Phonak Marvel M90-R and Sennheiser Bluetooth Headphones

Hearing Aids
#24

You’ve already got a bunch of comments, but I will try to offer my experiences:

I have M90-R from the VA, with vented acrylic molds, which I got in January. From a comfort and feedback standpoint, I think they are perfectly comfortable and have never had ANY feedback. I only WISH I could occlude the VENT at times, which would help shut out sound and boost the bass.

I’ve now got the left side that is not charging the same, and is only very dim green, unless left for a long time. I don’t have remote programming, and have the OLD firmware, which has had a refresh since December that supposedly fixed / improved BlueTooth connectivity. I will see if the VA can connect to my HA, if only to get that firmware. The BT is somewhat inconsistent, and doesn’t reconnect completely to my PC.

ISSUES:

10-100 HZ is MISSING, and there is NO gain. So, when listening to music through BT, you will never get any amplification in that range. See below, since it might get somewhat better, if I can control the tone to the HA from BT on my PC. If I want good bass, here’s what I did to make my Klipsch earplugs work nearly perfectly: First, NO HA. So, there’s no HA for speech. If you want to add that, you can get your PC to send the sound to your earphones. Get your Audiogram and USE that to adjust your Equalizer on your PC. I was amazed at how far off it was, before I did that. Your sound SHOULD closely match your HA,

BT TONE sent to the HA is usually NOT going to be adjustable by the PC when sent to ANY BT device. I have an Alienware system which is pretty good, but the control over BT is MISSING completely. I have some new drivers I haven’t installed yet, that give me a lot more control over which sources are going where, and also can control all the tone / equalizer sent to BT. For now, I don’t think it is worth further complicating my setup. But, I might.

Switching BT devices — Right now, the only method is to go to either my phone or my PC,and DISCONNECT my HA over BT, and then connect to the other device. Supposedly, the new firmware enables BOTH BT devices simultaneously?? There is NO BT shutdown possible, without then REBOOTING your HA to reconnect to the other BT device.

NOTE that the BT on the phone can be connected to MUSIC AND/OR VOICE. There’s a checkbox for each in the BT setup to dynamically change these when connecting HA to phone. Windows 10 connects BOTH or NONE ;( …

PM me if you want specific advice for the VA / Phonaks. I DO PLAN to get a NOAH and do some programming myself. I do NOT have an Android device right now that supports the Phonak App, (OS v5.0 on my Note 3). At least the BT works.

#25

One of the problems that I discovered using Naida hearing aids to pick up signals from my iPod in Bluetooth is that it can only receive signals in monaural. Bummer! So I go back to playing through my component HiFi system and wearing my hearing aids to pick up the music directly without before being processed for Bluetooth reception. Why won’t the Naida hearing aids pickup Bluetooth signals in the original Stereo? Hearing it reduced to monaural reception is a real disappointment.

#26

Your VA audi can provide vent plugs to occlude the vents.
I used them with my Oticon OPN’s, but the problem won’t be resolved, 'cause those HA 's receivers can’t pass anything lower than 100khz.
I you want to enjoy music, fuuggeettabout bluetooth streaming, and use a pair of good cans!
I don’t know if they can do firmware updates remotely, and since most VA clinics have locked down, you’d prolly have to call to check.
The charging issue may be a defective charger, or battery.
Good luck.

#27

I think stereo streaming only became available with the Marvels.

#28

I was told by an audiologist that I’ve known for 10 years, that the Marvel is 2 channel so is stereo.

#29

I was told by an audiologist that I’ve known for 10 years, that the Marvel is 2 channel so is stereo
Yes the Nadia Marvel is Stereo. I don’t know about iPod’s.

#30

This is what I said in my first post to this board, as well as insisting that Bose had a crappy sound.

However, that was before i got M-90s & power domes. Now,to me, an amateur musician, music sounds great through my aids. Almost as good as with my, now unused, sennheisers. Also, no longer travel with NC headphones, connect to airline systems with BT dongle. And, yes, in stereo.

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#31

Well, I must have picked a lousy piece of music to play using BT between my Naida aids and my iPod, because this evening I picked an orchestral recording from a concert on one of my favourite classical records that I had transferred to my iPod Touch. This time the sound was amazing and I felt like I was standing in front of a full symphony orchestra and waving my baton. What a difference! So I guess what I learned is that when i stream great music to a great pair of hearing aids I get great sound. But when I stream lousy music it is still going to sound lousy. “Garbage in - garbage out” is the old adage.

#32

I too have really enjoyed streamed music with the Phonak Marvel aids. It is like going to a concert.
I do use custom soft silicone molds for a great seal. People who wear open fit aids will not get these results in my opinion.

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#33

The interference of glasses with the buttons is also a major frustration with my RS9’s.

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#34

Hi. Looking through history posts. The remote you speak of is a separate accessory? It is not the cellphone? TIA

#35

That is correct Phonak makes a separte remote to control volume & programs.https://www.amazon.com/Phonak-Marvel-Remote-Control/dp/B081D9K9XD

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#36

Thank you. That may be helpful.

#37

Are you molds vented or non vented for the great music sound?

#38

They have 1mm vents. That’s very small, difficult to push 12 pound mono fishing line through it.
Anything less than 1mm is essentially closed.
Something else. When the aids are muted, it’s better than any hearing protection ear plugs I have used.

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#39

Thank you. I have tried closed domes. I didn’t care for them as the ‘plugged’ feeling and Hearing my voice. I cannot recall how long I tried. With your small vents - do you get this - above - happening? Maybe with more time it would be fine. I want to hear speech , music, phone & TV. TV not so much. I cannot hear conversation on the cellphone without my hearing aids , which Bluetooth to my ears.
Thanks.

#40

I deal with occlusion using the silicone molds and 1mm vents. Some of the occlusion can be tuned out but not all.
The good side is really good sound quality.

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#41

Good sound quality is the priority. My brain will get used to the occlusion. Thanks for sharing the info.

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#42

The amount of occlusion is directly proportional to the size of the vent.
My vents are in the 2mm area, and I get zero occlusion, and great speech recognition.
Bluetooth music will never have bass, but the mid’s, and high’s will sound very clear.

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#43

Please see a rebuttal to MY other post. Phonak M-90-R’s CAN and DO work with BLUETOOTH all the way down BELOW 8 HZ!!

Thanks to FlashB1024, I asked the VA for my occlusion plugs and they’ve made my Quality of Life many times greater. Music sounds now, better than any $10,000 system, and it is also tuned to my ears. You do NOT need external headsets anymore, (except when the batteries go dead).

MY posts of HOW and WHY get perfect sound:
01/28/21 – DIY - Self Programming, How to Find Fitting Software
11/??/20 – Phonak Marvel: Can Bluetooth be turned off to reduce battery drain?

FYI — BOTH Green LEDs eventually went bad, and I had to send them both the the VA / factory for TWO WEEKS.