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Costco Phonak Brio 4 (Product Information)

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Is the Roger Select or Pen usable with the Brio 4? I understand Marvel has RogerDirect support but the Brio 4 and KS9 do not.

Ultimately I’d like the KS9 but if I have to upgrade all the way to Marvel it will be cost prohibitive.
A ComPilot and receiver would be another option but I’m not sure if they work with the KS9 or Brio 4.

I’m currently using a SmartConnect neck loop and receiver with the Roger Pen and my KS7s.

Wow. That’s the first time I’ve heard this. Although it has the functionality, I’m assuming you’re going to need to find somebody outside of Costco or to setup a Roger device.

Edited

I just got off the line with my local Costco audiologist in Toronto. He said the Brio 4’s weren’t available in Canada yet. Has anybody from Canada seen them in and if not do you know when they’ll be available?

Edit: I went to the Costco audiologist yesterday and they do in fact have the Brio 4’s available in Canada now.

In reply to @MDB

Yes, that’s what the audiologist said yesterday. He wasn’t aware the Brio 4’s had Roger Support but even if they did he didn’t have the know how to connect them.

Now I’m stuck on whether to spring for the extra $1,200 a pair over the KS9’s in order to utilize Roger Support. I understand the licencing is a little tricky with Roger devices. I’ll have to make a decision on how to move forward.

Hi Brian - did you get a chance to actually see the Brio 4? I’m curious to know if it looks physically bigger than the KS9? I’m generally happy with my KS9, but the 1 Bluetooth pairing is a bit frustrating, and as you say, no Roger support. No remote control either, or remote mic for that matter. I still find I use my older Brio 3 most of the time at home as the flexibility to use the Dect phone, remote control and Compilot with multiple pairings just gives me all the flexibility I need. The Compilot also supports Roger X of course.

However, the direct Bluetooth pairing with my phone outside the home is a killer feature with the KS9. I really don’t know which I prefer at the moment.

So a Brio 4 with 2 pairings, remote control and Roger support sounds like a great next step. Still can’t use my phonak dect home phone though - so still not the perfect all round solution!

As far as I know there is no level of hearing loss for which a is suitable but a is not.

I was under that impression as well. During my recent appointment the audiologist said the KS9 had a higher db fitting range compared to the Brio 4’s. He showed me the graphs. It didn’t make sense from what I know of ’s and ’s.

That being said, I wasn’t impressed with this new audiologist. He didn’t inspire confidence in his ability. I have a follow-up appointment with a previous audiologist I used to go to who appears more knowledgeable.

@BrianH said:

I was under that impression as well. During my recent appointment the audiologist said the KS9 had a higher db fitting range compared to the Brio 4’s. He showed me the graphs. It didn’t make sense from what I know of BTE’s and RIC’s.

The Brio 4 aids only come in the 312 battery size at this time. If Costco follows the same pattern they did with the Brio 3 aids there will be a Brio 4 power aid in time. That would be the equivalent of the Naida M SP I would hope.

In reply to @BrianH

Did you get slim tubes or earmolds? With traditional earmold/earhook, the Brio 4 will do a max of 63 gain; with slimtube you’re down to 58 dB.

Resources for Hearing Care Professionals | Phonak

Phonak provides the tools and resources to support hearing care professionals in providing best practice.

That is between the Audéo Marvel / KS9 with a Power receiver and the same with the Ultrapower receiver.

Hearing Aids with Improved Speech Understanding - Audéo Lumity | Phonak

Audeo Lumity hearing aids provide support in the most challenging listening situations and reduce listening effort.

The Marvels / KS9 have better low frequency performance according to the spec sheets if that’s important. I think it also comes down to most people shopping for aids at Costco are folks who for whatever reason aren’t going to an audiologist; they’re looking for a deal vice looking for the best performance no matter the appearance (and let’s face it, we know appearance matters to some folks - look at the threads over the last six months that pop-up from time to time on being ashamed, trying to make aids less visible, etc.).

@phobos512 said:

Did you get slim tubes or earmolds?

I ran power slimtubes with earmolds on Phonak Naida aids for a while. They did really well with this set up. I suspect the new Marvel Naida aids can also be set up with power slimtubes and earmolds, pretty slick.

Here is all the info on the Brio 4 at costco and its not all that bad for the price

What you get pretty much all the AutoSense OS same as the Audéo Marvel range only draw back here is you dont get the RogerDirect + mic functions

Premium functions you get the same as the Audéo Marvel except for the Tinnitus Balance, RogerDirect™ and Roger and directional setting functions

The hearing aids do have a and use batterys only no rechargeable option
They do support Remote Support Fitting

I have attached all the files in this post as well as the ponak Marvel for comparison
Datasheet_ Phonak_Audéo_M_312T.pdf (77.6 KB) leaflet_btb_phonak_audeo_marvel_028-1905.pdf (973.4 KB)

Brio 4 B Technical Data.pdf (141.5 KB) Brio 4 Product Information.pdf (2.0 MB) Phonak Brio 4 Overview.pdf (27.2 KB)

For sure Brio 4. They may also sell Brio 3. The biggest difference between Brio 4 and KS9 is that the Brios are instead of . If you search for Brio 4 or KS9 and product info, you’ll get a ton of info.

In reply to @WestEndBob

Not sure if you saw the update, but Costco has a firmware upgrade for KS9 that gives the option of having 2 Bluetooth pairings. My guess is Brio 4 shipped with the firmware upgrade, and that’s why it has the 2x Bluetooth pairings + RogerDirect + myPhonak app already…

In reply to @AbramBaileyAuD

Yes, the game has changed, and the KS9 now has much better functionality. I got my KS9 firmware upgraded, got the remote control working, downloaded the myPhonak app, and just a couple of days ago got my Roger Pen working with the KS9 directly. I guess the Brio 4 choice is now about form factor rather than the features.

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