Picked up my KS10s yesterday. Love them! The sound is so much better than my 3 year old Resound Fortes.
My speech comprehension is much higher, the sounds are more natural and the music streaming is great.
Great upgrade!
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I returned mine on Friday and purchased the KS10’s as soon as I came back from getting the refund at the customer service desk. The fitter was the one who walked me over to the desk to get the refund! Ask to speak to the manager. What they are doing is a direct violation of Costco’s own policy. If you don’t get satisfaction from the manager, talk to corporate. Fly this flag far enough up the chain and you will get satisfaction and a proper response.
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I don’t know if it helps, but I phoned the Madrid Costco who told me the k9 is now reduced so they predict they will get the k10 at the end of April or early May
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Thank you Dawn, I shall be looking out for that.
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I have just emailed Cost-co, they have forwarded it onto the Southampton warehouse, (the closest one to Plymouth).
I have enquired about when they are expecting the KS 10s etc, will let you know if they give a definitive answer 
Everyone that I talked to at the Costco hearing aid center were very happy that I could do the upgrade. I talked to the manager of the department and he said I was the 3rd person that did the upgrade while in the trial period.
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I’m going to guess that a lot of the reaction depends on how frequently members use this privilege. If it’s fairly uncommon, employees are happy that the customer is happy. If it’s a majority of customers, I’m guessing not so much. I’m thinking number of returns could vary a lot by store and clientele.
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Many thanks Christian.
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I decided to try the KS10. I currently have the KS9, but they are past my return period.
Since it’s been 6 1/2 months since my last hearing test, Costco requires a new test before I can order the KS10, so that will delay me getting them for a few weeks.
When I get them, I’ll report on how they compare to the KS9s.
While Costco was more than happy to refund my KS9’s and order my KS10’s, they didn’t arrive for my fitting today. I’ve been rescheduled for Thursday, and they are fairly confident that they will be back in stock before then. It seems that these are a pretty hot item!
I posted this comment in the “Dr. Cliff…Outburst” thread, but thought it really belonged here, in direct response to ybjqx3340’s experience…
I have a longstanding relationship with Costco (as a satisfied KS9 customer and an investor as well ) and I love them. Every store has an obligation to treat customers with respect, and nearly all do. If the Customer Service department at your Costco is not meeting that obligation, make sure you go up the chain of command until you get to someone who understands Costco’s basic DNA. The company, from the top down, believes in keeping the customer satisfied, and if your local management mistreats customers by browbeating them if they make use of the 180 day no-fault return policy on hearing aids, their superiors will want to know! This does not reflect Costco’s business model, but rather a failure of local management.
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I’m curious about this as well. I’m happy to pay my audi for great service but I want the manufacturer to sell the equipment to their buying groups at a price point that is at least near what they are doing for Costco. If the KS-10’s are equal to the Phonak Paradise the price difference for the hardware seems to be about 1/3 the cost (based on a quick internet search). I understand my car mechanic does not want me to bring my own parts when my car is serviced but this type of pricing puts independent audiologist at a severe pricing disadvantage. Even if the cost is out of their control asking patients to pay 3x as much for the same equipment to add to the manufacturers profit seems problematic.
I currently have the KS-7. Early last year, Costco sent them out to be repaired before my warranty was up and they gave me the KS-9 to try as a loaner. I absolutely loved them, especially the bluetooth function as I walk every day and my Airpods pop out of my ears frequently. I decided to wait until the KS-10 was released as I just had my KS7 for 4 years. I am excited about the KS10 but like many people, I am concerned about it only being offered as rechargeable. I work full time and go to meetings in the evenings and was worried about the length of time they will last.
Yesterday I went to my local Costco to get an updated hearing test and to test the KS-10 while walking around in the store. To my surprise, he allowed me to bring them home to test drive them for a couple days to make a decision. I have worn hearing aids for 27 years (my latest 2 from Costco) and honestly, last night was the first time I have ever heard the air blowing from my heat register when I was not standing right next to it! I asked my husband “what is that noise?” I am at my office today and having some problems understanding co-workers but I need to do some more tweaks to the volume and the KS app. I wasn’t given instructions so I keep googling my questions and looking at the Phonak Paradise website. I forgot to turn them off last night before putting them in the charger (the buttons are kind of awkward and take some getting used to) and my husband was awakened by them whistling this morning. (Whoops!). By 9:30 a.m., I was at 86% charge but I think it was because they had run down some from the whistling. I keep checking them and they seem to just go down 5-8% hourly without streaming. The Costco Fitter seems to think that they will not offer the KS10 with a non-rechargeable battery in the future as he thinks most hearing aids will no longer offer the disposable battery option. He said they receive many more requests for the rechargeable than the disposable, which really shocks me! Interested in what others think that have had a chance to try them out and what you all think about the rechargeable battery. Is this a deal breaker for you?
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Thanks for sharing! We contacted another Costco location and they are willing to sell us the KS10. (We would still need to return the KS9 to the original locations though, but that’s not a big deal.)
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I have had the Paradise (P70rt) since they first came out. I wear mine on average 13-14 hours a day with a modest amount of streaming and have about 30% left at the end of the day.
I don’t know about the KS10 but on the Paradise I don’t need to turn them off before inserting in the charger. When out them in they shut off.
Jim
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That’s how my Mom’s Marvels work. Put them in, they turn off. Take them out, they turn on. However, her older Beyonds required turning on when removing from charger.
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I have learned a little more about the KS10 since launch. Here’s my update:
- They are not equivalent to the Paradise - While there is some overlap in technology between KS10, Unitron, Phonak due to the shared Sonova chip, the audio processing approach is not identical between KS10 and Unitron Blu (the latest Unitron platform) or Paradise. A Costco employee warned me not to draw the comparison too closely as there are differences in the features, and one should not expect the exact same audio experience with a Phonak, Unitron, or KS10. Apparently the fitting formula used in the KS10 is unique to the KS10, and not shared with other Sonova products.
- Tinnitus feature and Roger not available inside Costco - Apparently the tinnitus feature cannot be activated within Costco, and Costco currently does not sell Roger devices, so there are some Sonova technical capabilities that will be a little more difficult to get the most of through Costco. You would need to purchase there and take the hearing aids to an independent provider for further assistance, something we all know can be challenging at times.
- Device housing and microphone placements are different - As you can see in the image below (KS10 vs Paradise), the housing isn’t identical, and microphone placement is unique. Microphone placement can impact the audio experience, wind noise, etc, so this is simply another consideration.
To be clear, this is not meant to be a negative post about the new Sonova KS10’s. I think they are great hearing aids, and well worth your consideration… but I know the parallels have been drawn to the Paradise, and while they may have a lot in common, they are not exactly the same product. That’s all I have for now, don’t ask me how they are different beyond what I’ve said above, as that’s the most I was able to get from my contact.
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For what it’s worth, I prefer the button design of the KS10–it’s easier to work by feel)
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I think it would be great if you could provide similar info for the new Costco Phillips aid in comparison to Oticon More since similarities have been mentioned.
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I agree. It seems there wasn’t a press release for the Philips Hearlink 9030, only the prior version I believe?
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