Database Develop

How terrible is the sound on your NC?

So, music was one of the things I was hoping my NC could do, but haven't had much occasion to try out in the month I've had it. Today I devoted a little time and attention to it:
My only headphones at present are some worn-out Apple earbuds, and I used them once to listen to an audiobook--the only thing I noticed was that the volume was quite low, but otherwise I won't base any impressions on that experience.
Today, however, I decided to compare some music player apps for sound quality, and tried out the NC on three different sound systems in the process:
The Nook Color's speaker.
Lined in to an iPod dock with an unshielded 3.5mm-to-3.5mm cable.
Lined in to a shelf stereo system with a 3.5mm-to-dual-RCA cable.
Okay, the built-in speaker is crap, obviously. It's tiny, points backwards, and there's only one. My cell phone speaker can drown it out, though the sound is marginally better on the NC. It's actually halfway impressive the sound quality they get out of the tiny speaker, but I still couldn't imagine using it for music. It's serviceable for tv shows, but I would probably still pop in earbuds if I had them handy.
Connecting to an outside sound system was what really underwhelmed me. For the two systems I tried, the NC produced drastically lower volume than anything else I've ever plugged into them. At what would be a loud volume for my phone, iPod, or an instrument, the NC's output (at its maximum volume) was barely audible. With the systems cranked to achieve an ambient volume, the sound was tolerable, but washed out in comparison to other sources.
There was also occasional skipping or stuttering in playback, which is really odd considering how well the thing handles video.
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Is this consistent with everyone's experience? Is there any difference between stock and CM7 output?
I've seen threads here and there about improving volume and disappointment with output through the headphone jack, but I had no idea. I guess I've been sheltered using iPods and/or at least somewhat music-optimized phones (SE Walkmans), because I did not realize that audio output on a device capable of playing MP3s could be this bad.

the sound on my nook is good, the speaker isnt the best but its decent and audio with my panasonic headphones sound is awesome.
EDIT: i use cm7 and cant remeber much of when it was stock rooted, as that only satisified me for a whole 2 days before i went to nookie froyo then cm7.

I have no idea how sound works on the stock or rooted stock Nook since I put CyanogenMod on my Nook as soon as I got it. The sound seems to work fine on my headphones. I can almost reach the threshold of pain with a few tweaks of the DSP settings.
I do not use the built in speaker for much, but even it is better than nothing.

I'm running phiremod 6.1 on mine. I have found that the volume was inconsistent between versions, but I'm pretty pleased with the current setup. I do however have a different issue, which is related to the headphone jack. When I plug in my headphones, it seems like 75% of the time they don't work quite right. The obvious symptom is that one speaker is noticeably louder than the other, and generally the audio sounds like crap. Unplugging them and plugging them back in a few times will get things back to normal, but its a little annoying. This has been the case on every OS I have run on it.

there are terrible impedance issues with NC. If you buy this:
m.crutchfield.com/mt/www.crutchfield.com/p_127SNI135/PAC-SNI-1-3-5-Noise-Filter.html?tp=2653&osid=969403309&un_jtt_redirect
they will all go away. I know it says it is a "noise" filter, but it fixes impedance too. I own two of them, they keep me from pulling my hair out. Hint: if it doesn't work one way with a certain device, plug it in backwards using a M/F adapter.

i run cm7. using dspmanger... the nook color sounds awesome. I hook it up to my logitech thx speakers and cry.... because it sounds a helluva lot better than the $160 sound card in my pc.
without dspmanage... it sounds like garbage.
have fun.

I found this thread discussing NC audio in a little more depth:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=864064
I haven't heard the hissing they're talking about so much as a slightly washed-out sound and the crazy low volume. Someone else testing the NC with external speakers found that yes, it was considerably quieter than their Sansa MP3 player and iPod Touch, but the newest Kindle is quieter still.
technicalsquash said:
I do however have a different issue, which is related to the headphone jack. When I plug in my headphones, it seems like 75% of the time they don't work quite right. The obvious symptom is that one speaker is noticeably louder than the other, and generally the audio sounds like crap. Unplugging them and plugging them back in a few times will get things back to normal, but its a little annoying. This has been the case on every OS I have run on it.
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I've had this issue with my crap Apple earbuds in my iPod before, and rather than yanking them out and jamming them back in, I found turning them in the socket and/or moving them in or out just a couple millimeters let me 'tune' them to where I was getting the best sound from both speakers. I actually found the same thing with my NC lined-in to my iPod dock via 3.5mm male-to-male cord.

