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Phonak Marvel 90R - Speech in 360

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If you are an experienced useer of the Marvel program named “Speech in 360” I’d be interested to know what you think of that program. I’m uncertain as to exactly what is meant to be accomplished by it.

In almost any outdoor or other very soundfull environment I find that the program seems to meaningfully mute ambient sounds while at the same time finding it to brighten and separate human voices from the ambient sounds while maintaining full voice volume. I like it a whole lot and often substitute it for Autosense 3.

Your experience?

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I use the KS8 and not the KS9 which is like the marvel. However the KS8 360 program is intended for in a vehicle when you wan to hear people beside you and behind you, when you are driving.

I have Oticon OPN1 hearing aids and my aids are always in 360 mode, except when I choose to use the lecture program when is a forward focused program. I love the full 360 degrees of sound, it even works well for me in a noisy environment. I have no issues with road noise or wind noise. My only issue right now is that I wish I have better speech understanding, but I am wondering due to my hearing loss if that is even possible.

Never knew the 360 program to be aimed at car journey. Probably because the AutoSenseOS already performs great for me there.

I do use it however in social situations where you don’t know from which angle you’ll be spoken to. Receptions and schoolyard, mostly. With the Speech-in-Noise program the ultrazoom allows me to understand a person 8m away in a schoolyard. However, I miss every hello and quip aimed at me, if it isn’t happening in front of me. The 360 program is a lot noisier, but gives me a fair range of about 3m—about the same as the other people there— and picks up most speech aimed at me.

Demonstrating the Phonak remote app to my mother I found out that you could selection microphone directions for the 360 program there, too. I remember that the aids could be programmed to favor a direction by the press of a button, but forgot all about that in the one and a half years that I have them.

So it basically a troubleshooter program that allows for manual adjustment. Perfect to blot out a annoyingly disturbing voice. :slight_smile:

I believe the manual programs have to be added to your selection by your fitter, using the Target fitting software.

Just spoke with Phonak support. The programs have to be added by the dealer. I will just use them for awhile and I’m probably OK with Autosense.
As for the bluetooth connection to my TV: They pair and connect but deliver no sound. Support didn’t know why either. Another option I can probably just skip since I’m told that if I did my volume would control sound for other listeners too.
Main thing is I’m done saying “what” <:)

If you connect your aids directly to the TV, so without a TV link, the TV will see it as a Bluetooth speaker and you’ll have to select it as a sound output to get sound. Your family won’t be hearing anything if you fail to get your TV to output to multiple outputs. Hopefully, the newer generation TV are easier, but my Samsung of 2 years old is struggling with it.
If you connect your aids to a TV Link and the TV Link with an optical cable to the TV, you’ll have independent volume level that is simultaneous with the TV output. This works great for me!

Thanks bit I did connect my aids directly to the TV (2 yr old Samsung Smart TV). Shows up in devices and will connect and pair but I either get a very garbled sound or no sound.
Decided to forget it since the aids listening to ambient is fine.

My Samsung did the same with TVLink, actually. I had to reset the sound settings, before I got proper audio.(Mine seems to reset to multiple output and negotionable audio codec.)

In reply to @Markismus

@Markismus said:

ultrazoom …a person 8m away … 360 program … about 3m—

Huh! A cardioid4 directional pattern should be good for 4dB or about 2.5X greater distance. You observe 8/3 or 2.67X, confirming naked theory. (The may be pushed a little into super-cardioid, accepting minor back/side-lobes to gain a bit more reach in front.)

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