Costco ReSound Forte (Product Information)

Hearing Aids
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ReSound Forte is a family of RIC, BTE, ITE, and MIH instruments available from Costco with features similar to ReSound LiNX 3D 9 products. It replaces the ReSound Cala product line.

RIC Models:
• FT861-DRW (312 battery, wireless, 4 power levels)
• FT862-DRW (13 battery, wireless, t-coil, volume switch, 4 power levels)

BTE Models:
• FT867-DW, FT667-DW (312 battery, wireless, t-coil, earhook or thin tube)
• FT877-DW, FT677-DW (13 battery, wireless, t-coil, volume switch, earhook or thin tube)
• FT888-DW, FT688-DW (13 battery, wireless, t-coil, volume switch, earhook, 67 gain)
• FT888-DWH (13 battery, wireless, t-coil, volume switch, metal earhook, 73 gain)

ITE Models:
• FT8IIC (10 battery, non-wireless, 1 power level)
• FT8CIC, FT6CIC (10 battery, non-wireless, volume switch, 4 power levels)
• FT8ITC, FT6ITC (312 or 13 battery, wireless, directional mics, t-coil, volume switch, 4 power levels)
• FT8ITE, FT6ITE (312 or 13 battery, wireless, directional mics, t-coil, volume switch, 3 power levels)

MIH Models:
• FT8MIH-S (10 battery, non-wireless, volume switch, 4 power levels)
• FT8MIH (312 or 13 battery, wireless, t-coil, volume switch, 4 power levels)

Forte is available in two technology levels: 8 and 6. Forte 8 has 17 channels and 9 gain handles, and certain wireless models have premium ear-to-ear communication features such as Binaural Directionality III with Spatial Sense and Binaural Environmental Optimizer II. Forte 6 has 14 channels and 7 gain handles. All wireless models support Made for iPhone (MFi) direct audio streaming.

Website:
http://www.costco.com/resound.html
http://future-resound.com

Brochure:
http://future-resound.com/content/files/forte/MK604914_BR_ForteConsumerBrochure_RevA.pdf

Connectivity Guide:
http://future-resound.com/content/files/forte/400825011_GU_FORTE_ConnectivityGuide_RevB.pdf

FAQs:
http://future-resound.com/content/files/forte/MK604947_GU_AppleUsersFAQ.pdf
http://future-resound.com/content/files/forte/MK604945_GU_AndroidUsersFAQ.pdf

ReSound Smart 3D for Apple iOS:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/resound-smart-3d-for-resound-linx-3d/id1134918918?mt=8

ReSound Smart 3D for Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dk.resound.smart3d

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First aid at Costco available with a size 13 battery.

It appears Resound is really scrambling to get the account back. This is their newest aid.

It is certainly one to consider along with the Bernafon that Rasmus outlined yesterday. It too is their recent product.

The line between traditional and big box offering is blurring further.

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I am doing a trial of Brio 2 aids. I believe it may be time to change. I did not see the price for the Forte on the Costco web page. My Brio 2 ITC aids were $3000. It will be interesting to see if there is a bump up in price.

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Ordered mine; fitting. oct 11
I’ve used the KS6 for 2 1/2 years. Hoping for the best.

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The Resound Forte. 8 3D RIC pair are $2800

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Thank you. I will have to decide which style to go with. I presently have ITC which I prefer because of interference with glasses. However it appears that the ITC style does not have some of the latest functionality that the RIE(RIC) has. (Binaural Directionality 3,Spatial Sense, Ear-to-Ear communication). My main concern is performance in noise (restaurants). The other choice is between the 312 vs 13 battery size if I go with RIE(RIC). Comments are welcome.

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The RIC is usually more reliable and will most often provide a better experience. Smaller canal aids aren’t as directional which limits the fancy options.

312 vs 13 13 is a bit larger and batteries last twice as long. That’s extra nice if you go with rechargeable. Your guaranteed a full day’s use with heavy streaming. 312 are at the ragged edge of lasting a full use day.

