I have had my Oticon OPN1 aids for just under 5 years. I went for my annual hearing test yesterday and even though there was little change in my hearing my Audiologist said that Oticon has upgraded their aids twice since I received mine and that I might benefit from upgrading to the latest model which I understand is called Oticon More. For anyone that had OPN's and upgraded to the latest Oticon model can you tell me if you noticed the difference with the newer model? At $5500 for a new pair I'm wondering if I should upgrade or hold out. Please share your opinion. Thanks
Are the Oticon More aids that much better than the OPN aids?
- Thread starter Moondoggy
- Start date
pvc
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2023
- Messages
- 2,191
- Reaction score
- 629
Even though your question is from a year ago, I will proceed with posting an answer. I have worn both;
- Oticon Opn 1 - These were excellent hearing aids, and cheap too. I believe you can get a pair for around $300 on Ebay if you are patient and study the old Sold Listings and the new active listings.
- Oticon More 1 - These were better for me. I could hear sounds that I was previously not aware of, like the oven exhaust fan on low and the sounds of cars travelling on a far-away freeway. Previously I might not have turned the exhaust fan off.
I have an OPN 1, too. The OPN S was the next generation after. It has a new and exclusive only to Oticon proactive feedback prevention technology. The More came after that and has Artificial Intelligence added as a Deep Neural Network implementation. The Real came after that and has Sudden Sound Stabilizer plus Wind and Handling Stabilizer added to that.
SpudGunner
Member
- Joined
- May 14, 2023
- Messages
- 54
- Reaction score
- 22
I've been wearing More1 aids for a little over 2 years. I am very satisfied with their performance EXCEPT for the rechargeable batteries, which have been replaced 3 times in 2 years.
I'll be getting a new set of disposable battery powered Real2s because I have had so much trouble with my rechargeable More1s and have no functional backups. This is unsafe for anyone who can't function without hearing assistance.
I will wear and compare both types of aids in the coming weeks and report back to the Forum when I have some (subjective) observations to post.
I'll be getting a new set of disposable battery powered Real2s because I have had so much trouble with my rechargeable More1s and have no functional backups. This is unsafe for anyone who can't function without hearing assistance.
I will wear and compare both types of aids in the coming weeks and report back to the Forum when I have some (subjective) observations to post.
Last edited:
Hi folks!
I have a pair of More 1 and a pair OPN 1 that I use as backups. They are both very good hearing aids. If used with more of an "analog" setup, they are quite similar. For instance, I can't hear any discernible difference between them on my music programs. On the other hand, if you rely on lots of digital/sound processing assistance, I think the More is a considerably better hearing aid.
I have a pair of More 1 and a pair OPN 1 that I use as backups. They are both very good hearing aids. If used with more of an "analog" setup, they are quite similar. For instance, I can't hear any discernible difference between them on my music programs. On the other hand, if you rely on lots of digital/sound processing assistance, I think the More is a considerably better hearing aid.
SpudGunner
Member
- Joined
- May 14, 2023
- Messages
- 54
- Reaction score
- 22
Hi, e ... could you please explain what you mean by sound processing assistance.
Last edited:
Yes, sorry... I wanted to say that if you need things like what Oticon names as: soundbooster, noise reduction, transient noise management, spatial noise management, feedback management, speech rescue etc. I take those features involve heavy digital processing, and the Mores have an edge over the OPNs in that regard.
SpudGunner
Member
- Joined
- May 14, 2023
- Messages
- 54
- Reaction score
- 22
Thank you for clarifying.
The MoreSound Booster is available in the More (of course), but not in the OPN. However, if you just change the Directionality Setting in the OPN to Full Directional, and max out on the Noise Reduction values in a Speech in Noise built-in program, then you'll have what the MoreSound Booster should be. It won't be in the ON app, but it'll be in a dedicated program on the OPN that you can always select when you want.
The Speech Rescue is really the same from the OPN to the OPN S to the More to the Real. There's really no further improvement there.
Transient Noise Management is also the same from the OPN to the OPN S to the More. In the Real, it gets replaced with the Sudden Sound Stabilizer.
Spatial noise management is pretty much the same from OPN through the Real as far as I know. It's built-in and not really adjustable anyway.
Feeback management has a new and improved feedback prevention technology called the Optimizer starting with the OPN S through the More and Real. There's no improvement there, except that the original OPN doesn't have it. In fact, it's the main difference between the OPN and the OPN S, aside from the option for a Lithium-ion rechargeable battery on the OPN S that is not the ZPower system. The OPN only has the traditional reactive feedback management, and this technology also carries over to the OPN S and More and Real and can be turned on to work in conjunction with the Optimizer feedback prevention.