If you are having trouble with low volume or hiss i suggest you use my app here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1104039
It requires kernel support so only my kernel works with it for now until the next CM7 nightly.
Note: My kernel works with both B&N 1.2 Froyo and CM7.

[Q] Razr I Audio Issues (3.5mm Jack)?

I've been having a problem with my Razr I which was purchased around the 11th October from Handtec, and I'm just trying to work out whether this was a faulty handset or whether it's common for the device, or affects a certain batch.
The issue is high levels of hiss / interference when a speaker is connected to 3.5mm jack while audio is not playing. Hard to describe the sound as it changes, however it's somewhere between hiss, ground loop and EM interference.
There's also an unpleasant thump when audio output turns on (i.e. just prior to playing audio) or off (a few moments after the audio output is stopped).
The hiss/interference noise reduces significantly immediately before and after playing audio i.e. it seems to go down to an acceptable level once the audio chip is taken out of 'sleep' mode and made active. I can only assume that this is because a noise cancellation circuit is removing the interference once the audio chip is activated, but that while it's inactive the unwanted signal is making its way down the cable connected to the 3.5mm jack.
This happens regardless of whether the device is connected to wall socket - and I've tested with a battery powered speaker - so this isn't a ground loop issue as far as I know. It is most noticeable when connected to an external speaker that's turned up to a decent volume, but is also audible through headphones. Please note that different headphones will show the issue to a different extent, as the impedance of headphones can vary quite widely. Through small earphones, the sound isn't too offensive, but through an external speaker or decent headphones it's completely unacceptable.
I tried temporarily disabling the MusicFX app and doing a factory reset – no luck with either unfortunately.
There is a report on gsmarena from someone who noticed the hiss. They got a replacement and there was no hiss on the replacement handset.
The thing that's confusing me is that this seems like two separate issues - though I may well be wrong.
1) poor EM shielding and/or cancellation circuitry inactive when audio is not playing and
2) no soft-start / soft-stop when capacitor(s) on the audio chip is charged/discharged and/or DC offset on the signal coming from the audio chip.
The phone's in the box ready to be posted back to Handtec, but just wanted to try and understand whether anyone else has experienced this issue? Just to note that although I haven't been through the returns process just yet, support from both Motorola and especially Handtec so far has been great.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1930361
---------- Post added at 12:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:23 PM ----------
tomrazri said:
There is a report on gsmarena from someone who noticed the hiss. They got a replacement and there was no hiss on the replacement handset.
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that was me. the replacement was much better. still not upto gnex audio via headphones standard but the positives elsewhere on the phone (vs the gnex) mean i can live with the slight drop in audio quality.

Ah ok that's promising cheers. As you've mentioned in that thread, it's only really a problem when music's not playing and when the audio chip is activated/deactivated. No realm qualms with the quality of the audio chip itself as i wouldn't expect a studio grade dac in a phone, just the interference / lack of soft-start that was the dealbreaker. Fingers crossed my replacement will be from a different batch

my first unit came from clove. my replacement from amazon uk. good luck
Sent from my XT890
---------- Post added at 04:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:28 PM ----------
build date on my replacement unit is sep 22 if that helps

