Phonak Audeo B-Direct
PHONAK AUDEO B90 D (Premium hearing aid, 2018 – RIC style)
“Direct connectivity – Made For All Audéo B-Direct hearing aids are compatible with any mobile phone* so you can enjoy the freedom of universal connectivity. 24 hours* of hearing with one simple charge.
Enjoy unmatched hearing performance, wherever you go, without having to adjust your hearing aids manually.”
Alternative: Phonak Audeo B90 10: Smallest version, tiny battery, but pretty difficult to spot. Phonak Audeo B50 D & B50 10: Slightly lower spec. models.
Our Verdict:
The ultimate hearing aid? Well, that’s what we thought at the time.
In today’s competitive market, you should be able to negotiate a free trial on all hearing aids. Just ask.
PRICE TO PAY: DON’T /removed from sale 2019
APPEARANCE AND FEEL:
(the weight, size, shape, how well it fits ergonomically to the ear; the thickness and flexibility of the wire; the shell construction, quality, finish, IP properties, construction of buttons / switches / battery compartment)
A superb hearing aid in it’s own right, you can also benefit from smartphone connection, but in a rather unique way! This is the only hearing aid allowing hands-free calls, where the hearing aid acts as the user’s voice mic.
SOUND PRODUCTION:
(tested for how natural sounds are; how owner’s voice sounds; quality of classical and popular amplified music; naturalness of everyday quiet sounds such as indicator click, and loud sounds such as toilet flush, wind)
Most people that trial this – think that it sounds amazing. It definitely sounds ‘smoother’ than the Venture platform. Is this because of the mods to the chip or the mic ports being better shielded? If this proves to be as good as our initial tests, then it could be the 2017 best seller easily
BACKGROUND NOISE PERFORMANCE:
(how well the instrument appears to cope with the suppression of background noises, such as party speech babble, traffic noise, loud wind noise, car engine sound)
The B90 appears to be a winner, instantly.
EASE OF PROGRAMMING:
(from the audiologist perspective – how easy and user-friendly the programming software is: this can affect the quality of the results for the end-user)
There is no real doubt that the Phonak fitting software is the best. It’s fast, obvious, intuitive. And it’s been improved for the Belong.
MAINTENANCE & RUNNING COSTS:
(cost of out-of-warranty repairs, cost of shell repairs, spare parts, ease of procuring replacement parts, consumables such as domes, wax guards, receiver wires; shell integrity when put under stress)
Parts are readily available at low cost and the Belong should always be offered with a 5 YEAR WARRANTY.
OTHER COMMENT:
Ultimately, the Bluetooth connectivity is poor. This will cause annoyance and inconvenience in the future. No problems if you don’t use Bluetooth.
Was revolutionary in 2017, but how things move on!
Review by MR (Feb. 2018)
UPDATE: now withdrawn in the UK. If any stock is available, it should be reduced in price. Superseded by the Phonak Audeo Marvel