Costco Kirkland Signature 9.0 (Product Information)

OK, thanks for the explanation. My hearing is pretty bad - approaching severe- I think and they did put power heads on my HAs, whatever that is. She said it was due to my loss.

But I can relate to what you are saying because calls on the iphone are MUCH better coming thru the aids. Cheers, Jim

I kind of think the same way. The bit of an issue I have is that I now turn the TV down lower than my wife wants to hear it at. And when she is in the kitchen in the next room banging and clanging things, it does interfere with the sound from the TV. I just turn it up to her level and that usually solves it. I also use the directional focus with my phone to cut some of the background stuff.

Sierra: Speaking of directional focus, how do the KS9s compare with the KS8s? The “Mic Pattern Adjustment” feature works very well with my KS8s. I plan to replace them with the KS9s for other reasons. By the way, when did you switch to the KS9s and how much are they in Cdn $?

I had an opportunity to switch to the KS9’s but did not do it. It has frankly been a 6 month hassle getting the KS8’s to work reasonably well, and I did not want to start over again. I have issues with my left ear, but I have tried a ReSound at Costco, as well as another demo pair of KS8’s, so I think I have to accept it is my ear, not the hearing aids.

I only know what I read about the KS9’s. I do have some concerns about their current app. It does not seem as functional, and it does not seem certain it will be upgraded to the Marvel 2 level. I am also concerned about the Bluetooth capability. The KS8 uses BLE to communicate directly with each HA. The KS9 uses Bluetooth to communicate with one hearing aid, and then Bluetooth again to communicate with the other. The KS8 uses a 4 MHz carrier for ear to ear communication, while the KS9 uses 2.4 GHz for ear to ear. It is not as reliable as it does not travel well through the head, and depends on reflections.

The KS9 also only has 3 additional manual programs compared to the 8 extra (counting the ones in the app) on the KS8. But perhaps the default Auto program is better on the KS9. Don’t know.

My understanding is the that the KS9’s are currently $1999.99 in Canada. That would be $150 less than what I paid for my KS8’s…

Exchange rate.,…

In the earlier days of my hearing loss, my issue was primarily a loss of volume, so hearing aids provided ample improvement for TV watching.

As my hearing loss has progressed,the fidelity of sound has been impacted - so just pushing the volume still higher is of little benefit.

With this loss of sound fidelity, a TV streamer now provides improved TV hearing as compared to my aids alone.

Wow, AdamsHouseCat! You just summed up the world of the hearing impaired so articulately!

I went from the 8s to the 9s. The 9s are way ahead of the 8s.

That’s correct - they are fine for the person wearing the HAs but absolutely not for the person on the other end. It breaks up and/or sounds like you’re in a drum. I’ve discontinued that feature just for that reason.

My wife has KS9 aids. We have talked on the phone a number of times with good results.
She has reported other phone calls were fine too. She makes calls in her car, in the house and out side in the yard.
No complaints.

Phone calls are fine with my KS8’s and a iPhone. In fact that is the best way to do phone calls with hearing aids.

The price difference reflects the exchange rate, quite precisely. Our $ is now worth about US$0.75. What I don’t understand is why are they cheaper in Mexico and Australia.

Sierra - I know this is going to sound rude, and I apologize in advance. I really only mean it as an advisory statement. When I ask about KS9s, I don’t want to hear about KS8s. They’re no longer available, and even if they were, I want something that will work with an Android phone without an intermediate device. I wish you’d stop popping, up dragging in KS8 info when people are asking about/discussing the KS9s, which if I remember correctly you’ve never even tried.

KS9 owner here. They are great for phone calls, mostly. So far they have sounded great for me and the person on the other end of the call. Sometimes background noise can block out what the person on the phone is saying, but so far fore that’s just been a minor issue.

I use a Moto X4 as my daily driver phone and the aids connect well with that phone. However, I tried to connect them with my Samsung Galaxy S7 work phone and only the right ear would connect. I tried the easy line app and it could not see my left aid. So, results can vary depending on the phone.