Do you know if the M-DEX is stereo or only mono? I believe that was one of the questions. In other words, does the M-DEX support A2DP?
I tried pairing the m-dex in windows 7 but just get an exlcamation and looks like it needs drivers.
Just got my Widex clear 440 RIC’s today replacing my Widex passion 440’s. Here are my observations. The clear aids are the same shape and size as the passions. The sound seems to be a bit better with the clears than the passions and both at least to my perception, produce fairly realistic sound reproduction. I am hearing more background noises with the clears that I couldn’t hear with the passions(air conditioners, fans etc.) but it doesn’t appear to interfere with hearing voices. I really could not hear the TV in my home at normal volumes with the passions and had to always use headphones. With the clears I can sit further away and at volumes my family typically uses actually hear the TV pretty well.(although to be honest the headphones still sound better). The passions were very good in noise but the clears may be better. I went out tonight to a very noisy restaurant, and it seemed that I could actually hear better than my wife (who has ears like a cat) but needed a few things repeated to her due to the noise levels. The M-dex (2 inches by 4 inches) is bigger than the passion remote but has more functions. I was a little disappointed it did not come with a leather protective cover like the passion remote which could also be clipped to a belt or pants pocket for easy access. The M-dex does come with an attachment so you can wear it around your neck if you wish. The bluetooth was fairly easy to connect with my cell phone. Pushing a button on the m-dex transfers the call to the aids which worked nicely. The M-dex has a microphone on it when you speak. People I spoke to from my car said my voice from the m-dex microphone sitting near my gear-shift sounded clearer than the factory installed Bluetooth microphone in my car did. As opposed to some posts I have read, I could change settings using the M-dex at arms length and it did not need to be right close to the aids themselves. Other settings- I can hear voices better with these than the passions when using the comfort setting, which is a great setting for noisy streets. The Zen setting is apparently not available yet in the US. The directionally function does work to some extent but it is still unclear how useful it will really be. The TV setting is as annoying with the clears as with the passions producing very tinny high pitched noises. Using the forward directional setting when watching TV might be a better choice for most people. The Music setting is similar to the passions which I believe increases bass and reduces noise suppression. Finally there is a phone setting that increases sound in one ear and reduces it in the other. A pretty good first day, but the big test comes at work. I will report back in a few weeks if I have any new comments or observations to make after using them longer.
What is the difference between the clear 440s and the clear 440 fusion?
Iblaineman,
According to the Widex website the fusions can be used for more profound hearing loss than the other RITE clears. They also use a 312 battery rather than the 10 size the clears use and appear to be slightly larger. The fusion has a telecoil built in and according to the manual has a program button on it. here are the links: http://www.widex.com/en/newsroom/2011/fusion/
http://www.widex.com/WebFiles/9%20514%200165%20001%20%2001.pdf
Oh I see but the processing is the same. I have quit a bit of audio clipping I wonder if it is the programming/processing or would the fusions would fit better.
>> After care at that price may not be what you expect
Let’s say that you have to pay £30 per aftercare visit.
It will take a LOT of visits to negate the £3000 saving you have made!
Why give the dispenser £2000+ for visits you will never use?
Sorry, only just saw this: Mono. It’s a timing issue, if you have to send two channels of info down the line it costs you more than double the time as you have to sort out which channel is which. Phone inputs are mono anyway - so it’s of no consequence.
Not any more.
Most, if not all, smart phones are stereo devices.You can play or stream music and videos on them, in addition to using them as a telephone.
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There are at least three speakers on my iPhone 4 and about seven when it sits on this:
Input as in mic rather than output. Transmission is going to be mono too.
If you will tell your Audi about the issues with loud noises, he/she can make some simple program adjustments to correct this. I had minor symptoms and my Audi made the corrections on my first followup.
Also: The range from the M Dex control functions is fairly good, about 3 ft. The Range for audio from the control to the HAs is very limited, about 10 inches, and subject to interference, such as when one’s head or body blocks the direct path of the signal.
I have now used the clear 440’s for over a week. 1) Absolutely great in noise. I work in a very acoustically challenging environment and for me the passion 440’s I was using were the best of 3 top of the line brands I tried(agil pros and phonak smart 9’s) The clears are much better than the passions. While I could hear someone talking directly to me, I used to have trouble hearing conversations between people that were going on 4-6 feet away. Now I seem to be able to hear them much better now. I also hear the overhead paging speakers much better. I went to an extraordinarily noisy restaurant last night and was able to hear everything said at the table. 2) The bluetooth telephone connection works well but appears to drain the M-dex’s battery rather quickly. After a few calls the battery went to half strength. 3) I can hear TV’s much better with these than the passions. 4) In my car I can hear music much clearer and at lower sound settings than with the passions. 5) Regular telephone is a problem, as with the passions, it is hard to get the receiver up close to the aid and it doesn’t seem much better than listening directly to the receiver with my ear. 6) The sound directional function works, but only very weakly and seems to only provide a minimal benefit. 7) Unfortunately one of the aids came with a defective receiver with lower volumes in one ear, that I didn’t realize until the next day. That was easily fixed by my audi, but a bit of a hassle requiring a special visit.
So in conclusion I feel the clears represent a significant improvement over the passions, and I am definitely hearing better with them and it is more like natural sound than any hearing aid I have used before. (If manufacturers can keep improving hearing aids as they did here, the next generation of aids in a few years should be amazing)
hi, I have moderate high frequency hearing loss. I’m currently wearing a phonak exeliar arts, which is basically good except in a noisy environment. So my audi recommended widex passion 440s which claims to be working better than phonak exeliar arts in noisy environment. It looks like lots of folks here recommend widex clear 440. I’m wondering any of you has had a chance to compare widex clear 440 with phonak exeliar arts?
Seanchaun,
I didn’t use your aids, but I did use the Phonak Smart 9’s which are the top of the line. For me (I have a flat hearing loss) the clears or the passions are much better in noise, with the clears being better than the passions.
I tried the TV link and it’s really nice. to bad the bluetoost doesn’t sound the as good. So far I only tried it with my computer and music. I agree with some others that the strap is to long and you loose connection.
Is 7K a good price for the Widex Clear 440s?
Something that may be helpful for anyone who has trouble hearing phone conversations. I recently bought Panasonic cordless phones for my home that have bluetooth capabilities hoping I could hook my m-dex for my clear 440’s to it and have house calls come directly to my hearing aids. I found I could bluetooth my cellphone (Motorola atrix) to the panasonics and then bluetooth the m-dex to my cell phone and it worked pretty well. When my home phone rang it went through my cell phone as well and I then could pick up the call and converse using the m-dex. However, I could not do what I really wanted to do which was to hook the m-dex directly to the panasonics and it only worked through my cell phone.
I am using the Widex MDex Bluetooth adapter with both my iPhone and then with my desk phone, an Avaya 9600. It woks flawlessly with both, except that the iPhone cuts out if there is any movement of the MDex. I have tried Apple and AT& T, but they are not helpful, and I cannot find a technical CS number for Widex. I am also trying to use a BT “dongle” on my Toshiba laptop to try the MDex on the Avaya 1x Softphone, but cannot find drivers for it that my laptop says it needs. Any suggestions for that or the BT issue with the iPhone? Thx!
Is it behind the ear or into ear ?