Tl;dr: While basically happy with the Audicus Clara, the more advanced tech and smartphone app of the Kirkland are tempting while I am still in the trial period.
I am in the first week of a trial with the Audicus Clara with the “Enhanced Clarity” option ($100: equivalent to the 700 or 70 tier for Phonak or Unitron, upgrades channels from 10 to 20 and auto-programs from 3 to 5, but not music which is my priority). I went to Audicus’ New York HQ where they test and fit customers in person, and I enjoyed the service provided by an enthusiastic but low key group of millenials. I have to say that were I not aware of the Kirkland Signature 9.0 I would be on my way to being completely happy with the Clara. Audicus was forthcoming about the product being a Unitron Moxi OEM. I don’t know enough about HAs to tell if it is based on the Moxi Kiss, Moxi Fit, etc. I’m ok with using a 312 battery given the expense of the Audicus rechargable dock (which also bumps the channel count to 20).
The Kirkland and the Clara come out to almost exactly the same price, $1560, and of course the features favor the Kirkland. The benefits of the Kirkland over the Clara (on paper) are 20 channels vs 16 and auto-switching between more programs (including music which must be invoked manually on the Clara) and the option to control the HA with my Android phone, which is the most essential technology I own. The Kirkland’s built in BT streaming is a major plus but my biggest problem with the Clara is the $200 clicker remote control I was “forced” to buy to make the Audicus product useful. I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around using a clicker that resembles a VCR remote from the 80s vs. control by phone (although the Kirkland sw is about as basic as it comes).
My audio priorities: I have typical moderate high frequency loss for a 70 yo with tinnitus I can live with. I am retired and I do not need a HA that helps with speech in noisy environments, etc. because I’m seldom in restaurants or other public spaces where conversation is difficult. My main goals are to be able to listen to my stereo in “high fidelity” and to understand dialog on TV without subtitles (which I’ve had to use for years now). And the Audicus, even in the first few days of the first fitting, seems to have accomplished that. I can now listen to female vocals which were previously too distorted to enjoy. And I am able to follow newscasts and other talking heads content comfortably. I am training myself to understand dialog in movies without subtitles.
So I am highly motivated for a first time user. Audicus has exceeded my expectations but it would be foolish not to consider the Kirkland if it is a significantly better product for my purposes.
I actually had the Clara for a few weeks recently (I am in upstate NY and did everything online using an audiogram from another provider). I liked the Clara but in the end wanted a better TV streaming solution and built-in bluetooth capability on the hearing aid. I was very pleased with Audicus. They bent over backwards to satisfy me. The only minor irritation was that it takes a full 30 days after return to finally get a refund. They explained that this is because it’s a medical device and has to go back to the manufacturer for approval. Had I known that ahead of time I wouldn’t have become so aggravated but I do understand it now. I’ll be picking up my KS9 on Thursday. If things don’t work out I would consider Audicus again in the future when they have a new bluetooth model.
I am a bit bias about proven name brand hearing aids.
The Audicus Clara is a no name brand hearing aid along with many more like them hitting the market lately.
I wouldn’t touch them when you have much better choices. The KS9 aids you mention are basically Phonak aids. The KS9 aids are also backed by a very reputable Costco and honest warranty.
Yes, you seem to have the same take as I: the Audicus product and their service are fine but the lack of BT for the same money may be a deal breaker. Honestly if I had done more research and understood the Costco Kirkland product better before I bought the Clara I probably would have gone to Costco but I didn’t realize they had a store 45 minutes from me so last week I didn’t consider Costco an option.
I am very mindful of the fact that whatever I buy today will probably have to be replaced in a few years and I’m trying not to think about the ongoing expense. In some ways HAs are like hifi equipment or my high end LG OLED TV but I expect purchases like those to last a decade. OTOH, HAs are like my Android Oneplus phone, which I fully expect to replace (with a used OP) in 18 months but HAs are a more “serious” purchase than my phone.
I’m not sure I want to go through the not inconsiderable effort of going to Costco (which is actually less convenient for me than the NY Audicus store), investing the time with them and refinancing, just to get BT. As good a value as the Kirkland is I’m not sure its “superiority” is worth the hassle.
