A Radio Question...

[BuzzR]

Hi.

This is an involved question, so please bear with me...

I have a 2013 BRZ Limited that I bought new a year ago. I am hearing impaired and have only one working ear - and it is only about 30% of normal (long, sad story.) It serves me well enough with the use of a hearing aid, though it's like listening to the world through a tinny Drive-In movie speaker (if any of you are old enough to remember those.)

However, it's impossible for me to listen to any auto radio and understand anything being said or played using the auto's regular speakers (no matter how good they are.) Its all an unintelligible "Blah, Blah, Blah!" to me (when combined with the engine, wind and traffic noise.)

Prior to buying the BRZ, I drove a Dodge Dakota for 14 years. When I purchased it (new) I had the dealer install a phone jack for featherlight headphones into the dash. Using these headphones with my hearing aid (the aid has a "phone coil" that blocks out all other sound except for what's coming through the phone or - in this case - the headphones,) I could hear the radio clearly enough to understand speech and some music (though both were somewhat distorted.)

[Please understand that I used the headphones on open highways, where there were no ambulances or other emergency vehicles to worry about.]

So for 14 years I could listen to and understand talk radio and some music stations well enough to enjoy the radio on long trips, using the headphones. (I only heard through the left channel.)

When I bought the BRZ I tried to have a similar headphone jack installed in it, but was told the following by an auto audio installer:

"... unfortunately we can't add headphones to your stereo. Headphones use a common or single ground for right and left speakers. All stereo these days use a floating or separate ground for right & left channels. These grounds cannot be hooked together. There used to be adapters available to do this, but not anymore. "

Not being electronically inclined, I only - very generally - understand that paragraph, but know that basically it says, "You're screwed."


So I was wondering if, by wild chance, anyone here might know of a way to hook up a connection so that I can use featherlight headphones in the BRZ. The radio is useless to me otherwise.

Please know that I only care about AM radio, and would prefer not having to mess up the rest of the system, so that others can't use it.

Might anyone know where to find one of those adapters the guy said once existed? Maybe an old auto-radio parts place or something like that?


Please understand that clarity is paramount with me. Stereo has no meaning to me since I only have one working ear. I just need clear sound on the left channel so that voices are distinguishable.

If anyone might have some ideas, I'd certainly appreciate it.

Thank you so much for any help and information you can provide.

[carma143]

Damn, that's a tricky situation. I first thought that maybe you could transmit the AM radio sound data to a Bluetooth dongle that directly attached to your headphones via 3.5 mm jack, but I don't think the OEM headmount allows that.

Aftermarket headunits are a solution, although I don't know of any for the BRZ that support a AUX port.

I'll check right now to make sure that the AM radio can't output through Bluetooth.

[EAGLE5]

Tap into amp inputs to get stereo rca jacks. It's what any car audio place would do to add a sub in the trunk.
Plug a battery powered headphone amp into the rca jacks. Wire into dc power too?
Hit the mono button if the amp has one, or get a stereo to mono adapter.
Plug in headphones.

[BuzzR]

Thanks fellas for the quick input.

carma, I did try hooking up with Bluetooth, using the connecting method outlined in the manual, but it wouldn't connect. So I think Bluetooth is out.

jsimon, I hardly understand a word you said, but I will print it out and take it to a radio shop and hopefully they will know what to do.

So I thank you both for your input.

[swarb]

what jsimon was trying to say was-
head unit sends signal to the amp,
amp amplifies/keeps the signal clear,
signal from amp(either rca or powered signal) goes to a headphone adapter(changes signal to headphone female plug)
plug in male headphone jack into headphone converter
change amp to mono, so right and left channels are combined so you hear everything, and not just left or right.

headphones are pretty small speakers so pretty much any amp will work. Look at thd%(distortion) ratings for clearer sound.

another solution might be to find a head unit that can transmit blue tooth instead of just receiving it. or find a headunit with headphone jack OUT and not just in. Some sound deadening in the driver door would reduce some noise also.

