My Phonak Sphere Infinio I90 vs Lumity L90 Shootout

[JordanK]

Just finished getting fitted with new Phonak Sphere Infinio I90 hearing aids and I thought I would start yet another thread with lots of photos and an honest comparison between Sphere and my Lumity 90s (which I have been wearing for the last two years). Not much to report yet. The fitting went quick and my audiologist did full REM testing with DSL v5.0. Yes…they are bigger but not really as monstrous as others have reported…haha. Here are some comparison photos for your viewing pleasure. Silver is Sphere. Black is Lumity.

More written comments to follow soon.

Jordan

[lello58]

thanks, I can’t wait to read your reviews

[Bimodal_user]

Also looking forward to trying them out!

I like their width, it will be easier for me to handle the rocker switch. And this “pregnancy belly” will probably better align the microphones horizontally for better directional efficiency.

[JordanK]

Here is another picture with both sets of hearing aids in their charge cases. Once again, Silver is Sphere and Black is Lumity. The center storage cutout in the Sphere charger is actually larger than the Lumity charger. Might still be a tight fit for custom earmolds but not horrible. Big bonus having a battery in the charge case for charging on the go!

Not much to report yet. When I left the audiologist, the Sphere’s were at 95%. Got home and quickly paired the Sphere’s to my work laptop (Dell) for a few meetings. After 90 minutes of streaming on three Microsoft Teams meetings, battery is now at 90%. Bluetooth connection is flawless and the Sphere’s seem to connect much faster. I opened the myPhonak app during the final Teams call and the battery level showed 90% and also showed “>16 Hours” as the time left on the battery. Nice to have a time estimate and there is definitely more battery capacity in these hearing aids. There is also a new “Find my Hearing Aids” feature in the app which shows you where they are if you lose them.

My general impression of sound quality in the audiologist office, in the car and at home is that everything sounds a bit richer than Lumity. Not sure if this is my imagination or if it’s just that the Sphere’s are setup slightly different. I haven’t had any opportunity to engage the new Sphere AI noise reduction yet but that test is high on my list.

Back to the larger size of these hearing aids. I honestly cannot feel the difference. I wear glasses and there is no issue. Here is a photo. No wisecracks about my gray hair. I came by it honestly…haha. My audiologist was originally going to lend me his Sierra Red Sphere’s (bling) but the silver ones arrived at the office. He said he will swap them out with the black or graphite color versions when they arrive in stock.

Jordan

[Bimodal_user]

@JordanK

I haven’t had any opportunity to engage the new Sphere AI noise reduction yet but that test is high on my list.

What about e.g. radio or talking in the car? There was discussion about it and cinema.

[JordanK]

@Bimodal_user

What about e.g. radio or talking in the car? There was discussion about it and cinema.

I was by myself in the car on the way home. I did note that the hearing aids flipped into Car mode while driving. The built in GPS probably decides you are driving and automatically adjusts to the right listening mode. I had the music going and it wasn’t bad. Hard to say with the traffic and road noise. I’m guessing talking to people in the car will be at least as good as Lumity. Can’t comment yet on Cinema.

Jordan

[1Bluejay]

@JordanK

My general impression of sound quality in the audiologist office, in the car and at home is that everything sounds a bit richer than Lumity. Not sure if this is my imagination or if it’s just that the Sphere’s are setup slightly different.

Would I love to know the answer to that!!! Having worn probably a dozen different aids over 35 yrs, I have NEVER (as in EVER) had an initial fitting that was even tolerable. REM has been done on the past maybe 4-5 pairs of Oticons & Phonaks. Without any exception, I find the sound quality pretty thin, shrill and horrific. It used to really stress me out, but now I almost laugh at it, cuz I know the audi will get me to where I need to be after 3-4 more visits.

After buying my Phonak Lumity Life aids 2 yrs ago, the new audi had a challenging time getting these to sound even half as good as my older Marvels. So she called Phonak tech while I sat with her and they walked her through how to “copy” and “paste” the old Marvel profiles into my new Lumity Life settings. That got me about 95% to GREAT. It’s been a series of trying this and that the past 2 years and now I’d say I’m about 98% to REALLY great. Even so, I sure wish I was a DIYer like so many folks here. I’d tinker with the settings, MPO, gain, Noise Mgt, Feedback Mgt, etc., and never stop fiddling.

You’re off to a great start - especially the BATTERY life! I. Am. Shocked. I thought you’d be at like 30% after the 90-min Zooms, but perhaps it’s just the “speech in loud places” that drains these Spheres?

[lello58]

We have the same hair and beard

[lello58]

Even though my loss is much worse than yours, this is the test I am very interested in.

Especially when compared to the current situation.

Let me explain: at the cinema currently with the Lumity do you understand all the dialogues? Does the noise reduction of the Sphere AI, zero the sound scene?

[markoo355]

I am interested, if the sphere option would be constantly on and if there is no noise in the background. Is the sound of speech better for understanding? How is it for you to understand children with and without that option?

