5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Sound Wonderful Product!

B. · May 18, 2023

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } I've had the CRE-E10s for one week and I'm still learning their capabilities...previously and for about two years I had worn Kirkland Phonak 9.0s which I'd purchased from CostCo...they were fine, but I eventually started looking for an OTC pair of hearing aids to help me with my moderate-to-slightly severe hearing loss.I researched OTC hearing aids for a few months and began focusing on the Sony CRE-E10s...I have been a long time Sony customer, having enjoyed everything from their high-end minidisc recorders to TVs to Sony's component stereo systems and headphones....so I was familiar with Sony's high audio standardsThese CRE-E10s may seem slightly high-priced for OTC ($1300) but my Kirkland 9.0s were $1400, so I knew these Sony OTCs were in fact reasonable in price...on arrival and unboxing I examined the CRE-E10s and they are substantial in weight, but not too heavy and with a nice, luxurious feel and surface...With the CLICK SLEEVES on each hearing aid, the long, audio "output" part of the hearing aids fit right in the ear canal...(so far I'm using the medium-size click sleeves)...with a slight twist forward and a little wiggling, they sit safely and securely at the base of the ear, resting in front of the ear lobe area...they do not feel like they will fall out...BTW: I was in the exam chair on my back at the dentist yesterday and the hearing aids felt very secure in my earsAfter reading the little manual (there really aren't a lot of instructions) operation of these hearing aids was easy and intuitive to me, plus some trial and error. I found a quiet spot in my house and proceeded with the Sony hearing test to determine the state of my hearingThe test was essentially listening for 0-3 beeps and indicating how many beeps I heard...I passed my left ear test then completed the test for my right ear...everything was good to go...the next step was to set a proper volume level manually for both ears...I set my overall volume at about 75...loud, but not harsh or overloaded. I would say this step is the most important...make sure you carefully adjust this "post-hearing test" volume level to your liking, because this level is the actual overall operating level of the devicesBy the way, I took the hearing test once, but the hearing aid sound seemed very unbalanced with feedback...I decided to take the hearing test again and the sound I heard was beautiful and near-perfect. I would suggest taking the hearing test honestly, don't try and cheat the test...if you hear or don't hear beeps just be honest and indicate which beeps you really hear. The hearing test seems to be the process with which the devices are calibrated for one's ears (it's not really a "pass/fail" test...but I could be wrong)My hearing aids were set up, but I waited until the next morning to explore their functions and to try them while watching TV, driving my car, walking outside ...the HEARING CONTROL app (for iOS only) is very simple...VOLUME on one screen and TREBLE/BASS on the next screen...the third screen shows a DIRECTIONAL HEARING control and a AUTO buttonI have my hearing aids set quite loud, and have been experimenting between AUTO setting and DIRECTIONAL setting...as mentioned above, yesterday I had a dentist visit (root canal!) and used the directional setting for "forward" - I could hear everyone in the office fine - I like to listen to music in my car and have been experimenting with the settings...AUTO can often be too loud with too much audio coming into my ears...BUT in general, music listening via hearing aids with my car speakers playing is amazing...high-end treble is clear, with good mid-range and solid bass. These hearing aids pick up even tiny sounds in my car, so I keep them set at about "5" - I love music and haven't heard music like this in years...the hearing aids are clear-sounding, and bring out audio details in albums and songs I forgot existedStreaming SPOTIFY directly through these CRE-E10s is easy and satisfying...there's a little icon near any Spotify app music stream that says "AIRPLAY OR BLUETOOTH"...click on that icon and the music flows into the Sony hearing aids...simple! The streaming sound is very high end, clear stereo and rich, good treble and bass...the hearing aids act like real super high-end ear buds...the music streaming alone is worth the cost of these hearing aids...streaming YouTube and Internet or podcasts audio work well, too...I have a slightly older iPhone and the connection between them and these hearing aids is greatOVERALL I give these Sony hearing aids a "9" or a "10" - I would like to see a couple of new functions on the HEARING CONTROL APP (maybe there's some way to open up the clarity of one's speaking voice while wearing the hearing aids, as my own voice seems muffled in my own head when I speak...though this is a minor quibble)I knew Sony would come through with these hearing aids and I'm very, very happy with them...my research payed off!...they've already made me a little more confident and willing to interact with people without saying "WHAT?" or "HUH?"In short, Sony did a great thing by developing and putting these CRE-E10 hearing aids on the market...very much recommended!

