Summary
Frequency response and field strength of six neckloops measured on a dummy head per IEC 62489-1.
Key findings
- Many available neckloops lose level at high frequencies, which matter most for speech intelligibility (2 to 4 kHz), and so are unsuitable for telecoil users.
- Ranked first: Geemarc iLoop+ (active, with its own amplifier; the flattest high-frequency response). Second: Listen LA-438 (less high-frequency roll-off than other passive models; 0 dB re 400 mA/m at -12.7 dBu input). Third: Beyerdynamic/Televic IL 200 and Sennheiser EZT-3012, both with significant high-frequency loss.
- Not recommended: Monacor NL-90 (very strong treble loss) and Williams AV NKL-001S (very uneven, source-dependent response).
- Opens by saying no neckloop reaches the quality of "a perfectly installed, permanently installed hearing system".
- Gives the input each neckloop needed for the reference field (0 dB re 400 mA/m): IL 200 -6.4 dBu, EZT-3012 +0.3 dBu.
- Reports that the LA-438's 3-6 ohm impedance can distort at maximum volume on weak headphone outputs, so it is only reliable with professional receivers; that the iLoop+ works from any headphone output (phone, PC, tablet) and needs regular charging; and that with the Williams NKL-001S, whose impedance rises with frequency, no headphone output gave an acceptable result.
- Calls the iLoop+ the best choice for mobile devices without professional transmitter outputs, and the IL 200 and EZT-3012 the second-best choice for professional Auracast, FM or infrared receivers, provided the receiver's output drives them with a sufficient signal level.
- The English reprint describes the iLoop+ as usable with smartphone, PC and tablet headphone outputs (page 2), reports trying headphone outputs with the Williams model (page 5), and specifies dummy-head measurements (page 6). It does not identify particular phones or headphone outputs or give a separate result set for phone-driven neckloops.
- The page 6 graph gives magnetic-field level in dB relative to each curve's level at 1 kHz. It is a relative frequency-response plot, separate from the absolute 400 mA/m sensitivity results on pages 3-4.
- Page 2 describes reduced low-frequency response for the iLoop+ and identifies its integrated amplifier and battery. Page 3 specifies that the LA-438's reported 3-6 ohm impedance is at 1 kHz.
Limits
One measurement method on a dummy head; non-linear headphone outputs may give a different response in practice. Six models are described, but project funding and the number of units tested per model are not stated. Machine-translated from German.
Read the original
Cited in
- Which hearing devices can receive which systems?Open
- Auracast, hearing loop, infrared, RF or Wi-Fi: which suits which room?Disputed
- How many receivers and neckloops does each code require, and how should a loan pool be run?Partly answered
- What does Wi-Fi streaming need from the venue's network and from listeners' phones?Partly answered
- Where does infrared assistive listening work, and where does it fall short?Partly answered
- Which radio bands can venue FM and RF systems use, and what limits them?Partly answered
- Should a venue keep its hearing loop when it adds Auracast, and can one system serve both?Partly answered
- What reaches a cochlear implant user in a venue, and how well?Partly answered
- Do neckloops give telecoil users good sound from FM, infrared, Wi-Fi and Auracast receivers?Not reliable yet
- What works for guided tours, museums and visitor attractions?Partly answered
Cite this source
Pro Audito Schweiz. Which inductive neck loops are suitable for Auracast/FM/IR receivers? Pro Audito Schweiz; English reprint by the Center for Hearing Access. 8 September 2026. https://centerforhearingaccess.org/wp-content/uploads/Pro-Audito-Schweiz-Which-inductive-neck-loops-are-suitable-for-AuracastFMIR-receivers.pdf (accessed 13 October 2026).
Every finding here cites its source, and who funded each source is labelled. This site does not recommend products. Found an error or a missing study? Suggest a correction.