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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-25 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
• Sennheiser SET840 — biggest strength: an RF wireless transmitter-and-receiver system that frees you from the TV, with a rated range of up to 100 feet and signal that passes through walls.
• Sennheiser SET840 — biggest trade-off: it is a stationary home system. The transmitter lives at your TV, so it is not something you slip in a pocket and carry to a restaurant.
• Pocketalker Williams Sound 2.0 — biggest strength: true portability. A battery-powered amplifier with an internal microphone, a plug-in microphone and a headphone, built to bring nearby voices and sound up close.
• Pocketalker Williams Sound 2.0 — biggest trade-off: it is a personal listening device, not a wireless TV system. You use it with the sound physically around you, not beamed from a transmitter across the house.
• Pick Sennheiser SET840 if TV and music listening at home, untethered from the screen, is your main goal.
• Pick Pocketalker Williams Sound 2.0 if one-on-one conversation, small groups and life away from the living room are your main goal.
The SET840 is a wireless RF stereo TV listening system. A transmitter connects to your TV, hi-fi system or radio, and sends the audio to a lightweight in-ear receiver you wear. Sennheiser rates the range at up to 100 feet, and the signal is designed to pass through walls — so you can walk to the kitchen, refill a drink or step into the next room and keep hearing the program. That is the core of what this product is: freedom of movement inside your home without dragging a cord behind you.
The part that makes it more than a wireless headphone is the hearing tuning. The transmitter has three selectable hearing settings that optimize speech, and Sennheiser calls it ideal for plasma TVs. If dialogue is the thing you struggle with, this is the feature that matters: you are not just moving the sound closer, you are shaping it to make speech easier to follow. The receiver uses in-ear stethoset-style earbuds with soft ear pads, and the controls are push-button with visual feedback, which suits anyone who wants a simple, predictable device rather than a menu system.
Who should buy it? Someone whose listening problem is centered on the television at home — a person who wants to watch at their own volume while the room stays at a comfortable level, or who wants to move around the house and keep the audio with them. It connects via a 3.5 mm stereo cable with an adapter to a 6.3 mm jack, and it runs on RF wireless rather than infrared, which is why walls are not a barrier.
Who should skip it? Anyone who needs help hearing a person across a table, in a car or in a noisy restaurant. The SET840 has no built-in microphone and no personal-amplifier function — it amplifies a source you plug it into, not the world around you. If your daily frustration is conversation rather than TV, this is the wrong tool. Note too that it carries no active noise control, so it is not a noise-cancelling product.
The Pocketalker 2.0 is a different category of device entirely. It is a battery-powered personal amplifier with an internal microphone, and its whole design logic is to amplify the sounds closest to the listener while reducing background noise. You plug in the earpiece, put the microphone near the sound you care about, adjust the volume, and listen. Williams Sound lists its uses as one-on-one conversation, small-group settings, television listening and talking in the car — in other words, everyday situations where the sound source is a person or a nearby speaker, not a transmitter.
What you get in the box tells you how it is meant to be used: the amplifier with its internal microphone, a plug-in microphone with an extension cable, a headphone, plus earphones and a supply of batteries. That plug-in microphone with the extension cable is the tell — it lets you place the mic close to whoever is speaking, which is exactly the trick that makes conversation in a difficult room easier. The amplifier runs on alkaline batteries (AAA), so it is self-contained and does not need to be tethered to anything.
Who should buy it? Someone who wants a device in their pocket or bag that helps with conversation and nearby sound, wherever they happen to be. It suits a person who finds themselves leaning in during chats, struggling in a group, or wanting a bit more volume from the TV without turning the whole room up — and who values being able to move from room to room, or out of the house, without leaving the device behind. It is also the more adaptable of the two for mixed use, because the same unit covers conversation, group settings, the car and television.
Who should skip it? Anyone who wants a permanent, always-on wireless TV setup with no handling required. The Pocketalker asks you to position a microphone and manage a small device and its batteries; it is not a set-and-forget home system. And it is not a wireless system — there is no transmitter beaming audio to you from across the house.
• Best for hands-free TV at home → Sennheiser SET840. The transmitter stays at the TV and the audio comes to you wirelessly.
• Best for moving around the house while listening → Sennheiser SET840. Up to 100 feet of range, and the signal passes through walls.
• Best for speech clarity on television → Sennheiser SET840. Three selectable hearing settings on the transmitter are there specifically to optimize speech.
• Best for one-on-one conversation → Pocketalker Williams Sound 2.0. Internal microphone plus a plug-in microphone with extension cable let you put the mic near the speaker.
• Best for use outside the home → Pocketalker Williams Sound 2.0. Battery-powered and self-contained, so it travels.
• Best for varied everyday situations → Pocketalker Williams Sound 2.0. Conversation, small groups, the car and TV are all within its stated uses.
• Best if you want zero setup before each use → Sennheiser SET840. Sit down, put the receiver on, done. The Pocketalker wants you to position a mic and adjust volume.
• Best for a single, permanent home listening solution → Sennheiser SET840. It connects once to your TV, hi-fi or radio and stays there.
In my opinion, the SET840 is the better buy if your problem is the television. It solves that problem cleanly: wireless RF audio, a long rated range, wall-penetrating signal, and speech-focused hearing settings that address the exact thing most TV listeners struggle with. The Pocketalker 2.0 is the better buy if your problem is people — conversation across a table, in a group or in the car — because that is what its microphone-first design is built for. If you truly need both, they are complements, not competitors: one for the living room, one for everywhere else. If I had to choose a single device for a home-centered listener, I would take the Sennheiser SET840.
FAQ
Yes — that is its main strength. It is designed to amplify the sounds closest to the listener while reducing background noise, and its listed uses include one-on-one conversation, small-group settings and talking in the car. The included plug-in microphone with extension cable lets you position the mic near the person speaking.
The data sheet describes the SET840 as a wireless RF system with a transmitter and a receiver but does not list a battery specification for it. The Pocketalker 2.0, by contrast, is explicitly battery powered and runs on alkaline AAA batteries.
Match it to your daily frustration. If dialogue on the TV is the problem and you want to move around the house, the SET840 fits. If the problem is hearing people in conversation, in groups or in the car, the Pocketalker 2.0 fits. Check the current price on Amazon before deciding, and weigh the two against the situation you face most often.
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