Learning Outcomes
After this course, participants will be able to:
- Discuss the capabilities and benefits of the Integrated Xperience (IX) platform.
- List the new Integrated Xperience additions and features.
- Discuss the wearer benefit of Real Time Conversation Enhancement (RTCE).
Introduction
Thank you for joining this course on Signia's IX platform here on Audiology Online. My name is Lisa Perhacs, and I am the Senior Clinical Development Manager at Signia. Today we'll be exploring the Integrated Xperience - or IX - platform, the latest chapter in more than a decade of platform innovation from Signia. We'll cover the core technologies that make IX possible, the evidence base supporting its performance, the full IX product portfolio, and the newest addition to the family: the Active Mini IX.
A Legacy of Innovation
Signia has been a leader in audiology for well over a century - going back to 1878 - with a commitment to delivering world-first innovations that reduce barriers, expand opportunities, and help more people contribute to the conversation. The decade of platform development leading to IX has been one of consistent, measurable progress.
In 2014, the Binax platform introduced clinically proven better-than-normal hearing through the integration of sound between the ears and the introduction of narrow directionality. Building on that foundation, Primax in 2016 demonstrated a reduction in listening effort, proven through EEG studies measuring brain activity during speech-in-noise tasks. Then in 2017, the NX platform made history as the first technology to reduce the perceived loudness of a wearer's own voice without reducing audibility - a capability previously thought to require a compromise.
In 2019, the Xperience platform addressed hearing while in motion, introducing motion sensors within the instruments to improve performance in dynamic environments. The AX platform arrived in 2021 with a groundbreaking advancement: split processing with Augmented Focus, in which a dedicated processor handles speech and a separate processor manages background sounds, reducing the cognitive effort required to hear clearly. Today, the IX platform builds on all of this to deliver something qualitatively new - Real-Time Conversation Enhancement - keeping the listener fully part of the conversation, no matter the environment.
The Integrated Xperience (IX) Platform
The IX platform is one complete platform with a clear mission: keeping the listener part of the conversation. Its central capability, Real-Time Conversation Enhancement, addresses the most fundamental challenge hearing aid wearers face - following multiple speakers in noisy group settings without having to redirect attention, look at the talker, or exert conscious effort.
With IX, the wearer doesn't have to turn toward a speaker to hear them. Speakers can be in the same directional beam or in different beams, speaking simultaneously or taking turns, and the technology follows the live, active exchange effortlessly. The IX portfolio is designed to support every patient - offering a solution at every form factor, performance level, and price point without compromise. Own voice processing, a technology closely associated with IX, has been shown to produce up to 30% fewer returns with Signia.
Core IX Technologies
Binaural Communication - E2E Wireless 4.0
The foundation of everything IX makes possible is E2E Wireless 4.0, Signia's industry-leading binaural communication system. E2E Wireless 4.0 delivers full-bandwidth integration of sound between the ears - wide bandwidth, low latency, and high-resolution data exchange that allows both instruments to function as a single, unified system. The ability for data to instantly exchange between the ears is what enables Signia's signature world's-first features.
Own Voice Processing
Leveraging E2E, IX can lower gain exclusively when the wearer speaks - and not for any other signal. This processing occurs on the speech processor, making it both accurate and fast, and it dynamically optimizes compression settings to keep the wearer's own voice comfortable. The clinical implication is significant: clinicians no longer have to reduce overall gain to make a patient comfortable with their own voice. They can fit to target without compromise. Own voice processing alone is associated with up to 23% fewer returns.
Split Processing and Augmented Focus
Split processing optimizes speech while keeping the wearer immersed in the surrounding environment. A dedicated speech processor - with its own compression, more linear, drawing speech closer - operates separately from a dedicated background processor that applies more compressive rules to environmental sounds. In a level 7 instrument, each processor operates across all 48 channels. The result is substantially reduced cognitive effort to hear speech clearly in noise.
This architecture, known as Augmented Focus, is the foundation upon which IX's multi-stream capability is built.
Multi-Stream Architecture and Real-Time Conversation Enhancement
The IX multi-stream architecture identifies and tracks multiple speakers as they move, dynamically adjusting without requiring any action from the wearer. Speakers may be in the same focus beam or in separate beams; they may speak simultaneously or in turn. The system follows the live, active conversation without effort from the listener.
Real-Time Conversation Enhancement accomplishes this by running three processes simultaneously - analyzing, augmenting, and adapting - at a rate of 192,000 data points sampled per second, with the system adapting a thousand times per second. That processing speed is what enables the instantaneous response that makes conversation feel natural and effortless. It is the world's only technology that tracks and enhances multiple speakers in real time.
The Evidence Base
Signia's evidence base for IX is multimodal and peer-reviewed, drawing from a global research community and spanning physiological, neural, behavioral, and independent study designs.
