Phonak Marvel Bluetooth

@anon66854306 said:

But when I asked him if he could tell me if it would be more than $500–he said I should expect it to be way more than that.

Buy a Roger Pen off eBay, once you get the firmware update for it to work. Pen’s on eBay go for around $100.

Roger mic’s are already in the market for a long time, it is just the connection to your Marvel’s you’ll be getting thanks to the firmware upgrade.

@anon66854306 said:

I am trialing the M90-312 right now, and I have to open the battery doors to turn the hearing aids on and off. A long press on the button just gives me a program change tone. I don’t know if a long press for on/off has to be programmed by the provider or not, but it’s no big deal to me to open and close the battery doors. I returned the Marvel rechargables, They were too wide in shape, and that caused an uncomfortable fit behind the ears, especially when wearing glasses.

I am interested in the M90-312 also. Please be sure to post after the end of your trial.

Yes Roger mics are on the market, and software upgrades are supposed to make them compatible with Marvel hearing aids sometime in the Fall. But, I had the pleasure of meeting a Phonak rep recently who couldn’t tell me much other than that Phonak might be releasing different Roger devices in the near future. Not sure if that’s fact, but its what the rep said. I assume it’s another reason why future pricing is not yet available.

Hi @gsi, I can answer your question, but the truth is that my experiences may not necessarily match what happens during your trials of the different brands and technology levels of hearing aids. As many people on this forum have pointed out previously, it is best to try the different brands yourself, and to make your own comparisons. Having said that (and because you asked), I will share my experiences. OPN gave me a much different hearing experience than Marvel. For me (and again, this is MY experience, stated as such so that others on this forum who don’t agree with me won’t get testy about my answer)–OPN really did give me a more “open” hearing experience. I heard everything around me–good or bad–and it was more like natural hearing, but a bit more “tinny” because I need a lot of boost in the high frequences. However, with this wide open hearing landscape, sometimes sounds I was no longer used to hearing–like central air conditioning or traffic outside my window–was also amplified. I didn’t find this bothersome, because over time during the OPN trial, I got used to it, and I also just turned the volume down if the environmental noises distracted me and there was no speech happening at the time. However, when there was speech, I found that OPN really clarified it for me. With Marvel, I find that everything sounds kind of bland and taken down a notch. I can sense when “AutoSense 3.0” is making adjustments, and I find it annoying. Those environmental sounds are not as noticeable with Marvel, but speech clarity isn’t as good. Now before someone on the forum pipes in and tells me that I need adjustments to Marvel or that I need another fitter or audiologist, I will tell you that I’ve been through many adjustments on both devices with a very qualified AuD, and the anatomy of my ear canal may be part of my problem. There are pros and cons to both brands and devices–and I haven’t decided which one I am going to stay with. I’m leaning toward OPN with custom molds, because speech clarity is the reason I got hearing aids. I hope this info helps you, but try them both yourself and make your own comparisons. Good luck.

Thank you for your wonderful explanation.
Currently I have requested a Resound Quattro and a Marvel to test.

Hi Richnfamus1,

What is your loss and have you had REM testing?

Cheers. Just asking because I have a similar loss and am curious about the profile of those who are getting good results with the OPN.

@glucas–It’s all about speech clarity for me, and that will drive me to the best brand and fit. I hope you find what’s best for you too.

Absolutely. And thanks for the detailed observations. They are invaluable.

Hi all,
my wife is currently testing Phonak M90 and has some difficulties pairing them to her office-phone. The equipment for this is: Plantronics MDA200 + Bluetooth-Adapter BT300. Unfortunately pairing is not successful, does anybody have experience using this setup?
Any help is welcome, thanks a lot.
In parallel I asked the supplier to check this issue with Phonak, no reply so far.

Hello everybody. I just wanted to share my 2 weeks experience with my new M70312 Phonak Audeo Marvels. Compared with my good old Phonak Versata HAs I’ve been wearing the last 10 years they are such a great step ahead in speech intelligibility, particularly in high noise environments. As long as I already had been using an old iCom Bluetooth interface with my Versatas for phone calls and music listening, streaming directly into my HAs isn’t such a novelty for me but the inconspicuous size and weight of the Marvels is outstanding, not to mention that I don’t need to wear another device around the neck that I would need to recharge from time to time, etc.
Bluetooth pairing is a breeze, especially if you have the Phonak Remote app in your phone. 3 devices will appear: L-Phonak HA and R-Phonak HA for remote control purposes, and one Phonak HA multimedia device (it can be L or R depending of the first recognised by the phone when you start the pairing procedure) which streams stereo audio (calls and music) from the phone to the Marvels.
Pairing with more than one device can be really tricky. I made it with my Samsung smart TV but I always had to open the battery lid to power off/on the Marvels in order to forget one device and pair with the other, quite boring. And yes, as for today, only the rechargeable models can be powered off/on without opening the battery lid. My audi set a mute manual program with an upper button long press, the same that any other program change. It’s not a real power off but at least I can mute the HA before taking them off when I go to bed, avoiding those nasty feedback noises.
I decided to buy also the TV connector device and I can’t tell you how happy I am to have made that decision. The TV connector is a really discreet small box powered through USB cable or AC adapter, with optical/3’5 analogue audio inputs. It’s really easy to connect to a smart TV, a DVD or CD player or a Laptop and it can be permanent paired with the Marvels at the same time with the normal phone Bluetooth pairing. It uses an “AirStream” protocol, different in frequency from Bluetooth, so both can be working together. Also, the reach is quite superior than Bluetooth, I can follow the TV program or Spotify music while I’m cooking in the kitchen which is a couple of rooms apart from the living where the Samsung TV is. And if a phone call comes in, it automatically switches the TV connector program, enters in Bluetooth mode and resumes after hanging up. Quite smart!

@Cologne said:

Hi all,
my wife is currently testing Phonak M90 and has some difficulties pairing them to her office-phone. The equipment for this is: Plantronics MDA200 + Bluetooth-Adapter BT300. Unfortunately pairing is not successful, does anybody have experience using this setup?

I use that setup on the previous model Phonak. What happens when you put both in pairing mode? Does the bt300 dongle ever go solid blue?

Also, make sure Bluetooth is turned off on any other device in range, cell phone, tablet, laptop, etc.

I probably have no business chiming in here but I will do it anyway.

My relatively inexpensive Sound World Companion hearing aids connect directly and almost immediately to whatever bluetooth device I turn on so the technology is certainly available.

In the morning I turn on my Android cell phone and hear, “Connected” in my right ear. When I turn on my laptop I hear “Connected” in my left ear but I really don’t use the laptop much. In the afternoon when I play cards with my wife I turn on my Alead wireless mike to set in front of her on the card table and hear, “Connected” in my left ear.

When these big name hearing aids can match the bluetooth performance of my rechargeable Companion aids I will give them a try at my local COSTCO.