The mold process is like everywhere else I’ve had it done. Mix the 2 colors of “putty”, syringe it into the canal, wait to harden, then they send it in. It delays delivery of your new aids a few days (get mine Monday).
Trial is in-store, but you can return them any time for any reason for 6 months after purchase.
I’ve never been charged for filters/etc, but that might vary.
2 Likes
Thanks! Please share thoughts about your custom mold when you get it.
Almost all of the problems I’ve had with my current Signia HAs stem from their lab’s incompetence when it comes to making custom molds, even with specific instructions and labelled photos - out of 15-20 custom mold remakes, only one has been satisfactory. I’m curious if the lab Costco sends their impressions to is any good.
In Canada Costco gets their impressions done by the manufacturer. The are converted to 3D digital in Ontario, and the actual molds made in Holland. That is for Rexton/Signia/Sivantos. Not sure for the US. But, for RIC they are pretty much forced to go back to the manufacturer as the molds have to fit the specific receiver.
I am on my third set (and best set so far) from Costco for my KS8’s. The KS9’s of course will have to come from Phonak.
It’s been a few years, but when I had molds made for my Rexton Trax 42’s at Costco (U.S.), the audi told me I could have them done by the manufacturer or Westone. I told her to have it done by the maker she thought would do best, and so my silicone molds are by Westone. I was satisfied with what I got first try. My audi is very deliberate, which is undoubtedly a good thing for mold-making. Maybe I was lucky.
My callers report excellent sound quality from the KS 9 mics. My phone is an Android, Pixel 3. I am really pleased with the quality of the calls, even in wind.
1 Like
Neville,
I’m really interested in this because BT HF is one of the reasons I sprang for these. Are you saying that there’s feedback that distorts the incoming sound (which ends up being sent to the caller on the other end)?
And what is “feedback measure”? Not sure what I’d be asking for.
My right ear is the master BT device and it does tend to whistle in the presence of the ventilation at my office (even though whistle stop is turned up), but I don’t detect actual feedback except when I cup my hand over it.
I can see if my audi can switch it to the left ear, which has much weaker amplification, but I think she said on the actual Marvels it has to be the right because that’s the one that pairs.
I’m sorry to be dense here; what do you mean by “in-store only” for the
KS9 trial? Literally taken does that mean I can try out the aids for 6 months
but only wear them in the Costco store? I must be getting old…
I think the “in store trial” means the only way you can trial the aids without paying for them–probably 30 minutes at best. After you purchase them, in the US you have up to 180 days to return them with full refund. Many don’t consider this a “trial” because you have to put up money.
1 Like
I will answer here.
The store trial is with demo aids in the store only. If you like the aids you can pay for them in full and will have a 6 month money back guarantee in the USA and 3 months in Canada. For any reason you can return those aids for the 6 months or 3 months.
2 Likes
The loss in your right ear is not all that bad, and should not be a major feedback problem. Not sure how changing the BT to the other ear would help? However, what you might want to consider is a different fitting in the right ear. Are you using an open fitting? If so, you may want to try a semi closed or closed. The best way to prevent feedback is to not let it start.
In store trial was not an option offered to me. My guess is the Audi might let you try a demo pair (if they have them) for a brief in store trial. In my case, I accepted the Audi’s recommendation to purchase the KS9 ($1,500 plus additional for a “drying case”). I now have 6 months to return them, if I so decide, provided normal wear and tear, no questions asked. Seems like a very fair deal to me.
1 Like
Yes, I agree, a very fair deal…6 months is long enough for
your brain to adjust to new aids ( or not adjust as the case may be);
does Costco throw in any service and/or batteries with this
purchase?
Costco will change the domes, wax filters and concha locks for as long as you own the aids. Sometimes they’ve even included new batteries. They also brush/wipe them off and often do a quick “sound check.” There’s also no charge for them to ship to factory for service. I’m not sure if that extends beyond the 3 year warranty or not.
1 Like
Thanks, Sierra. I was responding to Neville’s comments about “feedback measure”. I don’t think I get any feedback at all in my right ear, as you concluded. I’m going to concentrate on the “fixed bandwidth” thing for improving BT handsfree outgoing sound quality.
Interestingly, I do get a lot of whistle in the right ear. My office ventilation system has this audible hiss and it seems to resonate at 2KHz in my right ear. Originally, out in the bullpen area of the office I had this constant whistle and it was an effort to understand speech over it. The audi ended up cranking UP the whistle stop value to the max, and that mitigated it at first but lately I’ve started hearing it again, though not as bad as before. I plugged my ears and it didn’t affect it, which pretty much rules out feedback. I think it’s just peaking/resonating in the bandpass filters of the HA.
Any other ideas about mitigating this whistling side effect of the ventilation system white noise?
My suspicion on the ventilation system white noise is that you are hearing the boosted gain for soft sounds in the higher frequencies. I hear it in my car and truck when the A/C fan is on a higher speed. However, what I find is that in the Automatic program (KS8) the noise reduction system kicks in and suppresses it quite effectively, probably to the point where it is quieter than what a person with normal hearing hears. It kind of feels like one is wearing ear plugs for noise. However, when there is some other noise or someone speaks in the vehicle, the hissing sound comes back, along with an elevation in overall gain. It seems to me that it is just the way it is with hearing aids. If you want gain to hear speech there is a price to it. In the house I use the directional focus of the microphones to reduce background noise rather than letting the noise reduction program do it.
1 Like
You might try lowering the G80 gain a couple dB across the board.
It has helped me when typical sounds are too loud.
Batteries are really cheap for disposable. Get mine on Amazon.
Hi, I am new to HA. I got the KS8 a few weeks ago and am more or less satisfied with them. I am going to try the KS9 this week. I have a few questions for the long time users here that have used both.
How does the battery life compare? Does streaming from an android phone effect battery life? Same for using the hands free phone connection?
I know it will come down to which one sounds better and that is a matter of many other things.
Anything I should ask about or pay special attention to? I will probably pay for the KS9 so I can try both for a few weeks.
Thanks
There are really no long time users of the KS9 aids. They just came out.
True but I guess I should have said long time KS8 users.
Thanks