The noise reduction is the same on the OPN and OPN S (called the OpenSound Navigator), but changed significantly on the More (and the same carries over to the Real) using Artificial Intelligence's Deep Neural Network to implement noise reduction (called More/RealSound Intelligence).
All in all, the 3 most significant differences between the original OPN to the More/Real now are: 1. The new feedback prevention, 2. The Lithium-ion rechargeable option, and most significantly 3. The use of AI DNN for noise reduction. For folks who are pretty much happy with the OPN and have no issue with feedback, the AI DNN in the More/Real may not turn out to be a big wow factor for them though.
The rechargeable Lithium-ion option after the OPN is not necessarily a big plus either. Many folks find it unreliable so now Oticon has put back the disposable battery version to give users more options.
SpudGunner
Member
- Joined
- May 14, 2023
- Messages
- 54
- Reaction score
- 22
I like the way Volusiano has expressed it - the lithium batteries in my More1 aids have proven to be unreliable. (I mean "unreliable" in the sense that after the first 6-8 months of service, I have been unable to ensure that the aids would operate for 18 hours without doing an actual experiment. They certainly don't hold their original charge, and there's no way for the user to tell how fast the batteries are "going South". Actual run time will vary day by day, depending on environment, streaming, program selection, etc.)
I would avoid them like the plague, if your service requirements resemble mine ... (in fairness, I wear my aids for 16-> 18 hours a day, so it's a tough gig for them). My new Real2 aids will be powered by good ol' #312 disposable batteries.
I would avoid them like the plague, if your service requirements resemble mine ... (in fairness, I wear my aids for 16-> 18 hours a day, so it's a tough gig for them). My new Real2 aids will be powered by good ol' #312 disposable batteries.
Last edited:
SpudGunner
Member
- Joined
- May 14, 2023
- Messages
- 54
- Reaction score
- 22
I find it significant that Oticon did not split the introduction of the rechargeable and disposable version of Real, as they did with More ... I felt strongarmed into the rechargeable Mores I'm wearing today. I accepted them because my only option would have been OpnS, which was already old tech, at the time. Had I known that a disposable battery version of the More/Polaris platform was only months away, I surely would have held off my purchase of rechargeable devices, and waited.
My worry was always the batteries' sustained ability to hold a charge over their service life (say, 3 years), and not whether the hearing aids would work or not. My fears proved justified, since the 24 hour runtime touted by Oticon diminished too quickly, to the point that the devices weren't serviceable, given my usage, within 8-12 months.
That's the sense in which I have used the term "unreliable" in my many posts on this subject. I just don't think Li-ion small battery technology is up to the job - yet - for people whose requirements are at the margin, like mine are, and I anxiously await my return to the disposable battery camp.
My worry was always the batteries' sustained ability to hold a charge over their service life (say, 3 years), and not whether the hearing aids would work or not. My fears proved justified, since the 24 hour runtime touted by Oticon diminished too quickly, to the point that the devices weren't serviceable, given my usage, within 8-12 months.
That's the sense in which I have used the term "unreliable" in my many posts on this subject. I just don't think Li-ion small battery technology is up to the job - yet - for people whose requirements are at the margin, like mine are, and I anxiously await my return to the disposable battery camp.
Last edited:
Great summary, thanks for reviewing that for us!
I am going to use an analogy to help my case. Say we have two PCs, one powered by an Intel Core 3 7th generation and the other by an Intel Core 3 12th generation. Wouldn't the latter have a better performance running MS Office or Oticon Genie 2? I think that would be the case with OPN and MORE as well: whenever digital processing is needed, the newer MORE would outperform the older OPN (even if they are running the same features). I am just specullating here as I don't really know the specs an technical details to make this claim.
Of course generally a later model with better hardware and software technologies should perform better than an older model. However, I think the OP's question here is "Is the More THAT MUCH BETTER than the OPN?" So there was no suggestion that the More is not better than the OPN. The gist of the question is whether the More's improvement will make a significant enough difference to users of the OPN that would make it worth upgrading or not. The answer is that it depends on the individual. If an OPN user is already quite happy with the OPN and doesn't have any feedback issue nor speech in noise understanding issue, then the upgrade to the More may be incrementally marginal and not necessarily significant enough to spend the money upgrading. To others who have feedback issues with the OPN or still struggle to understand speech in noisy environments with the OPN, may be the upgrade to the More will help them more significantly.
