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Costco Kirkland Signature 9.0 (Product Information)

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In reply to @NateS

Just a reminder - the Phonak TV Connector is $250.00. The Costco TV Connector for KS9s is $100. Same exact TV connector. Identical.

In reply to @legobytes1

Just got my KS9s. Also have KS8. The 9s pair fine to my iPhone 6s. In order to add to my iPad, I had to disconnect Bluetooth from the iPhone. Once paired to the iPad, I couldn’t re-pair to the iPhone using the same process. I had to go through the forgetting/removing and adding the devices again to the iPhone. I also had to delete the phone app and add it again get it to connect (though all the app does is let you split volume, and change programs). KS8 offered much more in the app and stayed paired to multiple devices. That said, the tonal quality and clarity of the initial settings of the 9s are really superior and the streaming works great once set. One other small thing I noticed was the 8s don’t override my car’s Bluetooth, though my phone will let me select which device I want to stream to when in use. The 9s override my car’s Bluetooth once it is active on the phone. Imagine I need to go into settings on the phone to see how easy to set to the car Bluetooth which I generally prefer.

I just came back from my “pickup” appointment for my KS9s and I am so pleased! The first thing my Costco rep did, without any request or prompting from me was to run an updated (best practices) Real Ear Measurement test on me, followed by all the other set-up steps. She had already pre-set the KS9s based on my latest hearing test from a couple weeks ago described above, and now she made several re-adjustments based on the results of my new test, followed by pairing the new aids with my Moto X4 phone and running through the rest of setup including but not limited to fitting, instructions, receiving several test phone calls from my beloved who of course accompanied me to the appointment, ordering the TV streamer, etc. and so far I am hearing her beautiful soft high-frequency voice quite well as we walked through the store! I’ve got a followup appointment set for any needed adjustments.

I’m glad I was reminded by other members above about the one-pairing limit on Bluetooth which was the reason I decided to go ahead and order TV streamer without waiting further.

In reply to @hershel

hershel, I am in the trial period for the KS8 yet, and have the option to go to the KS9, as you have done. I understand the deficiencies in connecting the KS9 to multiple IOS devices, and I don’t like that, but I can live with it as it is secondary to overall sound quality. When you say that the KS9 is superior in sound, are you talking about superior in streaming? If so, this is a don’t care for me and I’ll stick with the KS8. However, if you are noticing a definite improvement for general hearing, then I am very interested in knowing a bit more detail about how you find them to be better than the KS8. I am coming from the KS6, and the KS8 is great in comparison, especially for speech in noise, but for all environments really. With the KS6 all I could hear in noisy situations, basically, was the noise. With the KS8 I get all of the noise but I also can understand the speech a lot better. And with the KS8 I almost never have to manually select a program, the aids just do it all. Can you say more about how you find the sound to be better with the KS9?

Torbill, I’ve just the 9s a few days, but have had the 8s since January 2018. From the initial setup, the speech recognition is quite a bit better in the 9s. I went back for so many adjustments on the 8s, I actually decided to investigate self programming and successfully did more fine tuning on the 8s. With my particular loss, they recently refit me to a medium receiver on the 8s and a fully . The trade off seems to be more output power but you loose some clarity/separation in the higher frequencies.

It would be great to add your to your profile. My hearing has gotten quite a bit worse especially on my left side in the past year. Very difficult in noisy situations with any aid I’ve demo’d or owned, but of all of them, the Phonaks seem to be able to filter background noise down and detect and separate speech better. The trade off in at least the auto program is for me that music is not great at all, and the settings I think are used to control feedback, make tones(think microwave, ovens, car alerts, etc) all sound kind of tinny and warble (there’s a marvel thread on this issue). I just hooked into the target software to see what I might be able to change. I’m sure programs can be added/adjusted for speech in loud noise. I had a speech direct / in loud noise added at the initial fitting. It’s one of the auto options that can also be further tweaked. Need to test it out in a noisy places and will have a bunch of opportunities next week.

As for the Bluetooth issues, I’m hopeful they will update the firmware on these. The process to switch from one device to another is terrible in my testing. My phone or iPad have to be completely reset up to switch back and forth and recognize.

In reply to @Torbill

If you want to update your and post your concerns about the KS8 in a new thread, I can put your loss in the Connexx software that I have for those aids. It might reveal something that could be pursued for improvement.

In reply to @tribalrose

From what I see, you can. Not sure to what degree yet or how easy to alter things. This software is new to me and pretty complex. I added some additional programs. Not going to mess with what the fitter did or change the defaults. At least until I learn more about variables and terminologies.

In reply to @hershel

@hershel said:

The 9s pair fine to my iPhone 6s. In order to add to my iPad, I had to disconnect Bluetooth from the iPhone. Once paired to the iPad, I couldn’t re-pair to the iPhone using the same process. I had to go through the forgetting/removing and adding the devices again to the iPhone. I also had to delete the phone app and add it again get it to connect (though all the app does is let you split volume, and change programs).

