Resmed S10 Airsense vs. Respironics Dream Station

[Dangerous Dave]

I use it all night every night. So about seven hours a night. But three machines in a row have all been very unreliable. Respironics has been no help beyond agreeing to replace the machine. So I think I'm done with them. It's been nothing but aggravation for me. When it works correctly, it works great. It just doesn't work correctly night after night.

[Sleepster]

I now have a ResMed A10 (sometimes referred to as a S10) and it's very quiet and reliable. Prior to that I had a S9 and although it wasn't as quiet, it was a great machine, too. ResMed has a reputation for producing a quality product that works well and lasts a long time.

I had a Respironics System One machine (predecessor to the Dream Station) and it started malfunctioning after about 2-3 years. They store a file named "e" on the SD card with information about the machine errors. The file is not easy to read.

I chose the A10 over the Dream Station because I felt it would be more reliable, but also because it's harder to get the data off the Dream Station. You need that data if you want to tweak and optimize your therapy.

[FatNeck72]

I've been using the Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset for 5 months. This CPAP is a major upgrade over my previous Respironics CPAP I used for 7 years. It's amazing how much CPAP technology has advanced since '09 when I first started using a CPAP.

[Dangerous Dave]

Well, I've now been using a Resmed Airsense A10 for almost three weeks. It replaced the Respironics Dream Station which I went through three of (because they were so unreliable) over the course of five months. I finally said 'no more'. So I can now give my opinions of pros and cons between the two.

The DS was notably quieter...when it was functioning correctly, which was unfortunately too small a portion of the time. When it malfunctioned, it was pretty obnoxious sounding. The AS is not as quiet. It's not awful, but I wish it was as quiet as the DS, and I think it's fair to say that noise level is an important factor here.

The DS could be operated without the humidifier, the AS cannot, although I doubt there's a big call for the ability to use it without.

The size and shape of them is so different it's hard to quantify. The AS is taller and slightly bulkier, but with a smaller footprint. The DS is pretty flat and seems less obtrusive, but actually has a slightly larger footprint, so the DS actually fits a little better on a nightstand because of the smaller footprint.

THIS was kind of a biggie for me: The DS has an obnoxiously bright LED display that cannot be dimmed. Yes, it times out after twenty or thirty seconds, but it lights up the whole room for that time. If you're like me, you get up once or twice during the night to go pee. That means lighting up the room once when you get up and once when you come back, for however many times you get up during the night. I even tried putting two layers of window tinting film over the display to make it less annoying, to no avail. It's still unreasonably bright for something you really only use during sleep hours. The AS however has a much more discreet display with a dark background instead of a white one, so much less offensive. I can't believe Respironics hasn't figured that one out on their own!

I find the power buttons on both to be a little harder to find in the dark than they should be, but since they both have that issue, I guess it's a draw there. I mean you can find them, it's just hard to find the 'right spot' to actuate them. Not a huge deal, it could just be better. You can push the button on either without actually turning them on. You do have to find just the right spot to push.

The water chamber on the AS holds quite a bit more water, so requires less frequent refilling.

It's extremely easy to get into the settings menu on the AS, which is nice because it makes it super easy to tweak the pressure thresholds. I like that since my doc is so damn hard to get hold of. That's a big plus for me.

I don't know what other comparisons I can draw here. If the AS was s a little quieter, it would be just about perfect. It is however a rock solid machine that gives reliable, repeatable service night after night. After going through three of them, I definitely cannot say the same about the DS. I also happen to prefer the black AS over the white DS, but that's just my opinion. It just looks like a slightly overgrown clock radio. I hope this info is helpful to someone else when making a decision on machines. If quiet is your top priority, you might like the DS better...If you're lucky enough to get one that works correctly night after night. Otherwise, the AS is a very solid, well thought out machine.

D Dave

[julia]

Resmed AirSense™ 10 machines CAN be used without engaging the built-in heated humidifier. To do so, you need to purchase "side cover" and its part number is 37303. It comes with two colors : charcoal and gray (the latter is used for "for her" machine).

[Dangerous Dave]

I Stand corrected. Thanks. Although I still question how many people routinely use their machine without humidication.

D Dave

[eseedhouse]

I Stand corrected. Thanks. Although I still question how many people routinely use their machine without humidication.

Well I for one put the humidity setting at zero. I do put water in the humidifier and it gets nearly empty over the course of a week or so. I am too cheap to buy the extra part as suggested above.

[OpalRose]

I believe the extra part or side cover is usefull if you use your machine for travel, and don't take the humidifier with you.

[Dangerous Dave]

On the Dream Station, the humidifier nearly doubles the overall size of the machine. But on the Airsense, I think space would have to be at a real premium to leave it home, since it only adds 2" in length to a machine that's 7.75" by itself. Most of the water tank slides inside the machine. And again...show of hands...who uses their machine without the humidifier? Your sinuses must hate you.

[eseedhouse]

Hand up here! Adding humidity only makes me stuff up worse. We are all different.