Jabra’s Enhance Select 700 are top-level hearing aids that don’t add much

So what is it about the Enhance Select 700 tools that makes them 200 better than the Select 500? The big sell is a new audio feature called SoundScape Auto Focus. This technology is designed to improve speech clarity in noisy conditions, filter out background noise and automatically prioritize human voices. Autofocus is integrated into the hardware and cannot be disabled or adjusted; Jabra describes the technology as non-directional and dynamic, able to distinguish voices even if they are not generated directly for you.

I had some trouble with Auto Focus when I first started using the Enhance Select 700, as I had trouble hearing my wife playing loud music over the PA in a restaurant – exactly the scenario that Auto Focus was designed for. I requested a programming change from Jabra to resolve this issue, and a new tuning was immediately pushed to the hearing aids via the Jabra app. I’ve had better luck with it since, but technologies like this always tend to produce variable results from one environment to another.

Overall, the audio quality continues to meet Jabra’s high standards, but I couldn’t see a dramatic difference between the 700 and their predecessor.

Small filters

The only other change is a minuscule feature of the hearing aid hardware. The Select 700’s microphones are now covered with small filters that can be replaced in the same way as the wax filters on hearing aid receivers should they become dirty. Because the microphones are located at the back of the hearing aid rather than in the ear canal, chances are you won’t need to replace these filters often, but active users (or anyone who wears a lot of hair products) may find this a convenient way to streamline maintenance. To Jabra’s credit, there are numerous replacement filters in the box, along with a host of eartips in different sizes.

The bottom line is that if you’re happy with your Enhance Select 500 (or 300), there’s absolutely no need to rush to upgrade to the Select 700. The same calculation that applied to the decision to purchase the 300 or 500 models still applies: At $1,695, the Select 300 is $300 cheaper than the Select 700’s MSRP, and most users with mild or moderate hearing loss probably won’t be able to do this. to tell the difference between the two experiences. For that reason, the Jabra Enhance Select 300 remains my top choice for over-the-counter hearing aids, with the 700 being an attractive product if price is not an issue.