S9 Reviews

Just got an S9, i hate it, I can not stop the ramping function and I seem to have some water in the pipe and it keeps gurgling voilently - I have been ripped off....

leiper, If you are serious, you really should register and start a new thread so you can get some help with your machine.

I had an S8 CPAP machine for three years and really liked it. It was compact, easy to take on trips, worked well, and was reliable. The humidifier, CPAP machine and switch mode power supply (SMPS) were all in one neat little package. The S8 was easy to use and the operation menus were intuitive and easy to step through. The only problem with the S8 that I experienced was the metal plating on the humidifier heating plate disintegrating and flaking off. I then "upgraded" to an S9 machine, which to my astonishment is significantly larger than the S8, and also has has THREE different modules: (1) the CPAP machine (the S9 module); (2) the humidifier (the HSi module); and (3) the SMPS adapter. The S9 module and HSi connect to one another flimsily and easily become disconnected during use (or even with a slight nudge). The hose hooks up to the rear of the HSi module, and thus has to be routed and draped across the top of the S9 module for use. This makes for awkward routing and can also cause the two modules to separate. The control menus and buttons on the S9 are mostly unintelligible. Operation using the menus and buttons is not intuitive. The humidifier container is significantly smaller than in the S8, and the water level is hard to read. Humidity control is much more difficult to set properly. The power cord easily unplugs from the adapter with slightest tug (meaning that it often comes unplugged during use). The humidifier cover requires two hands to open and a lot of fiddling. The S9 is a complete turkey of a product. Whoever was responsible for bringing this product to market should be fired. My health care professional tried to talk me out of getting an S9 and now I know why. Save yourself a lot of annoyance and trouble and get a product from another manufacturer. I will bet dollars to donuts that ResMed has lost significant market share because of this bad product.

tundraline wrote:I had an S8 CPAP machine for three years and really liked it. It was compact, easy to take on trips, worked well, and was reliable. The humidifier, CPAP machine and switch mode power supply (SMPS) were all in one neat little package. The S8 was easy to use and the operation menus were intuitive and easy to step through. The only problem with the S8 that I experienced was the metal plating on the humidifier heating plate disintegrating and flaking off. I then "upgraded" to an S9 machine, which to my astonishment is significantly larger than the S8, and also has has THREE different modules: (1) the CPAP machine (the S9 module); (2) the humidifier (the HSi module); and (3) the SMPS adapter. The S9 module and HSi connect to one another flimsily and easily become disconnected during use (or even with a slight nudge). The hose hooks up to the rear of the HSi module, and thus has to be routed and draped across the top of the S9 module for use. This makes for awkward routing and can also cause the two modules to separate. The control menus and buttons on the S9 are mostly unintelligible. Operation using the menus and buttons is not intuitive. The humidifier container is significantly smaller than in the S8, and the water level is hard to read. Humidity control is much more difficult to set properly. The power cord easily unplugs from the adapter with slightest tug (meaning that it often comes unplugged during use). The humidifier cover requires two hands to open and a lot of fiddling. The S9 is a complete turkey of a product. Whoever was responsible for bringing this product to market should be fired. My health care professional tried to talk me out of getting an S9 and now I know why. Save yourself a lot of annoyance and trouble and get a product from another manufacturer. I will bet dollars to donuts that ResMed has lost significant market share because of this bad product.

Interesting diatribe! The S9 is not perfect, but then no consumer use product is. There are very few here who experience all the problems you complain about. There was one forum member several months ago who would have agreed wholeheartedly with you, but he was so hell bent on castigating Resmed, forum members, and the S9 that he finally was banned from the forum. All he was interested in was ranting and raving.

