Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

Philips vs Jabra 30

15 replies1.6k viewsLast reply

Link to this topic
Reply
7 people in this conversation6 min readJump to latest

I don’t have an answer for you yet, but I will in a few weeks. I’ve been wearing the Jabra 30s for 3 weeks and will be ordering the 9050s on Friday for comparison. I tried both of them out at Costco with just first-fit programming and preferred the 9050s. Having the Jabra 30s programmed to my hearing after and with the JABRA suggested powerdomes made them much, much better, but I’m still disappointed in noisy situations, so I want to see what the 9050s are like when set up after my REM and with what domes Phillips says I should have. Stay tuned…

General - after using 30s for 3 weeks, just as a point of interest: Hear in Noise (using second chip) does a reasonable job at dampening background sounds, but voices (at other tables in Costco food court and restaurant come through as loud or louder than person directly across table from me. Also, timbre of speech (voices) is much more mechanical and difficult to understand

In reply to @Lour

Just got the 9050s yesterday. I’ll need more time with them it appears the way the Costco for set them up I have much difficulty hearing my wife, background noise isn’t adequately filtered and over all sound is muffled -so we can/should be able to do much better. But is great when I go to Hi Fi music program. I’ll let you know more in a couple of weeks

I had a “bad” set up initially with the 9050s. Had a and major adjustment 5 days ago and had a good chance to evaluate both the 9050 and the Pro30. I found that it takes my old brain about 4 or 5 days to “get used” to the new sounds before I really can see how they are.

I had a good test of the way in which each does their hearing in noise at a Christmas party. They seem to attack the problem very differently. The Pro 30 reduced the background chatter/noise best, but the voices I wanted to hear were somewhat distorted. Primarily, though, the Pro 30 relies of a very narrow microphone beam the really focuses on the voice right in front of you. Many times, I couldn’t hear the person on the side of me. His voice and speech just blended into the reduced background “rumble”. On the other hand, the 9050 didn’t reduce the background noise as much, but I could hear and understand voices in front and beside me better. (which I preferred).

The sound from the Jabra is much more lively. I liked this once I got used to it. On the other hand, voices through the 9050 were much more easy to understand and listen to. All-in-all, I prefer the sound and clarity of the 9050, although I will ask the fitter at Costco to increase the amplification of the upper frequencies to try to make the overall sound more lively.

A real test of the two HAs will be in the next week when my three grandkids come to visit and then when we go to visit some friends for New Year’s and I have one (last) chance to see how they do in noisy home, party, restaurant and airport situations. I plan on returning one of them to Costco before the end of January. I’m glad I put out the cash (or plastic) to have them both to do a side-by-side comparison rather than trying one, returning it, and then trying the other. More to come in early 2026.

Hi, do you have any more comments regarding the Philips vs Jabra. I currently have the Jabra and I am not overly impressed. The hearing at dinner with friends the other night was not good. I was trying to focus on the person in front of me but the conversation between my wife and her friend overwhelmed mine. Also I am not able to use the hands free with my Samsung S22. The sound come through the ’s but the HA’s mic does not pick up my voice so I must keep my phone in front of me. The seems to work OK. I may have to do what you did and buy the Philips and try them side by side but before I do that I would like your evaluation. Thanks.

The jury is still out. My Costco fitter doesn’t seem to be very familiar with the 9050s. She had never worn or tried them so we’re not tuned up yet. I like some of the Automatic features that the 9050s provide, but the sound is more muffled than I like. They are also very forward biased so I have trouble hearing anyone beside or behind me. I, personally, do like the Jabra 30 lively sound. I’ll be trying them in the museum where I volunteer on Wednesday to see how they handle speech in noise. I see the fitter at Costco.on Sunday. I’ll see if she can "brighten up the 9050 sound and open up its accommodations. Both seem to work very well with . The mics on both pick up my voice for hands free calls.

I have returned Jabra and not trying Philips 9050. It’s been a week, but do find philips less irritating and more focused towards conversation I want to hear. Sound quality with both varies, but I think I can get use to it, as it is via microphones..it will never be pure natural, but philps is closer to real.

In reply to @Lour

That’s interesting , those devices have been around now for a long time (9030,9040, 9050) at Costco and , based on what I’ve heard , it’s they are their selling devices (I have no data so I cannot confirm this).

In reply to @jtl

@jtl said:

The hearing at dinner with friends the other night was not good. I was trying to focus on the person in front of me but the conversation between my wife and her friend overwhelmed mine. Also I am not able to use the hands free with my Samsung S22.

Jabra 30s? Were you using the feature that is supposed to improve one’s ability to hear in noise?

The S22 doesn’t do tap control, per the ReSound compatibility list: Compatibility | ReSound US4 . Or Jabra Enhance Pro Compatibility | Jabra Support1.

In reply to @jtl

@jtl said:

Also I am not able to use the hands free with my Samsung S22

is required for android phones to do hands free calls. The S23 was the 1st samsung to support LEA.

Now, with the Philips 9050, you can get hands free on your s22 with a tiny dongle that fits in the USB C port. It provides LEA to the phone, and gets you hands free, as well as streaming from laptops/tablets, and some TVs. The only drawback is it doesn’t support Tap to answer, so you still need to use you phone to answer, and end the call.

So if that’s important to you, the 9050s can be the answer. The device is The Easy LE Adapter.

In reply to @Lour

Any new impressions? I am still using the Jabra 30’s and seem to be getting used to them. I am mostly at home so just my wife and I and not in mixed voice environments. I am now wondering if I would benefit from custom ear molds? Do you or anyone else reading this post have an opinion?

@jtl said:

I am now wondering if I would benefit from custom ear molds? Do you or anyone else reading this post have an opinion?

Pros:

I went to custom molds years ago to solve a feedback/squealing issue at the suggestion of my Audi. It worked, and to me, the customs are much more comfotable to boot.

Cons - only one that I know of and it’s fairly minor - to me. But I have a backup pair of :

My Jabra 30s (and I assume yours) are fitted with the (very powerful) UP3 receivers. The molds and receivers have to be made as a set - so if a receiver goes out, you have to wait for a new mold + receiver unit to be shipped to your Costco.

Your molds are kept on file so its less turnaround time. But i think its still around 7-10 days (Vs 3 weeks for the initial customs). I’m told receivers last much longer these days compared to what I was using before the Jabras.

I don’t have a feedback issue but would like a more comfortable fit plus better sound.

Related discussions