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Widex SmartRIC 440 advice from DIY

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Hello guys:
I found some Widex SmartRIC 440 (used, without the receivers) for $475 which I think it is an awesome deal. Not that I really need them but I’m a fan of and I current have Infiinios I30 and Signia Active Pros (which I have tuned to perfection – for me).

The only reason why I would get these is for speech in noise. I’ve read many reviews and post about them and most are about the sound quality, how musicians love them, the low latency but I haven’t seen anything about how they perform in loud environments (in comparison with the Spheres for example). What do you guys think? Frankly, the infinios that I have are fine, it is more for an improvement in loud spaces and to satisfy my nerdy engineer fun of programming hearing aids.

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Certainly seems like a reasonable deal, features are based on the moment platform, they won’t be anything like the Sphere which is specifically for noisy environments, you’ll need to program them up and go out into the real world testing to see how you like them, should be interesting.

@OcramSagev said:

The only reason why I would get these is for speech in noise.

@OcramSagev

You’d better spend the money on a good set of custom moulds for your Infinio’s in my opinion. On every collection item you buy you’ll have to get additional receivers.

In my case it comes out that I love my Spheres that much for speech in noise that I momentary just use the Spheres I 90’s with the SDS 6.0 The receivers and moulds are unfortunately unusable for my Phonak P90’s ’s and ’s. And I miss the perfect speech recognition that much that my Widex and all other ’s are dusting away in my drawers. Even my interest gets much less important as there is nothing to adjust anymore. HA’s for me primary are ment for speech recognition although I love music also very much.

Wish you good luck and the best fitting decision for your liking.

@Emile030 said:

You’d better spend the money on a good set of custom moulds for your Infinio’s in my opinion.

Definitely agree. I have power domes, which work surprisingly well, but I am underamplified in high frequencies. That will be sorted out with the new cShell next week - titanium and with a pressure vent of 0.6mm. I have been waiting for them for 2 months, and they are remaking them - so from the ear canal impression, I have been waiting for nearly 3 months!

@Bimodal_user
The C- shells are great indead. I own a pair with the MAV speakers instead of the venting solution. Had to get used to the clicking though.
All the best

In reply to @Emile030

The sale is over, they are back to $700 without the receivers. I waited too long.

And yes,like you, I’m immersed with the and now that mine are programmed to “perfection”, i need another “toy” to program and I think that’s the reason I was looking at the Widex. I open my Phonak Target and my Signia Connexx at least 2 times a week just to look for improvements.

I could live without hearing aids for speech (I’m a borderline case) but the sound of music , nature sounds, birds is what makes me love them.

No molds for me, I can’t stand the occlussion effect and I enjoy the natural mid/low sounds . The Oticon OpenBass domes on my phonaks work super well.

Many Thanks for the feedback guys. Happy Fathers day to all!

Widex are not good with speech in noise TBH, the Spheres are a lot better. 0delay is nice but be aware you can’t customise a great deal in that program. If you’re looking for a pure clean sound, that is what they’re good for.

In reply to @OcramSagev

@OcramSagev said:

I can’t stand the occlussion effect and I enjoy the natural mid/low sounds

@OcramSagev
Sorry to hear you didn’t got your toys on EBay.

I can imagine the occlusion effect is worrying you. I slowly got used to it after about half to one whole year! It was worth the wait.

But as @Xonic83 also says in my opinion the Spheres are excellent for voice recognition. And that became my ultimate goal as my bad voice recognition started to get unbearable.

In reply to @OcramSagev

@OcramSagev said:

No molds for me, I can’t stand the occlussion effect and I enjoy the natural mid/low sounds .

Have you considered this?

Screenshot_20250616_010807_Chrome

Source:

Open Versus Closed Hearing-Aid Fittings: A Literature Review of Both Fitting...6

One of the main issues in hearing-aid fittings is the abnormal perception of the user’s own voice as too loud, “boomy,” or “hollow.” This phenomenon known as the occlusion effect be reduced by large vents in the earmolds or by open-fit hearing aids....

As a fellow, obsessed ’er, I keep going back to Widex. I currently program, my own Signia 7IX, Oticon Intent and Widex Moment 440’s and SmartRIC. Had Phonak Lunity’s awhile back but felt the sound was not natural.

Each have their strengths but I continually fall back to the Widex as the sound is simply more natural, far from perfect, but more natural. Speech in noise is adequate, maybe a bit better with the Intents, but the Intent’sand the Signia’s lack the natural sound the Widex provide.

NONE of them are perfect so you need to pick the lesser of the evils… but much like audio speakers, none are perfect, it’s what sounds best to you!

I’m obsessed too. I got some cheap active pro from eBay m, tried the Rexton Reach , Phonak and I’m looking to buy another one (my Infinio is the lowest tech one). I keep looking for good deals @ eBay. My first one were Oticon (before Bluetooth was a thing so I’ve cannot ) and I do like their sound. I don’t like the sound of Signia, it sounds too flat for me. So far , I like phonak the best

Still fine tuning the SmartRIC but it seems like my Moment Sheer have better high frequency response, more/sharper detail.

Yeah it’s definitely a no go at the moment, unless of course you can get an account with them, obviously you’ll need to convince them of your ability to dispense their hearing aids
; )

So I got a discount from the seller and got them for $300 !! Unknown part is how much the tariff is going to be because it’s coming from Canada and the smart is made in china

I’ll keep my fingers crossed and I’ll share with you guys how was the import experience

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