Now, if you would like to calmly discuss all the points you make above we can give you some ideas on how to deal with some of them, and commiserate with you about others. So tell us, did you come only to rant and rave, or do you want to learn to live peaceably with your S9?

idamtnboy wrote:

tundraline wrote:I had an S8 CPAP machine for three years and really liked it. It was compact, easy to take on trips, worked well, and was reliable. The humidifier, CPAP machine and switch mode power supply (SMPS) were all in one neat little package. The S8 was easy to use and the operation menus were intuitive and easy to step through. The only problem with the S8 that I experienced was the metal plating on the humidifier heating plate disintegrating and flaking off. I then "upgraded" to an S9 machine, which to my astonishment is significantly larger than the S8, and also has has THREE different modules: (1) the CPAP machine (the S9 module); (2) the humidifier (the HSi module); and (3) the SMPS adapter. The S9 module and HSi connect to one another flimsily and easily become disconnected during use (or even with a slight nudge). The hose hooks up to the rear of the HSi module, and thus has to be routed and draped across the top of the S9 module for use. This makes for awkward routing and can also cause the two modules to separate. The control menus and buttons on the S9 are mostly unintelligible. Operation using the menus and buttons is not intuitive. The humidifier container is significantly smaller than in the S8, and the water level is hard to read. Humidity control is much more difficult to set properly. The power cord easily unplugs from the adapter with slightest tug (meaning that it often comes unplugged during use). The humidifier cover requires two hands to open and a lot of fiddling. The S9 is a complete turkey of a product. Whoever was responsible for bringing this product to market should be fired. My health care professional tried to talk me out of getting an S9 and now I know why. Save yourself a lot of annoyance and trouble and get a product from another manufacturer. I will bet dollars to donuts that ResMed has lost significant market share because of this bad product.

Interesting diatribe! The S9 is not perfect, but then no consumer use product is. There are very few here who experience all the problems you complain about. There was one forum member several months ago who would have agreed wholeheartedly with you, but he was so hell bent on castigating Resmed, forum members, and the S9 that he finally was banned from the forum. All he was interested in was ranting and raving.

Now, if you would like to calmly discuss all the points you make above we can give you some ideas on how to deal with some of them, and commiserate with you about others. So tell us, did you come only to rant and rave, or do you want to learn to live peaceably with your S9?

If you will read them again, you'll see that my comments mostly comprise a recitation of facts, and that my opinions and conclusions are based on those facts. Others may well come to different conclusions about the S9. You are free, of course, to disagree with my opinions, or not to believe the facts as I have set them forth. I am not commenting here on the S9 for purposes of soliciting advice on how to deal with the S9's shortcomings. My interest in posting here is to make others aware of what I believe are really significant shortcomings in the S9 product so that they can make better choices, or at least better informed choices. The S8 was a pretty good machine. In my opinion, the S9 is a surprisingly bad machine, and that is why I have taken the time and trouble to post my comments here. I can honestly say that very few times in my life have I come across such an astonishingly poorly thought-out and executed consumer product as the S9. In fact, it genuinely represents several giant steps backwards with respect to the S8. How often does that happen with a new generation of a consumer medical device? Answer: Almost never. People should know this before they plunk their hard-earned cash down for an S9.

tundraline wrote:My interest in posting here is to make others aware of what I believe are really significant shortcomings in the S9 product so that they can make better choices, or at least better informed choices.

This forum holds no punches when it comes to laying product makers flat when they drop a poor product into the market. However, so far, your opinion appears to be in a very small, angry minority. I have not found the connection between the humidifier and flow generator to be flimsy. Nor has any of the product disintegrated. The power cord has never come undone on mine. I find mine to be easy to take on trips, easy to refill and reliable. The one thing I will agree with is that the rear hose means you need a longer hose. That sucks.

When others have come on the forum questioning the durability of the product and its 'poor connections', more often than not its been sussed out that the person posting is actually a fairly motile sleeper who tends, upon turning over, to whip the machine across their bodies by the hose and slam it against the wall, or at the very least, pull it off whatever night stand the flow generator was originally sitting on -- all while still sleeping and unconscious. It's not the fault of the sleeper how he tosses and turns, to be sure, but one can hardly blame the machine for the user's sleeping habits.

To that end, yes. The S9 is not going to take the purely-unintended beating your S8 could take. Sorry about that. It may be worth your while to look into better methods for protecting your machine.
a. Secure your hose so that the machine is not dragged off its table. A hose boss does the trick rather well.
b. Secure the machine so that it does not get whipped across the room. Long velcro straps seem to work for some.
c. Secure the table so that the fastened table does not slide or move during your sleep antics.
d. Get a ten foot hose.

