Database Develop

[Q] Hiss / Static in headphones on Nook Color

Alternate title: Why does my new eReader not make a great audio player too?
So, I went out and bought a Nook Color on Friday. I bought it for the Android hacking fun and doubt that I'll ever use it for its B&N "intended purpose". With that being said, I've noted that there is a hiss / static in the headphones any time the audio is enabled. There appears to be some self-muting going on on the device itself almost as if it is completely disabling the bias to the audio output transistors after some seconds wherein the hiss goes away but, any time there is active sound going on, the hiss and associated noise (likely RFI getting into poorly designed/shielded audio circuitry) is very clearly and annoyingly there.
I'm using very good headphones (Bose QC-3's) which sound wonderful on everything else I plug them into including my Droid and Milestone phones.
Has anyone else noted this very annoying audio issue on the NC? If I don't figure out some way to get rid of it, it's going to put a serious damper on using the NC to watch videos when I fly. (LONG trans-oceanic flights!)

I noticed a slight static noise from the built in speaker on my NC. I've not listened that much with headphones - and it was in a noisy environment.

johnopsec said:
Alternate title: Why does my new eReader not make a great audio player too?
So, I went out and bought a Nook Color on Friday. I bought it for the Android hacking fun and doubt that I'll ever use it for its B&N "intended purpose". With that being said, I've noted that there is a hiss / static in the headphones any time the audio is enabled. There appears to be some self-muting going on on the device itself almost as if it is completely disabling the bias to the audio output transistors after some seconds wherein the hiss goes away but, any time there is active sound going on, the hiss and associated noise (likely RFI getting into poorly designed/shielded audio circuitry) is very clearly and annoyingly there.
I'm using very good headphones (Bose QC-3's) which sound wonderful on everything else I plug them into including my Droid and Milestone phones.
Has anyone else noted this very annoying audio issue on the NC? If I don't figure out some way to get rid of it, it's going to put a serious damper on using the NC to watch videos when I fly. (LONG trans-oceanic flights!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Usually portable audio front ends include a mute circuit to suppress the pop when the power for the amp turns on and off to save power. But that's besides the point...
My ATH-M50s give a lot of hiss when plugged into the NC, and at 38 ohms are somewhat less sensitive than most cheapie headphones that these amps are usually designed to. When I get a chance I'll try some higher impedance phones.

johnopsec said:
Alternate title: Why does my new eReader not make a great audio player too?
So, I went out and bought a Nook Color on Friday. I bought it for the Android hacking fun and doubt that I'll ever use it for its B&N "intended purpose". With that being said, I've noted that there is a hiss / static in the headphones any time the audio is enabled. There appears to be some self-muting going on on the device itself almost as if it is completely disabling the bias to the audio output transistors after some seconds wherein the hiss goes away but, any time there is active sound going on, the hiss and associated noise (likely RFI getting into poorly designed/shielded audio circuitry) is very clearly and annoyingly there.
I'm using very good headphones (Bose QC-3's) which sound wonderful on everything else I plug them into including my Droid and Milestone phones.
Has anyone else noted this very annoying audio issue on the NC? If I don't figure out some way to get rid of it, it's going to put a serious damper on using the NC to watch videos when I fly. (LONG trans-oceanic flights!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might be worth taking your headphones into a B&N store and trying another NC out to confirm its not just an issue with your unit.

Have the same issue with the NC and bose QC3 head phones. Plugged in a cheap pair of ear buds from the airlines and no hiss.

The amp is definitely noisy-- the worst I've heard since my 1st Gen iPhone. I guess they had to skimp somewhere.

Yes, pretty hissy sound. I can live with it, I think, but it's bit disappointing.

Ditto. The hiss using my Ultimate Ears makes the Nook Color unusable for audio or video in a quiet or normal environment.
It might work on a plane where the ambient noise is so high.

Pretty loud hissing sound with both apple earbuds and image s4's.