In a head-to-head comparison in a noisy group conversation scenario - including against the nearest competitor using an AI co-processor dedicated to noise reduction - IX delivered a 3.2 dB signal-to-noise ratio improvement. That objective advantage translates directly to real-world performance.
On the subjective side, an independent, peer-reviewed study conducted in a food court environment demonstrated that 86% of participants preferred Real-Time Conversation Enhancement over other available technology. Both data points together represent a compelling, convergent case for IX performance in the situations that matter most to patients.
Binaural One-Mic Directionality
One of the most distinctive capabilities in the IX platform is directionality in single-microphone instruments - CIC and IIC devices that traditionally could not deliver a directional benefit.
Conventional directionality depends on the timing difference between sound arriving at a front microphone versus a back microphone, requiring physical space between two microphone ports on the faceplate. In a single-port CIC, that spacing doesn't exist - so directionality has historically been out of reach. With IX and E2E Wireless 4.0, that constraint is overcome.
By exchanging binaural bandwidth information between the ears - right to left and left to right - IX compares the timing and intensity differences of sound arriving at each instrument. This creates a four-microphone virtual array around the head, producing directional beamforming in a device that houses only one physical microphone.
In head-to-head comparisons with every other CIC on the market, competitor devices achieved only the pinna effect. With Signia's binaural one-mic directionality, wearers gain a directional benefit of up to 7 dB and five times more speech understanding in noise. Whether a patient is in a full-featured RIC or a discreet CIC, they receive real directional performance - no compromise.
The IX Product Portfolio
Pure Charge & Go IX
The Pure Charge & Go IX is the first RIC family on the market offering both Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth LE Audio. The Bluetooth Classic instrument (BCT) connects to virtually all electronic devices, with hands-free operation, tap-control, Real-Time Conversation Enhancement, and an integrated telecoil. The Bluetooth LE Audio option adds support for the next generation of wireless connectivity. The Pure family delivers the full IX platform in a versatile RIC form factor.
Styletto IX
The Styletto IX is the world's first slim RIC - a sleek, sophisticated design that sits comfortably behind the ear while offering full rechargeability, streaming capability, a long battery life, and a range of color options. It is available across every performance level, making the slim form factor accessible regardless of where a patient falls on the price-point spectrum.
Silk Charge & Go IX
The Silk Charge & Go IX is the world's first instant-fit rechargeable CIC. Designed for mild to moderate hearing loss, it delivers a 50 dB peak gain, a full-day charge, binaural one-mic directionality, and app-based or Mini Pocket remote control. Now in its fourth generation, the Silk design has been refined over time to be smaller, more tapered, and more comfortable - with a soft textured faceplate that sits securely and discreetly in the ear. Nine out of ten wearers are satisfied with its comfort compared to competitor ready-to-wear CICs.
Insio Charge & Go CIC IX
For patients who want a true custom rechargeable CIC with the full directional benefit, the Insio Charge & Go CIC IX offers up to 60 dB peak gain, a full-day battery life, and five times the speech enhancement in noise compared to competitors. Patients who need more gain than an instant-fit device provides - but still want something small, rechargeable, and discreet - have a clear path with the Insio.
Meeting the Unmet Need
Despite remarkable advances in hearing aid technology across the industry, an estimated 80% of people who could benefit from hearing aids - many of them first-time candidates - report that they are not yet ready. The number-one unmet need among this population is group conversations in noisy environments: the dinner table, the restaurant, the family gathering, the social event. These are exactly the moments where hearing loss is most isolating and where the motivation to act - or not act - is most acute.
What this population needs is a device that fits the life they are already living. They want something complete in its capability, instant in its availability, and discreet in its appearance. They want no compromise. That insight is what the Active Mini IX was designed to address.
Active Mini IX
The Active Mini IX is complete, instant, and discreet - everything available in a RIC product packaged in a small, modern, recessed design that sits in the ear canal without occluding it. It carries the full IX platform and the full power of Real-Time Conversation Enhancement. Directional microphones on the faceplate allow it to track multiple speakers in noisy environments, lifting speech above background sound so the wearer can participate in conversation without effort or redirection.
Because it is an instant fit, no custom mold is required. The Active Mini can be selected off the shelf, fit, and dispensed on the same visit - patients leave hearing better. For the clinician with a patient who needs something immediately, or for the first-time wearer who isn't ready for a multi-appointment process, the Active Mini removes every barrier to getting started.
Ninety-seven percent of wearers rated the Active Mini comfortable and described the experience positively. Battery life lasts a full day under typical use.
Features and Design
The Active Mini IX holds the IP68 rating - the highest available classification for both dust and water resistance. It uses the same EarWear 3.0 sleeves and wax protection familiar to existing Signia dispensers, requiring no change in workflow.