Just ruminating out loud, might there be a possible workaround? Might it be possible that there exists a small mechanical Bluetooth “switcher” to which the KS9s might be paired so that the pairing remains fixed to one source while the switcher controls the choice of input devices?

In reply to @NateS

The TV streamer can be used to accomplish this although it’s not using Bluetooth. You could plug TV streamer into TV, computer, or? and not have to deal with repairing.

In reply to @Torbill

I have both 8 and 9. I am still testing but am probably going to keep the 9. This is my first time using hearing aids so nothing else to compare to. Both work well. I think it will come down to what ever seems best for you.

Things I like better about the 9s. Seems to pick up sounds to the side better. Some may not like that but when I am riding a horse I want to know what is going on around me. Wind noise is better. Seems more comfortable. Sounds better to me. Bluetooth to android phone. Can self program? The auto program works better. Price.

Things I like better about the 8s. Better app on android. The streaming add on thing is a remote mic. More programs and some other tech stuff? Can self program.

I have an inverted hearing curve so that may be why I can’t hear the “tinny” highs other mention. Again I think it will come down to each persons perception of what is best for them.

Edited

Well, I just ran into my first problem with the Bluetooth one-source limit on the KS9s.
Because we are up in years with some physical limitations, I have pretty much “Alexafied” our home to avoid jumping up and down turning lights and the TV controls on/off and do it almost all verbally. No problems inside, but in my car, an older model lacking Bluetooth and no audio input, I rely on this device to keep me in touch hands-free with home, getting the news on-call through Tune-in, music, etc.:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GJKYY78/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It communicates flawlessly (until today) with the cellphone in my pocket via Bluetooth and back to me through my car radio speakers via .
I’ve used it for many months and rely on it, but today, starting up my car while wearing my new KS9s, Alexa announced that: “There seems to be a Bluetooth conflict.”
So I’m faced with a problem to be resolved, and giving up my hands-free communication by “dropping in” to home is not an option. To elaborate, “dropping in” cannot be replaced by a phone call because it is much more clear and literally “finds” my beloved regardless of what room in the house she may be in at the time.
Any suggestions or ideas will be appreciated.

Edited

I don’t think that would solve the problem. An upgraded car radio would also be relying on Bluetooth from my cell phone, and the KS9s say that as long as you use your cell phone’s Bluetooth to connect to the KS9s, you can’t pair to any other Bluetooth device. That’s the issue.

I’m wondering whether plugging an inexpensive Bluetooth transmitter into the audio out port of my Android phone, and pairing that to the Bluetooth receiver built into Roav Viva app would work. I will try to check the Roav Viva software to see if that might be feasible.

Maybe something like this:
https://smile.amazon.com/TROND-Bluetooth-Transmitter-Headphones-Simultaneously/dp/B01B4W40VC/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=bluetooth+transmitter+for+cell+phone&qid=1570078325&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExUVlWRjJVSlBQWjEmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTEwNDUyMzZMWDRSQkhYWTA5NEkmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDM5MDY2NjNITUhHOVlQUVY1Wkcmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

In reply to @paulsaz

Yes, because the automatic program had problems when music was in the background of a TV show, etc. and would increase the volume to an unreasonable level I suggested manual might be better for my severe loss than the constantly changing auto. She thinks I’m to old for the auto because my last aids were the Rextons and changed manually, however she did change out the auto for two, one called noise, the other called quiet, they both work quite well. The programs were actually provided by a Phonak engineer written based on my loss. The sound is very clean now, I like the noise program for driving, and where there is a lot of background noise.

RDB

I have just purchased the K9’s from Costco and have been wearing them for about a week. I had previously used the K6 with tulip domes. The K6’s were extremely comfortable to wear. The K9 domes that I have look like a double umbrella. Wearing these domes with the aid is a totally different experience from the K6. From a sound perspective they have improved my hearing and streaming music is excellent, like listening to a good stereo instead of a transistor radio. So, I am very pleased on that account. However, I find that I am constantly trying to adjust them within my ears trying to relieve the occluded feeling by letting air into the ear. I get them feeling fine for a bit and then after some time they reseal. I also get an echo which varies from minimal to a lot depending upon the seal. I have worn ’s for 25 years, so am familiar with them but I have never experienced this type of problem before. So I have some basic questions. What is the optimum position of the speaker in relationship to the ear drum? My understanding is as close as possible to the drum. Should the domes seal the ear similiar to the ear HardShell HA’s? If so, those aids had a hole to equalize air pressure, the K9 domes don’t. Do the domes come in different sizes? Would a smaller version be better. Is this something one has to get used to over time and I should just live with it?

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