Thanks, I remember this FCC notice being talked about here on the forum. All I remembered was all aids must be LE Audio in the near future. It’s actually 48 months, 4 years.
You are correct.
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I own Oticon and Phonak. Are you sure LE Audio has better quality than Classic Bluetooth? Not in my experience.
Sure, LE audio has lower battery consumption, if I’m thinking of my Apple Ipad streaming. But the battery consumption of classic bluetooth does not cause me any problems. When I had a KS 10 I was getting 15 hours a day when streaming. And with my newer Phonak Lumity, I was changing my battery every 6 days. Neither was an issue.
Auracast will have better quality, sure, but how long will the roll out take?
Not for old technology. This would require changing the Bluetooth device, new firmware, new testing, and possibly new FDA registration. No company is going to do that. At least none that I came across in 35+ years designing electronics.
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Yeah, an OTC device would probably be a lot easier. Or regular ear buds. The assumption that changes in medical equipment is as easy as a consumer electronic device misses a few things. Same reason drugs take forever to come out. We can’t afford mistakes.
WH
I totally forgot about the FDA. You’re right, no one is going through that again.
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It makes no sense to sell a new product with old technology. I know I’m not buying a new hearing aid without LE audio.
Edit: I can see where folks with old phones who are not planning to upgrade in the next couple of years, and what tap to answer will be interested in the Sonite.
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It seems like Costco is doing the foot dragging, not Phonak, if Costco wanted to be sure the device is “proven.”
WH
According to Bluetooth SIG, LC3 sounds much better than SBC even when running at lower bit-rates. The company presents the above graph, showing an industry-standard perception score for sound quality at different bit-rates.
Auracast in public venues might take a while to roll out, but you can get Auracast accessories now for personal use. This is also why Telecoil is still important for public venues.
All other RIC hearing aids sold at Costco have LE Audio and Auracast + Telecoil (Rexton Reach, Philips 9050 and the removable battery version of the Jabra EP20)
I feel Sonova made a mistake with the Sonite R at Costco. They can’t compete with the newer technology.
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Don’t underestimate how important being able to connect to multiple devices including your analog phone and laptop are to many.
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Agreed. The vast majority of consumers don’t even know what LE audio is. If you have something that connects to a bunch of devices that you already have - and will even if you buy new devices - it’s not clear to me why that isn’t enough / why people get so hung up on LE audio (I’d love to understand if someone has a perspective)
It makes sense to me why the other hearing aid producers that aren’t Phonak highlight the advantages of it - because they never figured out classic bluetooth.
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For me, Auracast is the big selling point, think movie theaters, live entertainment, TV, town meetings and so on. If I’m buying new hearing aids and cell phone, it’s going to have to have the ability to use it.
However, I agree to most folks don’t know anything about right now. Social media will get the word out as Auracast rolls out over the next two years.
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It does say handsfree for iPhone and Android, so I think it should have it.
Classic bluetooth is hands free with iphone and android as are the KS10’s and Phonak
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The vast majority don’t even know the difference between the two or even what “classic bluetooth” is, all they know is they want better battery life and better quality without latency, anyone with a sonova product knows that the battery sucks for streaming run time, LE Audio will make this a legacy version once fully implemented, obviously this is why the big players are right behind LE Audio and Auracast, I must admit I’m disappointed at the time it’s taking to do this, but it’s the way forward for sure.
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I am glad I got my Rexton Reach before Costco stopped selling them
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So that’s MFi and ASHA not LE Audio right?
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I’d like to point out that WSA Audiology has confirmed their products will still be sold at Costco.
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Keep in mind that the memo saying they would drop Rexton was intended for only 100+ stores and at least one who got notification they would be selling the Sennheiser Sonite did not receive notice that they would discontinue Rexton. The memo we saw from Reddit may well have been a draft or may have been changed before general distribution. As I said earlier (another thread maybe?) the audiologist who received notice about the Sonite did not receive notice that they were going to discontinue Rexton. In fact, this audiologist was looking forward to an updated Rexton in the near future.
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It is Bluetooth Classic. The site says it connects to computers and other bluetooth sources.
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Phonak has always used Classic Bluetooth, while all other manufacturers relied on Bluetooth Low Energy. Bluetooth Low Energy is the foundation for both ASHA and MFI.
LE Audio is the next gen wireless audio protocol, and it’s being adopted by all hearing aid manufacturers.
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