My Phonak Sphere Infinio I90 vs Lumity L90 Shootout

[Nenen_UK]

Oooohhh… thank you for that info. Would you mind sharing your experience of how good the service from Specsavers has been so far please?

One of my major considerations is finding a seller with an audiologist who, as well as getting me the best fit and hearing aid setup, will help me connect all the new Roger equipment I have been given to use for work to my hearing aids. I have a Roger On receiver, table mics, pass around mic with touchscreen control and several other bits. As I’m new to all this and rather overwhelmed by all the different bits of tech, I really want someone who can set this up for me. Do you think Specsavers would be able or willing to do this if I bought Spheres from them?

I can’t believe the HUGE price differences for buying Infinio Sphere 90s from various in-person suppliers near me in Cambridgeshire, UK. Currently, the range I’ve found is all the way from £2,995 to a whopping £5,500 + £80 fitting charge (which is obviously almost double Specsavers price)! All offer similar 4-5 year guarantees and aftercare service.

Excluding online, remote sellers, Spec Savers is the cheapest UK suppliers of Spheres I’ve seen at £2,995 (including free hearing test, fitting, Infinio Sphere 90s, 4 year guarantee + all aftercare); Audiological Science want £3,250 for a similar package (although their website says they won’t be beaten on price so perhaps they will match Specsavers if asked); Boots Hearing (who are part of the Sonova Group, which also owns Phonak) are £3,995; and a local independent store called Anglia-EAR in Cambridge want £80 for the hearing test and fitting then over £5,500 for the Spheres and aftercare.

Whilst I understand that it is probably wise to choose a supplier with excellent audiologists and aftercare, and this may cost a bit more, can a difference of over £2,500 for this really be justified? And as Boots are part of the Sonova Group, which also owns Phonak, why on Earth are they £1,000 more expensive than Specsavers?

[wsanders]

Is there a link to the test results? I can get L90’s though AARP/United for $2200, one fitting included, an independent audiologist is quoting me $6800 for bare (no fitting or service plan) I90s, $7800 with fitting/3 yr service. I am sure the Sphere feature is awesome, but is it $4600 worth of awesome? I do need the most help in noisy environment like movies and restaurants.

There are also two L90 models, the “L-R” and the “L-RT” and no one can explain the difference. The AARP sells the “L-RT”.

I have found the Lumity is bulkier because it has a telecoil. The I90 doesn’t have one.

[MDB]

The difference between the L-R and the L-RT is the telecoil. The “T” is for telecoil. The L-R does not have telecoil.

[jim_lewis]

I got my Infinio Sphere I90s today from Direct Hearing, and they’ve been great so far. I haven’t tested Spheric noise reduction yet, but everything else seems super. Unlike @JordanK, I have not noticed any problem with M receivers, perhaps because my hearing loss is not as severe as his across the frequency spectrum and I have much more headroom over most of that span. I have typical age-related (noise exposure-related?) ski slope high-frequency loss. The sound through my M receivers is great, with no warble or distortion that my non-audiophile ears can detect.

Speech Enhancer works very well for me. My wife’s soft-spoken voice comes in loud and clear. As to how it compares to the Lumitys, I haven’t had my ears cleaned as I did just before my Lumity trial. I’m having trouble pushing the dome-equipped receivers into my ears without caking them with wax. That’s part of the reason I like molds, it’s much easier to avoid that! So, I might not be getting my wife’s voice coming through as clearly as it might for not yet having the molds I plan to get.

@jeffpa complained of hearing a hissing sound from the Spheres in certain circumstances. Today, sitting in my kitchen, I heard a very distinct hissing sound, and my reaction was, Oh, No! It turned out, though, that I was hearing the refrigerant of our refrigerator/freezer percolating through the coils after a lengthy cooling run of the frig compressor. I’ve never heard that with my ReSound Omnias, Quattros, or the Phonak Lumitys I trialed. Might not be as cool as hearing birds chirp far away in trees, but I was very impressed.

