by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
You might not think you have a hearing loss, but if your wife (or husband, or kids) complain that you always turn the TV volume up too loud, you almost certainly have a significant hearing loss. If this is the case, the new TV SoundBox is for you.
If you are frustrated because you hear your TV, but notice you are now missing a lot of what is said while sitting in your favorite chair, again, the TV SoundBox is for you.
The TV SoundBox not only will help you hear and understand your TV again, it will also bring peace to you family—no spouse always yelling at you to turn the volume down any more. Think what that could do for your marriage!
The TV SoundBox is basically a remote wireless speaker that you keep close to you so you can hear your TV without straining to hear, and without cranking the volume up so loud.
The reason it works so well is because it retains more of the high-frequency sounds that give speech much of its intelligibility. You see, high-frequency sounds drop out of the air (so to speak) with increasing distance. Since the high-frequency sounds carry much of the intelligibility of speech, when these high-frequency sounds don’t reach your ears, you have difficulty understanding what you hear.
The secret to the TV SoundBox is having it reasonably close to your ears. (My wife puts hers on the back of the couch behind her. She could just as easily put it on the end table beside the couch.) This means the high-frequency sounds reach your ears instead of fading away. As a result, you now can understand your TV much better and no longer need to have the sound cranked up so loud.
The TV SoundBox works as either a stand alone unit if you don’t have hearing aids, or you can use it while wearing your hearing aids. Thus, it makes a wonderful first assistive device if you are slowly losing your high-frequency hearing due to increasing age and don’t feel you are quite ready for hearing aids yet.
The TV SoundBox consists of two parts—a wireless base transmitter/recharging unit and a remote receiver/loudspeaker.
Recharging the TV SoundBox is simple—just place it back on its base. In a few hours, it will be charged up, ready to go. Typically, you can expect to get 8 hours of continuous use out of one charge—so it’s good for listening most of the day.
The TV SoundBox is not limited only for listening to your TV. You can hook it up to any audio device—your stereo, your radio, your iPod, your MP3 player; even your computer. All that is needed is that the audio device has an audio output jack. Typically this would be the standard 1/8″ stereo headphone jack on portable devices, or the red and white RCA audio output jacks on your stereo or TV. I’ve played my iPod through it with great results.
A really ingenious feature of the TV SoundBox is that the patch cord supplied has an 1/8″ stereo plug at one end and RCA plugs at the other. Thus, if your TV has RCA audio output jacks, you plug that end into your TV and the other end into the base of your TV SoundBox.
However, if you want to hear from an audio device that only has a 1/8″ audio output jack—then you reverse the patch cord and plug the 1/8″ plug into your audio device and the other end into the base of the TV SoundBox. You can do this because the base of the TV SoundBox has both an 1/8″ audio jack and RCA jacks wired as audio inputs.
You use this patch cord one way or the other as needed. For example, we plug the audio patch cord in one way on our main TV which has RCA audio output jacks, and the other way on our small portable TV which only has an earphone jack. This eliminates having to have two different patch cords. With this arrangement, one patch cord works for both situations.
You can use the TV SoundBox wherever you are since it is wireless. If you get up and go to the kitchen or dining room or outside on the patio, just take the TV SoundBox with you and continue to hear beautiful clear sound. The range is up to 100 feet (line of sight), but I found that realistically in our house with it’s walls and other obstructions, about 50 feet was the limit of reliable reception.
Does the TV SoundBox really work. Just ask my wife. She loves hers! Because she has a moderate to moderately-severe hearing loss, she sits it on the back of the sofa when she listens to the TV. She explains, “I like the fact that I can hear far more clearly using the TV SoundBox while having the TV volume turned down low, than I can by just listening to the TV with the volume turned up much louder”.
The TV SoundBox has great volume—loud enough to awaken the dead (or zombies at least) at full volume (especially if the TV has fixed audio outputs). However, you’ll not need that much volume if you have it close beside you. If you keep the TV volume low, then you’ll need to turn the volume up more on the TV SoundBox. That’s why it has so much reserve volume—not so you can crank up the sound like you needed to do on the TV.
If you’d rather listen to something privately, instead of listening via the speakers, just plug in your favorite headphones or ear buds. That’s my preferred way of listening with it. This works well with my almost-profound hearing loss. Otherwise, I’d have to crank the volume way up so my ears could hear/understand it.
Another cool feature of the TV SoundBox is that you can “pair” up to 50 SoundBox receivers to the base transmitter. That way if several family members need a unit, they can all listen to the TV together—with each one setting the volume on their TV SoundBox to match their hearing. Talk about a happy household!
I know you’re now asking, “Just how much is the TV SoundBox going to set me back?” The good news is that although the regular price of the TV SoundBox is $149.95, you can get the TV SoundBox for only $123.95 from the Center’s website.
