I’ve had my Phonak Solanas for a bit over a month now. These are my first HAs so my situation is a bit different from Gump. Overall, I’m happy with them and the service from the Audiologist has been very good. She recommended the Solana as it has the best feature set for the price. There isn’t a lot of difference between the Solana and the Ambra. The Ambra has adjustable Zoom Control. I have Zoom Control as one of the selectable programs on my ComPilot remote but it can only zoom to the front. I haven’t used it yet so I don’t know how much it helps.
Sound Recover works but you need to have it adjusted to your specific need. I found that I was getting a lot of harshness and high pitched “noise” until they reduced the Sound Recover level. I may still need to have it turned down a further notch.
I have the standard ComPilot remote control. I can use it to adjust the volume (can also be done on the HAs); I can select programs (I have 4 optional programs set up); I can pair it with Bluetooth devices; and, I can plug in a direct stereo connection from a device like an MP3 player. It also has a microphone that is used when you pair it with a cell phone. It worked well with my phone but when the remote is hanging at chest level, it doesn’t pick up all that well.
For like2angle, someone on this forum can probably advise you as to the possibility of switching to another Audiologist. If the Audiologist is prepaid for the follow-up visits, that may make it difficult or impossible to switch. I think that your problem was your choice of Audiologist much more then choosing Phonak.