QuietVox Device Question

I am reading about the Quietvox device used for the Viking tour guide talks and I have a quick question for those of you that have used this device. Can the box be used with personal noise cancelling earbuds? Thanks

I am reading about the Quietvox device used for the Viking tour guide talks and I have a quick question for those of you that have used this device. Can the box be used with personal noise cancelling earbuds? Thanks

Usually not. The clip that fits from the earpiece to the device is rectangular in shape. No small, round hole available.

Usually not. The clip that fits from the earpiece to the device is rectangular in shape. No small, round hole available.

Well, good to know. Thanks for the info. I love my Bose NC earbuds on flights & I am going to use them through the Rijks museum in Amsterdam as well as all the Rick Steves city walks on iphone apps.

I may use them to sleep if things go bump in the night :eek:, so I just wondered about the audio tours. I guess they use disposable earpieces, I hope :confused:? Anyway, I am excited about the tours with audio as it makes all the difference in the world and I am looking forward to a great guide in the cities.

Well, good to know. Thanks for the info. I love my Bose NC earbuds on flights & I am going to use them through the Rijks museum in Amsterdam as well as all the Rick Steves city walks on iphone apps.

 

I may use them to sleep if things go bump in the night :eek:, so I just wondered about the audio tours. I guess they use disposable earpieces, I hope :confused:? Anyway, I am excited about the tours with audio as it makes all the difference in the world and I am looking forward to a great guide in the cities.

Here's a little tip just for us girls: if you, like me, like to be hands free, tuck the quietvox box inside your bra! You'll forget it's there and won't have to worry about losing it or leaving it someplace. Of course it will fit in your pocket, but for me, this is much more comfortable!

Another tip;

In the larger cities and where crowds gather, make sure you stay fairly close to your tour guide. The boxes operate on a fairly low frequency range, and if other tours come close to you, the box goes into search mode (which means you will temporarily hear nothing) and then jump over to the other guides box. Sometimes the competition of boxes produces a terrible screeching sound. It was humorous, in Lyon, when the Tauck tour guide cut through our group and a bunch of our machines jumped over to the Tauck guide's system.

If two Viking tour guides choose to walk near each other, you may as well turn the machines off. They will constantly be bouncing back and forth through the search mode.

Another tip;

 

In the larger cities and where crowds gather, make sure you stay fairly close to your tour guide. The boxes operate on a fairly low frequency range, and if other tours come close to you, the box goes into search mode (which means you will temporarily hear nothing) and then jump over to the other guides box. Sometimes the competition of boxes produces a terrible screeching sound. It was humorous, in Lyon, when the Tauck tour guide cut through our group and a bunch of our machines jumped over to the Tauck guide's system.

 

If two Viking tour guides choose to walk near each other, you may as well turn the machines off. They will constantly be bouncing back and forth through the search mode.

That seems to defeat the purpose of the device . . . wander away, but still hear the commentary. On our GCT tours we hade to set the channel, never experienced cross talk.

Usually not. The clip that fits from the earpiece to the device is rectangular in shape. No small, round hole available.

Right. They use a proprietary design for the earphone jack so that you cannot use your own headset of preference. My biggest beef with the proprietary headset that it is deigned for the left ear, the one I don't hear out of, and while they claim that they can be used in the right ear as well, I find it uncomfortable to do so for for more than a few minutes.

Moreover, since it is an ear-bud style headset, I always wonder how folks with hearing aids use them.

I love the QuietVox idea but as far as I am concerned, there are still some design flaws that need to be dealt with. A simple standard jack to proprietary jack adapter would solve the headset issue. A system for locking the receiver frequency and assigning bands for the various tour companies might help alleviate the problem pinotlover describes.

...

This past June we took a tour with Tauck and their ear pierce was composed of a small speaker, about 1 in in diameter, connected on the top and bottom with a round elastic band. It was very comfortable and could be worn on either ear. Perhaps the other travel companies will switch to these and get rid of the old style ones.

Just as a matter of interest - the "Tailormade" device that Scenic use is flexible with earphones. We used some we had picked up on our flight over.

There were no problems with proximity to other Scenic groups (each group on a different channel- worked well) but in the odd place - Cesky Kromlov comes to mind - there was some crossover with the multitude of Viking groups that were also there.;)

Remember to charge the things at the end of each day - many people had issues with the devices that mostly resulted from human error.

