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Starkey Evolve AI vs. Phonak Virto I90-R vs. Starkey Omega AI

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Hi Everyone:

I recently completed a comparison between the Phonak Vitro I90-Rs and the Starkey Omega hearing aids and based upon my existing 4-year old Starkey Evolve AIs.

I’m sharing my experience here as I did not find alot of reviews or videos on YouTube (Dr. Cliff, etc.) that provided a head-to-head on these hearing aids.

Bottom line: The Starkey Omega AI made a substantial difference in noisy gatherings and when using Edge+. I have purchased them, although I look forward to technology advances from Phonak in the coming years.

My requirements:

  • I was looking to solve the “cocktail party” problem. That is, dialogue with my wife in busy restaurants was impossible and with my Starkey Evolve AIs. I heard the hype on the newer that have more advanced AI technology and was hoping for a solution.

  • I’m young enough (57 yrs old) where I value something that looks less like a hearing aid and more like an earbud. As a result, I was only looking for in-the-canal, custom molded hearing aids. This excluded Phonak Spheres that everyone is raving about in addressing conversation in restaurants.

  • I also went for the highest technology level to maximize my experience. This is level 90 for the Phonaks and level 24 for the Omega AIs. I was also coming from the highest technology levels on the Evolve AIs (level 24)

My scoring and field notes from my comparison follow. Conclusions appear far below.

Scoring:

Scoring
Scenario Scoring description No Hearing Aids Starkey Evolve AI (tech level 24) Phonak Virto I90-R (tech level 90) Starkey Omega AI (tech level 24)
Quiet Coffee Shop: Speech Clarity (1-10) 1 = Muffled, 10 = Clear 4 7 9 7
Quiet Coffee Shope: Listening Effort (1-10) 1 = Exhausting, 10 = Easy 4 7 9 7
Quiet Coffee Shop: Background “Clatter” 1 = Muffled, 10 = Clear Was the noise sharp or “hushed”? 3 7 8 8
Saturday Night Restaurant: Speech Clarity (1-10) 1 = Muffled, 10 = Clear 2 5 7 8
Saturday Night Restaurant: Listening Effort (1-10) 1 = Exhausting, 10 = Easy 1 3 5 8
Saturday Night Restaurant: Background “Clatter” 1 = Muffled, 10 = Clear Was the noise sharp or “hushed”? 1 3 5 8
Fit 1 = Loose, occlusion 10 = Unnoticeable and feels great an 8 6 9
Cell Phone Connectivity/Streaming 1-10 Phone signal strength voice quality na 3 8 6
Battery Life 1-10 What is their battery life at the end of day? na 8 4 10
Sound Quality 1-10 Based on natural sound na 4 9 6
App/Feature Interaction 1-10 Did you have to “fiddle” with it? na 4 7 6
Total Score 59 77 83
Total Weighted Score 133 168 194
Percent of Top Score 53% 67% 78%

Weighting Used for the Weighted Scores Above

Scenario Weighting
Quiet Coffee Shop: Speech Clarity (1-10) 2
Quiet Coffee Shope: Listening Effort (1-10) 2
Quiet Coffee Shop: Background “Clatter” 2
Saturday Night Restaurant: Speech Clarity (1-10) 3
Saturday Night Restaurant: Listening Effort (1-10) 3
Saturday Night Restaurant: Background “Clatter” 3
Fit 2
Cell Phone Connectivity/Streaming 2
Battery Life 3
Sound Quality 2
App/Feature Interaction 1

Comments and Field Notes:

