Dr. Cliff's Review of Phonak Sphere Infinio

As an audiologist who's reviewed countless hearing aids over the years, I can confidently say that the Phonak Audeo Sphere Infinio hearing aids are some of the most impressive devices I've ever tested. In this review, I'll share my in-depth experience with these groundbreaking hearing aids and explain why they might just be the best performing hearing aids in background noise that I've ever reviewed.
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The Phonak Infinio Line-Up

Before we dive into the specifics of the Sphere Infinio, it's worth noting that Phonak has released multiple models in this lineup simultaneously. These include:

1. Phonak Audeo Infinio R

2. Infinio CROS R

3. Audeo Sphere Infinio R

4. Custom Virto Infinio R

5. Custom Virto Infinio 10 (Non-Wireless)

6. Custom Virto Infinio Titanium

However, in this review, I'm specifically focusing on their flagship model: the Audeo Sphere Infinio R hearing aid (because that is the one I had my hands on).

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The DEEPSONIC Chip

The highlight of the Phonak Audeo Sphere Infinio Hearing Aid is undoubtedly their new DEEPSONIC chip. This chip has one primary job: to separate speech from background noise. And let me tell you, it does this job exceptionally well.

The DEEPSONIC chip was trained with a Large Deep Neural Network (DNN) using 22 million sound samples through 4.5 million neural connections. It performs an astounding 7.7 billion operations per second to effectively separate speech from noise. This chip requires a ton of processing power - in fact, it has 53 times more processing power than other chips on the market.

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Spheric Speech in Loud Noise Program

The DEEPSONIC chip is utilized when the "Spheric Speech in Loud Noise program" is activated, either automatically through Autosense OS 6.0 or manually by the user. When this program is active, the performance is, quite literally, unbelievable.

Phonak claims that users can get up to a 10dB SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) improvement using fixed directional microphones and Spheric Speech Clarity set to max. They also state that users are up to 3 times more likely to understand speech in challenging environments, from any direction, compared to two leading competitors. This translates to up to a 36.7% improvement in speech understanding.

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Real-World Performance

When I first heard Phonak's audio sample demonstrating the Spheric Speech in Loud Noise program, I was skeptical. It seemed too good to be true. I even challenged Phonak's R&D team, and they assured me it was an actual recording, not something created in their lab.

To verify these claims, I needed to hear it for myself in the real world. I wore these hearing aids in some very challenging, noisy situations, setting them up with vented rubber domes to see if the hype was real.

And you know what? It is.

The true test of any program or feature is when you can perform a direct A/B comparison between different program settings. When I switched from a Calm Situation Program or even a Speech in Noise program to the Spheric Speech in Loud Noise program, it was the most dramatic difference I have ever experienced with a hearing aid. And remember, I've reviewed hundreds of hearing aids up to this point.

I was fully expecting to call BS on that audio sample, but honestly, I would say that the real-world accuracy of that recording is pretty spot on.