KTX

Can you use headphones with a DVD player, but others can still hear the sound without headphones?

I have never had a DVD player before, but have a hearing problem and would like to be able to use headphones to hear the speech in movies, but still let others in the room hear the dialogue without headphones.

Public Comments

1. as a rule when you plug ear plugs into a device it only allows sound through the ear phones. if you had "closed" ear phones others could hear the sound coming from your ear phones example: Open headphones (sometimes marketed as “open air” headphones) have an open grille on the back of the driver, exposing the driver to the outside, and allowing the sound waves to propagate away from the ear freely. This backing type does not isolate the listener from outside sounds; in addition, sound through open headphones can be easily heard by others in the vicinity of the user (not always a desirable quality). They, however, usually have less sound distortion (due to the lack of resonance) and tighter controlled sound reproduction. Most audiophile-quality headphones, such as the AKG K-701, Grado GS1000, and Sennheiser HD 650 are open headphones
   
   
   
   Closed headphones have a sealed backing, which attenuates sound waves propagating in the direction away from the ear. As a result, listeners away from the headphones cannot hear the produced sound easily. In addition, sound from outside is attenuated by the sealed backing, providing a level of isolation to the listener (typically a 10 dB decrease in outside sounds). A sealed chamber is often claimed to have a negative effect of distorting sound in certain instances and providing “boomier”, less controlled bass. Examples of closed headphones: AKG K271S, Audio-Technica ATH-A900, Sennheiser HD-280 Pro, Sony MDR-V6, Koss Pro/4AA, Ultrasone HFI-550, Beyerdynamic DT-770, Rystl SH-4good luck
2. Most DVD players come with a digital output for surround sound, and a stereo output, usually for connecting to your TV.
   
   
   
   So, you can leave the DVD player connected to your surround sound system with the digital connection, and then connect your head phones to the stereo output (it's the red & white ports)
   
   
   
   If you need an adapter, go to Radio Shack. They also sell a wireless headset, which would be nice in your situation so you don't have cables dangling all over the room.
   
   
   
   If you're already using the red/white audio cables to connect to your TV, you can get a Y-cable connector, again from Radio Shack, and then connect one set to the TV, and one to your headphone.
   
   
   
   Radio Shack usually has these little bits and pieces at good prices, but really, any electronics store should have these things too.