We bought one of these units in June 2016 and have absolutely loved it and recommended it. It will no longer work unless it is plugged in. Seems the battery will not recharge.
Hi Marie:
You have a 1 year warranty on the TV Sound Box so you can have it fixed or replaced under warranty. Phone Serene Innovations at 866-376-9271 and they’ll look after you.
Cordially,
Neil
I have one only work for a half of year sent it back had to pay shipping with insurance cost $20 and had to wait for 4 weeks to get back. Only worked for a few months after that. They replaced battery and said it was ok. Won’t work at all
Hi Marion:
Sorry you have had problems with your unit. Your experience is the exception. We’ve sold a good number of them to happy customers, but like anything else in this world, nothing’s perfect. There is bound to be a lemon now and then. My wife has had one of these for several years and uses it every day without any problems.
Cordially,
Neil
when this item is working does the sound still come out of the TV as well or does it only come through the speaker?
Hi Kathy:
You can have it either way, but it depends on your TV. If your TV has fixed audio output jacks to hook the TV Sound Box to, then you can have the TVs speakers muted or at any volume you choose independently of the Sound Boxes volume. However, if your TV only has a variable audio out, then the TVs speakers will be on all the time and if you mute them, you’ll also mute the Sound Box at the same time.
On some TVs you can go into the menu and set the audio outputs to fixed or variable as you choose. I’d choose FIXED in order to have the most options available to you.
Cordially,
Neil
Can it pair with a sound bar?
Hi Candice:
The short answer is no, it won’t “pair” with a sound bar because pairing takes place on the input side of the sound bar, and you need to get the signal for the loop from the OUTPUT side of the sound bar.
However, there are ways to couple the TV soundbox to a sound bar. You need to get a good quality speaker to line converter that has an isolation transformer. The automotive radio companies use them a lot, Also some of them are adjustable and like under $20.00. That way you could get just the center channel which would give you the speech and not all the background racket.
Cordially,
Neil
Great device and only one that I was able to connect to my older tv. Works great . Can hear tv without having volume too loud…
But even better than that is the customer service whether online or on the phone they were so very helpful.
I bought the Soundbox in Nov. 2015 and I love what it does to personalize the sound of the TV for me. It’s what I’d been looking for for a long time.
But I don’t like how much trouble I’ve had with it. The sound often breaks up – it stutters as if it had a loose wire. Repositioning the base unit can help. I’ve moved it many times in search of the right location. Still looking, but the connections only stretch so far. I wonder if others have had similar issues.
Hi Phil:
It is possible that it is defective. Have you tried contacting Serene Innovations to have it replaced or fixed? Unfortunately, it is outside the warranty period now, but it never hurts to ask.
My wife and mother-in-law have both been very happy with theirs–and haven’t had any such problems.
Cordially,
Neil
Tried to charge, but cannot get any sound. Battery replacement an option? If so, where to purchase?
Hi Lela:
How long have you had the unit? If less than a year, you should be able to get it replaced or fixed under the warranty.
In any case, the place to get it fixed is Serene Innovations. Their website is http://www.sereneinnovations.com/ and their phone number is 1-866-376-9271
Cordially,
Neil
Can this be hooked up to a brand new flat screen with HDMI outputs?
Hi Rita:
The short answer is not directly. What you’ll need is a “gizmo” box between your TV and the TV SoundBox (or any other analog assistive device) to extract and convert the digital audio in the HDMI signal from your TV into analog audio and output it to standard red and white audio RCA jacks.
Unfortunately, there is no one “gizmo” box that will do this as there are so many variations in the HDMI outputs from various TVs. Thus, you need help from someone that can tell you exactly which “gizmo” box you need.
I’ve found that the folks at J-Tech Digital (jtechdigital.com) have wonderful customer service and are willing to help you find the right “gizmo” box between your TV and your TV SoundBox. They carry a whole range of these “gizmo” boxes so should have the right box for your TV.
Phone them at 888-610-2818 and tell them you want an HDMI extractor box that will take the HDMI signal from your TV and convert it into analog audio and output it to the standard red and white RCA jacks.
Then all you do is plug a HDMI cable into your TV and one side of the gizmo box, and plug the included RCA cables from the TV SoundBox into the red and white jacks on the “gizmo” box and the other end into your TV SoundBox. It’s that simple. The trick is getting the right “gizmo” box and the folks at J-Tech Digital will help you with that.
Cordially,
Neil
I have hooked up serene sound box as instructed. There is no sound coming out of the unit.Any suggestions>
Hi Brad:
If you have hooked it up correctly it should work. If no sound is coming out, then you have to be sure that sound is getting into the Sound Box base. In some TVs, the external audio has to be turned on in the TV menu before it will work.
It’s hard to troubleshoot with the limited information you have given me. Feel free to phone me and I’ll be glad to help you. My contact information is at the bottom of each page in this website.
