I had Signia Pure 7AX also rebadged as Horizon 7AX in India for trial for a few days. I use Phonak Marvel 30 for last 3 years or so. So, this post is about my experience and difference I found when I trialed 7AX device.
First of all, as my existing aids are essential category and 7ax are top of the line category, the comparison between Marvel 30 and 7ax may not make sense. But to be frank enough, I feel, my Marvel 30 performs adequately to aid my hearing very well. And there was no difference between speech understanding in most situations.
However, there are situations where 7ax made a very big and noticeable difference in performance. Let me describe the scenarios:
I live in a house which has ground and upper floor. If someone talks to me from upper floor, I would face lot of difficulty in understanding the speech. But with 7ax, it was effortless. I was absolutely stunned with the clarity of sound as it came from upper floor when some one spoke from upper floor and I could hear it very clearly.
Impact sounds are handled very well. (But I guess any top of the line HA handles it well.)
When someone is speaking from outside of the car window when car windows are rolled up, 7ax definitely amplified the speech and make the hearing very easy and clear.
It’s receiver seems a bit better than Phonak in mechanical design.
Sound of music and speech is very clear and feels it works as advertised.
Negatives of 7ax compared to Phonak
Bluetooth feature of Phonak and simply marvelous. Signia is nowhere near Phonak. It might take them a while to come up with the technology which can match Phonak. I know it can stream to iPhone using Signia but versatility and streaming sound quality of Phonak seemed much more clearer than 7ax. Also, I can stream from any Bluetooth device using Phonak. Phonak can be truly hands free as they use device microphone. Further, Phonak keeps wearer environmentally aware when using the HA. It seems 7ax don’t use environmental sounds when using streaming.
Is it worth upgrading from Phonak base model to Signia 7AX:
Yes.
Is it worth upgrading from Phonak top of the line to Signia 7AX:
No. Reason bluetooth. And Phonak Marvel/ Paradise are equally good as 7ax. It may not be worth upgrading.
Let me know if you have any questions. I though this post would be useful as there are not many posts on Signia devices compared to other brands on the forum.
I also have the Signia AX7. with these aids, hearing people speak in the back of my Honda Fit (a very noisy car!) is a breeze, even when they’re talking to each other, not me. Remarkable. I like these aids. Very good for live music.
AUGH!!! I’m tortured by the twin quest for SPEECH clarity and excellent quality STREAMING. Geez! Like a goofy game, it seems we always get ONE or the OTHER. No manufacturer out there offers super-duper clarity of speech in all kinds of ambient conditions as well as effortless and high-sound quality for streaming phone calls or using a TV connector.
Oh. Well.
asshishkul, your post was especially relevant to me as I have family in India and altho I haven’t been there since Covid, I can SO relate to the acoustical challenges of being there: concrete/marbel homes with bare floors, sometimes no drapes, LOTS of reflective noise crashing around. On top of which the traffic noise is intense and relentless. As my in-laws there got older and needed aids like me, they put in carpeting, drapes and even gypsum board over the concrete to give rooms better sound-proofing.
Your insights and comparisons of the Phonak Marvel 30 (I wear the Marvel 90 with my cinderblock ears) and the Signia Pure 7AX are really intriguing. I had thought about maybe getting Marvel Paradise as my current Marvels’ warranty ends this summer. I’ll have to look into the Signia Pure tho, as speech is also important. But with my time on the phone (lots of calls with vendors doing remodeling at my new house) I actually rank a good quality streamed phone call above hearing folks on a different floor or the backseat of a car.
That said! I was just at my new audi’s yesterday to set up a program called “Comfort in Echo” for my Marvels. My new house is SO reflective that I just about go batty with the echo factor. This program has made a BIG improvement in that regard. And I learned of the program on a thread right here. LOVE the shared insights & Info!
I have been in Signia Pure 7AX for a year now and I never liked them comparing them to Phonak and also Starkey top lines. I do think that my dispenser for the Signia’s is not experienced though. I would love to find a very knowledgeable Signia dispenser in the SWFL area to help me with proper adjustments.