One thing I have found: the hose connects in the back and ClimateLine hose is only 6'3". I sleep in queen size bed ALONE and am quite active in my sleep. One night I turned over and the pull on the hose flipped the S9 and H5i upside down. That's how I found it in the morning. I do not know what happened to the water than was in the H5I but it concerned me. I haven't found a viable solution to preventing this from happening again. Previously, I used a standard hose that was 10-feet long with no problems with my old CPAP machine. The only potential solution I can think of is to tack the entire machine down to my bedside table with sticky velcro strips.

I have a brand new S9 (well less than 2 months old) and it makes more noise than the older rental one. The new one's balance wasn't as good so they had to knock more notches in the balance plate to keep it quiet but that add noise on exhale.

The new H5I has a relay that clicks twice about every 7 seconds and I find it very annoying but then again I turn off clocks because they tick too loud.

If you look inside, the outer plastic is asking for trouble. Its snap together so its useful life is about 5 years unless there is a supply of new plastic cover bits. A few screws would have changed that.

Someone complained about the noise on the wheel. It pulls off. Its got some lubricant on it, so pull off the knob, move the grease around and stick it back and the noise should go away.

VikingGnome wrote:One thing I have found: the hose connects in the back and ClimateLine hose is only 6'3". I sleep in queen size bed ALONE and am quite active in my sleep. One night I turned over and the pull on the hose flipped the S9 and H5i upside down. That's how I found it in the morning. I do not know what happened to the water than was in the H5I but it concerned me. I haven't found a viable solution to preventing this from happening again. Previously, I used a standard hose that was 10-feet long with no problems with my old CPAP machine. The only potential solution I can think of is to tack the entire machine down to my bedside table with sticky velcro strips.

Tie the tube to the table or the bed frame. Or use an unheated 10' hose or put an extension on the hose end of the climateline.

You're really lucky to still have a working machine.

My insurance changed so I am buying my own machine; always had Respironics products with my insurance, but can now get whatever I want. Debating between the REMStar Auto or the ResMed S9. Anyone have any recommendations ?? The price for REMStar is $520 and the S9 is $850, so I am wondering if the S9 is worth the extra $$$.

I LOVE MY S9!!!

I love my S9 autoset with climate line hose. Of course this is the first CPAP machine I have owned so I have nothing to compare it with. I did add a hose extension and I have the hose clipped to the side of the bed so I don't pull it off the table.

idamtnboy wrote:Interesting diatribe!

Its yet another rerun of the rant that was posted a while back under a different user name (one of the various Mikexxx user IDs) - the claims were thoroughly addressed by a number of other S9 users here, but it made not one jot of difference to the poster then, and is just as unlikely to now

mschivs wrote:My insurance changed so I am buying my own machine; always had Respironics products with my insurance, but can now get whatever I want. Debating between the REMStar Auto or the ResMed S9. Anyone have any recommendations ?? The price for REMStar is $520 and the S9 is $850, so I am wondering if the S9 is worth the extra $$$.

Be sure to get the S9 "AutoSet", not Escape Auto.

Or the PRS1 REMstar Auto, not AutoIQ.

Either will be just fine. Each has its balance of quirks and drawbacks. It's a coin toss as to which is better in my opinion.

mschivs wrote:My insurance changed so I am buying my own machine; always had Respironics products with my insurance, but can now get whatever I want. Debating between the REMStar Auto or the ResMed S9. Anyone have any recommendations ?? The price for REMStar is $520 and the S9 is $850, so I am wondering if the S9 is worth the extra $$$.

Make sure the ones you are comparing are indeed comparable. The data capability varies tremendously and is reflected in price differences. For example, an S9 is not an S9 is not an S9. There are several models in all brands, all with the same base name.

I see this is your first post here. You have a lot of research and reading to do here before you buy. What you will learn about the data capabilities of the various machines will make your head swim! Maybe even give you a headache before you're done. But, you will be a lot smarter!