We are using the Quiet Vox on viking now and think they work great. Cross over has not been occurring. The ear piece does not fit into the ear canal opening but over it, hanging on a loop that loops around the ear. This design allows for use with hearing aids. I like them. m--

We are using the Quiet Vox on viking now and think they work great. Cross over has not been occurring. The ear piece does not fit into the ear canal opening but over it, hanging on a loop that loops around the ear. This design allows for use with hearing aids. I like them. m--

This sounds like the same system Vantage uses as well. The ear piece was very comfortable and the guide would assign our group a channel so we did not get interference from another group. IMO we could be fairly far from our guide and still hear him/her, which I really liked because I am a slow walker and while I might not be able to see the guide, I knew I was getting closer when the static improved.

On Avalon, the device connects to a regular jack, so you can use your own earbuds. The earpiece we were given is hard plastic (for the right ear). I used mine yesterday but my husband's wasn't working so he tried his earbuds that were in his coat pocket and they worked fine. So I'm trying mine today - squishy earbud is MUCH better than hard plastic for me!

We are using the Quiet Vox on viking now and think they work great. Cross over has not been occurring. The ear piece does not fit into the ear canal opening but over it, hanging on a loop that loops around the ear. This design allows for use with hearing aids. I like them. m--

Can I use my Earphones that go over the ears like I use on my Apple Laptop? :confused: Thanks!

We just returned from the Bragi yesterday 12/13. The Quiet Vox device on this boat is proprietary and normal headphone plugs will not work. Jerry at Crusinskier took pictures of his Quietvox and you could see it was a "normal" 1/8" headphone jack. So.....to answer your question....depends on which boat, I guess. They were both Viking.

Not sure what kind of hearing aids were used but "Over the Ear" hearing aids will NOT work. The actual microphones that pick up sound are in the portion behind the ear. I tried cranking it wide open and it still wasn't satisfactory.

At the Celestial clock the Quiet Vox's were all over the place. Some retained the proper frequency and some didn't.

Not sure what the solution would be but I didn't care for them.

We just returned from the Bragi yesterday 12/13. The Quiet Vox device on this boat is proprietary and normal headphone plugs will not work. Jerry at Crusinskier took pictures of his Quietvox and you could see it was a "normal" 1/8" headphone jack. So.....to answer your question....depends on which boat, I guess. They were both Viking. Not sure what kind of hearing aids were used but "Over the Ear" hearing aids will NOT work. The actual microphones that pick up sound are in the portion behind the ear. I tried cranking it wide open and it still wasn't satisfactory. At the Celestial clock the Quiet Vox's were all over the place. Some retained the proper frequency and some didn't. Not sure what the solution would be but I didn't care for them.

Thanks, rothbury. I do not use a hearing aide. I was talking about a Boss-like earphones, sort of like what you get on the aircraft. I am on the VIKING VAR next November. I sent this thread to my Agent at Viking and received this reply:

DONNA: Since this is my first River cruise, I am wondering if VIKING plans to Upgrade their QuietVox equipment. Can you find out for me? We don't want the competition to get ahead of Viking (see cruise critic thread, below).

Thank you very much for your help.

JILL: "Donna, Viking does keep up to date with all the latest equipment. Since you are not traveling till Nov of 2015, we are not sure what the equipment will be at that time. Be sure if there is a lot of noise we will not continue to using that equipment. Let me know if you need anything else.

Thanks Jill"

I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Has anyone been on the Viking Var that would know? Thanks, all, for your help.

What type of personal headphones you have won't matter (over the ear soft Bose type or ear bud type) as they both have the same jack. So IF your quietvox device is standard and not proprietary, yes, you can use your "comfort" headset. There were a couple people on our Avalon tours who did (because our devices had a standard jack...)

Assuming you'll bring the headphones when you travel anyway (for media on the flights) then you'll just see when you arrive if you'll be able to use them or not....

What type of personal headphones you have won't matter (over the ear soft Bose type or ear bud type) as they both have the same jack. So IF your quietvox device is standard and not proprietary, yes, you can use your "comfort" headset. There were a couple people on our Avalon tours who did (because our devices had a standard jack...)

 

Assuming you'll bring the headphones when you travel anyway (for media on the flights) then you'll just see when you arrive if you'll be able to use them or not....

Yep, that's what I'm thinking too, Hoyaheel. I'll have my uber soft & comfy Bose earbuds and if they work in the jack...Bingo! If not, I'll just go with whatever is available.

This past June we took a tour with Tauck and their ear pierce was composed of a small speaker, about 1 in in diameter, connected on the top and bottom with a round elastic band. It was very comfortable and could be worn on either ear. Perhaps the other travel companies will switch to these and get rid of the old style ones.

I'm trying to picture this, or imagine how it would attach to your ear.