Comments
Scenario na No Hearing Aids Starkey Evolve AI Phonak Virto I90-R Starkey Omega AI
Quiet Coffee Shop: Speech Clarity (1-10) I’m missing about 25% of words in conversations Speech is generally clear but sounds metallic, thin, and artificial. I hear my voice regularly as I speak Speech is clear and natural - After a matter of seconds and during the fitting, I no longer heard my voice like with the Starkey Evolves. The Phonak’s provide a large (positive) difference from the Starkey Evolve in quiet settings. My wife, though, shared that I’m talking softer to her on these HAs and it is tougher for her to hear my voice. Speech is clear, crisp (in fact super crispy) but a bit metallic sounding. I could tell a big difference over my Evolve AIs during the fitting. The sound is not warm and natural like the Phonaks. It is, though, more precise. I did notice some feedback with Ss ant Ts and at high frequencies especially in my right hand ear. My audiologist made a tweak and it is better but still present in some settings. My wife shared that I’m talking to her naturally with this hearing aids, unlike the Phonak.
Quiet Coffee Shope: Listening Effort (1-10)
Quiet Coffee Shop: Background “Clatter”
Saturday Night Restaurant: Speech Clarity (1-10) I’m missing about 75% of words in conversations Speech is improved but I’m still missing about 25 - 35% of words. Mostly unusable in loud restaurants (80% word loss). Background hissing in Edge mode Not game-changing - Sound is better but restaurant noise still downs out dialogue. This is disappointing as I was hoping for something better at this price point Sound in restaurants is much better. I can hear my wife and have a natural conversation with her. Big win! Not game changing overall (that is - it isn’t as though the Red Sea parted) but this is a real difference that I can’t ignore - even with the need to make changes in the app for Edge+. This is a downside with the Starkeys: I’m not detecting program changes for the environment. I’m switching programs regularly. And, to gain maximum clarity in a restaurant, I have to manually engage Edge+
Saturday Night Restaurant: Listening Effort (1-10)
Saturday Night Restaurant: Background “Clatter”
Fit na Great fit, no occlusion sensation, and not as physically noticeable to others Occlusion sensation in right ear - will need to get this fixed - larger and more physically noticeable Great fit, no occlusion sensation, and not as physically noticeable to others. Smaller in my ear than the Phonaks.
Cell Phone Connectivity/Streaming Phone connectivity is really awful on the Starkey - unusable when the phone is more than 5 feet away. Phone connectivity is awesome on Phonak with great sound. Connectivity persists from more than 10 feet away from the phone Phone connectivity is better than my Evolve Ais. Audio is a bit unrich compared to the Phonak’s but it more usable. I have noticed that system sounds (text notifications, typing on my iPhone keyboard) are very faint.
Battery Life Great battery life, 60% power at EOD, travel charger Never fully charged to 100% (99%) and depleted quickly in the first hours of wearing. Battery power is almost unacceptable as the HAs finish the day at 20% or less. No travel charger available but Aud provided second wired charger Wow - Great battery life. 80% power after 12 hours?!? Phonak can’t touch this battery life.
Sound Quality Tends to be metallic and thin sounding. “Ts” and “Ss” are very clear but artificially attenuated. Shifts suddenly to new sound modes with vocal announcements on program changes that can be jarring Very natural sounding - When shifting to a new sound program, there is no sudden shift or jarring experience Definitely not as natural - but more precise. I’m missing less than I did. The Phonaks sound much better in quiet settings and definitely have a richer audio experience. But, the Starkey’s can be used in many more settings than the Phonaks. If I was streaming lots of music, I would be unhappy. But, I’m using my hearing aids more for speech comprehension.
App/Feature Interaction App has a lot of features that aren’t useful. Moving into Edge mode requires app use. App generally stays connected with the hearing aids The app is simple and clean. No need to go into the app to regularly switch programs. I have lost connectivity on occasion, though, requiring a force quit of the app - but there is little reason to go into the app The app has been simplified and is far more usable - This is good as I’m in the app frequently with a need to change its settings. The Starkey never lost connectivity to the app.

Conclusions:

  • The Starkey Omega AIs and in Edge+ mode part the fog of what sounds like a muddy mess in restaurants on my Evolve AIs as well as the Phonak Vitro I90-Rs

  • The Starkey Omega AIs also have an incredible battery life - due in part, I know that the full AI potential is not used unless Edge+ is toggled on. The Phonaks try to always find the best sound and this impacts their battery life.

  • The Phonaks have a much richer sound than the Starkey Omega. In quiet settings, the Phonaks simply sound so much richer and Bluetooth is much stronger on them.

  • If Phonak can figure out a way to bring their top tier AI technology (Sphere) and better battery life into their products, they will simply lock up the market. The sound on Phonaks is simply that much better and Starkey’s still sound a bit metallic to me. But, until that day, the Starkey Omega’s and in this form factor are the best thing that I’ve found so I can talk to my wife in a restaurant. That’s very valuable to me.

