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Phonak introduces Marvel platform and Audéo M hearing aids

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In reply to @focusandearnit

@focusandearnit said:

In regards to me being invested in the Rogers. Yes, I am - but it’s a nonissue. I’ve got a receiver that works with my Quattro’s. I actually have to pay more to keep using them with Marvels - the RogerDirect activation fee later, and the MyLink cost for now.

Yes I guess in your case it is a non-issue. It is a shame Phonak won’t just go ahead and release the firmware update now. For myself, I don’t even know if I will use the RogerDirect function as I’m hearing very well with the Marvels in noisy environments so far. I don’t know if a future Phonak app release will be a significant improvement or not but my needs are met pretty well with the current app so not a big deal for me.

In reply to @SaratogaLefty

@SaratogaLefty said:

but as MDB pointed out I doubt we are going to hear anything substantial at that high frequency.

That’s been my experience playing around with the Android app Tone Generator. I hear great up to about 8 K but nothing beyond that and looking at my steep ski-slope loss, it’s very likely that my hearing just goes so SOUTH beyond 8 K that even though the Quattro’s may produce the greatly amplified sound, my ears just can’t hear it.

Another “can you hear it” complication is the Quattro + fit for some reason backs off gain more as one approaches the highest frequencies. Can anyone explain why the fit would want to do that?

Below is left ear output at 50, 65, 80 input for my Quattro 9 61. Audiogram is X’s at bottom. Prescribed output curves down approaching 8 K and the region beyond 8 K is not even shown!

image

I’ll give you my lay interpretation of what I’ve read, but you probably want to find some articles on and -5. My take is we can only handle so much amplification across the different frequencies. Amp up the highs more and you’ll need to take some away from somewhere else. So in a sense, there’s an amplification budget to spread around. They try to spend it where it will do the most good.

No. The marvels have this ability as well. However your (and my) hearing loss likely will not benefit. In short, it’s a lot of marketing hype for likely little gain.

As I stated earlier in this thread, the Marvels have the same dynamic range at the high end as the Quattros. I have recently attended a concert and I was able to hear the snare drums, cymbals, etc. better than ever before the hearing aids.

@mtkoetting said:

I received an email from Phonak in response to my having filed a ticket

What did they reply?
And where can we file a ticket?

I got the M90s Monday afternoon. These are amazing compared to the two previous I had since 2014 (earlier Phonak then a Costco Resound “Gala”). To finally be able to hear and converse in a noisy restaurant is such an incredible relief! And the direct bluetooth streaming – on Android no less – is icing on the cake. I had begun to think this day would never come…

I’m going to ask my audi to switch me to the 13T – the 312 batteries just don’t last long enough (Monday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon!). I know they are available for pre-order, anyone know when they will actually ship?

Also, is it ok to replace single batteries instead of doing both together? I know the right aid is doing the heavy lifting so to speak, seems a waste to throw out the left aid at the same time when it still has juice left. Reason I ask is my first audi back in the day told me to always replace both batteries at the same time and I just never questioned it before now.

@cvkemp said:

why the right hearing aid burns through batteries faster than the left?

My Quattro’s are different. The left hearing aid seems to drop faster and take longer to charge than the right. But part (or all of it?!) could just be caused if the left charging well in the charger case were less efficient at charging than the right. Right now it’s no big deal but makes me wonder if the left will eventually go south if it’s actually due to the properties of the battery in that . I have wondered if the left does more “talking” to the phone or has to work more for some reason in HA to HA communication. If any other Quattro users have noticed a difference or find no difference, I’d like to know to help decide what’s going on with mine.

I have the Oticon OPN1s and it is the right aid that eats up the battery faster, and it seems that everyone seems to say with the OPNs it is the right aids that really eat up the batteries. So I wonder if it is doing more house keeping than the left. And it is true for the standard batteries I am not sure if it happens with the rechargeables.

In reply to @jim_lewis

My left dies quicker by about 2-3 hours. I use 13 batteries, however. Given my Quattro’s last 6-7 solid days depending on streaming, I’m happy with their battery life. When the left starts going, I change them both - but occasionally wait it out to see difference in life between the two. Why my left dies quicker I don’t know. It gives slightly more power than the right. Both hearing aids connect to my phone via Bluetooth, so I don’t think it’s bluetooth for Quattro’s.

The Marvels right aid dying quicker is very likely the one that is actually doing the Bluetooth connection. It can be right or left, whatever the audiologist sets it in Phonak Target. I am sorry to hear of such poor battery life with 312’s. I hope the size 13 batteries can last 2-3x more than that, although I am skeptical. When mine come in, I will definitely be evaluating this.

My 2 cents.
I am a new user. I have been on different trials for 3 months.
I started out on Oticon OPN 1 first. I was reluctant to spend that much on older technology. They were great in many ways, but for me, I was not happy with the streaming quality. I then trialed the Resound Quattro. Newer technology, a lot going for it, but still way short of air pods or ear buds for streaming. Then I tried the Marvels. On the second day, I committed to buy them. If I use double domes ( probably won’t, but did try it ), they are as good as my air pods (I don’t hear the highs very well with AirPods ). The streaming sound is fantastic. Also they seem to work very well in a noisy restaurant. Ymmv, but I am way happy with the M90Rs. I have an iPhone XS Max. So waiting for that fix. Can live with the forget/pair issue, but if that is improved, these will leave little to wish for.

Edited
@etherington said:

If I use double domes ( probably won’t, but did try it ), they are as good as my air pods

Did you try double domes on the Quattro’s? I find because of noise reduction and improved bass, I much prefer listening to streaming via over-the-ear noise-cancelling headphones. If one listens to music, etc., in a quiet environment, according to one review that I read the best experience is on-the-ear non-noise-cancelling headphones but since the places where I like to listen are usually quite noisy, e.g., my kitchen, the gym, on walks around the neighborhood with moderate to heavy vehicular and air traffic about, I think I get a better experience of listening almost ~free of interfering noise. For example, our dishwasher is running right now and I can’t hear it at all as the headphones blot it out. Whatever little bit of sound reproduction might be lost due to noise cancellation is more than made up for by the incredible reduction of noise compared to what my ’s are capable of by themselves even when wearing fairly occlusive power domes. And running noise cancellation via the HA’s would really detract from sound reproduction. The headphones know much better what is “noise,” i.e., sound coming from outside the headphones, vs. “signal,” i.e., sound produced inside the headphones that you want to listen to. HA’s do have “streaming focus” only settings but they probably don’t block sound leaking by your domes/molds as well as headphones that combine both active and passive noise cancellation to block that totally outside sound that you don’t even want to leak to your ear drums.

I’d say the big advantage of streaming to HA’s is that you don’t have to be wearing headphones - the appearance that your ears are covered with headphones can have its advantages and disadvantages. The downside might be that folks say that person is “tuned out.” The plus side of the same is its more obvious you might not hear as well because folks can see something over your ears whereas streaming to HA’s for the advantages of its discreteness might have the disadvantage that folks don’t realize you can’t hear what they say to you (“look out for that car!”).

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