I purchased this item for my 94 year old mother who is hard of hearing. She had the TV volume almost all the way up, but still couldn't hear it well. I'm sure that was in part because the native speakers in flat screen TVs aren't all that great to start with, and once you turn the volume up to three quarters or more the sound starts to become distorted which eliminates any benefit of turning it up further. I placed this speaker on the table next to her easy chair, and I also bought a additional power adapter for the speaker so that it doesn't ever need to be placed in the base to be charged. From there she only needed it turned up between a quarter and a half, as it's very loud if you turn it up past half way, and the sound was much clearer that what was coming from the TV. She absolutely loves it!

As far as the setup is concerned, I placed the base station behind the TV and connected the incoming sound to the base station. The TV had both HDMI and component inputs, and the DVR had both too, so I left the TV set to HDMI and connected the component sound cables to the speaker base unit. Several audio cables come with the speaker, including some Y cables, so you should be able to split your audio signal if you have only a single audio cable and want to use both the TV's speakers and the wireless speaker. Also the the audio cables are mixed male and female, so you can use them as gender changers in addition to Y cables if necessary.

I was originally a bit concerned about putting the base station behind the TV out of fear that having the TV in between the base station and speaker might cause some static or interference, but it turned out to be no problem. As I bought a separate power supply for the speaker itself, there will never be a need to access the base station again, so I definitely wanted to hide it behind something out of the way.

All in all this is an absolutely great product. I'll also note that there no perceivable delay in the sound that would manifest itself as people's lips being out of sync with their words, nor is their any static or dropouts. In our setup the base station is about 15-20 feet from the speaker, and as I said it's behind the TV so the signal has to go through the TV itself to get to the speaker. Mom also has Wifi in the house and I've not noticed any interference issues. The only thing I haven't specifically tested yet is running other appliances at the same time (e.g. microwave, vacuum cleaner, etc.) to see if they cause any interference.

One thing I would recommend that you do though is to buy the extra power adapter so that you don't have to ever put the speaker in base station to charge it. I put the speaker in the base station only once overnight when I first opened the box to give it an initial charge, and to potentially make sure that it was paired or synched correctly with the base station (I think I read something about that being necessary at least once). The adapter I used was this one: OMNIHIL Regulated 9 Volt 1.5 Amp Power Adapter, AC to DC, 2.1mm X 5.5mm Barrel Plug, Regulated Power Supply 9v 1.5a Power Supply 8 Foot Long Cord . It has a nice long cord so the speaker can be a decent distance from an outlet.

I have already called the company to see if they will sell stock to the public! I would invest in this company in a heartbeat. (The answer is no, no yet.) This speaker is incredible. My sister and I split the cost for my father's 81st birthday gift. He misses out on a large part of televisions programs because different tones are inaudible for him now. He LOVES the speaker. He places it on the sofa back, while he is lying down watching a show, changes the tone to suit him at the moment, then catches every word and sound. We are thrilled, because we are no longer blasted out of the room by the loud volume coming directly from the television. It works so well that we purchased the auxiliary unit for my mom a few months later to use in the kitchen while she cooks. Their kitchen and living area is an open concept, so we are now spared the blasting volume while she watches television as she cooks! Her hearing is a more general loss, so she adjusts the tone and volume on hers to suit her needs, and everyone is happy!

I am not very techy. I went to the Serene Innovations web site, clicked on the wireless speaker icon, then, once on the actual speaker page, I clicked on the orange tab at the lower bottom right of the screen that reads "Connect TV-SoundBox To Your TV". After watching the various videos, I took photos of the television connection panel, carried my computer to Radio Shack and figured it out. I actually purchased a few options in order to increase my chances of success, took them home, got it connected it in a matter of minutes, then returned the unopened/unused connectors. I did NOT touch the Direct TV box! I simply connected the speaker base to the television, so now everything that normally broadcasts through the television speakers will broadcast through the wireless speakers....including the Direct TV programs and my parent's separate DVD player that is hooked up to their TV.

I have told so many people about this wonderful product. It is a life-changer. Worth the money!!!

I got this for my Dad because he was blasting his TV really loud and didn't realize it. It's pricey but worth every penny. The sound is better than the TV itself, I was surprised at how good it sounded even with the other reviews saying so, believe them, it's true.

I knew my Dad would want to just set it up and leave it in one place so when installing it I just left the transmitter/recharge stand hidden behind his TV and got him a second Power Adapter instead which I bought separately because it was a better deal than the package with 2 power adapters, something to look into before you buy. The wireless works fine even tucked away.

