One of many larger client audio firms to dive into the over-the-counter listening to support market is Sennheiser. The model’s efforts are the product of a partnership between the earbud large and Sonova Listening to, which acquired Sennheiser’s listening to support division in 2022. The brand new operation’s first product, All-Day Clear, arrived final summer time, although it’s sadly lacking the Dee Snider spokesmanship from Sennheiser’s earlier listening to support product.
These anticipating a completely in-ear product like Sony’s C10 and Sennheiser’s older Conversation Clear Plus could also be stunned to see that the brand new All-Day Clear is a standard listening to support design that matches behind the ear and snakes the receiver into the ear canal on a skinny wire. Every exterior housing accommodates a rocker with two bodily buttons that management the quantity. Both support can be utilized to regulate the quantity stage for each left and proper aids concurrently. Holding one button down additionally helps you to swap amongst three sound modes: default, “dwell music,” and a mode that works with the optionally available TV connector ($350), so you possibly can stream audio immediately out of your tv.
I instantly discovered these listening to aids harder than most—or actually all different fashions I’ve examined—to get located in my ear correctly. The models are fairly giant, and the wire that connects to the in-ear receiver is lengthy and troublesome to wrangle. The primary problem I had was getting the receivers sufficiently into the ear canal, because the floppy wire stored pulling them free. When you get them positioned correctly, they keep there properly and are comfy to go away in for lengthy stretches, however I usually spent a minute or longer getting that placement good every time I put them on.
The All-Day Clear app is about as fundamental as they arrive. It units up rapidly and simply, strolling you thru a easy and simple tuning session to get issues began. Controls are decidedly spare. The primary show contains a common quantity slider which might optionally be cut up between left and proper channels. The aforementioned two or three sound modes can be found right here, as is a “superb tune” characteristic that pops up a really fundamental equalizer with three choices: bass, mid, and treble, every of which could be tweaked from a –5 to +5 stage. These tweaks make an affect, however in case you’re trying to actually fine-tune your listening to ranges, they might be inadequate. A wind noise discount choice is offered right here too, however I didn’t get a lot out of it.
Let’s speak subsequent about audio high quality. I used these aids for a number of hours a day over the course of greater than per week and was stunned to seek out they only weren’t all that efficient, not less than for me. In a typical family setting, I didn’t discover conversations or tv had been considerably clearer with the listening to aids in versus with out them—even at most quantity. Whereas all listening to aids are likely to have a low stage of hiss to take care of, the All-Day Clear models showcased some notably annoying background noise at any time when I moved the mid and/or treble sliders up, even a bit of. This wasn’t a typical static rumble however sounded extra like a vacuum operating in one other room. At one level I genuinely thought somebody was cleansing the flooring in my home till I eliminated the aids, solely to be greeted with blissful silence.
On the plus facet, the design of the All-Day Clear listening to aids made them efficient at minimizing the jarring amplification of your personal voice to deafening ranges, a disadvantage frequent to different listening to aids. And whereas I didn’t discover that typing created a booming clack-clack-clack in my head (one other frequent difficulty), I did discover the aids uncomfortably amplified high-pitched squeaks that I didn’t know had been there earlier than, together with noises from my keyboard and my workplace chair.
{Photograph}: Sennheiser
