Bernafon Chronos at COSTCO

[Miser]

I went to COSTCO for a hearing test today and audiologist recommended Bernafon Chronos. They just received demo set today in the mail. When they tried to program the computer would not recognize. Said code not available until Aug 1 when COSTCO is supposed to announce Chronos availability for $1,300 each. Has anyone purchased these from another source? How do to they compare to Resound Future?

[prodigyplace]

IF the code is not available until August 1, they probably are not meant to be sold until then. I doubt you will find others with any experience they could share. (Any beta testers would be under a non-disclosure agreement.)

The professional should have given you a choice of other aids, though.
It is strange they would suggest an unfamiliar aid they could not adjust, That, to me, is a warning sign to be cautious.

[Miser]

The audiologist did offer other aids. Since I am just looking to upgrade from my current HA's I wanted to demo the new ones and was wondering if anyone has purchased or tried these from another source.

[dell]

From a demo at a TruHearing-affiliated store, I was interested on the ReSound Alera. Then, found out (here! THANKS!!) about the Resound Future. Literally half the price for the same feature set sounded like a winner, and so made the Costco appointment.

When I get done with the test, the Specialist points me to, not the Future, but to the Bernafon Chronos--which I'd never heard of. Asked why, got no intelligible explanation. Said, I want to go home and check out the interwebs. So, I do, and find this thread, as well as others for the Bernafon Venti. Also, check out Bernafon's corporate site--which I found much less impressive than ReSound's (and I'm not talking flash effects, but rather peer-reviewed research papers). Did, digging around, find, in About Bernafon, Press Releases, the one from April 6, when the aid was premiered at the Audiology Now! conference in Chicago. (This site won't let me put up the link.)

These may turn out to be wonderful for many customers. But I gotta say that I'm a skeptic--particularly with the set-up software not in the stores until 8.1.11, and there are a lot of TM's in that press release, but not much in the way of technical explanation anywhere on their website. Newest doesn't always mean better; sometimes, it just means newer.

[xbulder]

Originally Posted by Miser

I went to COSTCO for a hearing test today and audiologist recommended Bernafon Chronos. They just received demo set today in the mail. When they tried to program the computer would not recognize. Said code not available until Aug 1 when COSTCO is supposed to announce Chronos availability for $1,300 each. Has anyone purchased these from another source? How do to they compare to Resound Future?

Chronos = Oticon Agil -> almost identical features with different name

[Z300M]

Originally Posted by prodigyplace

IF the code is not available until August 1, they probably are not meant to be sold until then. I doubt you will find others with any experience they could share. (Any beta testers would be under a non-disclosure agreement.)

The professional should have given you a choice of other aids, though.
It is strange they would suggest an unfamiliar aid they could not adjust, That, to me, is a warning sign to be cautious.

I assume that the Costco person looked at the client's chart and, having seen the specs. of the new model, thought that they would be appropriate -- but it was not until s/he tried to program them that s/he became aware that they are not yet officially available. Costco does have other Bernafon models, and I can't imagine that programming a new model would present much of a problem.

[Miser]

Looks like Oticon and Bernafon are owned by the same company. Look at on the site demant.com/about.cfm

[Um bongo]

Originally Posted by Miser

Looks like Oticon and Bernafon are owned by the same company. Look at on the site demant.com/about.cfm

It's widely established that Bernafon benefits from the 'trickle-down' of the Oticon chips. I haven't fitted the Chronos yet, but I have fitted a lot of Bernafon product in the past. If the audiologist was happy to recommend them on that basis: it's a good sign that he/she's confident with the software.

Value for money wise, getting a re-badged Agil from Costo seems like a superb idea - I don't think you'll find a better specified new aid for similar money anywhere.

[ed121]

Whoa. Stop. Are not the Agils WDRC and the Chromo Bernafon's Channeless technology?
Think so. That's a very fundemental difference. And the master chip must be different. Ed

[Um bongo]

Originally Posted by ed121

Whoa. Stop. Are not the Agils WDRC and the Chromo Bernafon's Channeless technology?
Think so. That's a very fundemental difference. And the master chip must be different. Ed

Why wouldn't WRDC be possible in channel-free? you can do it in analogue.

Bernafon strategy isn't actually 'channel free' at all, it just samples and modulates at 9,500 points - each channel is only 1 and a bit KHz wide. It just means the transitions are so minimal, it should sound seamless.