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Costco’s Current Lineup

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Philips, Rexton, Jabra, Sennheiser, Sound gear

subjective but just curious what people think of the current lineup.

I have Jabra 10 from 2023 and have had numerous issues / repairs. And now the repair warranty ends April 2026. I am not optimistic that these will last more than 6 months

If prior discussions exist feel free to link them here for me

Thanks!

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I just bought the Sennheisers. They sounded more natural to me. This is my first pair of hearing aids so I am not an experienced user. I also tried the Sound Gear, Jabra, and Philips. I liked the Sound Gear and rank it in second place (for me).

The hearing staff says that 80% of their sales are the Philips model which they keep in stock so you can get it quickly. I had to order and pay for the Sennheisers a week before my fitting.

I tried the Jabra 30 hearing aids and was not impressed with the streaming or music so I returned them.

The Soundgear is not available at any of my local Costco stores. The Sennheiser and Rexton do not have so they were not a consideration for me.

I currently use the Phillips 9040 hearing aids and I am happy with the sound after I adjusted them with the programming software. I’m getting the Phillips 9050 to get Auracast, and I am hoping they can be adjusted to sound as good as the Phillips 9040.

I’ve been demoing the 9050 and the Jabra Pro 30. The Costco fitter (finally) called Philips last week and they were able to get her to set them so they sound OK. Streaming and music sound very good, but I found the Pro30 to be better in a noisy restaurant. They set the 9050 to the sharpest speech setting and in omni. I 'm going to have them go back to the “medium” speech and more adaptive focus and give them one more try. Right now, I find the Jabra more comfortable and better for me. I’ve got a couple of more weeks before I have to commit to one or the other.

I have had the Jabra 20’s since Jan. 2023. Generally, I’ve been very pleased with them, but I don’t ask them to do much in the public sphere. Recently, I took them in for a couple of issues; they were sent back and the entire innards were replaced (easiest for them, I gather). They are now set much too loud (wonder why the tech and I didn’t realize this the day I got them?) and I have to return for adjustment. Otherwise, I like the brand very much.

Edited

I’ve tried Soundgears, 9050s, and EP 30s in-store. The Soundgears seemed top notch in terms of voices, but there was an ‘electronic’ edge (maybe like AM radio).

The 9050s were very good, but some sounds resonated in my ears, and the audi said she couldn’t reliably adjust that out of the . She said she’s come across some people who have the same issue.

I’ve got a pair of loaner EP 30s, and they seem to be much better than my EP 10s. I don’t know if Intelligent Focus is turned on, but I had a conversation with a fellow volunteer yesterday that I think was enabled by the 30s. That is, I don’t think I could have had that conversation with my EP 10s - too much resonance and ambient noise for the EP 10s in the very lively room we were in.

Even TV streaming is better. Alas, my wife sounds different, and that may be a deal killer. Recorded music sounds listenable, although I have tried only 3 recordings, none of them audiophile-quality.

I believe the audi just copied my EP 10 config to the EP 30s; no . At this point, I’m going to buy EP 30s and count on the 180-day refund period.

ETA, 2/27: Just came back from lunch in the noisiest d**ned restaurant in the area. The All-Around program did not help one bit in understanding the 2 other people I was with; my companions’ voices were lost in the murk. The Hear in Noise program let me follow at least 90% of the conversation. This was much better than I expected. I still don’t know if Intelligent Focus got invoked, but I see no option to turn it on or off, so my guess is that it’s off.

I volunteer at the Space Foundation’s Discovery Center museum in Colorado Springs. I convinced them to explore the use of in the museum for our visitors. Based on my experience at home with my 15 year old not so smart TV, the museum for a Home Spot Auracast transmitter and a PQRQP 3 in 1 wireless microphone system. The mic receiver just plugs into a jack on the Auracast transmitter. We’ve tested the system with both Jabra Pro 30 and Phillips 9050 hearing aids as well as Home Spot Auracast headphones. It’s easy to set up and works very well. Since it it is self contained, we’ll also be using it at this Spring’s International Space Symposium at the Broadmoor Hotel. If your wireless mic system receiver doesn’t physically interface with your Auracast transmitter too become a simple integrated unit, you might try the ones we are using.

I wear this one, also (Costco). When I went in with a complaint, they were sent in for repair and company replaced the entire innards. So, essentially, I have a new pair. The Costco technician was rushed, so not pleased with adjustment and have another appt. to ‘tune’.

That seems to be the default - replace innards.

I ask what I can do so they don’t fail and it is just a blank stare.

I think I had the innards replaced 2-3 times and also got a brand new pair.

Hasnt been a great experience with the Jabra but when they were finally tuned the right way (2 years later), wow I can actually hear things. But they will fail in a few months and then I have to put out $1700 or whatever for a new set. Insurance should cover partial small amount

Edited

I’ve been very happy with my Jabra Enhance Pro 30s from Costco since last November. No repair issues. The initial adjustment has served well, and I’ve felt no need to return. One thing to note that’s changed since the Jabra 10s, besides the enhanced ability of the aids to perform in noisy environments and much reduced need to recharge the batteries when new: the 30s (and newer ReSound aids, as well as many aids from other manufacturers) now have microphone filters. As long as you replace them every month or so, you may need fewer repairs. It was often the microphones that were failing, possibly because they were clogged with gunk.

There is some downside to this: each aid has two mic filters, so you need four in all to change out the mic filters for both aids. They’re even tinier than the filters in the receivers that you’re used to changing. Unlike wax guard filters, the mic filters are a challenge to buy on the open market; Hearsource and eBay have them, but they’re not cheap, as in about $20 for a set of eight (two changes worth). Replacement mic filters are free at Costco for customers, but Costco may only replace small quantities at a time; this is not a problem if you visit Costco frequently anyway, and if your Costco hearing aid center has someone at a desk (not always in an appointment with a customer) that can issue replacements without an appointment (some Costco’s do, and some don’t), but for other Costco customers, this can be a nuisance.

The Costco specialist did mention those microphone filters in the newer aids.

Thank you for explaining in detail like that as it was just a passing comment that stuck with me but I didnt know it was across brands/models. Or how to look that up

That gives me some optimism then when it’s time to buy the next pair.

Edited

So, yeah, it remains to be seen if microphone filters indeed improve the reliability of newer aids that have them, but I think Jabra (ReSound) believes it will. I say that because when some Jabra 20s went in for warranty repair, they came back with mic filters added.

When I first heard about these, my gut reaction was: oh, great, another tiny filter to have to swap out and buy if you live, as I do, far from your hearing aid specialist. But I’ve come around, because getting my previous pair of aids (ReSound Quattros) repaired once or twice a year was a pain in the butt, and it could well have been clogged microphones that were the problem. Worth a shot, anyway.

I’m also less concerned about long-term longevity after the 3-year warranty expires than I was at full prices from a private audiologist, because the Costco aids are a fraction of the cost even without insurance.

I am seeing this trend of adding mic filters to other makers’ aids as well, so you can try another brand with mic filters other than Jabra 30s from Costco, if they sound better to you or seem to be a better deal.

But if you get aids with mic filters, you should commit to changing the filters. I think the recommendation I saw was at least once a month, or sooner if aid performance seems to be declining, and that’s in line with my experience of just a few months. (Changing the filters did improve clarity, when it was declining. I was checking the filters nightly with a magnifying glass, as I do with the , and wasn’t seeing any debris in the mic filters but, as I say, changing the mic filters can help restore the sound if it’s getting fainter.)

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