Hi Bob,
I have had my Phonak Brio 3 BT HAs from Costco (no longer sold there) for about 5 years. I chose them, after auditioning two other brands first, primarily for ONE reason: natural sound reproduction for MUSIC. Even though I am not much of a musician, music is a VERY important part of my life - almost every genre. As I write this, I am listening to Handel oratorio music. I had choice of maybe five programs when Costco set them up for me. In the end, I ONLY selected “MUSIC,” and - I think - something like road noise suppression (which, btw, interferes with full audio spectrum hearing while driving - my Subaru has a Harmon-Kardon sound system that is superb). Switching between programs is automatic, although it can take 20-30 seconds. E.G. when sitting in my car listening to music and I come to a long red light, I can easily hear when the MUSIC program cuts in! HUGE difference!
[IF you enjoy classical music - use “The Russian Sailor’s Dance,” from Gliere’s “Red Poppy” to test sound quality! This is my favorite classical (or romantic era) piece. It ranges from whisper soft to thundering loud; from deep base to tinkling chimes!]
At least THIS model of Phonak HA has one enormous DRAWBACK! The ANDROID APP SUCKS. Sorry for the language, but that is actually polite! It is SO useless that I’ve deleted it from my phone and tablet. The Apple app MAY be better, but I DESPISE anything Apple (with reason).
SUGGESTION: ONLY buy from a HA source that provides a LONG time for trial and return at NO COST to you. Try a FEW brands where you can listen to your favorite music and TRY to be objective. This is NOT EASY because each set of HAs must FIRST be customized for YOU. In MY experience, this goes FAR BEYOND setting the HAs to accommodate your audiogram!
In THIS respect, Costco cannot be beat, if they have brands that you think may be suitable for you. I forget their trial period, but it is much longer than anyone else’s!
I am not going to respond to your question about domes because I do NOT fully understand the difference in function. My current domes are closed.
I doubt that any modern hearing aid is going to be much different with respect to speech. I understand that Costco is currently selling a JABRA model that has microphones IN your ear, in addition to behind your ear. This is supposed to help with directionality. BUT, I understand there is a problem with audio feedback that may or may not have been remedied.
You mentioned Resound HAs. I started with those and was very pleased by the sound quality, but they crapped out very quickly.
One last PERSONAL thought - I would not mind replacing my current HAs, maybe with the Jabra if the feedback issue has been remedied. BUT, Costco, so far, is ONLY selling rechargeable HAs and I actually WANT to use batteries!