5 people in this conversation16 min readJump to latest

Thanks for the review. I’d be interested in the starkey . Just based on ear real-estate. (Glasses, hat, and masks sometimes). Currently have phonak lumity aids. Personnel leaning towards starkey on next purchase. Battery life plus . Bluetooth I consider a bonus but not requirement. But i do have an android thatis compatible with the omegas. I work in an industrial environment. So loud for 10 plus hrs. Phonak would be drained quickly. Occasionally I’ll wear earmuffs when work noises are bad. Luckily no feed back or occlusion.

I would be interested in your experience if you trial the Starkeys. They definitely aren’t perfect and the Phonak sound quality is definitely richer.

But if you aren’t interested in Phonak’s form factor (for Sphere), you need your hearing aids for a full day, and want something that will cut into background noise for dialogue, the Starkey’s are the only show in town. I know that other makers have models but the reviews don’t place them close to the Starkey’s and Phonak Sphere’s for dialogue clarity.

@weathertop Your review is impressive, in fact the most impressive one I have seen on this forum. (I have been on it for four months I think.) If I may ask, are you or have you been a technical writer? Thank you for taking the time and providing it.

Thanks for the very kind words, @portage . While I was never a technical writer, I had a variety of technology roles for almost 3 decades in a Fortune 20 telecom company before I retired as a director over a cybersecurity organization.

So, my team and I have systematically evaluated multiple vendor technology products. Also, I’ve had the professional “joy” of having a peer come out of the woodwork with claims that his team could design a solution better than the solution that my team was driving.

My response was always the same: Let’s have a “bake off” (an evaluation) and let the best software package win.

….I’m so thrilled to be retired and to be done with these games. :slight_smile: But, when evaluating a product that costs many thousands of dollars (hearing aids) and with lofty claims, my past approaches get placed into action.

Edited

I went with the Virto and am pretty satisfied but completely agree with your analysis. The battery life is disappointing and the lack of a small portable charging case is not understandable. The lack of the Sphere tech is understandable at this time but disappointing. Hopefully next generation.

I do find that using the Roger tech helps with the restaurant/noise issues.

I looked into the Rogers device and decided that I shouldn’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a hearing aid and then also have to use a separate device to take with me when we are dining out. Given this logic, I would have just stuck with my Evolve as Starkey also has a device (Starlink Edge Remote mic) that can be used with them.

And, agreed on maybe the next generation with Phonak. After several years with Starkey (on the Evolve AIs), I was found the sound quality on the Phonaks to be outstanding.

I also liked the fact that the Phonaks would simply find the best means to locate the best sound without the use of an app (with Starkeys, I am finding myself more often switching programs through the app and you have to use the app or a button press to go into Edge+ to use the restaurant noise cutting AI feature).

Other thoughts: Starkey focuses on speech clarity at the expense of sound richness. So, my comprehension of dialogue was also much higher on the Starkeys even though the sound is a bit more metallic. People talk about the “Starkey sound” and it is a real thing. It isn’t a rich sound but, boy, you did hear “Ss” and “Ts” with precision.

That’s why I reached a conclusion that if I could have the best of all worlds with Phonak (custom rechargeable, all day battery, AI solution that works in restaurants like Sphere), I would have gone with Phonak - if this product on Phonak existed, the rich sound and the better Bluetooth connectivity are simply better than the Starkeys.

But that product doesn’t exist. So I prioritized custom ITC rechargeable, all day battery, and AI solution that works in restaurants, leading me, for now, to Starkey

Thanks for the review. Just a few comments. Not nitpicking, but I am unsure if you are aware, so I will just put them anyway:

  • The Roger device is very useful if you have a severe/profound loss. I have found in a class room environment that it gives a massive boost.
  • Agreed on outstanding sound quality for Phonak. But why was Starkey considered to be compared with Phonak? Oticon, Signia, Widex and Resound all do custom aids.
  • Why not wear a if you want the performance from Phonak? I know you may wear custom for a reason, but I think if you haven’t experienced the AI noise reduction from Phonak, I would really recommend it, even if you would have to wear a RIC. My RIC is virtually invisible, except from the back, and nobody cares. But sure, it might be that your scores are good and you can hear fairly well in noise anyway, so your need might not be so great.

Also, would be useful if you posted your . Thanks again.

All great feedback @glucas . I posted here and as a new user to help others and to inspire debate. Thank you for your questions and I will respond to help us all.

