Phonak Roger Rip Off

Hearing Aids
#1

Is it “Just Me” or is PHONAK taking the proverbial Pi$$… When I got my Marvel 90’s 13’s I was reliably informed by the Audi (Whom is a good guy) that shortly my Marvels would have a firmware upgrade and any Roger products would the be able to connect to them seamlessly, there was an element of truth in that statement, what was unclear/deceitful was the fact that it would cost an arm and a leg to set them up!!! Now I am all for a reasonable profit which is fair do’s, but Phonak appear to be exploiting the more venerable in our society, the severe/profound HOH for them to claim excessive profits, they do not appear to have any moral compass whatsoever and to my mind they will keep up their exploitation unless we collectively take our hard earned cash and buy HA’s from another hearing aid company???

I am not impressed Phonak and I am sure many others feel likewise, I have the Marvels, I have the Roger Pen 1.1, the hardware and firmware is updated and ready, but I can’t connect because you either want me to buy a new Roger iN with Shoes, or buy the Roger x Shoes with a later date code and by the way… The Roger X Shoes are just to get the serial number off them and are not of any practical use, in effect around £600 each here in the UK, why can’t Phonak be honest and just sell us a licence and be done with it, if Phonak do not U turn on this out off sheer embarrassment, then why can’t we vote with our money hit them in the pocket??? Your thoughts folks, cheers Kev.

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Connecting to multiple Bluetooth devices with Phonak Marvel
#2

Yes, too expensive. Unfortunate that many who could benefit from the tech cannot afford it. However for me the benefit was worth the cost.

Edit: For me, the benefit was being able to continue to work, something I may have had to give up without the extra aid Roger provides. The cost was about $1250. Not a hard decision.

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#3

Buy at your own risk, but once you do your credit card will no long love you. Ever wonder why other HA companies don’t come out with a Roger Pen or a Roger Select? It’s because the technology is over hyped with meager results. I guess the bigger question is can you trial the Roger Pen or Select and if you don’t like it - return for a full refund?. Of course I’d rather put all my energy and dollars into finding the right hearing aid(s), versus some over priced gadget that most likely I’d forget where I left it.

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#4

I am trialing the M90 rechargeable with the Roger Direct. While yes I agree that all these tech goodies are overpriced. Much for the same reason @Psych1needs this for work, so do I.

I’m also not happy that the Roger Direct does not connect seamlessly with the battery version of the Marvel, you would need to purchase a $500 software boot to connect the Roger Direct with the battery powered Marver. The tech and hardware is worth it to me for my job.

#5

That doesn’t make any sense, the Roger Direct system works on all Marvels whether Battery or Rechargeable

#6

You couldn’t be more wrong, the reason why no other brand does something like the Roger is because no other brand has concentrated research and development into FM the way that Phonak has. Roger, and Phonak FM are viewed as the gold standard for educational FM systems across the world. When you add a Roger device to the Marvel it is absolutely amazing. Yes, they are outrageously expensive, but if it is your ability to continue to work versus the cost, you have to see it as a really good investment. No I don’t work for Phonak and I am not even a huge fan. But I have experienced Marvel and Roger Direct with the Roger Pen and it was amazing. Jaw droppingly so.

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#7

In fairness to your Audi, Phonak weren’t very clear about any of it, they only began to talk about loading the receivers into the Marvels much later. Do you have any existing Roger X receivers? Because some of them can be loaded into the Marvel range.

#8

Hi Geo-C

They don’t actually need the the Roger X just the “Serial Number“ of a certain date code off it, the software and hardware is already installed, it is not the actual boot you need… the Roger X then becomes a “Tiny” and very expensive paperweight!!! Cheers Kev

#9

Are you all saying that you don’t need the “boot” to pair/connect the battery operated Marvel aids to the Roger Select iN?

I was told that the rechargeable Marvel HA’s pair seamlessly, but you need a boot to pair the battery operated Marvel HA’s. Two different audi’s from two different HA stores told me this.

#10

They both need the “license”, “boot”, or whatever you want to call it. If you purchase an iN device, it comes included.

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#11

Then, if I buy a battery operated Marvel aid, would I need to pay an additional $500 for a “boot,” license,” whatever you call it. (Outside of the obvious profit.)

I thought I was told that the rechargeable aids have a chip or something in them that the battery operated aids do not. :thinking:

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#12

Both the battery and rechargeable have the same chip and capability as long as they’ve had the firmware upgrade (should be free, or perhaps minimal charge depending on agreement with audiologist. What your audiologist charges is up to them. Perhaps they charge more for rechargeable and includes iN capability?

#13

Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s just phonak.

#14

I have an appointment with my Audi early next week, a specialist on Phonak, so I will find out then, hopefully it will not be too painful on the pocket? I will report back in due course and let you know the craic… Cheers Kev

#15

Starkey announced last week at the expo a device similar to Roger,

they call it the table mic. I have not seen one yet, but from what I was told from someone who was there, it is a round device, about the diameter of the top of a beer can that has multiple microphones, and no additional components needed on the hearing device to pair and stream. I will post more info once I get the chance to work with one.

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#16

Well I spoke to the Audiologist today, the Audiologist needs an “Installation Kit” from their technical department and also a Roger X shoe/boot to get the serial number off it and that’s it, they will sell me one for around £325… So I am going ahead next week to have my Roger Pen 1.1 hooked up to my marvels, I decided just to buy 1 Roger X, my logic being I have extremely poor hearing in my left ear, and I would perhaps not gain much advantage from a stereo input from my Roger Pen and then again, since the marvels are wirelessly linked, perhaps the Roger Pen will connect to both ears without me having to shell out another £325? TBVH the Audiologist was unsure as this will actually be a first go at this type of pairing… We shall see? Cheers Kev :slight_smile:

#17

You could always look on eBay for another 03 Roger X receiver that has a serial number of 1744 and above. One just went for £100 and had a 2019 serial number.

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#18

Thank you Zebras… I have been looking, I will let you all know how I get on with just the one😜 cheers Kev

#19

Hi folks, I went to my Audiologist appointment yesterday to get my Roger Pen 1.1 paired with my Phonak Marvel 90’s it took about 10 minutes, it would have been much quicker had she been able to find a AAA battery for the the Roger Installer… She took the Roger X (02) and plugged that into the installer, placed my right hearing aid on top of the installer and paired them, then went into Target and typed in the serial numbers of both Roger Pen and the Roger X, saved and away it went… My only complaint is I had to pay £325 for a Roger X to only get the serial number off it, apart from the serial number the Roger X has no other function whatsoever with the Marvels!!! Cheers Kev.

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#20

So here’s a thought - if you buy a Roger X off ebay, there must be a risk that someone has already “used” the serial number, so you are just buying a useless little cube?