Product Review: The Listen Up Personal Sound Amplifier

Do you like to watch TV in the middle of the night? Do you want to hear the pitter patter of ninjas quietly walking across your roof at night? If so, you might be interested in the Listen Up Personal Sound Amplifier advertised on late night television commercials. Will it work for you? Will it work "as seen on TV?"

The Listen Up Personal Sound Amplifier is an MP3-player sized device that amplifies all the noise in your environment and lets you hear it through ear bud-style earphones. The device uses a AAA Battery and has a clip which will allow you to fasten it to your shirt or belt. A volume control allows you to control the sound volume and turn the device on and off. The front-side of the Listen Up Personal Sound Amplifier functions as a microphone and amplifies all sounds from the general direction in which it is pointed. While all sounds reaching the device are amplified, the sounds come from a wide arc in front of the Listen Up and the device does not have the ability to act as a parabolic microphone. While grandpa might be able to hear a quiet conversation nearby, he won't be able to point it at the neighbors across the street and hear their private conversations.

In my personal testing, I found the Listen Up Personal Sound Amplifier somewhat disappointing. Since I live in an urban area with lots of nearby highway traffic, I found that the volume of the traffic was increased along with the volume of my television set. In fact, all ambient noises in your environment are increased: traffic, the air conditioner, the dishwasher, etc. While I could lower the volume on the TV and still hear it using the Listen Up, I simply had too much background noise to find the device comfortable and useful on a regular basis. One drawback to the Listen Up Personal Sound Amplifier is that it did not have any circuitry to cope with unexpected noises such as the family dog barking.