upgrading machines

It's been about 3 years since I got my Respironics M Auto A-flex machine. I haven't kept up with the latest in the CPAP world so I could use sone guidance in picking out a new machine. My top 2 picks are the S9 AutoSet and PR System One.

My current machine works well enough. However, rainout is still a persistent problem, as it seems to be for many other people. Is the S9's heated tube effective or should I just stick to wrapping my tube with the reptile heating cable solution I found on this site.

Whats the risk of switching to a new machine with different algorithms. Is the new Respironics machine different than my current one?

And what of the data features? The M Auto sucked as far as that goes. Proprietary reader and crappy software along with the fact that it only ran on Windows (mac guy here) made for a very frustrating experience that ended up with me giving up on using it.

Your help is much appreciated.

suneil wrote:However, rainout is still a persistent problem, as it seems to be for many other people.

99% of rainout problems can be solved by putting the machine (w/humidifier) below the level of the patient's head and running the hose directly to the machine (don't use a hose hanger).

The other 1% will be moisture in the mask and this can be solved by turning the humidifier heat setting down.

suneil wrote:However, rainout is still a persistent problem, as it seems to be for many other people. Is the S9's heated tube effective or should I just stick to wrapping my tube with the reptile heating cable solution I found on this site.

Whats the risk of switching to a new machine with different algorithms. Is the new Respironics machine different than my current one?

And what of the data features? The M Auto sucked as far as that goes. Proprietary reader and crappy software along with the fact that it only ran on Windows (mac guy here) made for a very frustrating experience that ended up with me giving up on using it.

The S9 with Climate control and Climateline tube keeps the relative humidity at about 80% regardless of temperature. It does a great job at preventing rainout.

A switch to a new machine will be much the same as starting from scratch. No big deal. Just don't count on the pressure with the new machine to be the same as with the old machine. You very well may see a difference in the number and types of apneas because of the differences in algorithms. Again, no big deal.

The S9 uses an SD card for data. Jedimark is developing SleepyHead to present the data much the same as Resmed's Resscan. He has a Mac version as well as Windows version. Resscan is Windows only. The S9 gives a lot of data, including flow sampled at 25 Hz. Other detailed data is sampled at 1/2 Hz.

Others can tell you more about how the two machines compare head to head. I've only used the S9.

The newer machines do a great job on preventing rainout. My PRS1 NEVER has rainout in the tube. AND I use a hose hanger--the machine is about level with my bed. No heated hose needed--I use a hose cover for comfort because it doesn't warm the air much. The only rainout I ever experience is in the nasal pillows, and I don't think that has anything to do with machine settings or placement. S9 users complain about that as much as I do.

The S9 has more bells and whistles like on screen data with a back lit, color display, the mask fit feature, more control over the humidification, the option for a heated hose. If you want bells and whistles, that's the way to go.

The PRS1 is a good machine. The data is all there on the card, accessible with sleepyhead and Onkor using a mac or PC from what I understand. But the screen display is severely limited to useless averages, hard to read (I think the newer ones are backlit at least), and no option for a heated hose.

I'd have an S9 if I had a choice, but since I don't the PRS1 is fine--it does the job, and in the end that's the most important thing.