I hestitate to contradict you because I’m new here and have no intention of getting into a controversy, but the Audicus Clara is not a “no name brand.” They acknowledge that it is a variant of the Unitron Moxi, which as you know is a division of Sonova, just as Phonak is. This is easily confirmed by the Unitron website. Audicus products come packaged with Unitron labelling and part numbers.
As such it is very comparable to the Kirkland Signature 9.0, an oem variant of the Phonak Audeo Marvel, which I think you’ll agree is a SOA HA. I’m not sure why you don’t know that since I see you are active here and have an interest in the industry. Your suggestion that the KS9 is backed by an “honest warranty” is also unnecessarily disparaging of Audicus, unless you have had a personal negative experience getting a hw problem handled. I’m sure that Costco will be in business after Audicus is a memory and three years is better than one, but you have no reason that I can see to imply Audicus is not “honest.” Perhaps English is not your first language.
Now if by “no name brand” you are referring to fitting and service a good case could be made that Audicus (or Costco for that matter) is not going to provide the same options and professional support as an independent audiologist who sells top of the line HAs at full retail bundled. That is not and never will be an option for me. I am not a particularly challenging patient. I don’t have a very sophisticated or challenging set of needs: all I want is the best audio for both speech and music in undemanding environments with the convenience of remote control at a price I can afford.
With this being your first post and just joining this forum it leads me to think this post is spam and you are just trying to sell a product. We see this way too often here.
I stand behind what I have said, I wouldn’t touch those aids when there are better choices.
Wow, just wow. You certainly do enjoy the give and take of a dialog! And so willing to entertain opinions not your own. And such good manners! Of course I don’t have any commercial interest in Audicus. There has been nothing spammy about my posts whatsoever.
Just before I block you, here is evidence that the Audicus Clara is not a “no name” HA. It is almost certainly the Unitron Moxi Kiss 700 on the North platform. This specific information is not readily available but since Audicus acknowledged that the Clara is a Moxi, identifying it as a Kiss on the North platform was a process of elimination based on the HA’s features. Have a blessed day.
Correction: The Audicus Clara is actually the Unitron Moxi Fit on the North Platform. In the spec sheet linked to below, the Clara base model corresponds to the Fit 600 tier and the Clara with the “Enhanced Clarity” option corresponds to the 700 (Advanced) tier. The Clara with the rechargable battery dock corresponds to the 800 tier and is the Audicus model closest to the KS9 in terms of channels and program options. You must buy the dock to get the additional channels and programs. The Clara rechargeable is actually comparable to the Fit R and is a newer model on the slightly more powerful Tempus platform
Lastly, the Audicus Clara has all of the features of the Unitron Fit including the telecoil option, which must be programmed by the Audicus audiologist. I see no mention of telecoil on the Audicus website but a rep confirmed it for me.
So in sum, unlike the KS9, Audicus does not appear to have disabled any features. The Clara is identical to the Unitron Fit/North. The North Platform is now two generations behind (it was followed by Tempus and now Discover). Only the most recent Unitron Moxi All on the Discover platform offers direct bluetooth streaming without an additional streaming device.
I hesitate to get into this. The Unitron North series seems to be equivalent to the Phonak Venture series and came out in 2015 per my online research. They’re still pretty modern hearing aids, but one could quibble about calling them state of the art. The KS9 are based on the Phonak Marvel, which was introduced in late 2018. In between the Venture and Marvel was the Beyond series.
So with the KS9 you’ll get a more modern aid plus the advantages of classic BT streaming to any BT compatible device. You’ll only be able to pair to one device at a time though, from my understanding. You’ll also get a 3 year warranty (easy to extend to 5 years if you use Costco Credit card) and free service for changing domes, wax filters, etc. With the addition of a $100 TV connector, you can stream directly to hearing aids without using BT. If Costco is anywhere close to as convenient as the Audicus dealership, I’d go to Costco in a heartbeat. If Costco would be a pain and these hearing aids are good enough (and you understand what further service costs might be), it could be reasonable to stick with what you have.
You summarized my decision process succintly and added some useful information about the various platforms which was partially my reason for posting. There hasn’t been any up to date info on Audicus for while here. And people here are sophisticated enough to want to get into these weeds. I certainly haven’t been shilling for Audicus and I hope my posts don’t hint at that.
