Now, I understand….. Roger On, WOW factor!

Right folks, I was at a very noisy wedding on Friday…. Stunning location, quite literally on the “Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond” in Luss…… Approximately 200 guests, and an extremely loud rock band, singing, dancing, with much merriment, and mostly all pissed as farts, suffice to say, this event would be, an extreme challenge for any hearing impaired, but I would also say that for all whom attended, in the function room of the hotel, I doubt if many actual “Hearing” folks there were able to have a meaningful conversation, at times the din was overpowering……I first tried the Phonak Touchscreen Mic, It wasn’t able to cope in these extreme acoustic conditions, voices were just drowned out! I then tried the Roger On, although I must confess, I wasn’t overly confident it would work, but to my surprise it got a pass mark, but only just, the only way the Roger On would work, was up close, and in their personal space, 4 to 6 inches away from their mouths…… But at least, I could have those conversations! In conclusion, Roger On is a fantastic piece of kit, it has limitations though, when perfectly able bodied hearing folks, are struggling badly, do we HOH, have the right to expect to hear better than those whom have no loss whatsoever? Cheers Kev :wink:

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Noice! Thanks for the report!

WH

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You are welcome WH…. I should add, you are never going to hear everything in an extremely challenging acoustic environment, like the wedding I was at, if you are hitting around 60% word comprehension, then you are doing exceptionally well with the Roger On, and probably far better than most of the crowd, whom don’t have a hearing loss, but you might hear enough to have a rudimentary convo? In more temperate conditions, like moderate noise, perhaps in the 80% range? In quiet conditions, you should be in the very high 90’s of word recognition, using the Roger On…. Quite amazing technology! YMMV. Cheers Kev :wink:

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@kevels55

In a nice way, I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds the On better then the Touchscreen.

I was wondering if it were just me as Phonak hasn’t updated the Touchscreen in years so wondered if Phonak feels the Touchscreen is as good as possible.

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Thank you for the reply @Zebras :grin: I found the Touchscreen brilliant as a “plug in”, when using my iPad or iMac, in quiet to moderate noise, it is excellent, but it falls down badly in loud noise, it doesn’t have that cutting edge, even using it in, “interview mic style”, the noise will drown it out, with Roger On, you will be able to comprehend far better…… So your hypothesis about the lack of firmware update’s is most probably well founded…. BTW @Zebras, I managed to acquire an updated Roger version of, Phonak Inspiro, for £40 off eBay, seems to work well, connects instantly to my P90’s, but I will test it out more on Tuesday night, sound quality seems very good…… I plan using the Inspiro for coaching sessions, (I coach pool) in a moderate listening environment…. If it works, It is a relatively cheaper alternative. Cheers Kev :wink:

The Inspiro is good but be aware that the MM10 Microphone can’t be bought anymore as the Inspiro has been discontinued.

The Touchscreen is old technology now as I had it in 2017. I wonder when they’ll bring out a new educational Roger?!

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Yeah @Zebras, £72 from Connevans for the MM 10’s with the VAT waver, plus postage (just checked, allegedly 8 in stock) after reading your post, I decided to buy another 2 Inspiro’s units for £40 each, which have MM10 mic’s included from eBay, plenty spares now :upside_down_face: as you are no doubt aware, you can link them all together into your aids…. I also like the fact, you can change the batteries with very easy access, and you can buy these fairly cheaply on eBay! I tried the Inspiro last night whilst listening to music on YouTube for a couple of hours, via the 3.5 jack hooked up to my iPad, the sound quality was excellent for me, and the music was most enjoyable for a change :grin: Cheers Kev :wink:

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A wee update on the Phonak Roger Inspiro, amazingly they still sell these new, in the UK at least, an eye watering £1349.99 each, see link below…. I now have 3 of these working perfectly, £40 each from eBay, I have updated all with the latest firmware. I like the Inspiro, they have excellent sound quality, and they can double up as TV connectors, with the 3.5 plug, or indeed Toslink to 3.5 also works well…. You can also hook them up to your PC or iPad, or your stereo. I can link them all to my Phonak Touchscreen, so I can listen to 3 speakers simultaneously. The only problem is you need, Roger X (02) Receivers, and they are not cheap, (around £600 each new) I managed to acquire 2 newish ones for £200 each, eBay is my friend :upside_down_face: I guess what I am trying to say is, there are ways and means, to acquire ALD’s, and not break the bank, and the Inspiro ticks a lot of boxes…… Tis older technology, but they are quite versatile. If you have Phonak aids, that have telecoil, or indeed any other hearing aid’s with Telecoil, perhaps the Phonak Neck Loop type (02) Educational is an option, they com up regularly on eBay for around £300, you might acquire cheaper stateside? Cheers Kev :wink:

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@kevels55

Have you found the EasyGain part of the Inspiro?

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I did @Zebras , then I couldn’t find it again :rofl: :upside_down_face: :joy:

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@kevels55

It’s good the feature is still there for you. I wasn’t sure because you don’t have physical receivers, whether the feature would still work. :honeybee:

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I have P90 RTs, I get confused which Roger On works with them Roger On or Roger On iN? Is there a difference in functionality? TIA

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@Sequoia_Woman

You need the Roger On iN for the Paradise and Marvel Aids to install the licenses.

The standard Roger On doesn’t contain the licenses.

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https://www.connevans.co.uk/product/33828435/3PRONIN/Phonak-Roger-On-iN-Radio-Aid-Microphone-Transmitter-for-Phonak-Marvel-and-Paradise-hearing-aids

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@Zebras @Sequoia_Woman Not sure if it was only me, but Phonak’s quality control is rubbish in the case of the Roger on.
I’ve had to send a Roger on in because it had scratches all over the screen and a bump on the bottom left of the screen.
Then, I’ve been sent another one, with small scratches on the screen (top right corner), then it did develop a bump after a month of sporadic use.
So, make sure you get a good warranty if you are spending ££££.

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GROAN. Another classic example of eager maker of so-called “helpful” hearing device sends it to market without a CLUE about how it actually works for us folks here with aids on and just wanting SPEECH (repeat after me S P E E C H) enhanced in such noisy places.

I don’t suppose your Roger device would have a “Speech in Loud Noise” setting like my Phonak Marvel aids have? It seems that like our hearing aids, these accessories err on the side of amplifying ALLLLL noise and not just HUMAN speech.

Now, if was to have a conversation with a fork, a wineglass or maybe the overhead music system in a joint, that’d be perfectly fine to hear all that chatter through my aids. But I typically sit at a table with 6-8 others and struggle to hear human beings talk.

Face-palm.

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@1Bluejay You might want to watch the full video:

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Hey thanks for that link! I will definitely look at it. I was at my new audi’s the other day and she said she could have a Phonak rep in to demo a Roger setup. I should at least check it out before judging it! :slight_smile:

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I feel that the Roger On (I don’t know what model alan2 was using) does focus on speech to the point that music is useless to me. But things like someone excessively clanging their spoon against a cup still comes in. You can use the myroger app to cut out sectors you don’t want to hear from, if that helps. I am aggressive about tailoring it to suit the situation.

WH

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Glad to hear you are liking your Roger On. It was recently rated the top Phonak accessory. I have asked for one from the VA. You have answered a question that has come up about the On. In talking with the VA Audiologist, she said she would have to order new aids for me, since the On wasn’t compatible with Marvels. I thought it was, but didn’t argue since I am getting new aids anyway. I have seen instances an the past where a VA Audiologist didn’t know what they were talking about. I am not going to even mention the compatibility issue when I get the new aids. I am really looking forward to using the On. I believe it will help me a lot. Thanks for posting this.

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