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Sonnet Microphones


tjwarney

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On 08.09.2016. at 2:57 PM, Kara of Canada said:

I would think if you have it then they can send parts replacements to whatever address you choose. It's their product and warranty. I would definitely get clarification in that one. 

Well, this is easy part of the answer but what about legal stuff? If I would need something, would I need to go each time in Canada, for example...?

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On 08.09.2016. at 2:55 AM, Adam said:

Interesting point Ivana. I don't have a clue. Might not be a bad idea to get clarification from Medel. You do travel so it would be good to know 

Well, this question is not actual so ... ;)

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  • 4 months later...

Very Upset about the length of time. On the FB site, over a year ago, I suggested we contact our congressional representative and was discouraged by Med-EL  so I did. . This was marketed to us with all these new features only to find out it is nothing more than an Opus with Lipstick. 3 years has been plenty of time, I am past waiting for this technology to be delivered and am contacting my Congressman. I encourage all of you to do the same. Squeeky wheels get the grease. A non-invasive software program taking this long to be approved is absurd. I know one thing for sure, we will be asking a lot more questions before upgrading to useless technology. I wonder how peoples insurance companies would react to knowing that , we are allowed to upgrade every so many years, but in reality, we received no upgrades? No updates on the FDA process, No idea on if it ever will be approved.

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DonB

i am very Sorry you feel this way. As far as your statement that the Sonnet is just an opus with lipstick. I respectfully disagree. I am not going to list all the advantages but there are more than a few.

i totally understand your frustration with the approval process of the FDA. I think we can all agree with you that we are frustrated as well. I know that MEDEL would love nothing more than for everybody to have available what they have developed.

MEDEL has no control over how fast the FDA approves any part of the CI system. I don't think they know exactly when the FDA will approve and I believe they are not allowed to or would want to send out possible dates of approval as it went longer, then people would really be upset.

i am just geussing here but along with the 2nd mic, comes 3 different programs. rhe FDA is probably wanting to make sure that each program is safe in many different situations. 

The process going back and forth with the agency takes time as they oversee approval on hundreds of medical tech. Each year.

i can assure you that MEDEL is doing everything in their power to make available all the technology that they have developed. I personally also don't understand why the long wait for a mic. But I also have no clue what is involved in approving such things either. 

We unfortunately will have to be patient. 

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Adam,

I appreciate the response. I do understand that there is nothing we can do about the pace of the FDA. I just don't think a product should be presented to CI patients until it has FDA approval. Short of extended battery life,  really don't see any new benefits. By the time it does get approved, Med-El will be presenting the next generation of technology. Again, I understand it is not Med-El.

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DonB

i definitely see your point for sure. That said, I assume MEDEL looked at the benefits which outweighs the drawbacks of waiting. Extended battery life is one big advantage but there are more as well. 

Only having to use 2 disposable batteries is a big deal for 2 reasons. One is that the processor is much lighter on the ear.

the efficiency of battery life is big as well. Only using 2 batteries and the life you get from them will save you over time. Of course depending on how you use them.

another REALLY big advantage to the Sonnet over the Opus 2 is the moisture and dust resistance. I am a long (very long) distance runner. With the Opus 2, they would start to falter after 6 miles. With the Sonnet, they haven't come close to failing me even on a 20 or 30 mile run. 

Also the design of the actual processor is different as well.

i am sure I am missing other features but I'm sure you understand what I'm saying. Would I want all that the Sonnet offers right now? Sure I would. 

I think, and I'm just guessing, that MEDEL decided to release to Sonnet as it was, knowing that even though it wasn't at its full potential, there were enough advantages to make it worth releasing. I would have to agree as I have found the Sonnet far superior to the Opus.

also, I had the chance to fly out to Arizona to participate in some testing of the dual mic system. Trust me, you WILL NOT be disappointed. 

My guess is that the USDA is making sure that the programs are safe for all, and if not, how to add safeguards

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Also remember there is some marketing strategy at work here. They do need to be releasing new tech every so often to keep up with the competition. Sadly to say it is a long and boring wait! I am so happy with my sonnet that all I can say is Thanks Med el for the great gift!! 

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Argreed marybeth but in the same sense, they did not release sonnet with no advantadeges. As I said before, there were some defenite upgrades to the Opus 2. They also made aware of what is already in the processor and what is to come. 

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Adam,  maybe you were responding to Kara- not me?

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No problem, Adam.  I happen to agree with you that the Sonnet has several advantages over the Opus2 even while we wait for FDA approval of the dual mics and windblock features and wait for Med-El to release the future 2.4 wireless connectivity device (AudioLink).

 

Med-El was clear that the 2.4 wireless connectivity was designed for a future wireless device.

 

Med-El produces processors that are used worldwide.  Many Med-El users in other countries have been using the dual mics and windblock features all along.  The FDA process is part of our system in the USA.

 

interested people can track the FDA PMA reports online.  However, Med-El will announce when those features receive FDA approval on their official FaceBook pages.

 

I loved the Opus2, but I like the Sonnet sound better.  These are the advantages of the Sonnet to the Opus2 for me:

-more natural sound quality

-much improved water resistance

-DL-coil option with many more magnet strength options, locking coil cable to the coil and a much improved coil cable

-music sounds fuller 

 

I respect people who are frustrated by the long wait for the dual mics and windblock features.  I am excited about them after reading both your and John's reports after testing those features out in the research study in Arizona.  What I look forward to even more though, is the wireless connectivity device.

 

I expect to always be looking forward to new tech from Med-El and excited about the advances.  After all, my hearing depends on them.

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As far as the directional mica go, I have a strange Feeling, we are way closer to getting it approved than we might think. Just a hunch on my part. Let's hope my hunch is right.

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I have the sonnet but I still wear my opus 2 because when I wear the sonnet it cuts in and out when I am around low frequency sounds.  I performed a test at home in which I performed a sine wave frequency sweep from about 80Hz to 320Hz.

 
This was done using full range speakers.
 

The frequency in which my sonnet cuts out or appears to cut out by compressing all sounds, is from:  150Hz to 300Hz.  This is consistent with what I have been noticing while out and about.  At around 310Hz the sound starts to 'not be compressed' .  Its almost as if the wind noise reduction is enabled (but I know it is not).

I hope that the implementation of the dual mics will eliminate this problem. :)

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Percy,

 

Awesome that you were able to determine exactly which bass frequencies cause the Sonnet to squelch all sounds dramatically.  That was a problem for me (and many others) as well.  There are various ways to MAP this out.  The regional Med-El CAMs (Clinical Account Managers), which are audiologists who work for Med-El and support our clinical audiologists, will be able to help your clinical audiologist find a solution for you.

 

What worked for me was to ease off of the bass electrodes.  It took a few MAPpings to get this right, but it was worth it.

 

Good luck to you!

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Having that detailed info will really help your Audi get things figured out. Let us know how you remedy it

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Percy,

May I share your post with a friend?  It may help.

Mary Beth

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Adam, the term I heard less than two weeks ago concerning second microphone availability was imminent.

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Hi Percy,

Could you tell me which FSP coding strategy are you using on your Opus 2 and on your SONNET?

Thanks

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Hadron,

I am not for sure, but I do know that when I first got the Sonnet we had tried the FS4 and I did not like it.  I will ask my audi.

The Sonnet is set to the same strategy as my OPUS 2 to try and make them sound the same.  Right now, because of the 'low freq' problem the OPUS 2 sounds better.  However, I firmly believe that if we can get the 'low freq' problem corrected that the Sonnet will sound much better.

Thanks!

Percy

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Percy,

Thanks. Interesting to see which strategy you are using .

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