My experience wth Starkey Edge AI and comparison with my Phonak Sphere trial

I am currently trialing both Starkey Edge AI 24 and Phonak Sphere I90. I have already written my review on Phonak Sphere. (My experience with Phonak infinio sphere I90) In this review, I would like to present my thoughts on Starkey Edge AI trial.

My Audi fitted me with Starkey Edge AI using REM. I am using slightly close domes like the one I used on Phonak. She also let me have Phonak Sphere to make a side-by-side comparison.

For the sound quality and clarity, Edge AI performed well although at times I found the sound to be metallic. This could be due to the automatic change of programs, but I have no way to verify this because the HAs do not show the name of the running program. During a follow up my Audi made slight adjustments as she felt that Edge AI should sound at equal footing with Phonak Sphere. Unfortunately, the adjustments did not sway my belief that Phonak performed better but I had no objective proof to support this belief. I went back and forth between the two HAs but swapping devices some time on the spot became a chore. Hearing your own voice on both brands is similar although I believe Edge AI has a slight “edge” over Phonak.

Connection with my iPhone 14 Plus was quick. However, as you move away from the phone the connection was not as strong as Phonak Sphere. Receiving or calling someone on the Phone was better on Edge AI. Moving from my iPhone to iPad for streaming purposes required some manual intervention to turn on or off the Bluetooth in one for the device. Streaming music while walking was erratic and at times the sound would cutoff for a split second.

In noisy envoirnment (70 db plus) I did not sense a wow effect even though I had kicked in Edge + manually. Each person has different level of hearing loss so this is normal.

In the battery longevity department, Edge AI struggled to give me two full days (average 12 hours a day of use) while Phonak Sphere gave me more than two days while using Sphere mode on automatic along with some streaming time. This was a surprise for me, but my experience is not dissimilar to some other users. Previously, I had tried Genesis AI and if I recollect, it performed better than its successor in this area.

With respect to size, Edge AI is a winner. It is tiny and I had no problems sliding my reading glasses on and off. The same can not be said for Phonak and if you have less real estate behind your ears, you need to be aware of this issue.

Let me discuss some “nice to have features”. Edge AI has a proprietary voice controlled personal assistant (modified SIRI) which is useful for issuing voice commands such as changing programs, enquire about the battery levels and weather etc while away from the phone. You can invoke it by using the tap control, but mine failed to wake up my phone during my trial. It is not a game changer, but I like this feature. Phonak on the other hand performed poorly in this area as its personal assistant is simply “Siri” personal assistant and can not give you responses to questions mentioned above.

Edge AI has some health features such as fall alert and step count. I already have this on my Apple Watch so it did not add value in my case.

Having tried them for 10 days I was not sure whether they were superior to Phonak Sphere in the core areas of sound quality, clarity and bluetooth. It got more confusing when it came to evaluating the sound in noisy and quite environments. My Audi felt that I was not giving a fair chance to Edge AI while my wife thought I was responding better to her while wearing Phonak.

Having tried Starkey Genesis, Otican Real, Edge AI and Phonak Sphere, my conclusion was that the most important criteria for me in the order of importance were 1) speech in quite 2) speech in noise 3) streaming ease and quality 4) battery life. With respect to the first two criteria, I came across scoring of Edge AI and Phonak Sphere at hearadviser291. There is also elaborate scoring at this site as well. The scoring supported my hunch that Phonak were superior in the two categories mentioned above. For number 3 and 4 criteria, I thought Edge AI lacked what the competition had to offer. I shall remind you that at times the choice of HAs is subjective and depends on one’s hearing loss and particular needs. Bottom line, I am going to see my Audi tomorrow and pay up for this jewellery, Phonak Sphere.

I see. The smaller model also has about 20% less battery life.