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Phonak Lumity 90 vs ReSound Nexia 9 vs Oticon Intent 1 - why I chose Oticon

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In reply to @leslie.wand

@leslie.wand said:

i hesitate since aids are quite an expense, and after a lifetime in technology i realise that advances are no longer leaps and bounds, but more a matter of refinement - and, as such, how much refinement do i gain for $4k>?

My ReSound 3Ds were rather old and one of the buttons had stopped working. Also, they had never been set up properly as my previous audiologist was not very good. So I was having a lot of problems but I was putting off replacing them because I knew it would be expensive and making the choice is difficult. But my main issue was finding a decent audi, after researching what was available I realised most audiologists I had used knew virtually nothing about the choices that were out there.

After a lot of research I found an audiologist that really knew their stuff and also was able to fit any brand of . So that prompted me to go through the decision process with confidence.

At the start of the process, my audi did some adjustments to my 3Ds and they were working better than ever before. When I started with the first new aids (the Lumitys) I was expecting to hear a big difference…and I didn’t. They were no better than the 3Ds (in fact slightly worse for my requirements). The streaming was a nice plus but apart from that I would not have paid £4k for them.

It was only when I trialled the Oticons that I noticed an improvement in speech recognition and . That, plus the fact I have BT LE streaming and rechargeable HAs that have a long charge life sealed the deal for me. But I hope I can keep these for a long time, because I have a fantastic audi now who will help me get the best out of these aids.

The Nexias weren’t a lot different to my 3Ds. There were slight improvements but the battery charge life was poor.

Edited

In reply to @Volusiano

@Volusiano said:

One of the big deal that was made about the Intent is its support of BT LE Audio. Does the Lumity and the Nexia support this?

Also, how does BT LE Audio on the Intent sound with your Pixel phone?

Yes, both the Nexias and Intents support LE, the Lumitys are BT classic. How does it sound on my phone? Fabulous. I am an ageing musician and music producer and I was having such problems with my previous aids I had fallen out of love with music. But music sounds so good now that I can’t stop listening to it, and I am definitely back in love with music.

There are occasional glitches in the sound (which I suspect may also be affecting my phone calls) but these don’t stop the playback and usually fix themselves after a few seconds. But these don’t impact my enjoyment of the music and I don’t make many phone calls so that’s not an issue.

You can also turn LE audio off if you want.

In reply to @e1405

@e1405 said:

When you had your DIY project up and running, give the DSL v5 fitting formula a try for music. If I’m not mistaken, MyMusic uses VAC+

I may do. We looked at v5 when I was last in with my audi and it didn’t seem like it would do much for my issues (it seemed to have more gain in frequencies where I don’t really need it), my issues were more around the bass and mid boominess which we seem to be close to fixing. But I have Noahlink now and will be getting into tweaking things at home soon, so I will give it a try.

Edited
@OldMusicGuy said:

I may do. We looked at DSL v5 when I was last in with my audi and it didn’t seem like it would do much for my issues

I mean, you could copy the gains you end up with in your tweaked MyMusic into a v5 program and A/B test them. I did that and the DSL program sounded crisper and my guitars resonated more naturally. Then I proceeded tweaking the new DSL program.

Edit: another positive point of the Intents is that with Oticon it is possible to have the 4 slots/programs with different fitting formulas. That wouldn’t be possible with Phonak hearing aids, for instance.

In reply to @OldMusicGuy

thanks for that background info, most helpful.

@OldMusicGuy said:

After a lot of research I found an audiologist that really knew their stuff and also was able to fit any brand of HA.

this is so true, having an audi. that you can trust and feel comfortable with is SO important. some of the trials and tribulations i read on this forum can, i’m sure, be traced back to either indifferent and / or ill-informed audiologists. unfortunately, many of us are of an age where we just want to get it all over and done with at the cheapest possible cost, or are incapable of knowing enough to make an informed decision.
such is life…

Edited

With my EP 20s, I have had the battery warning beeps after 17+ hours while streaming Spotify ALL day long. I will keep it at a low volume when others are talking and louder when they are not; but always on. I can pause it while streaming a phone call or YouTube if I choose to.

My Galaxy S23U is setup to continue playing Spotify even when streaming other apps so I hear both at the same time…an interesting and fun feature…so I have to pause it manually if I want to silence it. I also have the feature turned on that shows separate volume controls for each of my streaming apps. Thus I can lower the volume of Spotify while listening to a YouTube video for instance.

The streaming sound of music is setup so well on my EP 20s that I am loving my and the sounds I have not heard well or at all in so long. Music is a high priority for me, as you can tell, and for my the HAs work great…as does battery life.

I get it. The Oticon does have a longer battery life.
The Jabra EP 20’s (Nexia equivalent) battery life is sufficient for my usage and it would be nice to know that you could stream in your sleep as well and recharge the next day. I could get used to that. :smiley:

In reply to @RSW

Thanks for the feedback on your Jabra. I recently got a set of EP20s and have two problems. When streaming music from my S23 phone the sound is thin and harsh and sometimes is only in one ear. Hands free phone calls are also problematic. Sometimes people can’t hear me due to static and other problems and sometimes they are so slow to connect when I answer that I give up on the call. I use the LE for hands free. What settings are you using to get such good music sound?

First, I do not really have those connectivity issues with turned off but I guess you know that. I have had it on myself for 24 hours except when I had to switch it off temporarily for a phone call.

For improving sound I had my so the following for me:

For streaming there is a Streaming Bass Boost switch in the accessories section of the fitting software. Increase that from the Mild default.

