Review: Jabra Enhance Select M3
This fall, hearing-aid manufacturers have been busily rolling out new and improved devices en masse, including Jabra, a leading maker of direct-to-consumer, over-the-counter devices. The brand has replaced its entire product lineup with all-new gear, swiftly retiring the Jabra Enhance Select 700, 500, 300, and 50R, all of which were only a year or two old. Three new models replace them: Enhance Select M3, M2, and M1. Each of the M-series hearing aids looks and works about the same as the models from last year and the year before that. Most of the updates here happen under the hood—but even those changes are hardly extreme, as I learned with the M3 pair I tested.
Historically, a more expensive device has meant a slightly smaller chassis—not so with Jabra’s new hearing aids. Each of the three new models weighs the same: 2.12 grams, give or take a few hundredths of a gram, depending on the ear tip you choose. While the M2 and M1 share an identical form factor, the M3 is a bit squatter in design, measuring a few millimeters shorter than its siblings. Even so, all three are virtually indistinguishable unless you look at the fine print. That is, unless you select the red model; it’s an M3 giveaway, as the M1 and M2 aren’t available in that color.
Taking the traditional form of behind-the-ear teardrops, the M3 aids feature a single button on the back. Various presses and holds let you use these buttons for power, volume adjustments, and environmental mode changes that work to varying degrees of usefulness. Even so, the device is among the best available right now.
Within Earshot
Jabra calls its audio enhancement system SoundScape, which launched last year and claims to reduce noise and improve overall speech clarity. SoundScape features are variably available across the three devices in the M line, and two new capabilities are exclusive to the M3. These include a revamped autofocus tool that “locks onto” speech in complex, noisy environments, like restaurants, which I found to be moderately effective. I experienced clean dialog, even when a conversation partner walked fully around me in a circle.
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The other new SoundScape feature for the M3 is an advanced adaptive listening mode that’s responsive to a given environment (whether a restaurant, outdoors, or several other options) in real time to optimize noise reduction. The environmental modes weren’t very useful; keeping the hearing aids in “all around” mode, then tweaking levels manually (especially noise reduction) was the best way to improve the hearing experience.
I tested the M3 hearing aids in a variety of settings and am pleased to report that they work just as well as previous Jabra generations. Clarity in quiet environments (like having a one-on-one conversation or watching television) was just about perfect. Keeping the volume at 30 percent maximized hearing improvement while minimizing hiss, which grows geometrically louder with each upward tick of volume level.
Bluetooth streaming quality has never been Jabra’s strong suit, and while these new devices support Auracast—which lets various audio sources broadcast directly to the hearing aid—I don’t expect I’d use any of the streaming modes much. Overall streaming audio quality on the M3 offers a slight improvement from previous generations, but music and movie audio are both too washed out at any level below the highest volume. And any amount of ambient noise still kills the experience completely.
Programming on Demand
The app and other features in the new lineup remain remarkably similar to previous Jabra models. Jabra has a history of offering great customer service: All purchases include three years of access to on-staff audiologists who can make tuning adjustments live over video chat and train new users on their hearing aids. Jabra’s built-in self-test system also remains top-notch, allowing you to create an audiogram from scratch in just a few minutes.
Its massive case unfortunately hasn’t changed, providing three recharges of your spent hearing aids before it also needs to be plugged in. A fully charged pair of hearing aids still lasts for 24 hours, as specified. In fact, I got closer to 26 hours in my testing before I needed to power up.
Notably, pricing also remains consistent, with the M3 starting at $1,995—the same launch price as the Jabra 700 last year. If history is any guide, a few months of patience are likely to reward you with a $200 price cut, and Jabra coupons are available fairly regularly. It’s still a big ask for a nonprescription product. But to be fair, you’d likely pay twice as much for a prescription aid that can match the quality of these latest M3s.
My bottom-line recommendation? If you can afford the two grand for the Jabra M3 hearing aids, you’ll get the most advanced over-the-counter devices available. That said, those with more modest means will do nearly as well with the $1,695 M2 or $1,195 M1 hearing aids—or one of the even more affordable options featured in my Best Hearing Aids buying guide.
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