Widex SmartRIC 440 advice from DIY

So I did just that…obtained a pair of 440 ric’s and self programmed them. I really like them, more so then the Octicon Real 1’s I had tried before. But my priority is music. And my music system sounds better then it has in many years of tweaking it. I have only been wearing hearing aids for about a month now, so take my opinion with a grain of ear wax. I am still adjusting to the new sounds I am hearing, like a heavy rain while driving today and I thought gravel was hitting the car, it was massive raindrops at 65 mph that had never sounded like that, well at least in my aged memory.
I have worn the 440’s in busy grocery stores and could hear others around me great.
I have the standard 2k and up mild/medium loss, so your mileage may vary depending on how much amplification you need.

My SmartRiC 440 will arrive in 2 days - I was hit with $150 import taxes +$50 UPS brokerage fee that UPS charged me directly. This means the HAs cost me $500 instead of $300 which is still a bargain.

@OcramSagev, make sure UPS took into account any lower VAT and/or duty on medical devices.

I my case I managed to decrease tax from 23 to 8%, because I pointed out to UPS that I am entitled to lower VAT.

@Bimodal_user said:

devices.

I my case I managed to decrease tax from 23 to 8%, because I pointed out to UPS that I am entitled to lower VAT

The number I posted doesn’t include the sales tax, that was charged by eBay. It’s the new Trump reciprocal tax and, according to the seller, the hearing aid is made in China.
I’ll have to see the customs form, something tells me the seller did not fill the form correctly.

Hmm, I read a fair amount of critical posts about the SmartRIC other than from musicians. I’m surprised after your trial on the other 4 that you liked them so much. Your initial post suggested your main reason for getting them was speech in noise, were they that good?

They work different than I expected - The way I see them: They enhance the voices/speech without changing the rest of the environment sounds. Its almost like being in a bar, pointing a microphone to the speaker and be able to understand them.

For comparison: The Rexton Reach I tried felt very different: My perception was that the aids elevated the voice in a way that sounded very isolated while reducing the rest of the sounds. I imagine this is by design to improve the SNR. Yes, I could understand the speaker better but everything else sounded terrible (including surrounding music), it felt like being in a room with no furniture.

All them had the same programming and domes (vented).

In short, I like that they do what I want them to do without sacrificing what I can hear without aids.
And yes, electronic music (which has many high Hz sounds great!) (I’m not a musician).

Note: I’m in a sports bar right now

@OcramSagev said:

: They enhance the voices/speech without changing the rest of the environment sounds. Its almost like being in a bar, pointing a microphone to the speaker and be able to understand them

It is the power of L-shaped housing and two mics being aligned in perfect horizontal line, almost perfectly parallel to the ground. In that conditions microphones beamforming works ideally.

For that horizontal mics alignment, I have the shortest (for adults - “0” length) receiver wire with my Infinio Sphere 90.

I am a bit disappointed that Phonak HAs don’t have that L-shaped design.

Currently I have power domes, waiting for cShell with 0.6mm vent.

I can’t tell if they sit higher or not. I took pics and compared them to my Phonaks and I don’t see a difference. I don’t even feel them. In fact, because they are so slim, they work extremely well with my sunglasses. At the same time, because they are slim, there is just no space for buttons. I never use the HA buttons, I have gorilla hands and I can never find the right button to press. It is easier for me to use my watch .

@Bimodal_user : Didn’t Phonak have the slim model, which looked similar to the SmartRIC? There is so little info on those that I have no clue if they did something different to the mics or other features.

Thanks for the link to whitepaper, interesting.

@OcramSagev said:

Didn’t Phonak have the slim model, which looked similar to the SmartRIC?

Slim Lumity model is much worse for me than Audeo Infinio Sphere 90.

I highly recommend that articles:

Providing Some Direction – Beamformers Explained -Article 262604

Directional microphone technology in hearing aids is a common method for improving hearing in noise in the near-field. This paper describes the various possible behaviors of directional microphone and how these provide benefit to the wearer, as well...

New RITE aid is found to provide consistent directional... : The Hearing Journal1

An abstract is unavailable.

Buttons or touch control could have been fit. It was a bad design choice which Widex must have realized given Allure has a single button. FDA could require on aid control for volume, mode, and power (APP2 has touch control). I guess they figure the user can yank them out if it gets too loud and the manufactures will maintain the apps well beyond the life of the devices which is not guaranteed. A button does not preclude app control, but no button requires app control. The added cost is minimal given the price of aids.

I’m using (a) in-situ (b) Widex formula with high frequency boost option .

Compass is very flexible and easy to use, with an “Apple” feel (almost as flexible as Phonak).
Compass is also the only SW that I have used that has allowed me to do in-situ measurements up to 8kHz. 6->8Khz are important to me, not so much for speech, but for music and nature sounds.

The result I got was very close to the REM fitting I had for a Rexton except for the 6->8Khz interval (which the HIS fitter did not do) plus the right 4Khz value on the right side. I did the corresponding modifications.

Since I can’t do REM myself , I tested the fit with the iPhone Mimi, Soundly hearing test and hearing test.online (It is tricky to do this) plus some speech in noise tests. After this, I did some minor adjustments, but not significant ones.

Final step, I took them to a sports bar. All good! Funny enough, the people around me where asking Whaaaat? and I didn’t say that once.

For my type of loss, I found NAL-NA2 is too “low” at high frequencies. My Phonaks are fitted with DSL 5 and, surprisingly, the result is very close to what I got with Widex plus the high frequency boost.

I tested both the vented sleeves and Oticon OpenBass. The feedback curves were almost identical, so I’m sticking with the OpenBass domes. I cannot tell the difference between the two but the sleeves gave me a bit of feedback when I cupped my hand over the right aid. So I am staying with the OpenBass domes. I’ve found the OpenBass domes to be very good for preventing feedback (the difference between the regular Open and OpenBass is very significant)

It was time consuming but fun.

Anyone know if the Widex rationale is closer to DSLv5 than NAL-NL2?

When you did you in-situ did you pick the level at which you clearly hear the tone or the level where one can still sort of hear the tone which is usually 5dB lower?

Does the feedback curve somehow validate the fit, especially between aids?

Can you detail the checks you did to validate the fitting a bit more? Doesn’t the speaker setup matter?

Note , I did not say that the widex was closer to dsl5 . In fact , I found it to be closer to the NAL-NA2. It’s when you activate the frequency boost option that I saw the closer match to the DSL5 I obtained with my Phonak except between 1-2K . I wouldn’t generalize this .