy all the sounds (it was last moment so I didn't have time to prepare for any special devices).  I'm wondering if (for music) this system works the same / better / worse compared with just listening through your everyday program.  

Thanks for any feedback. 

[Mary Beth]

@Hila

I have used them. For me, it works best for speech.  Music loses a lot through telecoil and if the theater has great acoustics, that is also lost through telecoil.

[Hila]

Thanks MB! I can't wait for the show

[Mary Beth]

You can obtain the ALD neckloop and bring along a way to switch your Sonnets to MT or T and experiment a bit.  If you end up preferring the theater sound through just your Sonnet mics you can switch back to M.  Enjoy!

 

Let us know your experience 

[Kylie]

I find in theatres for any type of musical show, my sonnet microphones do a great job. I never use additional devices or hearing loops. Even in cinemas where there is more speech, the surround sound is so loud and effective I still do the same.

[Hila]

Thanks!! I sure will come back to share. It's on st. Patrick day. Instruments include harp with the  VA symphony Orchestra 

Ok there's two shows.  Ballet and then the Irish one 

[Tim]

Last month I went to a theatre for a spoken word performance.  They had a hearing assistance device available so I figured it was worth a try.  It had been 13 months post-Activation and I had never tried telecoil functionality at all.  Good to be experimenting to find the right systems for each person - what works for one person may not for another.

I brought my Sonnet 2 (knowing that I didn't want to wrestle with the Rondo 3's telecoil problem.)

The theatre had an infrared projected audio to Sennheiser neck loop systems.  Not sure how this compares to systems that rely on a magnetic loop around the building but it seems like a good and modern system. 

Before the performance, I got all the tech working, setting the Sonnet 2 for telecoil in Audiokey 2.

During the performance, it worked.  The only times it had problems was when I did something to obstruct the Sennheiser pendant's view to the front of the theatre for the infrared signal.  It requires clear line of sight to some unseen transmitter.  Turning or covering it up with the flyer caused a loss of signal that came right back once it was clear.  

The audio quality was not so great though.  If there had been an intermission, I would have just switched to regular Sonnet 2 and used the good microphones in the Sonnet 2 like @Kylie .  Still, I'm glad that I gave it a try.  Keep experimenting to find the right solution for my case.

[Hila]

It's nice to be able to attend musical show and enjoy it.  Went with good suggestions to listen without the t coil device. Ballet was mostly visual and the classical music sounded wonderful through the processors.  Was able to distinguish between instruments along the story line and the music made sense.  The live orchestra w solos of vocals and celtic harp was pretty nice.  Especially on vocal and harp pieces.  I've watched it with another cochlear recipient and we were taking notes on which instruments were playing on parts. Even the speaking came in OK for the most part. 

So no t-coil test but nice experience to go back to live shows and do some listening with CI friends.