I noticed this too the first time I used Pandora...
Typically, for me and I assume it's the same for most pepole...
A reader likes to read in a quiet environment and therefore when they do decided they want to use the audio on their nook it is for music at a lower volume in a quiet setting. So this static / auto shutoff problem is blaringly obvious.
Any chance this will/could be fixed with an update?
If not then the audio feature will be useless for me
*edit*
Also... the static only gets worse (louder) as you up the volume. So listening to the music at a higher volume doesnt mask the static it only makes it worse

I have the same noisy audio. I am very serious about my audio equipment, but I don't put the NC in that category. Yeah, it would be nice if it sounded great, but the hiss would not bother me for video & I prefer to listen to a quality MP3 player if I listen to music. I would actually rather make adjustments to a dedicated player, while reading, than use my ereader to change screens & make adjustments. The other factor is the impact on the battery life. I guess maybe not a big deal on the NC?, but surely with an eInk reader. I hope you can find a way to live happily with yours.
Cheers,
kev

Ditto for me too. Hiss makes Pandora unusable when using my ultimate ears. I'm definitely disappointed, and a little less eager for flash support now.
Sent from my Nook Color using XDA App

I have no problems at all with audio on my nc. In fact i haven't had any of the problems i've heard on the forums as yet. Hope i never do
Sent from my LogicPD Zoom2 using XDA App

I think there might just be inconsistency in the NCs, neither mine nor my brothers have this audio hissing problem, or the problems with the bezel/frame, or any of the other problems the have come up on the forums. Maybe they are being built at multiple factories and some just suck? or maybe they just don't do any quality control? Who knows, I would check out the NCs with other headphones (although it sounds like you use these headphones all the time, so it's unlikely that they are the problem) and your headphones with other NCs.

OMG... the nook color sucks at playing music when using the Panasonic RP-HC700 Noise Cancelling headphones. The static is almost unbearable. I posted a recording of it on youtube under the user name MilkManMOM. (I can't post links and be helpful yet) Grrrr...I'm angry now at B&N.

No audio hiss from headphones on mine. If yours does, it's defective. It's also still under warranty. Stop just complaining to us about it and have B&N fix it.

MilkManTech said:
OMG... the nook color sucks at playing music when using the Panasonic RP-HC700 Noise Cancelling headphones. The static is almost unbearable. I posted a recording of it on youtube under the user name MilkManMOM. (I can't post links and be helpful yet) Grrrr...I'm angry now at B&N.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try a different set of headphones. My Bose IE2s are fine, but my Senhiessers have a lot of hiss, especially when I use an inline amp.
My quick test leads me to belive that earbuds meant for mp3 players work fine, but head phones have issues. This might be an impedence issue.
sent from my NC

jerrykur said:
Try a different set of headphones. My Bose IE2s are fine, but my Senhiessers have a lot of hiss, especially when I use an inline amp.
My quick tests hav led me to belive that earbuds meant for mp3 players work fine, but head phones have issues. Perhaps this is an impedence issue.
sent from my NC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sent from my NC

jerrykur said:
Try a different set of headphones. My Bose IE2s are fine, but my Senhiessers have a lot of hiss, especially when I use an inline amp.
My quick test leads me to belive that earbuds meant for mp3 players work fine, but head phones have issues. This might be an impedence issue.
sent from my NC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its either a Impedance issue or Frequency issue. When using my good Sony Headphones which are Frequency Response : 5-24,000Hz I get a Ton of Hiss, but when I'm using my Crappy Work Speakers which are Dell 215, which has a Frequency Response of 100 - 20000 Hz I get No hiss at all.
I have not tried the Official Nook head phones but they are Frequency response: 20 Hz-18,000 Hz
My guess is that our Head phones are just too good for the Nook and we are hearing the Hiss in the Higher Frequency Range that "Normal" Headphones often can't reproduce. I have had the same issue with cheaper MP3 players you end up hearing the electronics in the device working. Good MP3 players and other media device normally have this sound filtered out or have things shielded in such a way that it minimized the effect.

therealguppy said:
Its either a Impedance issue or Frequency issue. When using my good Sony Headphones which are Frequency Response : 5-24,000Hz I get a Ton of Hiss, but when I'm using my Crappy Work Speakers which are Dell 215, which has a Frequency Response of 100 - 20000 Hz I get No hiss at all.
I have not tried the Official Nook head phones but they are Frequency response: 20 Hz-18,000 Hz
My guess is that our Head phones are just too good for the Nook and we are hearing the Hiss in the Higher Frequency Range that "Normal" Headphones often can't reproduce.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ummm, no. First, anything above 20kHz is inaudible. Second, if you do have extraordinarily rare "miracle ears" and can hear slightly above the normal range, nothing above 20kHz would sound like a hiss... it would be an incredibly high-pitched whistle. Try playing around with a tone generator and see for yourself what extreme high-frequency sounds are like.
Oh, and I assure you that your Sony headphones cannot produce 5Hz and 24kHz tones, no matter what their marketing department claims.