tomrazri said:
I've been having a problem with my Razr I...
...The issue is high levels of hiss / interference when a speaker is connected to 3.5mm jack while audio is not playing. Hard to describe the sound as it changes, however it's somewhere between hiss, ground loop and EM interference.
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I'm having exactly the same problem with my XT890 - bought from Amazon round 10th Oct., device build date is 22 Sept.
tomrazri said:
...seems to go down to an acceptable level once the audio chip is taken out of 'sleep' mode and made active. I can only assume that this is because a noise cancellation circuit is removing the interference once the audio chip is activated, but that while it's inactive the unwanted signal is making its way down the cable connected to the 3.5mm jack.
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In my case the hiss is present only in sleep mode with no music on. I can hear silent thud roughly 3 secs after pressing power button to enter the sleep mode followed by the annoying hiss (only on left ear though). It's not loud at all, in fact it's barely noticeable during the day. It only drives you insane if even subconsciously.
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tomrazri said:
This happens regardless of whether the device is connected to wall socket - and I've tested with a battery powered speaker - so this isn't a ground loop issue as far as I know. It is most noticeable when connected to an external speaker that's turned up to a decent volume, but is also audible through headphones. Please note that different headphones will show the issue to a different extent, as the impedance of headphones can vary quite widely. Through small earphones, the sound isn't too offensive, but through an external speaker or decent headphones it's completely unacceptable.
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I think this is where the problem lies. First I thought its down to frequency response or even impedance. I think its due to different 3.5mm jack layout. I have no problem what so ever on my Klipsch S4A (10-19khz, 18ohm, 4 rings jack) but on my Koss PRO 4AAT (10-25khz, 250ohm, regular 3ring jack) its simply unbearable.
Shall I try to send it back to Amazon in hope the new piece will be flawless?

denny76 said:
In my case the hiss is present only in sleep mode with no music on. I can hear silent thud roughly 3 secs after pressing power button to enter the sleep mode followed by the annoying hiss (only on left ear though). It's not loud at all, in fact it's barely noticeable during the day. It only drives you insane if even subconsciously.
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i 'think' i had the same hiss you are talking about on my first device. it was certainly noticeable as i mentioned before and unnacceptable i have no hiss on my replacement unit.
3 secs after any music has come to a stop, it sounds as if the internal amp (?) 'clicks' off. that 'click' is/was present on both devices i had but as that does not interfere with and music playing, i don't see that as a problem.
who knows if we are all talking about the same 'hiss' or not

Hiss on Razr I
I had exactly the same problem on first device but on replacement that hiss gone but not all together but 10x better . I have got 64gb micro sd card full of music and I love chillout stuff where any extra noises spoils listening pleasure . Btw my device was prom phones 4 u

Replacement received. Hiss/EM interference and the pop still there :crying:

ooo that is bad luck. as you got both from handtec, i can only assume they had a faulty batch that moto fixed on newer builds.

denny76 said:
First I thought its down to frequency response or even impedance. I think its due to different 3.5mm jack layout. I have no problem what so ever on my Klipsch S4A (10-19khz, 18ohm, 4 rings jack) but on my Koss PRO 4AAT (10-25khz, 250ohm, regular 3ring jack) its simply unbearable.
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Well, you first thought it could be the impedance but you forgot it or what? It's quite common problem that not all the amplifiers like all headphones. Can happen with hifi equipments too, but mostly mobile devices just don't have good enough output for high impedance headphones. Low impedance headphones are a bit more battery friendly.
I think people just looks silly walking around with big-ass-headphones. About the same as using tablets as cameras.
Anyway, my phone does have slight hissing noise with 18 ohm headphones, but I can live with it.

Sure I think this is probably not an issue for a lot of people, as I want to be able to output to speakers rather than just listen on earphones.
Agree big headphones look silly, I'd only wear them on long train journey's not strolling around
If it doesn't affect the way you use the phone that's fine, and for those people I don't think it should influence their buying decision. The gsmarena review calls out aux audio quality as an issue though and measures it in comparison to other phones, and it doesn't fare so well. It'd be interesting to know whether the situation's improved in later revisions.
If the interference and pop happened with other devices I'd understand it, but I've had no issues with various other mp3 players, smartphones and tablets feeding the same headphones and speaker systems.
Oh well, hopefully be able to buy in a month or so when I'm reassured they've fixed it.

tomrazri said:
If the interference and pop happened with other devices I'd understand it, but I've had no issues with various other mp3 players, smartphones and tablets feeding the same headphones and speaker systems.
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i'm confused by what you say above 'not having issues with other smartphones'. i thought this was your first smartphone purchase according to your review on amazon...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R15W...e=UTF8&ASIN=B008QBBDQ0&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=
Perfect form factor and excellent battery life. Despite being a bit of a geek, this was the first smartphone I've bought, because it ticks all the boxes that no other smartphones have so far.
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Yep, phones of friends don't have the same issue. It hasn't been a problem with some models of HTC, iPhone and Samsung that I've tried with the same speaker systems. I imagine there are plenty of older Motorola handsets that don't have the same issue too so it's nothing against them.