I had trouble getting streaming to work until I deleted my ReSound Omnias from my iPhone Hearing Devices settings. Even though the Spheres use classic BT and the Omnias use Apple’s proprietary MFi BT-like LE streaming, MFI devices must have a lock on streaming as long as one is paired with your iPhone. Thanks to anyone for letting me know if there’s a way to have a MFi HA and a Phonak HA both set up to use with an iPhone simultaneously.

The other delight was finding out how well hands-free calling works. And that’s another area where I could use some help. It seems like as long as I’m connected to my iPhone, the Sphere mics take over the mic input to the iPhone. With the Omnias, there was a setting, IIRC, to switch between HA mic input and iPhone mic input. While the Sphere mic input to the phone is good - my wife says it’s clear on a phone call - iPhone microphone input is exceptional. I haven’t found a way to switch between the two inputs and still have the Spheres connected to my iPhone.

If I pair my Spheres with my computer, on my computer, I can select the source of microphone input. The Spheres will provide acceptable voice dictation input for Dragon Naturally Speaking 16 Professional but not the quality of a Logitech Blue Yeti X Professional Condenser mic sitting right on the desk in front of my mouth.

Thanks to @JordanK and everyone else for their Sphere reviews. The excellent reviews prompted me to squander the money for the Spheres, and I’m very glad I did so far.

[MDB]

Glad you like them. I don’t know specifically for the Spheres, but I know having the aid microphone as default on phone calls has been an issue for some with Phonak Classic BT aids. I’m unaware of any work around.

[Nenen_UK]

@DaveUK, would you mind telling me what your experience of the Specsavers audiologist testing, set up and aftercare has been like so far please? At that price, I’m really interested in trying some Spheres with them myself.

[jeffpa]

I’m pretty sure there’s s way to have calls using ha mic or phone, but I don’t recall how to offhand.

[Emile030]

I paid £2.500 a pair of Spheres I90 in August as an early adapter at Wholesale Hearing in the UK.

[Emile030]

@jeffpa

calls using ha mic or phone

In Android it looks like this (as that is what you mean). You’ll find it in the settings, Connections, Bluetooth, paired devices list

In IOS probably search for hearing aids and then Bluetooth connections.

[Um_bongo]

@Nenen_UK

Whilst I understand that it is probably wise to choose a supplier with excellent audiologists and aftercare, and this may cost a bit more, can a difference of over £2,500 for this really be justified? And as Boots are part of the Sonova Group, which also owns Phonak, why on Earth are they £1,000 more expensive than Specsavers?

I expect there’s some Boots dispensers asking this question out there too…

[Milkshake]

Thank you! Will ask my audi.

[Milkshake]

Currency it’s US $6800.

[BarryH]

With Specsavers If you lose a single aid you have to buy a pair, they will not sell you 1 aid. I was told that 4 years ago while trialing Phonak Audeos. Unless by now they have changed their policy.

[Emile030]

@BarryH

Specsavers If you lose a single aid you have to buy a pair

Oh wauw, that sounds horrible to me. Than probably it would be better to take an additional insurance if possible. Another option would be buying a second hand one on the internet and ask the HCP to be so kind and transfer the settings you need. That will be about a couple of minutes to do.

[jeffpa]

that doesnt change using the ha mic, or the phones mic…

Some people say the HA mic picks up too much noise.

Pretty sure I saw this somewhere, but that isnt it. Must be in Target

[Scottysgson]

Hello. Confession: I’m new here and not yet sure how to get around. Question: I had the Phonak M70 hearing aids which were great! Fast forward 3 years last July I got the Phonak L0. I have had nothing but problems since! Unwanted program changes when using speech to text Jack’s the volume up to full. Constant static in phone calls. And lately shutting off the volume completely so I can’t hear the person on the other end of the phone. It’s gotten so I have to switch to the phones speakerphone to continue a call. Seven trips to the audiologist with her trying to fiddle with settings and make calls to Phonak and last time she confessed she was stumped. When I got the L70s in July problems so severe they gave me a new set of L70s. Just as bad. Now I have a brand new pair of hearing aids that are almost useless if I need to use the phone. If I know I have to be on the phone for any length of time I’m actually using the old M70s ! I have an Android 25 and at first they were suggesting it was the phone. And then confessed it’s not. Any suggestions?