[Q] Sound cut out bug on low volumes?

I am experiencing the intensely annoying sound cut out bug. This appears to occur under the following circumstances
1. Headphones plugged in only (not speakers or blue tooth)
2. The phone volume is fairly low 1-3
3. Music / Video is playing and there is a quiet passage e.g. music fading out, whispering in a film, sharp drop in volume of a song
The effect is that rather than playing the sound the sound completely cuts out.
My current suspicion is that it is something like a headphone amplifier power saving measure. Essentially cutting off the sound amplification if the system believes just white noise / hiss is coming through the headphones.
I have tons of music that triggers this issue (only permanently up tempo music such as dance and most pop do not trigger this issue), I have tested in Cyanogen, PA & SlimBean. Others have reported this issue in Stock ICS.
Does anyone know if the current Stock Samsung has this issue or not, before I attempt to get support from Samsung who presumably have done all their audio testing with Gungam Style and therefore have managed to miss this massive issue?

Been asking for a fix for this issue for ages, I'm either being ignored or nobody has a fix, thus can't be fixed.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app

Sadly there's no real solution to this annoying 'noise gate' problem, which I've noticed since ICS on every Stock or Custom Rom that I have tried on the N7000.
The issue is also discussed here: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=35861
For now, you only have two workaround options:
1. Get a pair of headphones with inline analog volume control. Crank up the volume on your device and lower it within the headphones.
2. Program a Tasker profile to play an inaudible sound that keeps the noise gate open (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=35047527&postcount=25)
I've used option 2 before, but decided a few weeks ago to switch to 1 (with the Sennheiser CX 400-II).
Also I've noticed that the problem does not occur when streaming media audio via Bluetooth.

This is good advice, I have an inline seinheisser controls somewhere
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app

Audio dropout
Tesmond said:
I am experiencing the intensely annoying sound cut out bug. This appears to occur under the following circumstances
1. Headphones plugged in only (not speakers or blue tooth)
2. The phone volume is fairly low 1-3
3. Music / Video is playing and there is a quiet passage e.g. music fading out, whispering in a film, sharp drop in volume of a song
The effect is that rather than playing the sound the sound completely cuts out.
My current suspicion is that it is something like a headphone amplifier power saving measure. Essentially cutting off the sound amplification if the system believes just white noise / hiss is coming through the headphones.
I have tons of music that triggers this issue (only permanently up tempo music such as dance and most pop do not trigger this issue), I have tested in Cyanogen, PA & SlimBean. Others have reported this issue in Stock ICS.
Does anyone know if the current Stock Samsung has this issue or not, before I attempt to get support from Samsung who presumably have done all their audio testing with Gungam Style and therefore have managed to miss this massive issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi - I have this problem too and so do many others.
To my ears, it sounds like there is a noise gate being used on the headphone output to mask off system noise at low levels. Noise gates will close when audio drops below a certain threshold and you can use them to eliminate background noise during periods of silence in music. However, in this instance, it shuts down during quiet passages - especially when listening to classical tracks with a wide dynamic range.
IF it is a noise gate, it is likely to be implemented in the hardware (doing it in firmware wouldn't mask noise generated by the phones circuitry - which is he whole point). Consequently, there might not be anything that can be done to resolve the problem. However, it is possible that the phones firmware configures the audio chip during boot-up. This being the case, an industrious programmer might be able to do a few tweaks and disable or modify the behaviour of the gate. I hope so because all my music is on my Galaxy Note and it is painful to listen to at times!
That's the real reason I am here: is there anyone on this forum who knows enough to be able to write a fix for this as it appears that Samsung aren't listening? Some people report this problem on the Note 2 as well.
A

Ahkatootin said:
Hi - I have this problem too and so do many others.
-snip -
Some people report this problem on the Note 2 as well.
A
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn it -- sorry to hear that about the Note 2, as I was thinking of upgrading to that. Hopefully the Note 3 will have it fixed, or I just might have to go to the S4
Yes, this bugs me immensely -- it affects music with soft passages (classical) at any volume level, and of course is irritating when listening to music at night. What I'd like to do is to find or make a headset or cord that supports the microphone and includes an analog volume control.

