Listen Technologies Corporation, a provider of advanced wireless listening solutions for 23 years, announced that it will showcase its full suite of listening solutions at InfoComm 2022 in Las Vegas on June 4-10, including the newest additions and updates to its Listen EVERYWHERE and ListenTALK product lines. Listen Technologies also will provide ListenTALK to support all InfoComm-hosted tours. Media are invited to visit Booth W1323 in the Conferencing & Collaboration Pavilion to see Listen Technologies product demos and learn more.
“Over the past two years, Listen Technologies has continued innovating and designing solutions that meet our customers’ evolving needs. We strive to foster inclusion with each of our products, and we are excited to return to InfoComm in person to demonstrate our technologies,” said Maile Keone, president and CEO of Listen Technologies.
Listen EVERYWHERE streams audio over a Wi-Fi network to smart devices and is compatible with Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids and speakers and telecoil-enabled hearing aids when paired with a neck loop. According to the company’s announcement, Listen EVERYWHERE “remains popular among venue administrators and end users because it is easy and affordable for venues to set up, lets listeners use their own smart devices to hear live or recorded audio clearly despite hearing loss, noise, or distance, and offers the industry’s lowest latency.” It can be used in houses of worship, courtrooms, classrooms, theaters, manufacturing plants, museums, and corporate boardrooms.
Listen Technologies will showcase the new LWR-1020 Listen EVERYWHERE receiver at InfoComm. The LWR-1020 reportedly makes the Listen EVERYWHERE assistive listening system compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), according to Listen. Venues with Listen EVERYWHERE can now offer dedicated Listen EVERYWHERE receivers to guests who do not have, or prefer not to use their smartphone to stream real-time audio. The receiver also supports hearing aid and cochlear implant telecoils when used with a neck loop.
The LWR-1020 receiver is available in the US as an add-on to existing Listen EVERYWHERE servers. The receiver is also available in a bundled ADA-compliant assistive listening SKU (LWS-10).
Additionally, Listen Technologies will demonstrate a new Listen EVERYWHERE server and private channels feature. The new LW-150P-02-D Listen EVERYWHERE two-channel server with onboard Dante is compatible with all Dante-enabled products. The Listen EVERYWHERE private channels feature allows venues to create confidential, password-protected audio channels on their networks, according to the company.
ListenTALK is Listen Technologies’ award-winning, mobile, two-way communication system that “lets users communicate in any environment, while maintaining a safe physical distance.” A recent firmware update enhanced the system’s versatility and made it easier for interpreters to provide simultaneous language interpretation without additional equipment, according to the company. Up to 20 groups can be created or languages can be interpreted in the same space, making ListenTALK “an ideal solution for trade shows, conventions, and other large events like InfoComm.”
Listen Technologies will provide ListenTALK transceiver units, charging cases, and various accessories for use during Integrated Experience and Show Floor tours at InfoComm 2022.
“We are eager for people to experience the power, reliability, and clarity of ListenTALK during tours at InfoComm and at venues around Las Vegas,” said Keone. “We are honored InfoComm selected ListenTALK to support and enhance participants’ tour experiences with clear audio.”
Listen Technologies will demonstrate the new LA-438 and the LA-439 Advanced Neck Loops during InfoComm. Both provide “a reliable and effective way for listeners with T-coil-equipped hearing aids and cochlear implants to utilize Listen EVERYWHERE and ListenTALK.” The LA-438 is an adult-sized neck loop while the LA-439 is a smaller version that better fits children.
Listen Technologies also will demonstrate its ListenIR and ListenRF assistive listening systems. ListenIR is an infrared (IR) product that offers “reliable coverage and a cost-effective and easy way to install a solution for assistive listening, interpretation, and other wireless audio applications.” ListenRF operates similarly to ListenIR but transmits sound over radio frequency (RF). Listen Technologies is the only manufacturer that offers radio frequency assistive listening systems in both the 72 and 216 MHz frequency ranges. Systems in the 216 MHz expands coverage for large theaters, arenas, and stadiums and allows the user to move around in large venues without losing the signal.
Application Stories
The versatility of Listen Technologies solutions and creativity of Listen customers and partners are evident in several recent installations. Some of the case studies Listen Technologies will highlight at InfoComm include:
- NINE9s Sports Bar – Listen EVERYWHERE helps guests at a sports bar in Poland have the ultimate fan experience.
- Greenvale – UK potato supplier uses ListenTALK to improve customer tours at its facilities while also following COVID-19 safety precautions.
- Duracell – ListenTALK helps employees at a manufacturing plant in Belgium return to work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Walnut Street Baptist Church – New Jersey church uses ListenRF to support interpretation during services and facilitate connection among congregants who speak different languages.
- Good Shepherd Community Church – Oregon church replaces aging assistive listening system in sanctuary and classrooms with audio over Wi-Fi technology so everyone is able to hear clearly.
Source: Listen Technologies
Images: Listen Technologies
Even though ListenTech claims their system works for hearing aid users, they have yet to provide evidence that Audio via WiFi technology provides “effective communication” for people with hearing loss. Studies comparing audio-via-WiFi with the proven hearing loops, or FM and IR systems with neckloops DO NOT EXIST. Consumers with hearing loss report significant audio delays and frustration to make this work with hearing aids and/or cochlear implants- to the point of making these systems unusable in live situations. If consumers must bring their own smartphone – the system does not meet the ADA. Public venues are referred to the GITHL (Get In The Hearing Loop) pages of the Hearing Loss Association of America hearingloss.org or the hearingloop.org websites for more information on what consumers with hearing loss prefer.