Everyone else can hear the sound clearly

[sweber46]

We bought 9 of these for our office so that people could be on the phone or listen to music but still hear if someone was talking to them. Most of these worked fine out of the box but some people's you could hear everything clearly from across the room. We never figured it out. Those people just dont use theirs. Mine was one of that was working fine and I've become quite used to it however today I took a call and I'm not sure what I hit on the speaker but everone could hear the entire phone call. The person I was talking to couldn't hear them but people across the room could hear the convo (and where chiming in on it). I've tried power cycling the speaker, playing from both my phone and laptop and it is the same. Everyone else can hear clearly just like this is a normal speaker and I cannot figure out how to reset it. I have become quite dependent on this gadget and I would like to be able to use it as before. Considering I am not the only one here having this issue I was surprised I couldn't find any other posts about this. Please help! I'm guessing there is some simple setting we are missing here? Thanks.

[Tony_G]

Hi sweber46,

Thanks for the post. The SoundWear Companion Speaker was engineered to provide a full, immersive listening experience for yourself, while reducing volume, especially in lower bass ranges, for people nearby. That being said, the amount of audio your neighbors hear can certainly change depending on your own listening volume, and the overall noise level in your own surrounding environment. This speaker helps you to be aware of your surroundings better than headphones. But if true private listening is what you are looking for, headphones may still be your best option. 

Have a great day!

Tony

[sweber46]

Thanks for your response Tony. I knew these weren't private. I just wasn't expecting someone 25 feet away from me in an open office environment to be able to hear and participate in my phone conversation. I didn't think the volume was that high. It sounds like the volume needs to me extremely low....

[Stevepug2]

Hi, how are you?
I wrote an Amazon review criticizing just this thing about the Soundwears. But then I realized I was expecting them to be headphones and they are just not that at all. They are not designed to be sound isolating from others around you. When running from a source that's very loud, like your computer playing at full volume, they'll be as loud as any open speakers. What's different about them is that at their loudest, they sound to you very loud but to others, much less so. I like that I can listen at impossibly loud levels personally but to others it doesn't sound nearly as loud. But they'll certainly be able to hear it! Let me know if you had other expectations. At $300 you should be satisfied!

[sweber46]

@Stevepug2 I hear what you are saying (no pun intended). I had tried them in a store before purchasing and they were "sold" by the salesperson as being directional speakers that people around you couldn't hear and sure enough in the store whatever was playing the person standing right next to me could not hear. Thus my surprise when someone on the other side of my office could hear them. I don't think I had the volume up exceptionally loud either. Oh well they make a nice speaker for my car that does not have integrated hands-free.

[Stevepug2]

Hi Sweber46. Happy 4th. I've heard that about the Bose store- I presume it was Bose. A number of people reviewing the Soundsport Free on Amazon said the same thing. I wonder what Bose was doing there? How could that have happened? The very first thing I noticed about them was that they sounded pretty much like regular speakers when you weren't wearing them, just a bit toothless with very little bass, which certainly went against what some reviewers were claiming. But I do like their sound and they aren't that loud to others as long as they don't mind someone playing music. So I kept them though they really are overpriced, I think. But they're unique. All the best!

[Stevepug2]

I meant the Soundwears not the Soundsport Free (I have both, can you believe it!).