The TV I originally installed it to had analog audio outputs so it was a snap to install with the included cables but in an unrelated event the TV died (was old and cheap). The new TV, as I suspect for most new TV's only has digital audio output. Using just a regular 3.5 mm headphone cable works but it turns the TV speakers off. You know these things have to "just work" so plugging and unplugging wasn't acceptable. I bought a Digital Optical Coax to Analog RCA Audio Converter Adapter and now it works exactly as it should again.

There are cheaper ways to do this but I went this route for dead simple use. Having to use a digital to analog converter complicates the setup somewhat and makes it even more expensive but the end result can't be argued with. It sounds great and you immediately know how to operate it with no instruction required.

It works so well in fact that now both my brother and I want one so we can hear the TV without rocking the house. It's annoying how on so many movies and shows the action scenes are really loud and the dialogue scenes are like a whisper, it doesn't help that the speakers coming with so many TV's are junk. You almost have to get a soundbar but you don't always want it booming across the house. This could be a great solution to that also.

This product would be perfect if it accepted digital audio but I'm still giving it 5 stars because I knew it wasn't digital going in and it's otherwise a high quality device and I'm really happy with it.

Serene Innovations markets this device as "easy" to install by an elderly person to any television. Wrong!! Most modern televisions do not have analog out ports for RCA cord included. They have an Optical Audio out. The sound box is useless without a Digital Audio Connector and Toslink cable. It would seem a wise marketing strategy to add a bit to the price and include connector and cable with the sound box as well as detailed instructions!! As it was, after receiving the unit and discovering an insert that these parts may be needed; I went back to Amazon. Serene Innovations advertised at $36.00 plus $12.00 to ship---half again the price of the sound box. I found the connector and cable from another vendor with Amazon Prime shipping for $20.00. I don't object to a reasonable mark-up but even $20.00 was higher than many advertised!
I would not recommend sending this product to an elderly person with the expectation they perform the installation. The provided directions are not comprehensive. My mother's television is mounted on the wall. I needed a flashlight to locate the Optical Audio-Out port only to find that the space had a small cap. Once the cap was removed the Toslink cable did not go into the port. A search on-line directed me to remove the small plastic cap on the end of the cable. The cap-off end fit the TV but the cap-on was needed to fit into the Digital audio connector.
To change the TV speaker from digital to analog the installer must go into "menu" on the television and select PCM from audio choices,.
The result of all the extended wait-time to shop once again and the online searches for installation information resulted in a truly satisfactory wireless speaker which my 87 year old mother loves. She is able to hear the words of movies and take the speaker with her to listen from another room.
We were so impressed I purchased a second Serene Innovations TV Sound box for our home as my husband plays the television too loudly for the rest of us. It plays beautifully on Roku streaming with no Wi-Fi interference as some have reported.
Again, this is a WONDERFUL product and I do hope Serene Innovations reads this blog. I read several where the unit was returned unnecessarily, I believe, for lack of a $10.00 part and detailed installation directions.

This little dynamite speaker rates right up there with one of the best purchases I've ever made. It is so small and light it looks and feels more like a toy, but it has great sound. We rarely turn it up more than 1/3 of the max, and my husband likes things LOUD.

1) Even though my husband has hearing aids, he still has such problems understanding speech on TV. He would rather watch TV out in the cold garage, because he can sit right next to the TV down there and the sound is clearer for him.
2) When he's in the house, he usually watches TV from the dining room through our large living room, and the sound is baffled.
3) To hear the TV in the dining room, the TV has to be up so loud, that when I'm sitting in the living room working on the computer, I can hardly think. It's so loud, it's painful.

Now we have Serene Innovations TV-SB Portable Wireless Tv Soundbox. Oh my gosh, Serene is a good choice of words!

1) We ordered an extra power supply. This one works perfectly: Super Power Supply® AC / DC Adapter Charger Cord for 9V 1.5A (1500mA) 5.5mm x 2.1mm FCC Certified Wall Plug
2) We plugged only the base into the TV and permanently keep the Soundbox in the dining room with the extra power supply.
3) When we want to sit on the couch and watch a movie together, he unplugs the Soundbox and puts it beside him on the couch.
4) When my son comes over to watch the game and goes outside to smoke, and he takes the Soundbox with him and watches the game through the window with full sound.
5) I actually have to turn UP the TV sometimes now, instead of being constantly bombarded with eardrum crushing sound.

This thing is a Wife saver!! :)