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Costco - Rexton Reach vs SoundGear Amp - I'm undecided

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A few months ago I put away my old Starkey Muses in favor of the Rexton Reaches. Fast forward and our local Costco has the new (Starkey) SoundGear Amp aids available.

I’m still a month or two away from my Rexton 6-month return end date. So I went into Costco to try the SoundGear, but due to a defective aid, I only got about 10-15 minutes trying them.

I was a little disappointed in that although the Starkeys seemed marginally better at some discrete sounds than my Rextons are, the Starkeys also amplified all the background sound in the store.

My Rextons muffle that ambient background sound, which is great. But also, in any sort of slightly noisy environment, the Rextons aren’t the best. Even sitting 2 feet away from someone in a restaurant, not fabulous.

I asked the Hearing Aid Center staff if they could adjust the program on the Starkeys to reduce ambient noise. Turns out there are 4 settings (though I’m unclear if the Costco version will have 4 settings), but on demo aids, there is only the “normal” setting. So that seemed to be a “no”. Also, I did not get a chance to ask about Edge mode and whether they could turn that on so I could experience it and see if it made a difference.

So I’m going to retest the SoundGears again and decide if - ambient noise inside Costco aside - I hear better enough with the SoundGears that I’m willing to trade the Rextons in for them. I will ask about trying Edge Mode as well. I feel that if Edge Mode is available, I have to experience it to make a decision. (Maybe I’m wrong?)

Anyone else here have experience/feedback on the SoundGear ? I know they’re still being rolled out…

6 people in this conversation7 min readJump to latest

Thanks, philbob57. I checked out the video, thanks for the link. Question: Can Edge Mode, and/or Enhanced Speech, be activated without using the phone app? Or do you have to have your phone on hand to apply them?

I have used the Soundgear for about 2 months. The thing I like the most about them is the way they muffle ambient noise in Costco but I rarely use that. I can’t say I love them but they are much better since my last adjustment and the addition of the restaurant mode. I did not like the meeting or the music app. I use the crowd setting quite often. I wish the edge mode worked better for me but I have yet to use it successfully. Hopefully with time and adjustments, I will like them. I loved the Rexton app because of being able to chose the direction of the mics but could not keep them connected to Bluetooth and they did not work well for me in noise. I think so much depends on the skill of the fitter. My two cents.

I really like Soundgear AMP more than Rexton Reach.

If you’re comparing the SoundGear AMP to the Rexton Reach, one of the biggest differences I’ve noticed is how each device functions in the fitting software. The SoundGear AMP provides application‑level flexibility during programming, so you can adjust additional parameters without touching the gain structure. That makes it easier to shape the sound profile without disrupting the underlying targets.

With the Rexton Reach, there isn’t that same application‑level flexibility. Any meaningful change must be made through the gain itself, and adjusting the gain can affect how the device aligns with real‑ear measurement targets. Because of that, the Reach requires more careful handling of gain adjustments to maintain the intended acoustic output.

I just got done trying out the Jabra 30, Rexton Reach and Soundgear Amp. I will admit that I went into it leaning toward the Jabra and Soundgear. I spent some time talking to people in Costco which meant eating alot of the food samples. The tester said I should come back the next day with my wife so I could walk around and talk with her which I did. The Rextons were very good but muted too much of the background noise where the Jabra and SG did not. Using the latter two I was able to hear my wife but I also felt more aware of my surroundings, which I like.

I ended up choosing the SG Amps due to the Edge technology. I could have gone either way, to be honest but from the weeks of YouTube videos and reading, I chose the Starkey tech. I had been using Eargo 6, then 7’s which were adequate in the beginning (about 4 years) but no longer cut it. I have to say that having worn in ear aids, I was not sure what to think about but once I put them on, I realized that they were so much more comfortable and didn’t care whether the were more visible.

Update: I went back to try the SoundGear with Edge Mode turned on. Thanks for the tip! I also played around with some customization features available through the SoundGear phone app.

I’m about a month away from my 6-month expiration on the Rextons. I’m going to call Costco and exchange for the SoundGear.

The SoundGear “personal” setting will require a bit of fine tuning for me. AND I realize that if I want to adjust my throughout the day, depending on if in a meeting, in a restaurant, etc., I will need to have my phone handy to make some of those adjustments.

And believe, me, there really are a lot of adjustments (customization) available. Deadman42 wasn’t kidding!

It’s the ability to adapt to the changing environment that literally gives the SoundGear the edge over the Rextons. I don’t buy new HAs every few years. My Starkey Muses lasted me 10+ years.

I therefore want HAs that I think have the best chance of working for me if/as my hearing starts to diminish over the next decade. (70s into 80s) The ability to tweak the SoundGears to meet at least some of those potentially changing needs is a huge plus.

I think I must be missing something with my soundgear and I would love some feedback because I very much would like to keep these aids. I am not having any success with fine tuning them. It seems to make no difference in the sound quality, ie turning down or up treble or bass. I also have no luck when i select edge mode. There are three options: best sound, enhanced speech, and reduced noise. The only one I find tolerable is the reduced noise. The others only make everything, including environmental noise, much louder. When it goes into edge mode on its own, I do notice a difference and like it. But I have only noticed it doing that when I am running water or in a Costco like environment. It never does it in restaurants where I would find it helpful. It also will not stay in edge mode if the app closes. The other problem I have with them is speech recognition; distinguishing between like sounding words like dale and gale. have not had this problem with other aids I have tried.

In reply to @Deadman42

Deadman42, When you say “during programming”, do you mean the Costco hearing aid specialists initial and subsequent tuning, or do you mean ones own ability to use the soundgear apps adjustments.

Im a week away from picking up my Soundgears and do not have much faith in the “specialists” ability from what ive seen so far. Fingers crossed because the store is 2 hours away from me and i cannot just pop back in every week or so ! Really hoping this pilot program is successful and they go to all the costcos, meaning all the employees get training, and i can visit my local store.

Im really hoping you mean the app gives a lot of tweaking provision, and that i can figure it out :slight_smile:

In reply to @Kiwiaudio

Hi, sorry I missed this earlier. When I say “programming,” I’m referring to programming. I don’t really trust the way Costco Hearing Aid Dispensers program the devices, because when I reviewed the fine‑tuning afterward, there was barely any gain applied. I need a certain amount of gain to treat my sensorineural hearing loss, but I also need careful adjustments to prevent my middle‑ear muscles from over‑firing (hyperacusis, tensor tympani syndrome, and stapedial myoclonus).

Costco Hearing Aid Dispensers aren’t qualified to handle those kinds of issues — that level of tuning really needs an audiologist outside of Costco. I’m not sure about the audiologists who work inside Costco, because I’ve never been seen by one.

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