The 30 series is awesome for quieter environments. - SportEar Select-A-Fit 30 Hearing Amp. System, Pair

I had purchased this device with the hopes that I would be able to hear casual conversation better, and boy, does it perform!!! Excellent clarity of sound and the compression that this little device does from the quietest to the loudest (gunshots) is very impressive. Kinda weird to hear my clothes swish when I walked :). I have mild to moderate hearing loss in the high range of hearing (pretty typical), so these little puppies really help catch those troublesome syllables you start missing.

I have used them in environments where sudden sounds that would normally hurt my hears (gunshots, slamming toilet seats, over exuberant screaming toddlers, etc) and they did wonders to save my ears.

Now that all being said, and full disclosure, I am not sure what the background noise suppression (1x) is supposed to do, as I have no point of comparison. However, in particularly noisy environments the "Soundscape compression" reduces all sounds down to a safe level. Noises, although now quieter, have made everything else you WANT to hear, quieter as well. Turn on a couple of loud air compressors, or be in a noisy restaurant with friends, singling out the people you want to listen to from the background noise may still be a challenge. Remember that the 30 does not have noise cancellation, it only has the first level noise suppression (whatever that is).

But that being said, I appreciate these devices... if I suffer from more hearing loss as I age, I will consider the 412 series with it's background noise cancellation features instead. The 30 series make being in a quiet place a more interesting one.