Why would you need the Sennheiser TV Clear ear buds? If you have to ask, then count yourself lucky. Perhaps you’ve got perfect hearing, or housemates who could go to sleep under the main flight path into Dublin Airport. Stranger things have happened.

But for those of us who need a bit of extra help, then these ear buds might be just what you are looking for. Sennheiser TV Clear does exactly what the name suggests: makes your TV audio sound clearer, but only to you. You can blast the TV as loudly as you’d like over the ear buds while keeping the volume on the TV speakers down to a whisper. They’re the perfect compromise for busy households or paper-thin walls.

The device is easy to set up, too. The TV Clear kit connects to your TV through a transmitter box and an optical cable. A USB connection provides power to the box, so be sure you have a spare socket or USB port close by.

It’s not limited to optical connections, though. You can also hook them up to smartphone, tablet, laptop or Bluetooth, if that’s where you do most of your TV-watching.

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The buds are charged in the wireless case Sennheiser provides, which in turn can be charged via cable – USB C naturally – or on a wireless charger.

Like most ear buds these days, there are custom tips to swap around so that you get the best fit possible. The buds themselves are lightweight, but the wrong tip could see them fall out of your ears – not what you want as your TV show is reaching a dramatic climax.

One of the more useful features is that the earbuds work independently of the media volume, so if you mute the TV or turn it down a bit, the audio on the earbuds isn’t affected.

To control the volume there, you’ll need to use the touch controls on the ear buds. A short press will change the volume up or down, depending on which bud you’ve clicked. Those controls are customisable to a certain extent in the accompanying smartphone app, although you can get by without taking out your smartphone.

The main aim here is to boost vocals, so don’t expect the Sennheiser buds to do as good a job on music as its regular consumer Bluetooth devices. They’re not the worst-sounding ear buds we’ve heard – far from it. But if you want something that will handle your music and deliver rich, detailed sound, the TV Clear has done enough for your family entertainment.

The good

The TV Clear does a good job of boosting vocals to a level that can be heard over even the worst of the regular background noise. In this test, they dealt with family noise from three boisterous children without them drowning out a single word on the TV.

You can mute the TV completely without affecting the volume coming through on the earbuds, giving you a way to make sure you can hear what is going on on-screen without imposing it on others. They’re comfortable to wear, too, and the swappable tips and wings to make the buds fit your ear will help keep things secure.

The not so good

The Sennheiser TV Clear may be Bluetooth ear buds, but don’t expect them to perform as well as Sennheiser’s other buds when it comes to other types of audio. Music feels a bit flat, for example, but Sennheiser isn’t pitching these as an all-round type of device.

These ear buds are quite expensive, especially if you are going to be keeping them for TV watching, perhaps with an odd podcast or two being thrown in.

The rest

The charging case for the buds is lightweight and has the advantage of working with the standard wireless charger so you don’t even need to remember to charge your phone. Battery life is about 16 hours, so you will get plenty of viewing – and listening – time.

The verdict:

A solution to your TV watching woes, albeit a pricey one.

sennheiser-hearing.com