Thanks Um bongo I missed that. I see they now have iPFG 2.6b.
Thought I would post a quick update. These new Spice versions of the Smart IXs are doing really well. Much better than I had expected. I don’t think we should all be so quick to minimize the changes that went into the new Spice updates. I sat through a long meeting yesterday in a large meeting room that had lots of air conditioning fan noise. The room was arranged with the desks in a U formation and there were a number of women in the meeting with soft voices. The hearing aids did really, really well. I had no issues hearing anyone and I didn’t have to touch the volume control once. The hearing aids were in automatic mode for the whole time so I really have no way of knowing which programs were being selected for the sound conditions. The hearing aids seem to sense when someone is talking to one side of your face and they channel some of the conversation wirelessly to the other hearing aid. I am certain they are doing this but I’m not sure when this is happening. Its kinda subtle and the hearing aids flip between programs very smoothly.
I also noticed that the hearing aids did a good job of flipping into a noise reduction mode when I was driving on the highway in my car. The noise reduction was appropriate for the road noise conditions and I could still hear the radio just fine. The other thing I have noticed is that the fidelity on these hearing aids is better. I suspect that the faster sound processor has something to do with this.
I still notice the hearing aids doing weird things from time to time. Sometimes they flip in and out of a program and while the change is subtle…it is noticeable. You sorta get that occluded feeling for a few seconds as it goes into noise reduction mode and then switches to autozoom or stereo zoom. Most people wouldn’t notice but I’m a fussy kind of guy.
I am also using the upgraded iCom. The wire is still annoying but the sound quality does appear to be better than the Resound Unite Phone Clip. I have asked a few people about the sound quality when I’m talking to them on the phone and they say it sounds great. Its going to be tough making a decision between having the iCom with a wire (and better sound quality) vs. the Unite Phone Clip, no wire and lower quality sound.
This is turning out to be a closer horse race than I originally thought. Still need to torture test the Smarts in a really noisy Chinese food restaurant or something like that…hehehehe.
JordanK.
JordanK,
How did the initial fitting go? Did the audiologist have any issues with the new software or mention that the fitting was easier/harder than with the old software?
Are these aids easier or harder to learn how to operate or present any unique issues?
I’m getting the Ambra MicroM on the 15th.
Please tell us what you think of the Ambra MicroM after you have been fitted. Would love to know what your thoughts are on the pros and cons of them. I am just patiently waiting for my Audie to contact me.
SuJaDon
I certainly will give a report. I will give my initial impression as soon as they are fitted and a more in-depth review after I have had a chance to evaluate them in different settings.
Hi JordanK, thanks for the update. Sounds like the new Spice version of the Smart IXs are a marked improvement. That conference room environment you describe is one of the more challenging listening environments. Do you know if an existing basic Smart IX (for lack of a better description) can be upgraded to a Spice? It sounds like it’s a different processor, but is the external housing and other components pretty much the same as the Smart IX?
What is the official name of these devices with the Spice chip? Is it a Smart IX? If you just ask now for a Smart IX from an audi today, is this what you would get? (apologies for all the questions)
Thanks again. David
Unfortunately, people seem to be looking at this product the wrong way around. What Phonak have done is completely upgraded the chipset from the core platform to the spice platform. This has then been reverse engineered into the existing shells (in the main, with a couple of exceptions) which makes it look like an upgrade.
In reality the product is entirely new from the ground up, it runs far faster, it shares information and sound across the head in a different way AND it includes the first fulling binaural wireless mic array. It also runs on completely new software (TARGET).
The product line includes Ambra, Audeo Smart S, Mini S, at various levels of technology.
It’s difficult to draw a parallel, but if you imagine a Pentium D computer running XP being upgraded to a Quad-Core Windows 7 machine, you get the idea of the kind of step made.
Jordan,
Thanks for the updates. These new Phonaks sound great. I’ll be interested to hear the results of your “pressure testing” in noisy environments since your last Phonaks didn’t perform as well there.
The one thing that really bugs me about the Phonak line is the iCom. With all the technical upgrades they’re making to their hearing aids and fitting software, you’d think they could do better than the wired neckloop.
Perhaps this is in the works. If I had my guess, it would be and whatever would be released later on would be compatible with this new spice-chip line of HA’s.
Chris
Your reviews are very informative Jordan! Please keep them coming and I am also contemplating on trying the Spice generation series but the powerful ones like Ambra 
The initial fitting took longer than I expected. I think I was there about 90 minutes. The reason for this is that the software is completely different than the previous version of Phonak’s fitting software. My audiologist was still figuring out how to use the software and he seemed to indicate that there are still a few bugs. That being said, once we got up and running, it went smoothly.
The aids operate the same way as the old Smart IXs…so no change. These hearing aids are easy to operate but I will say that the remote is more complex than the Resound Unite Remote for the Aleras.
I just finished another day of wearing these hearing aids and they are great. I tried them out in the company cafeteria today and they did okay.
JordanK.
The new Smart IXs use the exact same shell as the old version. You can’t really tell the difference except for the microphone area on top of the hearing aids which looks a little different.
The new versions are called the Phonak Audeo S Smart IX. They just added an “S” to indicate Spice??
Jordan
The hearing aids performed really well in the noisy cafeteria at work today. It wasn’t perfect but the guy I was having lunch with was French Canadian and his accent makes it a bit of a greater challenge. I had no issues hearing the serving woman or the person at the cash…so I think the hearing aids are doing what they are supposed to do. I am having dinner tonight with my entire family and they are very noisy. I shall see how they do in a “clan” environment. One thing is certain…the hearing aids are better than the old versions.