For my Music program I had the default bass increased across the 125hz - 750hz frequency range.

For both I switched to from open domes. Almost all bass leaks out of those slots. Not everyone is okay with the extra occlusion. The default is often open domes because music is not the top priority for most users, but it sure helps streaming

Think of earbuds, they all try to have a good seal on them for enhanced bass. The cool ones have speakers on the outside to transmit sound to the receivers speakers) on the inside. My Jabra earbuds called it Hearthrough mode.

I later switched to the M& Receivers which have an extra microphone in the receiver. It tries to take sound from the pinna of the ear. They do not work for everyone but for me they’ve been a wonderful addition to my EP 20s. With them I now have power domes, which increases the occlusion effect… and the bass response.

Besides all that, I think my HCP gave me a good fitting. He knew sound was a priority for me.

I initially had a lot of tinny bassless audio as well. This all helped together. I got this information from reading numerous posts on this forum.

I already have power domes and the marie receiver, but I now know the streaming changes to ask for. Thanks! I had the batteries updated on my KS10s and they are working great. I will ask my audi to change the streaming bass and add “adaptive speech” to the programs. They are working so well now that I may return the Jabras if they and Samsung can’t solve the connection and hands free phone issues.

I saw my audiologist today and the streaming setting was already at max bass boost. Ah well. Thanks again. Lew

Edited

Interesting since you ignored in the end the most optimal for your music needs - Nexia, which has , LE plus . With other words everything Oticon has and plus with better music program? And the battery life is at least very good for Nexia for up to 36 h if you do not use all battery consuming features all the time.

Edited

It was a tough choice. The Intents have LE, I am not bothered about because it will be a long time before any venues in the UK have it (and tbh I do not go to cinemas or concerts much these days). If I could not have got the music program on the Intents sorted out, I would have gone with the Nexias. However, the with the Intents is definitely better for me than the ReSounds, so that was quite a big plus.

Another thing I didn’t like initially about the Intents was the Companion app, which is pretty inflexible compared to the ReSound app. With my 3Ds, I created a slew of custom programs and was forever fiddling with the settings to try to optimise my hearing in particular situations. However, I have found the automatic adaptability of the General program on the Intents to be pretty good for most situations and I haven’t felt the need to create lots of custom programs like I did with the ReSound app. So I find them easier to use on a day to day basis compared to my Linx 3Ds, as I do less program changing.

I’ll add that battery life for the Nexias was not good for me, I got two low battery warnings over my test period, none with the Intents.

I suppose, I am most fortunate, to have such an excellent Audiologist… Over the years, this wasn’t always so, especially with the NHS, it was more a case of you adapting to the aids, as opposed to the aids being adjusted to you, you just didn’t get follow up appointments! There are without doubt many brilliant Audiologists working with the NHS, they just don’t have the necessary time, to get a good fit… Last November, I purchased a set of Phonak Naida Lumity 90 UP’s from Boots Hearing Care, here in the UK, I have worked with the same private Audiologist for over 5 years, she knows my Severe/Profound loss inside out, but she is a keyboard wizard, adjustments are made at breakneck speed and her first fit, was my last fit, 6 months ago… My A.uD did a very comprehensive hearing test 3 weeks in advance of the new aid’s arrival, I say comprehensive, because it was probably twice as long as a normal test… When I arrived, the Lumity UP’s where set up, so she ran feedback management, asked what did I think, I asked her to switch to NAL NL2, and turn on compression, no was done, and that was it, bingo, no further adjustments were needed, we where good to go :smile: In subsequent follow up visits, I was asked, but no further adjustments where deemed necessary, and none requested by yours truly… Now, I do have Target, and Noahlink Wireless, but I haven’t felt the urge to tweak the Lumity UP’s, as I feel they are set up perfect for my needs, or perhaps as close as I am going to get? One thing of note/interest, she said, she had noticed, after first fit, not very many clients requested additional adjustments with Lumity aids, in fact, I believe she said, she was really surprised how little adjustments were required! My personal take would be, she is an extremely skilled Audiologist, totally dedicated to her clients, and these factors alone, means very little needs altering! Cheers Kev :smile:

My Jabra Select 200 aids have bad music quality, but the music setting on my Oticon Real aids provides a beautiful sound, including streaming.

In reply to @e1405

@e1405 said:

If I’m not mistaken, MyMusic uses VAC+.

Actually, the problem is Oticon invented a completely unique fitting formula for MyMusic.
That is why it is so very unforgiving, as it’s limited in fine tuning to stay within the constaints of the overall Harman Target.
By creating a custom :musical_keyboard: :saxophone: :trumpet: :guitar: program with DSLv5, we can tweak to our hearts content!!

In reply to @OldMusicGuy

@OldMusicGuy said:

It was a tough choice. The Intents have BT LE, I am not bothered about Auracast because it will be a long time before any venues in the UK have it (and tbh I do not go to cinemas or concerts much these days).

To support , the basic requirement is . So even if the Intent doesn’t support Auracast now, as long as it has BT LE Audio support, which it does, it should just be a firmware upgrade away from providing Auracast support in the future.

Welcome, and thanks for the comparison. I’m very interested in the Intents now, but they weren’t around when I trialed Lumity, More, and Moments a year ago.

IME back then, listening to music neither of the More or Lumity came close to the Moments. I think you were steered away from them too quickly. Not saying the Moments’ musical benefits would outweigh your choices for Intents, their speech targeting abilities.

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