Posted this question on Motorola customer care, but recived a useless anwser. I don't know phone internals, but my guess is problem lies in incorects volume regullation. Just like with with connection of PC with amplifier, if you would turn your amplifier to maximum volume and try to regulate volume only with PC volume controll, you would get similar noise.
Here is my post to Motorola: h**ps://docs.google.com/document/d/1R5ngSJzSjmjbsHPTqnEaUDa3h7oR4OC8l13hK-512uI/edit
and attached noise record: h**ps://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4n8pwAEMymPdHpXUmJHeEV3eVk

[Q] Samung ATIV S earpiece music volume

Anyone have a tweak to increase the music volume capability of the ATIV S through the earphones? I enjoy the phone but I find that it's not loud enough to listen to music unless in a fairly quiet envinronment. The HTC 8X certainly does the job in terms of loudness, but then again it has Beats Audio and a dedicated amp for that.

Whoa, seriously? What have you done to your poor ears?
Sorry, I don't have such a thing. But the music player at anything above about 20 hurts my ears when using earbuds, and at 1 it's still sometimes louder than I actually want in a quiet space (0 is fully muted). I normally have it at about 5-7 for things like the bus, which is pretty noisy. On the other hand, the internal speaker of the phone isn't terribly loud; if I'm listening to music through that I will usually crank it to at least 20.

ATIV S music vol
Ahm... are you really talking about a Samsung ATIV S? Something does not sound right here.
GoodDayToDie said:
Whoa, seriously? What have you done to your poor ears?
Sorry, I don't have such a thing. But the music player at anything above about 20 hurts my ears when using earbuds, and at 1 it's still sometimes louder than I actually want in a quiet space (0 is fully muted). I normally have it at about 5-7 for things like the bus, which is pretty noisy. On the other hand, the internal speaker of the phone isn't terribly loud; if I'm listening to music through that I will usually crank it to at least 20.
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Model SGH-T899M, yes indeed. It could stand to be louder sometimes, but with earbuds? The freaking keyboard tapping clicks are too loud for comfort if I crank it to 30!

It sometimes depends on the earphone. I always use in-ear headphones but some of them sound much louder than others.
Sent from my Samsung Ativ S

Specifically, it depends on the speaker impedance. Low-impedance speakers (such as the relatively cheap Samsung headset I usually use) work great; audiophile-grade stuff maybe not so much. Mind you, even doubling the impedance is only a 10dB drop; significant, but hardly likely to make it inaudible.

Volume on Speakers and Headphones

Hi All
Previously had a Z1C but wasn't overly impressed with music quality and the volume (or lack of)
Can anyone tell me hows the Z3C stacks up in comparrison, it it loud enough. Speaker and headphones??
Many thanks

gsusx said:
Hi All
Previously had a Z1C but wasn't overly impressed with music quality and the volume (or lack of)
Can anyone tell me hows the Z3C stacks up in comparrison, it it loud enough. Speaker and headphones??
Many thanks
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I really don't know how you want people to answer your question.
It depends on:
opinion
music
mods
head/earphones
And more

Dsteppa said:
I really don't know how you want people to answer your question.
It depends on:
opinion
music
mods
head/earphones
And more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not really
i was just asking whether it was louder than the z1c

well I cant compare it to a z1c but I can compare it to a 5s and Nexus 5. The internal speakers are louder than the 5s and Nexus 5. The headphone jack output is terrible. It is by far the quietest I have ever heard. I must have the volume on my stereo up over 1/2 before it can even be heard. With the Nexus it was bad but not this bad, the 5s was great. It would only need to be at 1/4 for comfortable listening. This is easily 1/3 as loud as the iphone was.
Bluetooth audio out will blow the speakers if the volume is not adjusted down after using the headphone jack.

