I currently wear a Phonak Paradise HA with a Cros. I am considering an upgrade. There is no Cros for the Phonak Sphere so I am considering a non-Sphere Infinio I90. I have found very little discussion of the non-Sphere I90 and would appreciate any feedback anyone would be willing to share, particularly regarding whether the I90 is a significant step up from the P90. I am also considering whether I should just wait about a year and see if Phonak comes out with a Cros for the Sphere. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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I own non-Sphere Infinios, and in my opinion, they represent a “incremental” upgrade to the Paradise model. I believe this is the reason why there are almost no reviews of them available online. They do the job but they don’t carry the exciting features of the Spheres.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Phonaks (my second favorite brand), but I believe there are better products available for the same price.
Try them and let us know your experience, just make sure you can return them with no fees if you don’t find the wow .
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I think there was a chat on here a few months ago with senior Sonova/Phonak personnel. I think they said they do not plan to release a CROS/BiCROS version because the sphere works so well. Maybe I’m misremembering what they said, but you should look for that discussion on here.
WH
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Was this what you intended to bring to the attention of @user156 ?
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That was the conversation. A lot of stuff to read through! Thanks for the assist !
WH
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Thank you for the information.
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Appreciate you sharing your experience,
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Yes, this was helpful. It does not appear that Phonak had plans for a CROS for the Sphere at the time of that conversation.
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I am a potential CROS user. Based on my experiences of past CROS trials, I doubt that CROS would provide you with many more benefits than the Infinio Sphere without CROS. In any case, it is highly likely that you will benefit greatly from the Spheric Speech-in-Noise programme if you need to talk in a noisy environment.
CROS is mainly helpful in quiet settings when talking to someone on the poorer ear side. I didn’t notice any benefits in noisy environments.
I have CI in my poorer side and it is much better improvement than CROS.
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It’s unlikely there will be a CROS for the Infinio Sphere as the battery drain would be too high with both spheric speech clarity and CROS transmission engaged simultaneously.
You might try a single Infinio Sphere instead to see whether unilateral performance with spheric speech clarity justifies a monoaural fitting or if a CROS system meets your needs better.
Alternatively Signia has the new Pure BCT IX which has bluetooth classic and a whopping 36 hours of CROS battery life per charge and more adaptive beamforming microphones (can isolate 3 talkers in different frontal positions vs just 1 with Phonak) at the 7IX level of technology. You may find this better value for money as a CROS user.
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Hi!
I am a Phonak P90 + CROS user and I have trialed the Infinio 90 + CROS combo. I also thought it was an incremental improvement, with slightly better connectivity (faster connection via BT to devices) and better battery life. For me it wasn’t worth the cost to upgrade as my P90 just a couple of years old.
Trialed a Sphere for my good ear and was very impressed. Really loved it, but thought I would wait for the next generation. Have seen the price drop a lot since I trialed it so feel this was a good decision at the time.
I also doubt there will be a CROS solution for this range for a long time, if ever.
Since trialing one Sphere and liked it, I have mostly retired the CROS aid and only use my good ear P90. I have found faster connections and better battery life as a result. I don’t think the CROS was doing much for me; maybe making some things worse. Still has its uses (car trip with passengers), but it stays in its box more these days.
I am going to see a new Audi shortly for a second opinion about my bad ear to see if it is at all aidable, way too bung, or candidate for cochlear implant.
I would also be very open to just one AI enhanced aid for the good ear in next year or so. I don’t think I would buy a CROS device again.
Good luck and let us know what you go with!
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