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Trialing Starkey

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Edited

Hello all

I just got into a very “funny” story called “trialing starkey”!

I just called Starkey Romania to ask a few questions about their latest model and when I’ve asked how many days I can do a trial the answer was: you can not trial at home, please come to our office, test it here a few minutes :)))))))))))))))))))
I hanged up

PS: WELL DONE STARKEY!

Is this a common practice of starkey or its just my country? :slight_smile:

6 people in this conversation6 min readJump to latest

I “think” it could be common in 3rd world countries!
Understandably, prices and process HA provider has to go through to recover his HA after trial, if the patient failed to restitute! them.

@Baltazard said:

3rd world countries

well, Romania isn’t a 3rd world country but unfortunately some Romanian companies suck.

I tested Phonak, Starkey, ReSound, WIDEX , they all were very cool.
I tested Signia for a month…so I think it has to do with specific companies.

for example, Oticon Romania requires full payment before trialing, wtf?!

It could be an “availability” issue. One of my audis told me the new Starkeys are in short supply everywhere. So your local clinic may only have a SINGLE demo to give potential buyers an idea about.

Problem with that is that a 10-min trial in a clinic in NO WAY mimics day-to-day life outside, dealing with phone calls, streaming, noisy restaurants, shopping malls, family gatherings, work, conference calls. In short: LIFE.

Starkey trial in Romania is probably not going to work out, but if it’s any comfort, that same audi I keep in touch with said most of his patients are not even happy with the Starkeys. Not sure what all the issues are, but there are plenty of threads here that go into them. It seems like a product based on a good idea, RUSHED to market without adequate supply or even accurate marketing. You’ve tried out so many brands - what’s YOUR favorite so far, and WHY?

@1Bluejay said:

what’s YOUR favorite so far, and WHY?

its very difficult to answer to this question but…I liked Phonak for its bluetooth connectivity BUT battery life sucks. It is also waterproof (Life L90) and has interesting active vent.

Signia on the other hand has a great battery life and also sounds cool BUT I could not fit it the way I like. Its a lot to talk about this one.

In reply to @Liviu

@Liviu said:

its very difficult to answer to this question but…I liked Phonak for its bluetooth connectivity BUT battery life sucks. It is also waterproof (Life L90) and has interesting active vent.

Yes, there’s always a tradeoff! I DO appreciate the connectivity and stability of Phonak Lumity Life aids. It’s a breeze to go from laptop to phone to TV streaming, using just my aids or Roger ON iN. However … I “sank” my first pair of Lumity Life aids taking a short swim in the pool - head barely under the surface of water. I had to get a replacement pair (they were under trial), and I never tried them in water again.

More recently - and perhaps ominously? - my Lumity Life aids are only giving me 14.5 hrs per day of streaming. That means they go DEAD right in the middle of evening TV. I had been getting 17.5 hrs a day until a couple weeks ago, so I’m trying various experiments to see if it makes a difference. It’s not like I stream GOBS. I use an Android cell phone on OS 14, so I think this is as good as it gets. My aids are almost 2 yrs old, and it looks like the myth of a 3-yr rechargeable is going to flat as a pancake for me.

i do have a serious problem and I don’t know how to solve it.
I’ve been wearing WIDEX for the last 20 years.
They are an old model and they were always perfect for me.
I really forget them in my ears and I don’t feel them.
recently I started to feel that they need to be changed.
I need a better clarity. I need new technology.

So imagine me after 20 years of cic (with Pina effect) trialing .
For the last month ive been trailing SIGNIA.
Good battery life, Bluetooth ok (android here) but the sound is too sharp.
I bought noahlink and started to tweak my self.
I cut the loud and sudden sounds but I lost speech clarity.
Never found a good balance.
Still trying, they will give me some other receiver and will give one last try :slight_smile:

Maybe ReSound Customs will be a good surprise?
don’t know

PS waiting for oticon real to give it a try.

Don’t forget to change/try the different formulas, you’ll still need to make some adjustments to try and get them sounding how you like, but yeah once your used to something for so long it is hard to make the change over ; )

Yes sorry I remember you had now, yeah so it’s unfortunate you couldn’t get them where you wanted them, but your trialing Oticon right, they are going to get you a set?

bro, don’t know what is happening.
OTICON said they sent the instruments.
Romsound told me they will call.me once they will get them.
I suspect they gave them first to someone else :slight_smile:
Still waiting

Wow that would be a bummer if true, hopefully it’s not and you’ll get that all important call!

Yep, just got an email stating that the instruments arrived BUT the audiologist will be available on 26, next week :slight_smile:

Anyways, I’m sick of this shitty service/people.
THEY should have reach Oticon instead of me, even if they have in stock older models.
This is so embarrassing, me as a customer writing a letter to mother group saying that Oticon Romania doesn’t give a damn about their newest flagship and about the customers .

Agree it’s not a good look at all, well I guess they don’t sell many in that part of the world, I’m also guessing Phonak is the biggest advertiser in Romania!

Edited

No, they don’t sell many.
You won’t find too many people willing to spend 4k, 5k € or even more on .
The service is also not very promising.

Again, the only one that really impressed me by doing everything so I can be happy is audiolux.ro - SIGNIA.
They have ordered for me new molds for the M receiver.
Last try …

and by the way, I do still have the even I am not using it .
(SIGNIA)

that is a cool service, by Audiolux.ro

In reply to @Liviu

You should also look at other options given the limited supply chain in your country. Subject to local health deptt rules and custom duties,you may consider ordering Starkey ( I am on trial for Starkey Genesis 24 in Canada) online either from neighbouring counties such France, Germany or U.K. I have read several posts where brand name hearing aids were imported for trial followed by a purchase from U.K. Reasons for such imports appear to be better prices than elsewhere and remote fitting and support. I was surprised that U.K is allowed to export these brand name . By comparison Jabra would not ship me its HAs in Canada unless I cross the border (30 minutes) and pick it up at a post office. I did not follow this approach because our custom and health laws are not clear cut. Some people have reported success from eBay suppliers although this may require due diligence.

If someone is living far away from an Audi who carries your favourite brand, the remote fitting and support is an ideal option. Besides this way of doing business makes you Covid proof for future. If your HAs need repairing, using fedex with insurance can be a very safe option. In any event, your supplier in Romania is not going to do any better for the repairs.

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