Before I do, though, I will respectfully share my requirements for my hearing aids. If these don’t apply to a particular use case, then those uninterested shouldn’t read further. We are talking about medical devices that require individual needs and custom configuration. With this in mind, I shared my insights about my personal journey with a medical device, not a new TV. There is also a demographic that I’m speaking to and it isn’t a one-sized fits all and includes:

  • Late 50s in age, active, and (like most of us at this age) has a moderate hearing loss.

  • Looking for a hearing aid that doesn’t look like a hearing aid. Apologies to others but people in the workplace do notice hearing aids and they will detract from those who wear them. Sorry if you don’t want to hear this but this discrimination is real - read this thread above on my background. I’ve heard the stories at the water cooler and they are unkind and will hold folks back from advancement decisions. If you are shocked, let’s discuss in a different thread.

  • You are experiencing (like me) an active struggle with conversation in a restaurant

  • Cost is not a problem.

This is a small cohort but I’m hoping that with this in mind, the feedback that I offer is helpful to all of us, regardless of your personal situation. Dollars mean things to us all - so, let me offer feedback so others don’t have to spend time, dollars, or worry that they’ve missed out. Those who don’t match this cohort can simply read, eat popcorn, and watch the debate.

Back to your feedback/questions:

  • I do not have a profound hearing loss but I am sensitive to those that do. I am also a technology professional not an audiology professional. If a Rogers device is helpful in combination to the use case that I shared above, I would suggest this as a conversation point with an audiologist. I simply shared that I do not desire to have an additional device.
  • I did not personally test all device makers. I’m not Dr. Cliff. Like most of us, I had a limited time to trial devices with my audiologist and I chose those (Phonak and Starkey) that are leading with technology that reduce restaurant noise requiring (and this is critical) custom ear mold that are also rechargeable. Note that neither device maker would accept molds made for a different device maker as a portion of the mold is clipped by each device maker. Each mold cost >$100/ear and I’m not interested in spending on ear molds for device makers that don’t have a competing product.
  • Hear Advisor1 has an authoritative listing of device makers that work well with my use case and the other makers do not score any where near Phonak or Starkey. Also note that I made my choices of device makers in February, 2026 - is updated regularly with new findings.
  • I’m choosing not to post my as I’m uncomfortable with sharing too much SPI data (sensitive personal information) about myself in a public forum. Chock this up to my cybersecurity background. Suffice it to say that I have moderate hearing loss, impacting dialogue.

All of the questions that you offered are valid and helped me further clarify my inital thoughts. Thank you, @glucas

Ok, now we have real points where we disagree.

I prefer aids for lots of reasons but they are not discreet. The new aids are actually more discreet. Everyone can see your new hearing aids and they know that you need them. But, really, they don’t care. There may be a few who do think that you are using ear buds for music all the time but they probably think that is just odd.

And, around here your really helps us understand your hearing issues and you can really get more informed feedback. The reason you give for not sharing it is, I believe, ——-

Hi @Psych2 - Please see my thoughts above - I shared that I looked for aids that looked like earbuds. This is “hiding in plain sight.”
I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve walked through airport security with my Evolve (also ITE) and been challenged to put my earbuds into the scanner - when I shared that they were hearing aids, the agents backed off.

So, I continue to select ITE aids that look like earbuds but are not - why?
Because others notice aids in professional settings. You might not be aware of this but I have heard the conversations and it makes my heart sink. If you aren’t in a professional setting then don’t worry about this. See my thoughts above about how I am younger and I’m speaking to a different demographic.

Keep in mind how sharky (vs. Starkey - ha!) the world in the Fortune 50 or 20 is. If you don’t look the right part, you will be set aside and certainly not kept in mind for the next big project. Do you think that hair coloring for those over 50 is necessary to remain relevant? How about GLP-1? How about contacts instead of glasses? I’m just sharing what others know - If you disagree, I understand but I will ask if you are also leading a team - today - in a Fortune 50 or higher company. You have to look the part and if others see RIC hearing aids (and they will), it results in a belief of disability.

Sorry - you might not agree but there are those who are reading this who have also heard the conversations or are also looking to compete based on capability (regardless of the fact the most everyone over 50 has hearing loss) and they have families to feed.

On the - sorry, but as a cybersecurity professional, personally identifiable data is not something that I will share here. I will share with my audiologist who is trained on the results and manages according to HIPAA and HITEK. I won’t debate with you but will simply share that biometric data is not something that should be in the public domain.

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