Jabra Enhance Select 700 Review: Still Great Hearing Aids

So what is it about the Enhance Select 700 aids that makes the 200 better than their Select 500? The big selling point is a new audio feature called Soundscape Auto Focus. This technology is designed to improve speech clarity in noisy situations, filtering out background noise and automatically prioritizing human voices. Auto focus is integrated into the hardware and cannot be toggled off or tweaked; Jabra describes the technology as non-directional and dynamic, able to pick out voices even if they aren’t generated directly in front of you.

I struggled a little with autofocus when I first started using the Enhance Select 700, as my wife had trouble hearing loud music playing over the PA in a restaurant — exactly the scenario the autofocus was designed for. I requested a programming change from Jabra to mitigate this issue, and the new tuning was quickly pushed to the hearing aids via Jabra’s app. I’ve had good luck with them, but this type of technology always provides variable results from one environment to another.

Overall, audio quality is up to Jabra’s otherwise high standards, but I couldn’t tell any dramatic differences between the 700s and their predecessors.

Small filter

Photo: Chris Nall

The only other change of note is a minor feature of the hearing aid hardware. The Select 700’s microphones are now covered with small filters that can be changed in the same way as the wax guards on hearing aid receivers, if they become dirty. Since the microphones are located behind the hearing aid rather than inside the ear canal, you probably won’t need to change these filters very often, but active users (or those who wear a lot of hair products) may find it a helpful way to streamline maintenance. To Jabra’s credit, a number of replacement filters are included in the box, along with multiple sizes of ear tips.

The bottom line is that if you’re happy with your Enhance Select 500 (or 300), there’s no rush to upgrade to the Select 700. The same calculus applied to the decision to buy the 300 or 500 model still applies: At $1,695, the Select 307 is cheaper than the Select 307 by $307 and cheaper than the Select 3007. Most users with mild or moderate hearing loss probably won’t be able to tell the difference between the two experiences. For that reason, the Jabra Enhance Select 300 remains my top choice Over-the-counter hearing aidsWith 700 made for a compelling product if price is no object.