The one thing these hearing aids do really well is background noises. Things like keys jangling, the sound of your footsteps on gravel, the sound of someone rolling a suitcase along the ground, car engine noises…are all amazing. In fact…much better than just about any other hearing aids I have used.
Yes…the wire neck loop is annoying. But I will say the sound quality is really good. Better than the Resound Unite Phone Clip. The real beauty of the Resound unit is that its more discrete than the iCom and you don’t feel silly with something odd looking hanging around your neck. Perhaps Phonak will come up with something better.
I have attached a couple of photos in case anyone wants to know what they look like. You will note that I got them in red…cause…red is the FASTEST color.
JordanK.
Thank you Jordan for your posts - I am sure I’m not the only lurker following your progress with the new spice aids with anticipation.
I’m due to be fitted with a set of Ambra ITE aids next week. I’m not quite sure what to expect, having previously only worn basic hearing aids, but hopefully i’ll be equally pleased with the performance of the new Spice chipset.
I’ve got one question though, that I’d be grateful for your thought on - would you recommend getting the remote?
My audi said that 90% of remote controls end up gathering dust, so dissuaded me from buying / trialing one. I know it’s early days, but do you find the remote essential?
I’m finding all of Jordan’s posts fascinating since I will be trialing the same in a couple weeks (I chose blue 
) I also am now 3 days into trialing Agil Pros. Whatever I end up getting, they will be my first aids ever, so at this point I really don’t have anything else to compare them with. I’m really curious how the Phonaks will feel and work in comparison to the Oticons, which I’m liking so far. I gave them a trial by fire today by going to a noisy restaurant with two of my girlfriends, both of whom have accents that trip me up regularly (Indian and Vietnamese). It was great not to have to say “what??” or “huh??” every few minutes!
Kathy
JordanK
How well are the domes working for? Were you offered a molded earpiece or is your hearing loss low enough to where you don’t need them? It would help if you posted your audiogram.
I think you really need the remote. The reason I say this is that I always prefer to use the buttons on the hearing aids to change programs. This means that the only way to tweak the volume is to use a remote. I don’t need to do this all the time, but the few times you want more volume…its very helpful. The other thing is that these new Smart IXs have a feature called “FlexControl” which is a departure from how you the volume control typically works. With FlexControl, when you increase the volume on the remote, the hearing aids only increase the voice frequencies. This is a really cool feature because 90% of the time when you are fiddling with the volume, you are doings so because you can’t hear speech. My typical situation is that I switch to a program with heavy noise reduction and I need to turn up the volume a bit to bring up the volume of the voices. FlexControl makes this more efficient because I’m not boosting up the high end and low end noise.
The second important reason for getting the remote is that its a good tool for fine tuning the hearing aids during your first few months of fitting. It gives you the ability to play with the programs under various sound environments and allows you to experiment with turning up and down the volume. The more you fiddle, the more information you will be able to give your audiologist describing how each program is doing. This is important during the first 3-5 fittings.
The Third reason for the remote has to do with the StereoZoom feature on these hearing aids. You can use the remote to tell the hearing aids that you want to hear sound from a particular direction (i.e. front, back, left right). Some good uses for this are watching a movie (zoom front), taking a driving trip with a passenger (zoom right), or snoop on your teenage kids (zoom behind). I don’t use this much but sometimes it comes in handy.
The final reason is that these hearing aids have a learning ability. After you get fitted, every time you touch the volume in the automatic mode, the hearing aids learn from your actions and adjust automatically to adapt to your requirements. When you go back for your next fitting, the audiologist can see how the hearing aids adapted and make changes, etc.
Just my 2 cents. Maybe someone else will jump in with more reasons. I don’t use it all the time but its useful sometimes.
Jordan.
I haven’t tried a molded earpiece. My audiologist has indicated that I don’t need this given my hearing loss. He did say that we could fit the hearing aids with power receivers if required. The domes on these hearing aids (torpedo shaped) are much better than the typical tulip domes.
I just added my audiogram to my signature.
Jordan
My audi just got the MyPilot for me to test with my “standard” Smart IXs. I am finding it handy, especially the ability to adjust volume in different situations. While the Smart IXs do have on-board buttons for adjusting either volume or programs, I like being able to adjust both with the MyPilot and I like having a visual display of my volume settings. Then I can tell how much I’m off from baseline.
One thing I’m noticing, though, is that the direct zoom is not making a huge difference. I believe it’s doing something, but sometimes I’m wondering if it’s actually switching into a different mode. Having said that, last night I was in a very very loud bar with my wife and we were at a table in the back and I was sitting with my back to the wall facing the tables and the bar. My wife was sitting next to me but it was still challenging with all the room noise to hear her clearly. So I put it into left zoom and, while other noises were still present, my wife’s voice stood out more and I could hear her. So it did come in handy there even though it wasn’t dramatic. Every little bit helps.
I was also in the library this morning and talking to two women, one whose speech volume was very low. While chatting, I pulled out the MyPilot and kicked up the volume a few notches and it made a difference.
If you are going to be in different environments, especially challenging ones, it’s good to have a remote because you may need to adjust settings to deal with the particular challenges.
JordanK,
Did you pair the AT&T bluetooth home phone with your Audeo S Smart IXs? If so, how is that working out?
Please do let us know how you get on next week with trial of new aids.