Paradise BTE UP at full gain = Opn at half gain? 
Well, the default volume sounded a bit low to me. I installed myPhonak app on my iPhone and increased the volume to the max and I could hear more details.
Today I returned the loaner Paradise. $5600 for the pair is too steep for me. Afterwards, I pad a visit to the Starkey clinic. Starkey evolv AI Power BTE 2400 costs $2300, but they don’t loan it out. I was fit a pair of evolv AI 1600 for testing purposes and wore them for an hour inside the clinic. Initial impressions: the human speech sounded a bit dry and pure without any reverberation. I listened to the video of my kitty’s meowing and it didn’t sound as sweet as with my oticon OPN. I installed Starkey app on my iPhone it has far more controls than oticon.
I have lost all hopes that oticon will release SP/UP BTE version of More with 120db receivers this year. I think I will go with evolv AI mainly due to the low price.
I have already ordered Starkey evolv AI Power Plus BTE 13 2400 pair for $2295. The clinic will deliver the aids and the earmolds to me in 2-3 weeks. The only other BTE option I had was Phonak Paradise P90 for $5600. Of course, $3300 difference is not negligible. LOL, I can even buy a pair of Paradise P90 for less than $3000 on eBay and save $300. 
I was comparing data sheets between Oticon More and Starkey evolv AI. Starkey evolv AI seems to be better at least on paper.
Oticon More has up to 10 dB Noise suppression, while evolv AI has up to 30 dB of reduction.
Oticon More has ANSI/IEC 2cc Coupler Peak OSPL90 rated at 127 dB SPL, while evolv AI has 140 dB. More has ANSI/IEC 2cc Coupler HFA-OSPL90 at 123 dB SPL, while evolv AI has 133 dB.
Oticon More has 2cc Coupler Peak Full-on Gain of 64 dB, while evolv AI has 80 dB.
If you have tried Phonak Paradise, can you tell later what the visual differences are in the application, and in using the hearing aid. Is Starkey dobsr in various conditions? For example, in a car, in a crowd when a lot of people are talking, etc.
The gain was maxed on Paradise P90, but the default volume sounded a bit low to me. Another person on this forum had a similar experience: Ultra/Super Power Hearing Aids with Semi-Linear option - #16 by TallRobocop
myPhonak app is pretty easy to use and you can adjust the volume to the max. TV program with maxed out volume was great for watching movies, because I could hear more sounds than with oticon OPN 1. However, if the phone display turned on to show messages, the aid would automatically switch the program to the low-volume Bluetooth Streaming and would return to the TV program after the display was off.
I have not yet received evolv AI 2400 so I can’t share my experience yet. I wore evolv AI 1600 only for an hour inside the clinic, but they could not lend it to me to test it in various environments.
A change to the myphonak app a little while back made it so that the return to a program you’d changed goes back as you had it. I often mix out the HA mics to hear streamed content better and if I go from one source (like a phone) to another (like a tv connector or roger) then it is still mixed the same way now when I get back. And it wasn’t that way six months ago.
I have carefully gone through most programs on the phone to remove ability to send audio notifications. Calling still can. Very few things interrupt now.
WH
Why don’t you try Oticon Xceed hearing aids which will have the same processor as your current aids but is made for severe to profound users like you? I am thinking of trying them myself.
Oticon Xceed is too bulky, has older Bluetooth compatible with only iPhone and has no AI like More. Besides, I have already paid for evolv AI.
I was watching the review of evolv AI and this guy said that he visits this site. 
Sam's Starkey Evolv AI RIC 2400 Review [Real User] - YouTube
My advice is quiet simple, do your own survey of how a well adjusted hearing aids sound to you. The more you read on this forum the more confused you will become. The first and the very most important thing on your wishlist list should be can a truly hear the best that I am capable of, without having to change programs, volume or look at remote control device. Once that has been done then you can collect the play toys to go with the aids.