Cordially,
Neil
I have it hooked up for my parents but when I turn the volume up or down it doesn’t turn the soundbox up/down just the TV. Don’t see the option of changing aux to fixed. Please help
Hi Amanda:
I don’t understand your problem then. Turning the TV volume up or down is NOT supposed to change the volume on the Sound Box. It has it’s own volume control. The volume of sound coming into the Sound Box should be at a constant level–and it seems it is the way you have it hooked up. Or am I missing something?
Cordially,
Neil
I love this product however it has stopped working. Will not play sound. I will be calling the company tomorrow. It worked very well for over a year then sometimes would play sound to not playing any sound.
All of a sudden today no sound is coming out of the box. Fully charged. Checked all connections. Tried plugging in headphones and you can hear with the headphones plugged into the sound box. Could there be a loose speaker wire inside the box? I
Hi Doreen:
You could be right. Or it could be a bad connection somewhere else in the box. I’ve never peaked inside to see what is in there.
How long have you had it? If it’s still covered by warranty, then contact Serene Innovations for instructions. They look after their customers.
Cordially,
Neil
I now have a Sound Box which I use in the kitchen for a small TV – it’s great! Now I want to get another to use with the Living room TV which will have a sound bar for others in the room. I am unclear about your answer on 2/6/2017 to a previous questioner: “However, there are ways to couple the TV soundbox to a sound bar. You need to get a good quality speaker to line converter that has an isolation transformer.” Is the speaker referred to the Sound Bar or is it on the Output side of the Bar? Where would I buy a line converter and what specifically to I ask for in it?
Hi Sharon:
By “speaker” I actually meant the speaker level output jack on the Sound Box. This is much to powerful to directly input to the Sound Box–so the gizmo box reduces the signal level from speaker level to line level which is about the power needed to drive earphones/earbuds.
Another way to do it is to put a splitter on the TV’s output to the Sound box–then one side goes to the sound box and the other side to the sound bar. You may also need a digital to analog converter between the splitter and the Sound Box as the Sound Box only accepts an analog signal, not a digital signal.
Because all TVs are different now, the best thing to do is find a knowledgeable salesman/technician at one of the stores that sell TV’s, sound boxes, and accessories and explain that you ultimately need a fixed line-level analog signal for the sound box and have him show you what you need to do.
If you still have problems, get back to me, but I’ll going to be away for a bit–leaving early tomorrow morning–so I won’t be around until the first week in May.
Cordially,
Neil
We’ve had our sound box for 1 1/2 years , it will no longer take a charge.. can i get a replacement battery?
Hi Brenda:
The SoundBox is made by Serene Innovations. The best thing to do is ask them what to do. Their toll-free phone number in California is 1-866-376-9271, or email them at customersupport@sereneinnovations.com .
Cordially,
Neil
I took the single receiver from one base and paired it with another base that already had one receiver. Now I cannot get this only receiver paired back to it’s original base
Hi Dale:
Did you unplug the base you don’t want to pair to so it can’t influence the receiver its already paired to?
Cordially,
Neil
AHA, I will try that. Thanks.
A Serene Chat Rep told me that a receiver should not be plugged into the remote charger while listening to it, as this will hurt the batteries. The manual does not say anything about this!
AHA did not work. any other ideas? I ordered a complete new base with receiver fro amazon, should arrive Thursday, to replace the base i cannot pair with.
After receiving my new base with receiver, plus a spare receiver, and another hour of frustrating attempts, I finally have everything working properly. I am now not using any of the remote chargers and doing all charging on the bases. In the living room where the TV is used around 14 hours a day, I have two receivers and alternate them on the charging base as one goes bad.
This is the best thing for my mom that we bought in May for Mothers day and in Sept it will not hold a charge did all the trouble shooting still no luck. I see similar comments about this with the answer being they are the exception but they are not i have been very disappointed in this product and will not purchase from them again. I called support with their answer being send it back to us at your cost and 3-4 wks later we will send it back and be without it for up to 4 weeks this is an added cost after purchasing the product. This is not customer support this is customer rip off. My mom depends on this product and if i have to send it back we will have to get her something else. I for one am disappointed by the lack of service i am not receiving. What good is a one year warranty without standing behind it.
Hi Susan:
I’m disappointed that Serene Innovations isn’t giving you better service. I’ve always found them to be a reputable company and willing to help their customers. However, George, the founder and CEO of the company has retired and maybe things have slipped since then.
Cordially,
Neil
Our Tv is connected to a receiver where the sound comes out. Can this device be connected to the receiver?
Hi Sherry:
The TV SoundBox can be plugged into any audio device that has either a standard 1/8″ (3.5 mm) earphone jack, or has the standard red and white RCA audio output jacks. So if your receiver has either of those kinds of jacks, the SoundBox should work just fine.
Cordially,
Neil