The indicators have been redesigned for clarity and accessibility: a bold red R marks the right instrument, a bold blue L marks the left. For wearers who cannot rely on visual identification, a tactile side indicator - a small raised bump on the left body of the instrument - allows identification by touch alone. The Active Mini is 17% smaller than its predecessor, sitting recessed and virtually invisible in the ear canal when viewed from the front.
Connectivity includes Bluetooth LE Audio, Made for iPhone, and ASHA, supporting direct streaming and hands-free call answering with a tap.
Performance Levels and Colors
Active Mini IX is available at every performance level - 7, 5, 3, 2, 1, and an S demo - making it indispensable across all price points without restricting Real-Time Conversation Enhancement to premium tiers alone. All levels are currently available in garnet black, with rose gold and pearl white launching mid-July.
Battery Life
Usage Scenario | Runtime on a Single Charge |
No streaming | 21 hours |
With 2 hours of streaming (average use). | 19 hours |
Heavy streaming (5 hours per day) | 16 hours |
The charging case supports wireless charging on a standard charging plate or via USB, and holds sufficient charge to refill the instruments up to five additional times without being connected to a power source. Quick-charge capability is included.
Accessories
Active Mini IX is compatible with the full Signia accessory ecosystem: the TV Streamer for direct audio delivery from television, the Mini Pocket for program and volume control without a smartphone, and the StreamLine Mic for remote microphone use in challenging listening environments.
Clinical Evidence
The evidence supporting Active Mini IX mirrors the strength of the broader IX platform. In clinical testing, 95% of wearers showed improved performance in noisy group conversations with Signia IX and Real-Time Conversation Enhancement. Active Mini IX demonstrated 24% better speech understanding than the nearest competitor. And in a real-world group conversation scenario with ambient noise, 80% of participants preferred Signia IX.
Summary
The Signia IX platform represents the most complete expression of what binaural hearing aid technology can accomplish today. From the E2E Wireless 4.0 foundation to own voice processing, split processing, Augmented Focus, multi-stream architecture, and Real-Time Conversation Enhancement, every component serves a single purpose: keeping the listener part of the conversation, effortlessly and without compromise.
The IX portfolio leaves no gap - RIC, slim RIC, instant-fit CIC, rechargeable custom CIC, and now the Active Mini IX for first-time wearers and patients seeking an instant-fit option with full platform performance. Whether a patient needs a discreet instant-fit instrument, a slim rechargeable RIC, a high-power BTE, or anything in between, IX delivers the same core benefit: the best hearing in noise, backed by a multimodal evidence base and 145 years of innovation.
References
Folkeard, P., Jensen, N. S., Kamkar Parsi, H., Bilert, S., & Scollie, S. (2024). Hearing at the mall: Multibeam processing technology improves hearing group conversations in a real-world food court environment. American Journal of Audiology, 33(3), 782–792.
Jensen, N. S., Mohnlein-Gilbert, K., Wilson, C., Berwick, N., Kamkar Parsi, H., Best, S., Samra, B., & Taylor, B. (2024). Signia IX delivers 22% better speech understanding in noisy group conversation [White paper]. Signia.
Jensen, N. S., Samra, B., Best, S., Wilson, C., & Taylor, B. (2024). Improving speech understanding in noisy group conversation: 86% of participants performed better with Signia Integrated Xperience versus key competitor. AudiologyOnline, Article 29273.
Jensen, N. S., Samra, B., Hain, J., & Branda, E. (2026). Binaural OneMic Directionality 2.0 delivers 5 times the speech enhancement in noise versus key competitors (2nd rev.) [White paper]. Signia.
Jensen, N. S., Samra, B., Taghvaei, N., & Taylor, B. (2023). Power the conversation with Signia Integrated Xperience and RealTime Conversation Enhancement. The Hearing Review, 30(10), 20–23.
Jensen, N. S., Wilson, C., Kamkar Parsi, H., Samra, B., Hain, J., Best, S., & Taylor, B. (2024). Signia IX delivers more than twice the speech enhancement benefit in a noisy group conversation than the closest competitors [White paper]. Signia.
McCormack, A., & Fortnum, H. (2013). Why do people fitted with hearing aids not wear them? International Journal of Audiology, 52(5), 360–368.
Picou, E. M. (2022). Hearing aid benefit and satisfaction results from the MarkeTrak 2022 survey: Importance of features and hearing care professionals. Seminars in Hearing, 43(4), 301–316.
Samra, B., Jensen, N. S., & Lotter, T. (2025). Own Voice Processing 2.0 linked to 23% fewer returns. Signia Data Insights.
Signia. (2023). Internal wearing comfort study [Unpublished raw data].
