Understand speech - yes. Sounds good - no

I agree @AttilaDaPun - my problem is I don’t know how I will know what “the best” actually is. Does everyone spend months of time and grief testing multiple brands ?
The Signia app is very simplistic and does not allow for creating, editing and saving of custom settings. It’s got volume, a crude “sharp/soft balance” slider and admittedly some cool directional options, but that’s it. So I feel I am totally at the mercy of an audiologist. I did convince him to lower the default volume slightly, but…meh….
For the price, I expect to be amazed. I am not amazed at all just yet.

Good idea @AttilaDaPun . There are not very many Costco outlets in Australia, and hearing aids are very new to Costco here, as far as I understand. The prices appear attractive, but thus far the reviews of the humans at Costco doing the fittings and configurations are not inspiring. But worthy of exploration !

I’ve been wearing HAs for 15 years this month. I used to listen to recorded music a few hours every day, and that stopped when I got my first pair. Each generation has made recorded music sound better, but it’s still not good. The best I can do is: some records do sound like music, but most don’t. It’s close, though, and the next gen may be good enough.

I think you need to spend at least a couple of weeks with an aid to adjust to it.

Go to the DIY section and ask for a copy of the programming software, buy a Noahlink programmer and self-program your hearing aids. At the very least, change to a different audiologist that understands musicians.

To enter your audiogram:

1. Click on your icon.
2. Click on profile icon.
3. Select preferences.
4. Select My Audiogram.
5. Enter your Audiogram and save.

He stated that he had decades of experience with sound and recording equipment. Plus he is a musician.

So he will do just fine with DIY programming.

@user990 you’re absolutely right. In fact, probably more skilled than some audiologists

Well, clearly the current audiologist is not the right person for his needs.

Thanks for the advice @MDB . I don’t like the “new normal” just yet. However, I suspect that beer and/or ice cream may help me adjust…

@AttilaDaPun $7000 Australian dollars.
For that price I expect zero hiss, for it to sound “good” almost immediately, and for me to have control over speech enhancement in multiple different scenarios.
For that price I also expect it to cook my dinner, tuck me into bed at night, put a little chocolate on my pillow and give a calming good night kiss on my forehead.
Bonus points would be given for how streaming sounds from a phone or tablet, but I can always use some headphones or ear buds, so for me this is not a big deal.
I don’t care about taking phone calls as I have a fantastic Shokz bone conducting headset, and thus I have turned off the phone functionality.

US dollars come out to $4,550 from a currency converter I found online. Damn, that should include a massage at bedtime and breakfast in bed! Do you have insurance coverage for audiologist evaluation and hearing aids that will help with any of the cost? As for streaming, even if you choose to work around it, any decent hearing aids should be capable of appropriate streaming sound quality. How much longer on your trial period? If it’s over soon, you’ve had a full audiological examination without complicated findings requiring an ENT/surgery, and you’re not in love with these hearing aids at all, I’d return them and try a different brand.

Yes @AttilaDaPun - I will attempt to negotiate breakfast in bed next time.
I have started to explore other options as my very quick trial (based on what others have suggested in this and many other threads in this forum) is finishing on Monday next week - 10 days trial with these Signia hearing aids that I am very confident I could program with better results. (Thanks for hints @Tee and @user990 !).

Yes, I have health insurance, but this will only cover approx 20%. It’s still a sh*t load of money as far as I am concerned….hence me expecting a wow moment with rainbows and sunshine and fluffy bunnies and crystal clear angelic heavenly voice clarity like @marf described. And for it all to sound “good” as per my original question posed at the very start of this thread.

I am getting a copy of my audiogram and will post it in the next couple of days.

Thanks @freezerman404 !

Thank you @user990 !!

Although they are pretty good, I still find music lacking, especially in bass and mid-tones, even with the music program. (I use Philips 9050’s). What really works well for me is to use over-the-ear headphones while wearing the HA’s and play the music through the headphones. I use Bose QC-35 II’s. I like the sound a lot. You may have to have the feedback manager adjusted to the music program with headphones on, either with your audii or DIY but it really works for me! As they say, YMMV.