My N7000 has also this problem with every kernel and rom I tried. With Android 2.3.6 and 4.0 it was only happening with the videos, but after 4.1, it happens with the music too. So I think it can be fixed by software (I mean actually fixed, not the inaudible sound solution).
It's very annoying, I bought the note fot its big screen, to watch videos and now I can't do it because the sound sucks. Also I can't lisent to music anymore in the night...

Solution for annoying noise suppression!
This seems to be the solution:
Start 'phone', go into settings, and disable 'noise suppression'!
Seems to be working...

There is a patch that fixes the problem for my N7000 with OmniROM:
github.com gustavoss android_kernel_samsung_smdk4412 commit 3019675d57c4046c30f82d04ce41913150df0d6e
(Sorry for the distorted link, as a new user I am not allowed to post links yet...)
The question is: How to get it into CM, OmniROM, and co.?
Also see:
jira.omnirom.org browse OMNI-561 ("Sound cuts off at low volume playback".
Kind regards
Clackwell

[Q] Nexus 6 Audio Questions....

I just recently bought a Nexus 6, and not to long after I bought it my phones volume started to get very low. When I was on a phone call and switched to speaker, the phone starts the audio off as low, but then gets higher after a few seconds. Now when I listen to music or watch netflix, the audik starts off high at full volume, but then goes very low as if the phone had a Automatic Leveler. Is there anyone way to fix this ?

cjegan2008 said:
I just recently bought a Nexus 6, and not to long after I bought it my phones volume started to get very low. When I was on a phone call and switched to speaker, the phone starts the audio off as low, but then gets higher after a few seconds. Now when I listen to music or watch netflix, the audik starts off high at full volume, but then goes very low as if the phone had a Automatic Leveler. Is there anyone way to fix this ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are on stock? i didnt experience it on stock, but did on aosp. on aosp its a bug, that was fixed by a few developers.

Im pretty shocked by the nexus 6 speakers.
1. Speaker phone only works on the top speaker.
2. Anything from the lowest volume till about 2/3rds is nicley scaled then it just jumps in loudness in the last 3 to 4 clicks.
3. The stock sound is shocking bad ! Sounds like they forgot to balance bass and treble.
4. My headphone jace only seems to work with some jacks, an aux lead refuses to work in all 3 of my work vans and my old HTC headsets but works with iphone headsets and some of my aony headsets ( these all worked in my N5 )
5. Where the freekin' EQ ! Really google cant make a EQ letalone a good camera app !!!!

I am on stock. No root, no unlocked bootloader.

The funny thing is, when in place my hand over the front camera lens, and curved around the front, the volume goes back up as if there was a auto level function. If I take my hand off of that speaker, it goes back down because I am in a quite room. Something's not right with that..

I'm not rooted and I have similar issues. When I get phone calls or texts the volume starts out really low then gets high and I can't stand it. Seems to have just started doing this. Same thing when I'm talking to someone, I get a call, I answer it and I can barely hear them then 1 or 2 seconds later it's fine. Driving me crazy. Would love to get this fixed.

Note 9 audio breaking up

Hi
I'm having big issues with audio breaking up and distortion with louder audio tracks, or when its busy musically.
Any ideas?? It's Exynos (8GB/512GB) version. Atmos doesn't affect anything. All audio sources of the same track produce it.
It sounds horrendous when its doing it. I thought my headphones were broken but it does it on speaker too.

TheMathMan said:
Hi
I'm having big issues with audio breaking up and distortion with louder audio tracks, or when its busy musically.
Any ideas?? It's Exynos (8GB/512GB) version. Atmos doesn't affect anything. All audio sources of the same track produce it.
It sounds horrendous when its doing it. I thought my headphones were broken but it does it on speaker too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the same issue with the US unlocked snapdragon version.

