Twelve years after getting my Freedom, and six years after moving to the N6, I upgraded to the N7 last week. Michelle Montez set it up for me on May 7.
In a word, I love it! I immediately seemed to hear better with it. That could be due to the fresh mike covers, as I hadn’t changed the N6 mike covers in some time.
That immediately bring up one of the improvements – the mike covers are built into a plastic cap about an inch long. Much like the Freedom, and much easier to change than the minuscule pellets of the N6, which required surgical skill and a set of tools to change.
The N7 is distinctly smaller and lighter than the N6, and, except for the coil, seems about the size of a last-generation hearing aid. The battery modules are about the same size, and the disposable module uses the same pair of 675’s. The connector on the battery is similar to the N6, but somewhat smaller. The charger is very different – a Y-shaped device about the size of a USB thumb drive, capable of 2, not 4, batteries, with a standard micro-USB connection to the AC adapter.
The earhook is somewhat more flexible than my N6, and the attachment mechanism is different, and, one would hope, less inclined to fall off when dropped. I’ve had moments of panic when I thought I had lost the earhook, and would have the N6 dangling from the magnet till I got home.
A spare coil is provided. This seems to be a solution to a problem that had already been solved. The cable on the coil of my Freedom processor frayed badly, and necessitated replacing the assembly that included the coil. I think this was fairly common with the Freedom. The N6, and I believe the N5, had a separate cable that could be replaced independently of the coil. But my N6 cable seemed as good as new after 6 years, so the need for a replaceable cable has disappeared. But just to be sure, we’ll include a spare cable.
The processor has a single button, and it’s easier to press than the pair on my N6, which seemed to require excessive force. Brief presses cycle through modes of operation – I have four. A longer press will turn on the T-coil, and another long press will turn on the streaming function. An even longer press will turn it off.
Oddly, there a delay, at least a second, between a press and its response. There is a learning curve, and suggests to Cochlear assumes that the N7 will be controlled by a remote, e.g. iPhone.
The user guide describes the T-coil as ‘optimized for room loop performance’, suggesting the it is vertical, in contrast to the N5 and N6. I’ll be checking that out soon.
I opted for the Mini Mike 2+ as part of the package, after using the original Mini Mike for some years. It too is smaller and lighter. The control buttons are quite small, but not too difficult to use.
It is small enough to be easily lost, and I always attach a lanyard to such an item. There wasn’t a good point to attach one, but a small nylon “tie-wrap” took care of that.
There are actually two microphones, small grilled areas, which seem to have different frequency responses. It incorporates a T-coil, which allows you to orient the mike for loop response, rather than tilting your head! There is a 3.5mm jack for connection to an audio source such as an mp3 player.
There is also a 3-pin jack described as an FM radio connection, probably the kind of device described as a “boot”. The charging connector is a micro-USB.
The N7 is a “Make for iPhone” device, and the phone serves at the remote control and streams audio to it, a major step forward. I think Android phones will control the N7, but won’t stream.
The basic control functions set up pretty easily, but of course there’s a learning curve. Basic controls are built into the iPhone, but for more complete control you need a Cochlear account to get the app.
The phone has a “ListenLive” mode, basically turning the phone into a remote mike