Widex Evoke 220
MODEL REVIEWED: Evoke Fusion 220
OUR VERDICT:
IF you like the mellowest sound production AND iPhone functionality, then this may be worth a try. Will be preferred by music-lovers and musicians. Complex and multi-functional app, if you like that sort of thing…
In today’s competitive market, you should be able to negotiate a free trial on all hearing aids. Just ask.
Alternative: Widex Evoke 220
Price: Around £1600 to £2300 for a pair from an established independent practice.
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)
Clumsy receiver wire design, medium build quality.
The wire is not secured to the shell as well as competitors.
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)
Immediately acceptable to a lot of wearers due to the rather analog sound.
It is ok.
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)
I am not sure about this. It sounded really good in a family situation, but was hopeless in the pub.
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)
Looking a little dated.
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 too expensive.
H.A.R. Overall Score – in the Premium range
By BL (Apr 18)