Hearing aid music accessories

I went to Costco last Friday and had my hearing tested. The Audiologist there told me that the Rexton Cobalt is made by Siemens, he said he thought the Cobalt is the Siemens Pure in Rexton packaging. I opened up the battery compartment on the Blue RCU and the battery had Siemens on it. Can anyone verify which Siemens model the Cobalt is? Costco has the best prices by far except for some sellers on eBay. But I don't think I will go that route. The customer service at Costco was excellent and that is important to get the hearing aids right.

Someone was asking about connecting the Tek/Blu RCU unit to various items. You can only connect one bluetooth phone to the unit at one time. Which makes sense you don't want multiple phones connected to your hearing aids, how would you answer two or three phones at once? There are only 5 programs and program #2 is for a bluetooth phone.

The bluetooth transmitter has RCA jacks so it can connect to anything that accepts those, stereo, tv etc. This is available on program #3.

To connect an iPod or MP3 player you will use a wire to connect from the headphone jack on the iPod to the aux jack on the BLU RCA. I couldn't tell if this wire is included or not, but I believe it is. Wouldn't be a big deal to find one at a Radio Shack or someplace like that. Looks like a standard 2.5mm jack on both ends. I am assuming that this would use the same program as the bluetooth transmitter (#3) and would disable the bluetooth connection. Not sure though.

I am in the process of researching and purchasing hearing aids and that's how I came by this discussion. The Cobalts seem like really nice hearing aids. I walked around the store for a few minutes trying them out and didn't realize some of the sounds I have been missing. Getting very excited to make a final decision and start using them.

Several questions have surfaced since I've been away from the computer.

Rexton is a subsidiary of Siemens. The Rexton website still does not have any information on the Cobalts. Being a part of Siemens explains the shared components like batteries and the same design for the remote control device (RCD). I believe that Siemens has several bluetooth models that can use a RCD, but may be an optional accessory and additional cost. Rexton Cobalt includes the RCD.

It's not necessary to carry the RCD unless you need to change the volume and treble settings or set the Telephone or TV programs. You can change the other 3 programs using the button on either BTE device or with the RCD (see my list below). The RCD has a lock to avoid inadvertent changes when traveling in a pocket or handbag. It also has a readout button that displays the left & right BTE battery, volume, treble levels and program settings.

Cobalt's include:
RCD with rechargeable removable battery.
TV/Stereo sound transmitter with rechargeable non-removable battery.
1 Cable that connects the iPod Touch/iPhone sound jack directly to the RCD.
1 Cable with red & white RCA connectors that connects the TV or Stereo to the included transmitter.
3 manuals

Bluetooth (BT) pairing is only necessary with a telephone. You can only pair one BT phone at a time. i.e., Wireless BT landline phone or BT cell phone. You can change the phone, but it must be paired.

Wireless communication between each BTE device or with the RCD does not require pairing. To listen to the TV or stereo, the sound transmitter communicates wirelessly to the BTE's if they are set to that program. The iPod cable connected directly to the RCD and will communicate wirelessly to the BTE's if they are set to that program.

I have the following programs:
#1 Automatic
#2 Telephone (requires pairing)
#3 TV (also includes iPod)
#4 Speech in Noise
#5 Noise/Driving

I'm still satisfied with my devices, but I do a lot of adjusting in different environments. Probably because I can 🙂

This is helpful info. This whole stream has been. I still don't have the colbalts I ordered. The very nice man at Costco didn't fit me for ear molds when I ordered. So a week later when i went to pick up the Cobalts, he made the impressions for the ear molds. It has now been about 2 weeks. the company has not sent my ear molds. I told him if they are not here in two days, I want my $3800 back. But of course I REALLY want these. I realize you can only pair one telephone at a time. It looks like you can't pair a phone and additionally a sound device like an mp3 layer at the same time. I can do that on my motorola headset.

It appears that you ordered the custom mold that fits over the receiver unit. I use the grid dome that comes in various sizes and was readily available. I'd guess that since the devices are so new this may account for the delay.

The list of items in my previous post did not include the 2 charging units that are provided. They are both the same spec and either one can be used to charge the batteries in the RCD or transmitter. It's handy to have one for home and on the road.

If your MP3 player has a sound-out jack for headphones similar to the iPod then the provided cable can be used to plug it into the RCD. The player would use the TV program and does not have to be paired like a BT telephone.

I've got the REXTON Cobalt 16 hearing aids. I have been wearing hearing aids for 6 years and these are my third pair. The sound quality of these REXTON units is amazing.I am enjoying music much more, especially the violin and oboes. They are comparable to the Seamans Life 700/500 series. A friend has the Seamans units and we found the the default programing of the RCU device for both of our units was identical and we were changing each others programs. This was resolved by having my audiologist change my bluetooth setting from channel #1 to #8.

The default range of dB adjustment is 8dB for the volume control. I found I was not completely happy until this was increased to 24 dB.

With the REXTON TV sound transmitter, my wife has stopped complaining that I have the volume of our surround sound system to loud.