SpudGunner
Member
- Joined
- May 14, 2023
- Messages
- 54
- Reaction score
- 22
You refer to "your case". Which case is this? I don't believe that I understand what you're trying to assert. I'm missing something, I think.
Last edited:
SpudGunner
Member
- Joined
- May 14, 2023
- Messages
- 54
- Reaction score
- 22
Okay ... thanks, pvc. I was looking for the connection back to the OP's question about "...are Mores that much better?"
I'm still not certain that I understand the distinction between digital/sound processing assistance and the global function of the hearing aid, per se. Of course, everyone knows that I'm a Volusiano fan, but I prefer the way he couches it - that is, what do you need in order to hear? But, I also have been known to split semantic hairs (not by any intention to obfuscate), too. I may simply have misunderstood what e was getting at.
You see, I'm not convinced that one would need the Polaris platform in order to get some of the most valuable features of the More device. Using the OPN platform ... one may not be able to get all of the features onto the older Velox platform at once, but I'll bet you could get a few of them onto that chipset. I understand that the Velox platform is pretty powerful, in its own right.
Last edited:
pvc
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2023
- Messages
- 2,191
- Reaction score
- 629
Well, over the course of the last few years, picking up a pair of Opn1's for $300 USD (or so) seems like a heck of a good deal to me!
But I was glad to see the release in 2020-Q4 of Oticon's More (Polaris platform) because Polaris fixed a critical problem with the (Velox S 2019-Q1 and Velox 2016-Q2 hearing aids). Both of those older platforms took a very long amount of time to apply Firmware updates to the hearing aids. It took approximately half an hour and could only be performed with a wired programming device (Hi Pro or mini Pro plus cables). Granted, this is no longer a problem because older hearing aids no longer require any firmware updates whatsoever!
At that time, none of the other manufacturers were hampered by similar problems. So for me, Polaris represents better technology. Though, I understand if you may want to ignore this legacy design flaw, and look at it from a viewpoint of how it helps your hearing.
Attached Clip from a DIY School PDF file named (Recent Platforms-Chips of the Big Five);
But I was glad to see the release in 2020-Q4 of Oticon's More (Polaris platform) because Polaris fixed a critical problem with the (Velox S 2019-Q1 and Velox 2016-Q2 hearing aids). Both of those older platforms took a very long amount of time to apply Firmware updates to the hearing aids. It took approximately half an hour and could only be performed with a wired programming device (Hi Pro or mini Pro plus cables). Granted, this is no longer a problem because older hearing aids no longer require any firmware updates whatsoever!
At that time, none of the other manufacturers were hampered by similar problems. So for me, Polaris represents better technology. Though, I understand if you may want to ignore this legacy design flaw, and look at it from a viewpoint of how it helps your hearing.
Attached Clip from a DIY School PDF file named (Recent Platforms-Chips of the Big Five);
Last edited:
If you have both MORE and OPN setup with less digital processing, they sound pretty similar. An example is the music program, which is usually programmed to resemble an "analog" hearing aid. I don't really notice any difference between my MOREs 1 and OPNs 1 (backup) when I play my guitars. However, my MOREs handle noise better than my OPNs. For instance, in complex situations, I hear people better with the MOREs. In such cases, the Speech in Noise program in the MOREs definitely has an edge over the one in the OPNs. How much better and is it worth it? IMHO this is a fool's errand as those things are context-dependent and very subjective...
Maybe the use of the term "digital processing" here is not the best description because except for analog hearing aids, all modern hearing aids use digital processing, so there's really not more or less digital processing. But the More (and many latest hearing aid brand/models) now employ AI (artificial intelligence) to further process sound, especially on the noise handling aspect, much more effectively.
Many people find the AI technology added to the newer hearing aids very beneficial to them, specifically in noisy situations. But nevertheless, there are still a few who said that they find the More slightly better than the OPN in noise, but only incrementally better and it's not a wow factor to them. So in that sense, I agree with @e1405 that it's a very subjective opinion and on individual can really say that the More will be better than the OPN for the poster except the poster to try out for himself. But for sure, like @e1405 shares, many do find that the More is better for them in noisy situation compared to the OPN.
Many people find the AI technology added to the newer hearing aids very beneficial to them, specifically in noisy situations. But nevertheless, there are still a few who said that they find the More slightly better than the OPN in noise, but only incrementally better and it's not a wow factor to them. So in that sense, I agree with @e1405 that it's a very subjective opinion and on individual can really say that the More will be better than the OPN for the poster except the poster to try out for himself. But for sure, like @e1405 shares, many do find that the More is better for them in noisy situation compared to the OPN.