My evolv AI aids will be delivered next week. Meanwhile, my left OPN aid shut down after 15-20 minutes after inserting fresh battery 2 days ago. I reseated the battery and again it shut down in 15 minutes. After restarting it again, it began to automatically switch between programs. However, there have been no abnormalities since yesterday. Is my left OPN aid dying after nearly 5 years of service?
My aids arrived yesterday and I got fitted today. The default sound volume seemed a bit low to me initially, but the audiologist said that my brain had to adapt to the Starkey sound. When I left, in the street I could definitely hear less background noise unlike oticon which absorbs sound from all directions.
Regarding speech clarity, first impressions deserve entire chapter. With Oticon OPN, I found listening to the speech in the moving car challenging. The most challenging person to hear was my distant relative, 4 year-old girl who lives near me and our families occasionally visit each other. With Oticon OPN, she sounded mumbling and I frequently asked her parents to “translate” her speech. Today, we (me, 4 year-old girl and her dad) traveled in the same car. In the Thrive app I upped the sliders and her speech was so sweet and clear. I didn’t know she had such voice and I was amazed. Now, what does the equalizer in the Thrive app exactly do? Apply more gain? 
The streaming apparently needs to be ironed out. When I play the videos on my iPhone, the volume is low and adjusting the sliders on both iPhone and in the Thrive app don’t help. Also, if the iPhone screen is off and I turn it on, evolv AI jumps to the lower volume program à la Phonak.
Right now as I am typing this post, the clicks of the keyboard sound are banging against my ears.
I had a similar problem on my Unitron which are the same as the phonak paradise. It was quiet because the option (automatic adaptation) was on. the volume was at 70% boost. This is done to slowly increase to 100% over time so that the person can get used to the new hearing aids more easily.
Maybe starkey also has that option under a different name. I am an experienced user and I want to get used to it in a different way. I’m not like those who complain that they can’t get used to a new sound.
I installed Starkey Inspire and launched it in simulation mode because I don’t have the required hardware for the connection. It has Experience Manager under Fitting. It included three levels: Novice, Familiar, Experienced. I don’t know that setting did my new audiologist set.
Do you own Starkey evolv AI too?
Thanks for that tip about Experience Manager. I’ve had Starkey Inspire installed for a few years but didn’t check that setting before. I had Inspire (older version) installed 3 years ago when my VA audio recommended Livio AI ITC customs because they were smaller than the ITE customs I asked for. When I got home from my appointment and checked ITC customs in Inspire, I discovered they didn’t include telecoils. So, I called the audio to switch to ITE customs with telecoils and they worked fine until they didn’t–multiple returns for repair of the right circuit error in the Thrive app.
The VA replaced the Livio AI’s with the Evolv AI custom ITE which started off with slightly louder sounds than the Livio’s. I didn’t know if the louder sounds were because the Evolv’s worked better than the Livio’s but the VA audio turned the overall volume down instead of determining what was too loud. Whereas the TV streamer with the Livio’s defaulted to the mid-volume range and was just slightly too loud, the same streamer volume setting with the Evolv’s is way too loud. I have to set the streamer volume almost off for the same Livio volume setting.
I have my 3rd adjustment appointment next week and I’ll take along a screen shot of the Experience Manager setting to see what mine are set for. Thanks again for that tip…
No, I have a Unitron BLu, it has that too. And when you select Beginner, it automatically turns on the “automatic adaptation” option.
I bought Noahlink wireless, and it was my first programming experience. But luckily I found out what it was about.
I bought the hearing aids through ebay because they are too expensive for me in my country.
Phonak Target is not available for the public to download unlike Oticon Genie and Starkey Inspire. That’s another minus for Phonak in addition to their exorbitant prices.
I read somewhere else that old pirate Kev (who happens to be Spud’s friend) from Scotland borrowed Phonak’s rare disc in late 2000s/2010 and cracked the most secure DRM.
Simple Google search did not find anything unlike Starkey Inspire. OK, I googled also for Oticon Genie and it seems that Oticon has removed the public download link for Genie.