Jabra Enhance Pro – initial experience

I have been wearing the Jabra Enhance Pro (Costco) for a couple of weeks and am posting some initial thoughts about my experience. I have been wearing Costco KS9s (aka Phonak Marvel 90s) for past three years and have been very pleased with them, and that is my reference point for comparison.

I have the Jabra rechargeable model and am very pleased with that part. My KS9s were 312 battery model. Charging is really easy, I think the charger is induction as there are no charging contacts to line up. Just drop them in right/left sides and it works without a hitch. I wear all day (i.e. 12-14+ hours) with periodic streaming and the battery indicator in app shows I’ve got about 40% remaining at end of day.

Jabra form factor seems to be a bit smaller than KS9. They are very comfortable for all-day wear, and I notice them less behind my ears than I did the KS9s. Fit is great, I use open domes and don’t notice that I am wearing them during the day.

Jabra has a unique shape that has somewhat of a point on the top and this interferes with temples when I’m wearing reading glasses. Not a big problem and I deal with it, but that is still a minor downside of the design.

I am using regular (MP) receivers initially, my provider at Costco (whom I really like) doesn’t think I’m a good candidate for M&RIE. The domes slip on and off as expected, and wax filters seem easier to change out than KS9s. But then again I never had a problem with replacing wax guards for KS9s.
Jabra HAs sound … really good! The sound is different than KS9s – overall, more of an open, fuller and expansive type of sound if that makes sense.

HAs were set up using Jabra (Resound) Audiogram+ algorithm and this definitely emphasizes high frequencies. Only adjustments we’ve made so far is to turn down the default volume a couple of clicks. With high frequency emphasis and initial volume levels, I felt once again like I did when first wearing HAs – i.e. water running in the sink, crinkling paper, etc. were jarring. Adjusting the default volume down just a bit has fixed that up well for me.

The Jabra app is nice, and I find it to be much more useful than Phonak app. Previously I used the Phonak app with KS9s maybe once a month, otherwise just used Autosense and left it at that. I have been using Jabra app frequently to change settings and apps and find it to be of much more value.
Wind noise when walking outdoors was a problem with KS9s and is a problem with Jabra. We added an “outdoor” program to Jabra app at my last appointment, and this is supposed to help but I haven’t been able to try it as of yet .

I regularly used the TV Streamer with KS9s, and so also got the Jabra TV Streamer. KS9/Phonak streamer is good but overall I like the Jabra/Resound streamer better – it works better with connection and range, and I can control function and volume well with the Jabra app.

While overall HA experience has been positive, other than TV streamer, the rest of streaming has been a mixed bag so far. I am an Android user (Galaxy S22 with Android 13) and BT integration with KS9 (Phonak) is great. I knew going in that Jabra has been designed for, and works best with iOS and iPhones. HAs link up successfully with Android, and the Jabra app connects and works well.

Phone calls connect well but are one-way – i.e listen through HAs and talk through mic on phone, that isn’t a problem. But, overall the sound for phone calls and all other streaming (music, audiobooks) from phone is odd – it seems to switch back and forth between a centered stereo image and noticeable discreet left and right. The sound seems to move from center to sides and back, randomly and frequently.

My Costco specialist didn’t have any ideas for streaming correction, and I’ve not yet been able to get thru to Jabra tech support to discuss – hold times have exceeded 30 mins couple of times I have tried.

Has anyone else had any experience with Jabra and Android streaming? I’m so far not getting used to it and this is annoying, so we’ll see if it becomes a dealbreaker during my trial period.

I’ll update further with anything new.

Best way is using the tv streamer 2, now about that those low frequencies, if your using the headphones “over” your HAs then the HAs are giving you the sound, but your tv might need additional adjustments to help you hear those drums! Do you use the App, you can make adjustments there as well.
Of course you can ask your fitter at Costco to make some adjustments at your next appointment.
Post your audiogram as this will help everyone with advice.

I used the Costco Jabras for two months and liked them - more about my experience in earlier posts in this thread. I have, however, returned the Jabras and gone back to using my KS9s (i.e. Phonak Marvel 90s).

