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I am researching an in-ear monitoring system for selected choir members and was wondering if an FM transmitter paired with small “Walkman” style receivers would do the trick. I am also interested in a general hearing assistance set up.
So two questions really... One... Are there any “legal” transmitters available for use in the US with maximum allowable range without any licensing requirements?
Two... Are there any “low-power” licensed options?
There are legal low-power FM transmitters but they are of low enough quality that when paired with a typical inexpensive FM receiver I doubt you (or your users) will be happy with the results.
Unfortunately in-ear monitoring is still new enough that the only decent quality options are a bit pricey, starting at over $600 US.
For hearing assistance, the current mainstream approach are inductive loops. They are more popular in the UK, but some hearing aids come with receivers built in and those without can still use headphone style receivers.