1.0 out of 5 stars Beyond a disappointment

M. · July 30, 2024

We were excited about this hearing aid because I know the backstory of how it was designed. My father liked it and actually wore them, which is the first hurdle to any hearing aids.The app is awful. It took weeks and multiple calls with Sony support to finally get into the app. Then we realized the right aid was actually broken. It didn't always charge and the microphone was somehow broken and not as loud as the left. We're returning.The return process is taking much longer than I'm used to through Bolo. I was going to try and buy it again and hope for a pair that are not broken, but now I'm on the fence. I will not spend money again till I know we've received the refund.They've had the aids for days and still they're making us wait? So silly. It simply slows down buying again. They also did not offer an exchange, which I thought was odd. They forced us to return, wait, and then re-order? And now that may not happen because I'm going to do more research. This is a huge disappointment. Sony could have an amazing product and experience in these, but instead it's like the company doesn't even want to have the product or wants it to fail?

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for hearing, but not great for streaming.

C. · June 27, 2023

I've had these less than 24 hours. I purchased them to compare to my current hearing aids that cost more than twice as much (and that I rarely wear). This is a preliminary review and I'll update it when I've run these things through there paces.1. Fit - great. My current CIC aids constantly work themselves out of my ears - I've tried every type and size of sleeve available, but it happens; eating, running, talking. Anything that moves my jaw or bounces it around works them out. The Sony CRE-E10s stay comfortable and firmly in place regardless of what I'm doing. I usually have trouble with ear bud style devices due to surgery on my right ear - they tend to fall out, but these Sony aids stay. Very happy about that.2. Setup - RTFI! If you follow the instructions carefully, you'll get these things setup fairly easily. Important - the app doesn't use Bluetooth to send instructions to the hearing aids; it uses high frequency sound from your phone speaker.3. Sound - good. As good as my more expensive hearing aids and as good as the Eargo aids that I had a couple of years ago. Music from our house speaker system sounds good. I often get distortion from my CIC aids when listening to music or TV. Doesn't seem to be a problem with the Sonys. There is more mid-frequency boost (2k hz) than I need, but will be playing with the fine tuning for that. The aids come with six pre-programmed sound profiles (pg 77 of the user guide), but they are apparently not selectable by the user. I'm guessing the setup process selects the profile for you based on your response to the setup hearing test. I'd really like to try profile three, but not sure how to get there. The frequency response range is good 125 - 8000 hz (Eargo aids are only 250- 5500). 12 ms of latency though (vs 5.6 ms for Eargo) - guess I wasn't wrong last night when I perceived words lagging lips while watching those Law and Order reruns last night. To be fair, there is some latency built into the TV audio processing as well so I was likely dealing with layered latency.3. Streaming. These are not go-to devices for streaming music. Okay for phone conversations, but bass response is missing when streaming music. That's weird, because bass comes through okay when listening to external speakers. Clearly the devices can produce bass sounds - so perhaps a software update can fix the lack of bass while streaming. Listening to music reminds of listening to music on those small hand-held transistor radios that were so ubiquitous in the 1960s.4. The app. I see a universal program but no ability to select or create other programs? Maybe I'm missing something. The app is almost identical to other hearing aid apps with regard to the user interface. An ability to select or create other listening profiles in the app would be good. How about a graphic equalizer for music. I believe these hearing aids have more capability than the app is allowing me to squeeze out of them.