[JordanK]

Another update…

Today is the big battery test. I woke up and turned on my hearing aids at 7:00 am and I will report back what the battery says when I hit my bed tonight around 11:30 pm. My gut is telling me the battery lasts much longer if you don’t engage the Sphere program. Case in point: Left the audiologist yesterday at around 2:30 pm and the battery was at 95%. Probably did about 2 hours of streaming (meetings, watching videos on my iPhone). Battery was at 75% when I went to sleep at 11:30 pm (9 hours of use). So basically used 20% of the battery in 9 hours. Today’s test will give me a better number.

This morning I stood on at a busy intersection and turned on the Sphere program in the myPhonak app for the first time. It was a bit of a weird experience. I was by myself so there was no speech going on. That being said, when Sphere turned on, there was suddenly an abrupt drop in noisy traffic. It was quite profound but I still have to test Sphere in a noisy environment with people talking to me. Might try that later today. The only glitch I noticed is a tiny bit of static when the Sphere program first engages. It’s only milliseconds but it almost sounds like the sound of a static electricity shock in the winter when you rub your shoes on the carpet and touch something metal. Might be a software glitch…not sure. Not really that serious.

Jordan

[DamonHill]

Today my audiologist (who has tried the Sphere for two days in Larry situation) warned me against the fact that Phonak‘s battery technology is simply not ready to allow Sphere (which he praised nevertheless). He said that if you use Sphere for 3 hours in party situations, the battery goes down to 50%.

He said that all the audiologists form all over the world that we’re with him had the same feedback.

His feedback (which goes against his own btw rest as a “seller“) is simply to wait for the next generation, which is most likely due in 2 years.

The AI technology seems to be already amazing though.

[Bimodal_user]

@DamonHill

He said that if you use Sphere for 3 hours in party situations, the battery goes down to 50%.

It was described in Dr Cliff’s review on YouTube (6-8h), but he didn’t specify whether the Sphere programme was at full power.

However, I think it will be rather rare that the full power of the Sphere programme will be needed.

@DamonHill

His feedback (which goes against his own btw rest as a “seller“) is simply to wait for the next generation, which is most likely due in 2 years.

I thought about waiting, but my Paradise 90-RT is almost 4 years old. About a year ago, just before the end of the warranty, when it was sent in for a technical inspection, Phonak wouldn’t change the battery, even when I offered to pay for it. So I need to buy Sphere now, probably after a Christmas.

EDIT:
I want to clarify that that was my audi’s statement, not Phonak’s directly.

He says something like, “I asked Phonak about the possibility of changing the battery to a new one, but they replied that they don’t do it, even for a fee.”

My Paradise had the SEM module replaced - I don’t even know what it is.

END of EDIT.

.

@JordanK

The only glitch I noticed is a tiny bit of static when the Sphere program first engages. It’s only milliseconds but it almost sounds like the sound of a static electricity shock in the winter when you rub your shoes on the carpet and touch something metal. Might be a software glitch…not sure.

On the HearAdvisor review, when I played the speech in noise sample, I also heard similar static at the beginning. How about listening to a radio or podcast through the car speakers while driving?

[lello58]

So Sphere can be activated both automatically and manually?

[hearingaidobserver1]

Putting aside the “all over the world” comment - which would be surprising if true based on how limited the release is outside the US - this thought process just doesn’t make that much sense to me.

Would you rather have a hearing aid that works when you need it most and on the rare occasion you have a very long event over three hours you have to charge it for an hour before hand? Or infinite battery life on a product that doesn’t work when you need it most?

[JordanK]

@lello58

So Sphere can be activated both automatically and manually?

Yes…both. The Sphere noise reduction program is built into the automatic (AutoSense 6.0) program and activates whenever the noise levels hit 70dB or higher (I think this is what my audiologist said). There is a 3 hour limit per day that can be toggled on/off in Target. My audiologist also added a separate program to allow me to manually activate the “Spheric speech in loud noise” program. I asked him to do this so that I could experiment with it in situations where the automatic program didn’t trigger the Sphere mode. Here is a screenshot from the app.

Jordan

[ryanb]

@JordanK

The built in GPS probably decides you are driving and automatically adjusts to the right listening mode.

I think Phonak Lumity and Infinio has accelerometers but not GPS (GPS would chew through a bunch of battery).

[Bimodal_user]

Yes, it probably detect the last Bluetooth LE connection with a smartphone with GPS.

[JordanK]

@ryanb

I think Phonak Lumity and Infinio has accelerometers but not GPS (GPS would chew through a bunch of battery).

I think Sphere has GPS. There is a new live find my hearing aids feature (see photo below). How would it know where your hearing aids are on the live map if there is no GPS? Plus it tracks each hearing aid separately.

Jordan

[WhiteHat]

@JordanK

I think Sphere has GPS. There is a new live find my hearing aids feature (see photo below). How would it know where your hearing aids are on the live map if there is no GPS? Plus it tracks each hearing aid separately.

You could test this by going somewhere without your connected mobile. Leave them somewhere (safe) and come back and see where the app thinks your aids are. The aids don’t have a separate access to the net than your mobile, I think, so I predict you’ll find they are said to be near the last point your phone saw them.

WH