I spent an hour with Samsung Support going through issues. Interestingly the audio through the speaker in diagnostic mode didn't show any issues but probably due to different frequencies and sound profile to the songs that are causing the issue. Safe mode made no difference and neither did a factory reset. They said I could do a handset swap but no current stock of the blue. Ended up finding a local store with a 512GB blue in stock so drove over there, purchased it, same issues so instantly returned that handset. I also saw this thread about the S9 Plus where people have been describing similar issues (https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s9-plus/help/galaxy-s9-plus-sound-problem-t3774829)... maybe I've made a poor decision ditching iPhone!?

Is this the sort of thing using something like Viper4Android would fix?

Same issue. 128G Verizon. I had this issue on a call once(may have been the signal) but then the audio did the same thing a couple times. The behavior is that of a track where the track had been recorded with the signal too strong or the gain too high(same thing really). Turning the volume down only makes it sound like a quiter distorted signal. 1 thing i noticed was, when using smart switch my custom "EQ" setting was transferred over. I changed it but that didn't change anything.

meccadon123 said:
Same issue. 128G Verizon. I had this issue on a call once(may have been the signal) but then the audio did the same thing a couple times. The behavior is that of a track where the track had been recorded with the signal too strong or the gain too high(same thing really). Turning the volume down only makes it sound like a quiter distorted signal. 1 thing i noticed was, when using smart switch my custom "EQ" setting was transferred over. I changed it but that didn't change anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean like clipping ?
I wonder if a fresh install will help.

TheMathMan said:
Hi
I'm having big issues with audio breaking up and distortion with louder audio tracks, or when its busy musically.
Any ideas?? It's Exynos (8GB/512GB) version. Atmos doesn't affect anything. All audio sources of the same track produce it.
It sounds horrendous when its doing it. I thought my headphones were broken but it does it on speaker too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For start - turn off all the eq settings (if you have some turned on) in sound menu - dolby, adaptive sound and so on.
If it's software problem rooting and moding the phone would help, if it's hardware issue maybe it can mitigate it, but that's beside the point to have expensive device with not working sound out of the box.

I tried the audio settings but soundalive is always on. I force closed it whilst listening but no real change. Once you start googling it you realise there's a fair few Samsung's over the years that also do it including S9/+, S8 and so on. Maybe I shouldn't have left iPhone. Audio is very important to me as I'm always listening. Back in the day Exynos Samsung's were the best due to the Wolfson DAC. Sadly I'm disappointed and considering backtracking on the purchase. What would be better though, an LG? A Sony? Or am I then just settling for something less.

TheMathMan said:
I tried the audio settings but soundalive is always on. I force closed it whilst listening but no real change. Once you start googling it you realise there's a fair few Samsung's over the years that also do it including S9/+, S8 and so on. Maybe I shouldn't have left iPhone. Audio is very important to me as I'm always listening. Back in the day Exynos Samsung's were the best due to the Wolfson DAC. Sadly I'm disappointed and considering backtracking on the purchase. What would be better though, an LG? A Sony? Or am I then just settling for something less.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lg have awesome dacs .

TheMathMan said:
I tried the audio settings but soundalive is always on. I force closed it whilst listening but no real change. Once you start googling it you realise there's a fair few Samsung's over the years that also do it including S9/+, S8 and so on. Maybe I shouldn't have left iPhone. Audio is very important to me as I'm always listening. Back in the day Exynos Samsung's were the best due to the Wolfson DAC. Sadly I'm disappointed and considering backtracking on the purchase. What would be better though, an LG? A Sony? Or am I then just settling for something less.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LG V series got awesome DAC. Did you tried a player like powermap (there is a free trial) that can output at high resolution directly from the DAC, ignoring the OS? It produces vastly superior sound on my exynos s7e. Don't forget to sign up for the beta tho, a lot of improvements in the latest in sound/UI design. The new exynos 9810 still uses wolfson/circus logics DAC that is praised everywhere (especially hifi forums and ofc for a phone). Maybe you just don't like the sound balance of it, as it's quite neutral. That is personal preference though, not negative point - some like neutral, others warmer and so on.

Limeybastard said:
You mean like clipping ?
I wonder if a fresh install will help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah but it's not constant. It only happens sometimes. To me the behavior is exactly like when you record something at max volume and then play it back and it sounds like it's blowing your speakers apart. Mine sounds great for the most part and this only happens sometimes.

meccadon123 said:
yeah but it's not constant. It only happens sometimes. To me the behavior is exactly like when you record something at max volume and then play it back and it sounds like it's blowing your speakers apart. Mine sounds great for the most part and this only happens sometimes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I know exactly what you mean.
Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk

i remember having this problem in the samsung S3 a long time ago ...this can only be fixed with a samsung update...