I really liked the “open” sound with Jabras and they worked well as HAs. My principal issue was with BT streaming, but different than your issue now. I am an Android user, and the BT streaming with Android is significantly challenged, although I understand that Jabras work very well with iPhones. I use streaming for phone calls, audiobooks and music, YouTube, etc. and it wasn’t sufficient with Jabra/Android. Phonak has the Android streaming part solved very well so back to my KS9s for now, until a next generation (KS11s?) are released where I’ll consider updating once again.

More related to your question, I used the Jabra TV streamer and found it to work really well - works as well or better than Phonak TV streamer. My objective with TV streamer is to better hear/understand dialog and that’s not same frequencies you’re dealing with. But the Jabra TV streamer is definite plus.

I agree with other comments that the type of dome you’re using might have significant impact with lower frequencies. My audi really wants me to use a closed dome in left ear, but I’m not willing due to not liking the occlusion feel. When I was experimenting with domes early on, the closed dome made a huge difference with hearing low frequencies – you could try that if you’re using open domes now. But note that you can’t just switch out open to closed on the fly as they need a different programming setup from your audi.

I also use over the ear headphones to be able to include my HAs in the mix. Over ear headphones are my choice for listening to music etc. as I can substantially increase low frequencies with EQ. I use noise canceling headphones principally for travel, but am still looking for the “right” headphones that are comfortable enough (roomy enough?) with HAs to use more frequently. I’m curious what headphones you use – do you like them, are they comfortable with your HAs for longer term use?

Good luck … keep us posted on your experience!

Adding some points:

1. I have true hands-free calls with the Jabra Pro 10s and an Android phone, so it looks like there’s been an update since the OP. Samsung Galaxy S20 5G, Android 13.

2. These are my 4th HAs since 2010, and it’s much better for music than anything I’ve owned previously. It’s better, to my ears, than the Philips 9030 that I had as loaners for 2 weeks (but the Jabras have a music program, and the 9030s didn’t).

For the first time, I can hear every instrument in an orchestra. I used to listen to music a LOT, but stopped when I started with HAs, since I couldn’t hear the quiet sections without blasting the loud ones. Also, I heard some sort of hole in the octave around middle C and often had a hard time following melodies. I no longer hear the hole with the Jabras, and I can follow melodies more easily, but I still have trouble with melodies. Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, 7th symphony, Symphonie Fantastique, Don Giovanni just don’t sound the way I remember them.

Some of that may be a need to get acclimated to music again, some may be adjustment, some may just be tech limits. I had the audi (sic) lower the amplification around 1000Hz by 2 dB, and that might have done the trick.

3. I continue to be delighted with the TV streamer, but I have problem with muting and unmuting. I mute the TV during long commercial breaks. Now I have to mute the TV and streamer. Muting the streamer is sometimes difficult because the app shows, by default, a volume control for L & R aids. Sometimes the control for the L aid disappears, so I can’t completely mute the streamer. Admittedly, my phone is not listed as ‘compatible’ by ReSound, although the S20 is. Also, unmuting the streamer is slower than I’d like.

We can’t use our A/V receiver and the streamer at the same time. Our TV (LG 4K, sort of low end) will output to optical and internal speaker simultaneously, but not to optical and HDMI. I could get an optical (TOSLINK) splitter to feed the streamer and the receiver, but optical sound isn’t that much better than the TV’s internal speaker to my wife’s ears. I could also get something that takes HDMI in and splits it to HDMI and optical out, to feed the streamer and the receiver, but it isn’t worth the hassle. Digital sound just doesn’t do much for me.

I sure wish we could easily keep voice sync’ed with video and use the same TV streamer, but my wife has KS10s, not ReSounds or Jabras.

Yeah - 1st world problems…

4. The multi-mic allows me to stream from my laptop, so virtual meetings are indescribably better than using and external speaker and bumping up my HA volume. I haven’t been able to use it effectively in a restaurant or in a meeting, but we’ve gone to only one restaurant and no live meetings. I hoped to use the multi-mic on our landline for calls with our son. That doesn’t work, because plugging it into one phone turns off the speakers for all our phones.

5. Voices seem much more natural than with any of the other aids I’ve used. It took a while for me to get used to my W’s voice, but she sounds good now. Actually, my own voice, with molds, has some of the occlusion effect, but I’m happy to live with that, given the other benefits.