I can compare to the Galaxy S5 I had before. Unfortunately the in call headset is much lower in volume, I have to push it to almost max to hear someone loud enough when I am outside, compared to the S5 when I only kept it at around 50-75% mark.
Also, during calls, only the bottom speaker activates when you want to talk hands free which is a bummer. They should activate both via firmware update.

i have Z1C and wonder too if z3C is louder, my loudest phone what i had was Motorola Defy+ )

nevrozel said:
Also, during calls, only the bottom speaker activates when you want to talk hands free which is a bummer. They should activate both via firmware update.
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Couldn't believe it when I read the above, but yes, tested it and it's true. I mean, is there any reason why only the lower speaker activates? Sony, please enable both, we want to be fully able to use the phone in hands-free mode!
Besides that, to me, the volume of the earpiece counts most for everyday situations. And this is where the Z3C really shines. Never had a phone such loud and clear.

I must admit I've thought I was on speaker phone when I get calls, the earpiece speaker is really loud and clear.

techguyone said:
I must admit I've thought I was on speaker phone when I get calls, the earpiece speaker is really loud and clear.
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There must be something wrong with my phone because the incall volume is sooooo low.

in call volume is fine, although i have it permanently at 100%. speakerphone is really quite quiet, especially when compared to Samsung phones. must be something that can be tweaked with root, or via official Sony update, as notifications, ringtones, music, etc. are quite decent volume.
headphone volume isn't spectacular (again, Samsung seems to amp this more), but really it's fine.

Low volume listening to music on headphones

Just got my OP3T yesterday, and absolutely love it...EXCEPT that when I listen to music on (wired) headphones the volume does not go very loud. Even when I turn it up to the highest setting, just not that loud. And the headphones are plugged in all the way, they work with other phones, etc., etc. Anyone else having this issue?

You gotta plug it in properly, that was the issue with mine. It almost requires an unreasonable amount of force to plug it in or plug it out.

I use wireless bt headphone, and the sound is pretty loud, compare with the droid turbo, will try the wired headphone later
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using XDA-Developers mobile app

No problem with mine, turning it up more than halfway is way too loud. Best sound I've ever had from a phone.

stevemass said:
Just got my OP3T yesterday, and absolutely love it...EXCEPT that when I listen to music on (wired) headphones the volume does not go very loud. Even when I turn it up to the highest setting, just not that loud. And the headphones are plugged in all the way, they work with other phones, etc., etc. Anyone else having this issue?
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What's is the impedance of your headphones? The higher the impedance the lower the volume, usually higher end/better quality use high impedance 32 ohm's+. My Sony's are 32 and are reasonable but still use my Fiio A1 for some extra umph! Might get the Fiio k1 and see what USB audio is like and get another pair of AKG's as they are my favourite sound signature.

ExjeetzZ said:
You gotta plug it in properly, that was the issue with mine. It almost requires an unreasonable amount of force to plug it in or plug it out.
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Yes, I'm aware of this. Mine have been plugged in fully.

LMcR92 said:
What's is the impedance of your headphones? The higher the impedance the lower the volume, usually higher end/better quality use high impedance 32 ohm's+. My Sony's are 32 and are reasonable but still use my Fiio A1 for some extra umph! Might get the Fiio k1 and see what USB audio is like and get another pair of AKG's as they are my favourite sound signature.
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The impedance is 16, so that shouldn't be the issue.

stevemass said:
The impedance is 16, so that shouldn't be the issue.
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Strange I get decent sound out the jack alone. What is the make and model of your headphones?

LMcR92 said:
Strange I get decent sound out the jack alone. What is the make and model of your headphones?
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Have tried it with both Sony MDR-EX58V earbuds and Sony MDR-V8 over-the-ears.

stevemass said:
Have tried it with both Sony MDR-EX58V earbuds and Sony MDR-V8 over-the-ears.
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Weird why not invest in a Fiio A1 or USB variant K1, I'm thinking of jumping on the USB audio to see how it is. I know that "it's not the point" but a worthwhile purchase if you enjoy music.

Mine is plenty loud. Used my Xiaomi Piston 3's all day with it.

Higher impedance means more control over your volume because you're basically forced to use an external amp/dac, doesn't necessarily mean better quality.

Same issue, loudest volume is about right for me, still, does not go as loud as my Nexus 5 did.

More than loud enough at 65% volume with my Audio Technica and Shure headphones. I ended up lowering the max volume with custom kernel.

You can always try the "Increased Headset Volume"-magisk module if you want louder headset volume.