Same problems intermittently on exynos.

Fingers crossed. Would point to software if experienced by S845 and Exynos.

meccadon123 said:
yeah but it's not constant. It only happens sometimes. To me the behavior is exactly like when you record something at max volume and then play it back and it sounds like it's blowing your speakers apart. Mine sounds great for the most part and this only happens sometimes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this happening with wired and bluetooth? I haven't had this issue with mine, but my bluetooth devices support separate audio control, so that the phone can be turned all the way up, but my bluetooth devices can then control their own volume further.

I'm getting some intermittent issues with speaker output where the bottom speaker seems to lower in volume and bass after some minutes of use. Overall the speakers fare well for upbeat music but very poorly for piano tracks where they add some rattle and crackling (same goes for some narration or podcasts). Some days I don't notice this at all but it might be due to multiple audio apps running or how the lower speaker is normalizing the bass. Also, just a few minutes ago my speakers just stopped working for media playback, but the volume rocker still made sounds through the speaker. I was using headphones and playing music for the video editor for super slow motion videos before this happened. The only way out was to restart the phone. I tried replicating it but it didn't happen again.

FYL21 said:
I'm getting some intermittent issues with speaker output where the bottom speaker seems to lower in volume and bass after some minutes of use. Overall the speakers fare well for upbeat music but very poorly for piano tracks where they add some rattle and crackling (same goes for some narration or podcasts). Some days I don't notice this at all but it might be due to multiple audio apps running or how the lower speaker is normalizing the bass. Also, just a few minutes ago my speakers just stopped working for media playback, but the volume rocker still made sounds through the speaker. I was using headphones and playing music for the video editor for super slow motion videos before this happened. The only way out was to restart the phone. I tried replicating it but it didn't happen again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most likely a software issue (same with the cracking sound) and will be fixed (hopefully) in a update or atleast in P.

I have no such issues with my Exynos Note 9. I listen to music a lot with headphones and it sounds fantastic quite honestly. I actually ditched my LG G7 becuase I didn't hear too much benefits with the sound to justify keeping it just for music. I actually kind of prefer the output from the Note 9 generally. The G7 might have had a tad more spacious sound but also a bit more "muffled" at the same time. A little bit more emphasis in highs in the Note which I prefer.

hi all after 1 week of trying i figure out how to fix the problem simply delete the file with name ((SoundBoosterParam.txt)). in the root/system/vendor/etc
you're done

Anyone experienceing speaker issues?

I have a problem with my speaker sound, while listening to any audio whether it be YouTube, Netflix, Music player etc... After about 6 minutes the sound quality changes it's as if the bottom. Speaker gets lower and the front speaker gets louder if you close the app and then try again it's fine until 6 minutes again. I have already received 2 replacements and all 3 phones have the same problem. Is anyone else experienceing anything like this?

I have the opposite problem, the bottom speaker is too loud and the front facing speaker is too quiet. I have unsuccessfully been trying to find an app to balance them with no luck.

If you have had your device for less than 14 days, I would take it back to the retailer for a replacement. As there is a chance that you were given a faulty unit. Otherwise take it to a Samsung Service Center and let them take a look at it.

Billyrouth said:
I have a problem with my speaker sound, while listening to any audio whether it be YouTube, Netflix, Music player etc... After about 6 minutes the sound quality changes it's as if the bottom. Speaker gets lower and the front speaker gets louder if you close the app and then try again it's fine until 6 minutes again. I have already received 2 replacements and all 3 phones have the same problem. Is anyone else experienceing anything like this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're not the only one. I made a thread about this a while back but nobody here really noticed. It still happens on my latest software update (ARJ1, September security patch). On Samsung Community there's a lot more complaints:
https://us.community.samsung.com/t5...ote9QuestionsandAnswers/page/1/thread-id/1440
Some people tried contacting Samsung but the staff had a hard time detecting it. I got mine overseas in Taiwan and can't readily communicate with them at the moment. I always get a "due to we don't understand your message" reply if I use my phone's feedback option. I did try to email them directly but the reply seemed somewhat generic like "try using safe mode". I haven't done this myself but other users have said it still occurs in safe mode.
The fact that replacements have it lead me to think it's a software bug - the bottoms speaker is supposed to emphasize bass a bit more than the top speaker but it almost sounds like the left and right speaker EQ gets swapped (even though the stereo channel polarity is still constant). When it happens the top speaker becomes bass-heavy and bottom speaker sounds bass-light and treble-heavy. It also seems "worse' in some apps than others. For example I barely notice it in music as only the bass seems to drop on the bottom speaker but on other occasions it sounds like the bottom speaker is sucked down in volume.
Really hoping Android Pie fixes it.

