Question: I have recently opened a small group fitness studio. I am looking for ways to eliminate sound issues for other tenants in the building. Would Silent Disco Headphones be a viable option?
This post explores why our headphone equipment would be an excellent choice for fitness instructors in a variety of settings.
Let’s start with the transmitters that we offer.
We have two types of transmitters that send your audio to the wireless headphones.
The first requires a power cord for electricity and an additional audio mixer if you are using a microphone.
The second uses rechargeable batteries and is a belt-pack with an integrated microphone. No need for that additional audio mixer and need for a power cord.
Our battery powered transmitter clips onto the fitness instructor’s belt and is perfect for classes using silent disco headphones.
Being so portable and wireless, this particular transmitter allows the instructor to move freely among the participants during the class.
This transmitter comes with a lapel mic and on-board mic controls. This means that the instructor can control their mic volume from their belt.
The instructor will set the microphone volume using the control on their belt-pack. Then they will just tap the mute button on and off as needed during the routine.
The microphone jack is the standard 3.5 mm type which makes it easy to upgrade to a different microphone. Depending on your application, a headset mic may be more effective than the included lapel mic.
Headset mics tend to better for louder environments because they pick up less ambient noise. These can be found on Amazon or other audio stores online.
This particular transmitter also has a Bluetooth connectivity option which allows instructors to have their music on their phone and use Bluetooth to get the music to the transmitter. That, in turn, means the instructor doesn’t have to have an audio cable to their phone for music playback during the workout.
Bluetooth delivers the audio signal between the phone (or device playing the music) and the transmitter. The transmitter transmits to the headphones using a short-range FM signal.
With our battery powered transmitter, you can teach classes outdoors without needing an electrical outlet.
Our wireless headphones would also allow you to teach in public places because there would be no need for amplification. All the sound would be in the headphones.
Teaching in a public place in silence would also be an effective way to market your classes.
You could even allow passerby’s to join your class and charge them for the use of the headphones during the session.
The best way to get new members is to give people a chance to see your class and/or drop in on your class first. Teaching your class in public via silent disco headphones is a perfect way to make that happen.
How would we disinfect the headphones between classes?
Cleaning would similar to the system used by many gyms & health clubs where they ask users to wipe down equipment after they are done using it.
Most health club members are so accustomed to cleaning equipment before and they use it that they would do it without even thinking.
Have disinfectant wipes or spray available to users. Ask each participant to disinfect/spray/wipe down their own headphones after each class.
The ETA has published a list of disinfectants that are certified for killing coronavirus.
Cleaning would take less than a minute for participants and zero labor for your staff.
For the incoming class, again, have the disinfectant wipes and spray available. Ask them to wipe down/spray their headphones again before they put them on.
With that double coverage, it is highly doubtful that any bugs or germs could survive the change-over.
The headphones are all man-made materials, so they respond well to frequent and thorough disinfection and cleaning.
How well do the headphones stay on your head during energetic fitness routines?
These headphones are designed for hormonally-charged-Rave-Style dancing with leaping and moderate head-banging included. I’m not saying you can’t shake them off, but I am saying that fitness routines tend to be pretty mellow compared to modern rave shows.
Usually people do not attend fitness classes while drunk or tripping, so the level of abuse the headphones would get with exercise classes would be far less than at a dance party. Regardless, the build quality of these headphones is pretty good for staying on your head during either energetic dancing or athletic calisthenics .
How does the instructor balance the volume of their mic and music on the transmitter?
1) There is a separate mic volume wheel on the transmitter itself. The instructor is wearing the transmitter on their belt, so it is easy to reach.
2) There is also a mic mute button on the transmitter. – So the instructor would keep it on mute until they want to say something – They would have already adjusted the mic volume to be louder than the music – There is a bit of built-in compression that will allow the instructor’s voice to be heard over the music.
3) The music volume coming through the transmitter is controlled by your phone, tablet or laptop volume.
So, the instructor has full control over the ratio of the music volume to their voice volume.
The headphone wearers can only control their total volume. In other words, they can’t change the volume of the instructors voice without changing the music volume too.
The above image shows the location of the controls on the transmitter.
To summarize:
By using this transmitter, the instructor doesn’t need a separate DJ to control mic volume or music selection.
The music is coming from the instructor’s phone or laptop or tablet. Their phone, laptop or tablet is connected to the transmitter via Bluetooth. The music goes directly into the same transmitter as the instructor is wearing on their belt. The same transmitter that has their mic connected. The transmitter transmits the music and instructor’s voice to the headphones.
All of the headphone wearers would be on the same channel. All of them would be listening to the channel that has the instructor’s choice of music and the instructor’s voice. If they switch to a different channel on the headphones, they will only hear silence.
You would not use the multiple channel capacity for workout routines. Everyone would have to stay on the same channel.
If it was motivational music only, all three channels could be used. There could be different music on each channel.
But if a fitness instructor is going to be leading athletic routines using their voice, there would have no use for multiple channels.
With the transmitter and the techniques described in this post, you can only have a mic on one channel. Every participant would be on this channel.