312 may not provide telecoil, if that means anything to you.

Size 13 is the same diameter but greater in depth. Maybe half again in depth measurement.

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The KS6 size 312 batteries last me 3 Days, with streaming from my phone. The Forte 8 3D just ordered is size 13; as you stated same 7.6 mm diameter, a bit deeper 3.5 vs 5.2 mm depth. Capacity is 150 vs 290 mah, at 1.4V for both.
Looks like the 13 will give me a full 5 Days; we’ll see.

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Just to complete the picture. The specs show that for a drop from 1.4 to the end-of-life of 1.25 V, the 312 is rated at 150, the 13 at 280 service hrs.

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I presently wear KS5 (similar to Resound Verso) and have an appointment at Costco in a couple of weeks. Unless my plans change, I plan to order a pair of the Forte’s.

For any of you giving any consideration to this product or the Resound LiNX3D, pleased consider downloading the Smart 3D app above for a demonstration of the features. The degree of control and amount of flexibility with the settings is uniquely good.

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Am I correct in assuming that the ‘Smart 3D’ iPhone app is the same for the Lynd 3D as well as the Forte?
What is different between the two?

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If the Lynx 3D has any kind of tinnitus feature, likely are not included on Forte.

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LiNX 3D and Forte both use the same app, but some features in the app are not available when paired with Forte, specifically ReSound Assist and Tinnitus Manager.

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I have been wearing my new Resound Forte RIC with 13 battery for 4 days now. I paid $2800 for them at Costco in Greenwood Indiana. So far, am happy with them in every way except for the poor quality of music sound - I expected a lot better. A set of $20 Apple ear buds deliver far far superior music sound over these $2800 hearing aids. I am a novice hearing aid user. Am I expecting to much?

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The priority of hearing aids is understanding speech. You can find a ton of stuff on the forum about music and hearing aids, but depending on how good an ear you have and how important music is, it can be a challenge. I don’t know the Resounds at all, but I suspect a music program is available. However, if you have open domes, getting decent bass can be an issue. Some people use nice headphones or earbuds for listening to music.

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How are you listening to music?

There are a few historical threads devoted to listening to various types of music.

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The speaker in the earbud is much bigger than the speaker (receiver) of most hearing aids. That’s why the earbud has to sit outside and your receiver can fit inside the canal. That alone is a big factor in delivering better bass to your ear.

The other factor is that the earbud completely blocks your ear canal and seals all the sound it delivers into your ear. On the other hand, if you wear an open dome, it doesn’t completely seals your ear canal like the earbud and the receiver’s sound can leak out through the vent holes, effectively make the already weak bass due to the smaller physical size even weaker.

So yes, you’re probably expecting too much when comparing streaming content via your receiver vs your earbud.

But if you’re talking about listening to live music or loud music from a hifi sound system, not from streaming content from a source device, then it’s a different thing altogether. In that environment some HA that have more input dynamic range and higher resolution A/D converter (like 20 bit vs 16 bit) can perform pretty decently in delivering the louder music into your ear without incurring clipping/distortion/premature compression. The bass in this case does not have to be produced by the receiver so that limitation does not exist, and an open vent would actually be helpful in this case to let the loud bass sound into your ear especially if you don’t have low frequency hearing loss.

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I wear Cala 8s. My experience with live music: for classical, they help a lot - as people have pointed out, using the Music Program, the highs are boosted through the aids, while bass comes in via the open domes. The added highs give me a richer sound, a definite improvement. For rock, I just turn them off from my phone, or take them out entirely. So no better, but no worse than pre-Calas.

Listening to music in my car, I don’t think the “normal” program is that great for music, but I just deal with it, because I don’t want to be constantly changing programs. Listening to my stereo system, I will sometimes use the Music program, but mostly just stay in the normal setting, since I’m probably talking with someone too. You just have to keep in mind that HAs are designed for speech.

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Does Costco have rechargeable versions of these?

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Forte is not available in a rechargeable model.