Well makemoney, you asked for it, so you've got it.
First, some disappointments:
1. The IQbuds will not be able to replace my hearing aids. BUT, to put it in context:
(a) The IQbuds have never been promoted as a hearing aid, but a hearing augmentation aid
(b) My hearing loss is 60% in my right ear and 40% in my left ear, so is certainly not in the "moderate" hearing loss category that the IQbuds are promoted as being able to assist
(c) At maximum augmentation, they do come bl**dy close (probably about 90-95% volume that my hearing aids provide) so around home, and quiet environments they will suffice.
2. They do not completely cut out machinery noise in my home workshop (and the lawnmower). BUT, it has been explicitly stated that they were not designed for industrial use (the sister company Sensear caters for that market). They do however cut out probably 75% of the noise, and if I fiddle with some of the equaliser settings I may be able to improve on that. Given that I normally do not wear earplugs or headphones in the shed, I am still better off, and will be able to minimise further hearing loss as well as being able to listen to music and hear the phone while I'm working.
3. The documentation about the use of the app and how to change settings, and what the setting actually mean, is very sparse, in fact basically non-existent. This was the ONLY real disappointment. It would certainly help me in more quickly tailoring the different profiles to my personal hearing needs and issues. I still have some way to go to get them quite right (and there doesn't seem to be a way to revert to default setting to start all over again).
Now for the good stuff - my positive experiences.
FIT: I have found the IQbuds to be a good fit and very comfortable (I have worn them for an 8 hour stretch.)
SOUND QUALITY: Excellent, both for audio streaming and phone. True stereo comes through and no lag between left and right (maybe the fact that there's no solid mass, only vacuum, between my ears helps this LOL).
CONNECTIVITY: Pairing the IQbuds with both my Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S5) and my iPhone (4S) worked smoothly. I have had no dropouts with the phone in my pants pocket even while mowing the lawns, and connectivity was lost at around 25 ft from the iPhone and about 40 ft from the Samsung (and that's not even line of sight, that was through the internal walls of the house).
NOISE CANCELLATION AND NOISE ISOLATION: Within the environments that the IQbuds were designed for, this aspect was excellent.
TAP CONTROLS: Very easy to learn and have worked flawlessly.
So overall I am a very happy camper, extremely glad that I made a decision to buy at the very early stages of the campaign, very happy to be one of the first in the world to own one, and very happy that they will provide me with solutions to some of the hearing issues I have in different environments. I have yet to try the "restaurant" profile in a restaurant setting, but I am confident that will work as that is the characteristic that has been the WOW factor for most people who tried it during CES and the prior road-shows.
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