[MDB]

Is an Android 25 phone mean one purchased in 2025? What phone? More importantly: Are the aids still returnable? This is likely not what you want to hear but this is what a trial period is for. If there are problems that are deal breakers one must address them within the trial period or negotiate an extended trial or return them. I guess it’s possible you got two fault sets of aids, but the phone seems more likely. I assume they tried switching the setting that has two choices for phone? Forget what it’s called but it’s in the app. Good luck!

[jim_lewis]

I think you’ll find when you have a unique problem, you’ll get more help from forum members if you start a new topic. This thread will be visited mostly by folks interested in the Sphere, and many of them will skim through your post and go on to the next. Your own thread with a title indicating you need help might get more attention. I think most people get good results with Phonak. How familiar is your audiologist with Phonak? In some big cities, an HCP can get the local Phonak field rep to help out when there’s a sticky problem.

[jim_lewis]

@Emile030

In IOS probably search for hearing aids and then Bluetooth connections.

@jeffpa

Some people say the HA mic picks up too much noise.

Pretty sure I saw this somewhere, but that isnt it. Must be in Target

I’m pretty sure @MDB is right, and when I’ll have time, I’ll look for the older thread about being trapped in phone calls with using HA mics in noisy environments with iPhones. There may be an option for Android, but an Internet search gives results claiming none for iOS. In iOS, the HAs are classic Bluetooth devices and are recognized as the headset profile (that’s the label that appears under the EAR icon in Control Center when I’m on a phone call or streaming). Headsets are supposed to have mics as well as earphones, so both input and output default to the HAs, and there is no way to change that in iOS. The only specific Hearing Devices settings are for MFi hearing aids under Settings, Accessibility, Hearing Devices. I’ve looked in Target, too, under Streaming Programs, and the only option is to control left and right HA mic volumes: (click to enlarge image)

The menu item for BT in the above screenshot only leads to a choice for using standard BT bandwidth or expanded bandwidth for better audio quality but possibly reduced stability in a phone call.

If one goes to iOS Bluetooth settings and clicks on the classic BT pairing (R-Phonak), one sees options similar to what @Emile030 showed for Android, but they don’t work.
If you click on Device Type, you can see a list of classic BT devices:

I’ve tried either “Speaker” or “Headphone” instead of Hearing Aid, but the HA mic still remains as the input device. iOS must be reading the physical type or usage protocol that my right Sphere is broadcasting and refuses to be hoodwinked by me changing the dropdown setting.

If I go back to the first screen (the initial R-Phonak BT settings screen) and choose DISCONNECT, that WORKS! (but it also disconnects the HAs from receiving the phone call, so I’m back to using the iPhone for both mic and speakers).

Edit_Update: I also tested “Other” and “Car Stereo,” and they don’t disable the HA mic either.

I tested the R-Phonak Hearing Aid BT settings changes by using the iPhone Apple Voice Memo app. I started a recording, walked away talking to my HAs, and entered another room to see if the sound of my recorded voice on my iPhone diminished as I got farther away from the phone. My voice only dimmed when I disconnected my HA BT entirely.

The most interesting thing is that using the Car Stereo device option seemed to noticeably increase the HA mic audio quality. My recorded voice was much louder and clearer than for any of the other options. The Device Type settings screen does have a footnote that says “Specifying the type of device can ensure your Headphone Audio Level measurements are accurate.” So, I’ll test that setting in an actual phone call later tonight. Perhaps the Device Type settings choice influences the amount of signal amplification and noise filtering employed?

[DaveL]

Jordan, a very strong thank you for your posts.

You give me hope.

I’m getting-by with my Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R’s now. I’m 3 years in…but in two years workman’s compensation Ontario will not supply top quality hearing aids. I’ve asked…I can’t pay to improve to top grade hearing aids.

I’m feeling very grateful that I have the hearing aids that I have. P90R’s. And I’m very grateful that I have workman’s compensation. I’m 78. Still working full time.

DaveL