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LE Audio enables Sound Amplifier remote microphone functionality

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Sound Amplifier is an app that enables an Android phone (definitely Pixels, unsure about others) to act as a . I’d tried it previously with hearing aids and it simply won’t work unless you plug in a headset. It does, however, work with my Philips Hearlink 9050s IF is enabled for that connection.

Latency seems fine. There’s no discernable echo effect with both the phone’s and hearing aid’s microphones picking up the sound. So far I’ve put the phone under my tv and gone into another room and managed to follow the dialogue slightly better than I would if I were in the same room as the tv (which is not very well). You do get the echo of the room tbough.

Not having a social life, I haven’t yet tested it in a restaurant environment.

The app can switch between directional and omni modes. There’s a noise reduction switch and slider. There’s a ‘Boost’ switch and slider for soft sounds. There’s a tone slider for low/high frequency boost. You can adjust both ears together or individually.

If nothing else, it’s a proof of concept of sorts. Anyway, have fun with it and report back.

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@d_Wooluf said:

If nothing else, it’s a proof of concept of sorts.

Hopefully, this sort of great stuff goads Apple to stop resting on its laurels, which are disappearing into the past.

In mode, are things like notifications put in abeyance? I deliberately set my iPhone to verbally announce notifications. When I’m streaming an on-demand podcast, there’s a pause, the notification is announced, then another pause until streaming restarts a few seconds before the point it was paused. A live mic setup ought to be smart enough to block all such interruptions and never let them occur in the first place. Do you have any one-switch control over that?

@jim_lewis said:

Do you have any one-switch control over that?

I can’t see any way of blocking all notifications from within the app. A chime here or there wouldn’t worry me personally.

Edited

which one did you install … I installed google sound amplifier, and unable to turn it ON
how do you turn it on ???
I suspect that samsung does not support LE audio, even though it is listed in the bluetooth connection.

Then I guess it is the app problem … I have a samsung Flip 4 which is suppose to support LE audio.
Or I installed the wrong app.

I have to keep repeating this:
The above ad touting Samsung ONLY works with Samsung products. Same for Jabra pro 20s and Auracast . I have not seen a post of any personal tests showing otherwise.

Though this phone as microphone LE BTooth app looks very promising.

I tried this out at a very loud restaurant, at a table with a bunch of fast-talking female outlaws and got absolutely nothing- with or without the pixel-as-microphone. I don’t think I was close enough to the threshold of understanding anything that was being said for it to show any effect. Maybe in other environments. Just saying that I don’t think it’s going to replace anyone’s Roger.

@d_Wooluf said:

The app can switch between directional and omni modes.

I do not see this option on my Jabra Enhance Pro 20s along with my Galaxy S23 Ultra. I wish I could as this free app could well replace the pricy mini-mic and/or micro-mic vendor specific devices. The mini-mic switches between the two by placing it down on a table or up against something like a glass of water.

Otherwise the Google Sound Amplifier and the other options are working great. Very cool! Thank you @d_Wooluf for sharing this exciting and great find!

Also, I turned ‘Media Volume Limit’ off in my settings, so I can raise the volume to 150%, which helps in distant and quiet situations.

@RSW said:

Otherwise the Google Sound Amplifier and the other options are working great. Very cool! Thank you @d_Wooluf for sharing this exciting and great find!

So I have been playing around with it more with other people and have found:
. You need to turn off the mics in the app
. Otherwise there is a slight echo that gets more noticable the further you are from the phone (because sound travels so slow).
. The sound is not as crystal clear as with the Multi-Mic which is probably because of the phone mic.
. I believe the default mode is on omni directional.
. I can hear multiple people’s conversation pretty well.
. Playing with the boost options makes a noticable difference.

I’m glad you’re having fun with it. Directional is “conversation mode”. The image of the person you want to speak to should appear in the frame.

I have a Pixel 9. The sound amplifier app works as a . The phone works as an transmitter but I can’t do both at once. Is there someway of taking the microphone input and transmitting as an auracast?

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