Anyway I have very mixed feelings about Bluetooth. I have resisted buying a very new model phone since they did away with headphone jacks. I have a lot of high quality earbuds that become impractical if I have to take my HAs out to use them. But in general BT headphones are greatly inferior to even well chosen $50 earphones unless you have a high end Sony or Airpods. So since I don’t talk much on the phone, I don’t need BT for TV, and BT audio for music is a downgrade I’m inclined to keep what I have, especially since the Kirkland android app is so primitive.
While I have you, a couple of questions since you seem knowledgable: does Costco offer any payment plan? 18 months same as cash approved instantly was an incentive with Audicus. Also, off topic, I appreciate that the Audicus hearing test was rudimentary even if done in person by their head programmer. I had a professional test done by an audiologist phd in a clinic setting that was much more thorough (included spoken word testing). I can get tested again (four years later) with insurance. Would providing a more comprehensive audiology report be helpful to the Audicus programmer on a follow up visit?
Costco does not offer any payment plan that I’m aware of other than using one of their credit cards, but that would involve interest. I have no idea what kind of background Audicus programmers have and what their testing is like, or whether more info would help them. Costco will give you a very thorough hearing test. Regarding Audicus: I think there’s the basic assumption or bias or whatever one wants to call it is that anything new and exciting is going to come from of the big Six hearing aid manufacturers (Phonak, Oticon, Widex, Signia, Starkey and Resound) We tend to be waiting for the new best thing so tend to ignore other brands. With what you describe, I’d encourage you to stick with your wired earbuds without hearing aids for listening to music. I think you’d be surprised at how much it helps understanding to have TV sound streamed directly to the hearing aids. The $100 TV Connector does not use BT, but some other proprietary wireless protocol.
Audicus makes up for a small margin on their HAs with a big markup on accessories. You need their bluetooth remote for tv streaming and they only sell it with the charging dock at a ridiculous $349. If they want to compete with models that have BT “built in” I think they’ll have to revisit that (although I’m sure the next generation of Audicus RIC will have BT standard). Anyway apart from the money I would still have to keep track of another remote. The biggest advantage of the KS9 for my use scenario is being able to use my smartphone as a remote, since I always have it with me anyway. I’m already much better with tv through my speakers and I’m training myself to follow without needing subtitles. So I’m talking myself out of the KS9. Especially if Costco doesn’t offer terms.
Definitely your call. I don’t know about the Audicus, but with the KS9 one doesn’t really need to use the smartphone as a remote because if set up properly the push buttons on the aids can control just about anything. In my mind there a lot more advantages to the KS9 than using the smartphone as a remote, but it’s what you want that matters. I’d also be looking into other financing options. I’d hate to be tied to a business because of the “free” financing they offered.
Just to close this out: I never got the local Costco on the phone directly and it took them a day to call me back. They need 6-8 weeks for a first appointment. Great business they’ve got! Build a better mousetrap, as they say. If I were already wearing a HA and could afford the wait, Costco would be my first option.
Anyway, thank you for all the information. And thank you @Raudrive for acknowledging that I am a “normal” new user and not a “plant.”
Costco is currently my competitor. I have nothing against them. I’ve met the specialist over there and had a few conversations with her. She seems knowledgeable and seems to care for her patients. The biggest downside I hear regarding them is the wait time. I think the local Costco is booked out until some time in July or August. They’ve had trouble getting a 2nd specialist over there. I interviewed for it, but their base pay was far less than I’m making now. Their other benefits are absolutely incredible though. It was actually a tough choice for me to turn down the offer.
Service can be tough, from what I understand, but the hearing aids are really good and the price is good, that’s for sure.
The Costco we go to in San Antonio has 3 booths and had 4 fitters a couple days ago when I was there. Our wait time for fittings is usually right at a week.
A buddy of mine south of Houston just joined Costco to get in on the hearing aids. The day he joined he set up an appointment for testing and trying aids. 3 days later he was there getting tested and bought a set of Resound aids. He should be getting them any day now.
If I were already wearing a HA and could afford the wait, Costco would be my first option.