I haven't noticed this issue, but I did post a few days ago regarding sound skipping and corrupting on wired headphones.
I've tracked this down to the EQ not playing well with the UHQ Upscaler. If you have any EQ set other than Normal the sound gets distorted through headphones.
Maybe it's related? I know the UHQ Upscaler is disabled when playing through the speakers but the EQ isn't, do you use anything other than 'Normal' EQ settings?
It has only started on ARJ1 (Oct Security patch level) for me. I've fed it back to Sammy.
Oh, you can download Sound Assistant from the Galaxy Store and that lets you play with the left / right balance.

I didn't try Sound Assistant yet, but I forced the speaker output to mono in the phone's settings, and the problem still occurred. So the problem isn't related to the stereo imagery, but rather how each speaker is tuned regardless. Some have suggested it could be a defect in the amplifier but I think if this were the case the effect would be more permanent. I think it occurs more frequently in the ARJ1 update compared to the update before that. I don't recall it occurring in Samsung Music very often before but now it seems to happen after about 4-5 minutes. I temporarily exited the app (without closing) and played music from Poweramp, stopped, then played music on Samsung Music and it sounded normal again.

Blah - is it just me or has this issue become somewhat more easily replicated, but more inconsistent? I was watching some videos with narration, and it sometimes feels like it pans left and right at the same timepoints when I replay that section.
Also, Horizon Chase sounds pretty awful now. The music volume seems to dip out and the sound effects are too loud.

hi all after 1 week of trying i figure out how to fix the problem simply delete the file with name ((SoundBoosterParam.txt)). in the root/system/vendor/etc
you're done

You need root in order to delete the SoundBoosterParam.txt file, and I'm not comfortable rooting a $1k phone under warranty. I turned off Dolby Atmos and changed sound to mono...EQ is normal. While mono isn't the quality sound I want, this has stopped the issue. A user at https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/...thread-id/1440 though said it didn't fix his.
Like FYL21, I tried emailing Samsung but got the usual "this is another canned robotic answer that doesn't address the issue" response. So I just spent about an hour on the phone with them. After continually trying to explain the issue and being told everything to try that's been tried, I finally spoke to a manager who made note of the links to the issue on their forum. She is escalating this as an issue for the technicians to read the complaints and look into this. Maybe it'll be fixed by the time the Note 10 comes out.

That was me as well in that thread. The thing is the speakers are still tuned differently even if they are in a mono configuration - the bottom one is EQ'd for bass and the top for treble (I'm not sure if this changes if you rotate the phone). I got Android Pie but am still testing out if it happens. Some apps or videos still have brief panning at specific time points, but this might just be related to the equalization and it doesn't seem as long-term as it was before (where you had to restart the app or plug/unplug headphones to fix it). I can live with that but it's annoying when it abruptly dips on the bottom speaker and even worse for calling.

you guys should think of this phone as a sound bar.
in that type of configuration, its one device generating sound that appears as stereo even though there is 1 device and not 2 .( or more)
the position and tuning of the speakers within that bar is tuned so that it feels like stereo/multichannel.
so in the same way is the phone tuned that way. plus if you think of it, you hold your phone 90 %of the time upright. the speakers on that position are not left to right but top and bottom...
so again don't look at the position of the speakers on the phone to deduce which is the left or right speakers but as how the devixe as a whole is reproducing the feel of stereo without an array of speakers like on home cinemas or in your car.
think of it, the space between the speakers is so narrow that youd have to be a small mouse to be able to enjoy real left and right channel audio from the speakers in landscape...
anyways this has nothing to do with the audio fading out but more towards our expectation of multichannel audio and how the phone reproduces it.