[EAGLE5]

Sorry for not being clear. One last thing you can do is just buy a little boombox with an audio out skip the car stereo entirely.

I'm not clear on whether a standard headphone jack is what you want or if it has to be a phone jack. If it has to be a phone jack, i bet there is an adapter from the standard headphone jack.

[EAGLE5]

Like this one [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Headset-Buddy-3-5mm-Smartphone-PH35-RJ9A/dp/B004FV7MHE"]Amazon.com: Headset Buddy 3.5mm Smartphone Headset To RJ9 (PH35-RJ9A): Cell Phones & Accessories[/ame]

[carma143]

I thought maybe you could buy a small AM/FM radio that can charge via USB. That way you can keep it in the center or the glove compartment while you listen with your headphones.

Sadly, the closest I could find was one that only supported FM bandwidths :/

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Mfine-Speakers-Portable-Player-Speaker/dp/B00KCIW7QK"]Amazon.com: Mfine Mini Speakers Portable Music Player Micro SD/TF USB Disk Speaker FM Radio (088 Black) -Best Gift Ideas: Cell Phones & Accessories[/ame]

[ashtray]

First suggestion: plug soundhole in passenger footwell. This will quiet down the interior CONSIDERABLY! (use power plug that is behind glove box and simply plug it in to tube sticking out at the edge of the passenger floor mat)

Second, consider just buying a walkman style am/fm radio. Tiny, batteries last a long time. Its going to cost you $20, and then spend $16 on a 48pk of AA batteries and that will last you for years.

Third, as you probably know, its not advised (and often illegal) to wear headphones while driving. Yes, police DO travel the highways and might need to get by you, people DO use the horn to warn drivers when you are changing lanes and they are in your blind spot, etc. I'd seriously not advise it - but if you do, follow steps 1&2 above. Forget an expensive setup that requires rewiring your car's entire audio system.

[BuzzR]

Thanks fellas for all the ideas and suggestions.

jsimon, I'm talking about just regular featherlight phones with a jack like those you buy at Wal-Mart, etc. - not a telephone jack.

I want to use the car radio because I am in the Arizona mountains where reception is poor except for a couple of local stations. Also, when I travel, it's through vast stretches of nothingness (on the way to Phoenix, Vegas, San Diego, etc,) so a separate radio would not get near the reception strength and clarity that the BRZ's radio gets with its antenna. That's why I was hoping there was a way to tap into the BRZ's radio without messing anything else up.

Damn, it was so easy doing this with the Dakota 15 years ago! Sometimes technological advancement is not a good thing - at least for some!

As for driving with the phones on, I am big on situational awareness (I also have a good radar detector,) so if out in the middle of the desert or the mountains if there's a cop or ambulance bearing down on me, I'll see them. I drove the Dakota for 14 years without any kind of "close call," so am confident I can keep doing it if I can somehow connect to the radio.

Thanks again for all your suggestions and comments. If anyone else would have any suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

I'm going to print off everything here that's been said and take it to a radio shop and see what they say. I hope we'll be able to do something.

I sure wish I could find one of those adapters the guy was telling me about.

Thanks again.

[DashRipRock]

Perhaps changing to a different stereo that has extra RCA outputs that could be adapted for headphones.

Could any of any existing RCA outputs be split to accommodate some headphones

[mig86]

There are devices like the one below which you could combine with a bluetooth transmitter to achive what you want.

http://www.jaycar.com.au/Sight-%26-S...erter/p/AA0482

[BuzzR]

Again, thanks to everyone for your help. I'm going to print this page and take it to a radio shop and see what we can come up with. It'll mean a lot to me if I can get to use the radio, so I appreciate all your comments.

BuzzR

[DoomsdayJesus]

Good luck, but don't get caught wearing any more than a one-side earpiece. Stereo headsets are a no-go while driving.

If you want much more clear AM radio, I'd recommend just using iHeartRadio on your phone with bluetooth. The iHeartAuto app or similar apps have pretty much every AM station in clear as a bell stereo, it's what i use for talk radio when I'm not paying for SiriusXM.