I'm hoping that the new iPhone V3.0 program, when it is released will let me listen to my music totally wireless. Now I have to connect thee iPhone to the RCU with a short patch cord, which I am always forgetting to carry.

Chet

I believe the Cobalts are more comparable to the Siemens Pure not the Life series. For two reasons. One, looking through the documentation for the Life it shows a pen like remote the documentation for the Cobalts does not show this type of remote. Also, the Cobalts can be rechargeable the Life's documentation does not show anything about being rechargeable but the Pure's do. Two, the audiologist at Costco said the Cobalts were the Siemens Pure. With the comparison I did I believe they are the Pure.

Why do you think the iPhone 3.0 software will let you listen to music totally wireless?

The imbedded iPod Touch 2G/iPhone BT (Nike+) chip will apparently be "unlocked" with the next OS 3.0 release according to Apple (March 17, 2009): http://tinyurl.com/d69jrx. This may mean the it could be paired like a BT phone.

I picked up my cobalts today after spending 2 hours with the very nice audiologist at Costco. So far, I am disappointed but after more adjustments things might improve. Music on my I-pod connected through the bluetooth transmitter sounds tinny - like a little clock radio. He turned the bass all the way up on the settings. Still not as good as my sennhiser headphones - not even close. And the phone - i didn't realize I had to wear the remote around my neck or even carry it around to take advantage of the bluetooth. I'm thinking the motorola blue tooth was certainly more esthetic and the sound is just marginally better. I have 3 months within which to return them for full refund so I'll try them out. Off to a shakey start.
DGM: you say you do a lot of adjusting. How much adjusting can you do with only programs? Is there more to play with?

The adjustments were confined to volume and treble setting within each program.

The iPod sound quality problem is largely due to the size of the receivers in the hearing aids. I'm not sure this can be corrected until the current receiver/speaker technology improves.

In general, the Cobalt's are an improvement for me with the ability to make volume and treble changes. The TV transmitter works, although some may find the sound a bit too sharp even with treble turned off completely. The ability to listen to the TV and hear other sounds and voices at the same time is a nice feature.

I have had these Cobalts for 24 hours and I am sure that i will return them next week. The bluetooth sound with my Blackberry phone is excellent but i can probably get something comparable in a $100 bluetooth earpiece. Taking out my HA to use the phone is no more inconvenient that using this constellation of equipment. The bluetooth sound with my IPod is unacceptable. I am quit content with the excellent quality of the sound on my $80 sennheiser headset. Ditto tv. There are many wireless sets for tv that you can get for under $100. The worst part of Cobalts is all the junk you gotta carry around and risk losing. The box around your neck. Please. They even attach it upside down so you have to fumble with it to change settings. I wear some pretty nice jewelry and the black box doesn't go well with it. There is the little box that you connect to the tv or ipod. There are all kinds of wires. And the power system is just as cumbersome. The neck thing has to be charged, especially if you do a lot of phone work, because it doesn't have much capacity. The little box has to be charged. And you need batteries for the two BTEs. I'm just not seeing anything worth $3700 here. I am greatly disappointed. There is a similar hearing aid set by same mfr without the bluetooth that sells for $2k at costco. i think it is the lousy BT that messes up some good hearing aids. I'll let you know. (Someone wrote here this week about how bad the apple earbuds are. That has been a complaint for years. Get a sennheiser. Shop at J&R online. they sell them all. I have a severe hearing loss and they work great for me.

I have the Pure Tek 700's. The main hearing aid is fine, but the Tek part is not up to the advertising. Using it with an iPod produces very bad sound. One recording of a piano and bass sounds as if it is just a piano player playing with his right hand. The bass cannot be heard over the HA. My earbuds give great range without the HAs. But ear buds are supposed to be so 20th Century. The Teks will go back next week I'm afraid.

It's like Siemens rushed the product to market. The remote is poorly designed as noted by others. Even the cord between the remote and iPod have the jacks at 90 degrees and the resulting remote/iPod combo is overly bulky. A couple of right angle jacks would have solved the problem. Maybe in the next version...

All hopes for good bluetooth hearing aids have been dashed. I returned the Cobalts to the nice man at Costco today. The quality of the IPod sound was terrible. I get great sound with headphones, so it is not me. The equipment was just ridiculous. I gave it a couple of weeks. The bluetooth connection to my blackberry was not worth the trouble or the cost. I could hear better but people could not hear me well. And the array of buttons on the big ugly black thing you have to wear around your neck were not easily discovered. The plastic was cheap and was all scratched up in two weeks. I went to a Leonard Cohen concert at a new theater and the quality of the sound was excellent - it was probably a combination of the new sound at the theater and the quality of the hearing aids. I would discourage anyone from buying these. Wait another year for the technology to improve.

i am a deaf person.
i have implants on both ears, very different from your situation.

i have cochlear implants, manufactured by cochlear.
they provided me with a couple of cables that connected directly, and that satisfied me!
but since the quality wasn't ship-shape, i've converted to skullcandy headphones!
they go really loud and they sound amazing.