Are all three major brands really about the same?

I continue to do research, just because I'm curious about these machines and how to differ from one another. I'm familiar with the basic difference between Resmed and Respironics. People seem satisfied on both sides of the fence with those two. But what about PB Goodknight's? What about the 4th, Everest Aura?

When looking at pricing if you're comparing apples to apples (machine + humidifier for example) the prices are comparable for say the APAP's. Then we jump over to regular CPAP's suddenly PB Goodknight's are cheaper than Respironic's new M Series and slightly cheaper than the Respironics non-M series. Resmed gets a little confusing line of S8's and S7's but prices vary there too.

Obviously Respironics has C-Flex, Resmed has EPR. I'm not sure if PB Goodknight or Everest has simliar features or not.

It seems like if you want good features and you're on a budget there would probably be clear cut choices and if you have a bit more to spend you could go with one of the other brands. And same thing all over again for APAP's and BIPAP's. Is one brand considered bottom of the line from these 4? I noticed there are many other sub-brands with prices so cheap it makes me really wonder how well those machines work.

Rastaman, I think it mostly depends on the features you want. If small and lightweight is your highest priority, along with excellent monitoring software, then you'd rate the PB 420E highly. If you wanted monitoring without the need for software, then you'd rate the ResMed S-8 Vantage highly. If you were sold on C-flex then you'd rate the Respironics Remstar-auto highly. There are folks here who prefer each of these machines. An independent lab evaluating these machines could rate any one of them the highest, depending upon what their scoring criteria happened to be. They all apparently perform their basic functions well.

I wish I could rate reliability. My suspicion is that the S-8 Vantage may have an advantage, but I'm a little prejudiced because I had to return my first Remstar-auto, and there are posts on this forum indicating that customer service from Respironics is none too good. Reports on customer service with the PB420E have been good, but then lots of folks have had problems with the machines. So through the process of elimination, the S-8 claims top spot for reliability. (Just my opinion, of course, based on scant knowledge).

There could be other factors you'd prefer as well, of course, or maybe some unique combination. The free market gives you those choices.

Regards,
Bill

Rastaman,

When you talk APAP each company has proprietary algorythmns. Some find it easier to cope with some machines over others. When you get to basic CPAPS its like buying any appliance. You need to read reviews and determine what is most important to you. Size, sound, customer service, reliability.

One of the positives of this board is people are willing to share the good as well as the bad, Too often you only find complaints about equipment. However, since so many of us took over our own therapy and moved to APAPs or at a minimum units that have recording capabilities you don't hear as much about the basic machines. It only special purpose machines like the BreatheX that captures our attention.

I must commend our host CPAP.com. They do print some of the manufacturers markleting material, but often follow it up with their experience and feedback they received. They also make sure the info iis complete and all features are identified. You can also use their side by side comparison feature. Read their descriptions, gather yoru questions and then ask us on the board which is best to meet your needs and what worked for us.

NightHawkeye wrote: There could be other factors you'd prefer as well, of course ...The free market gives you those choices.

But your DME doesn't

I couldn't pass up a "cross-dig" to the "Big Lie"

Choices, choices, choices. There was an interesting article in today's NY Times Circuit's section about digital cameras that sort of lines up. It is not critical to my health but the market does not yet offer my dream combination of features in a digicam and perhaps it never will so...choices, choices, choices...none exactly right. Sounds like xPAPs to me.

David