Database Develop

[Q] Why is Nook's Audio quality so Bad

Hey guys i have had a nook for quite some time now and it is a fantastic product but one thing that i really find annoying is the bad music quality.
The voice is so thin, and there's no bass at all. Why is that? please compare any song on a music player and a nook(same headphones) u'll see what i mean.
Is this because of the bad chip?
can i also implement audio decoding at software level and will that do any good?
Edit: am using cm7 pherimod 5.1 and Sony's headphones with miui music player
Edit: Okay finally figured out the problem, its the headphone jack. When u plug headphones in too fast ,i.e without stopping in btw the sound is kind of okay but if u plug them in slowly u lose the bass(it may be opposite for your case). If the headphones are not completely inserted, u lose the stereo but get high bass.
Hope this help's someone.

might be because they designed nook primarily as an e-reader not as a media playback device so likely they skimped on the audio part
rigy73 said:
Hey guys i have had a nook for quite some time now and it is a fantastic product but one thing that i really find annoying is the bad music quality.
The voice is so thin, and there's no bass at all. Why is that? please compare any song on a music player and a nook(same headphones) u'll see what i mean.
Is this because of the bad chip?
can i also implement audio decoding at software level and will that do any good?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

rigy73 said:
Hey guys i have had a nook for quite some time now and it is a fantastic product but one thing that i really find annoying is the bad music quality.
The voice is so thin, and there's no bass at all. Why is that? please compare any song on a music player and a nook(same headphones) u'll see what i mean.
Is this because of the bad chip?
can i also implement audio decoding at software level and will that do any good?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What ROM, what MP3 player, what version of the NC firmware are you using?
My NC, a rooted stock 1.1.0 rom using Autonooter 3.0 running the stock mp3 player sound fine. May be a bad NC or your android OS.

Have to agree with rigy73 here. The nook color is a horrible sounding device. Probably the amp chip they used was bad.

I think the speaker is just poor quality at the end of the day. You have a poor quality speaker, you're gonna get poor quality sound no matter what you do.

I Agree.
I use my CDMA Hero as my media player using a 16Gb sdcard and also with audiogalaxy. I've played the same song on both devices using the same setup (Sony headphone, from sdacrd or audiogalaxy, CyanogenMod 7 on both) and the Nook sound is always worse. The DSPManager helps a little but it is still bad. I get that it's an ereader but they do have audiobooks and if you are going to put headphone jacks in the damn thing at least make the audio decent, it's not like it's the most expensive part of any gadget.

A. Nonymous said:
I think the speaker is just poor quality at the end of the day. You have a poor quality speaker, you're gonna get poor quality sound no matter what you do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed.. Nothing is going to help with that speaker. However, the OP used the same headphones in his/her comparison.
ringbolo said:
I use my CDMA Hero as my media player using a 16Gb sdcard and also with audiogalaxy. I've played the same song on both devices using the same setup (Sony headphone, from sdacrd or audiogalaxy, CyanogenMod 7 on both) and the Nook sound is always worse. The DSPManager helps a little but it is still bad. I get that it's an ereader but they do have audiobooks and if you are going to put headphone jacks in the damn thing at least make the audio decent, it's not like it's the most expensive part of any gadget.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The poor sound quality is most likely due to the hacked software. My rooted NC with stock eclair sounds fine. I would like to hear if others with rooted NC AND running BN stock have the problems. What OS is the OP running - I bet it's not rooted stock BN.
Most likely it's the interface between CyanogenMod and the audio chips that's creating the distortion.

Since the Nook Color is a e-reader I'm pretty show Barnes & Nobles went with the cheapest DAC possible.

rigy73 said:
Hey guys i have had a nook for quite some time now and it is a fantastic product but one thing that i really find annoying is the bad music quality.
The voice is so thin, and there's no bass at all. Why is that? please compare any song on a music player and a nook(same headphones) u'll see what i mean.
Is this because of the bad chip?
can i also implement audio decoding at software level and will that do any good?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All depends on the kind of headphones your using. I would bet the house your using ear buds. Those things blow if you want sound quality. Personally I like the style of headphones that cover the ear more. Bigger speakers capable of decent sounding bass and the help cancel out outside noise. Mine are made by Sony and they sound awesome. http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=11037408

I agree with IFLATLINE. I use Jabra noise cancelling over the ear phones and I think the audio reproduction is first rate. I also agree that with ear buds the audio is lousy. I occasionally use ear buds with other MP3 players and it does seem that the Nook ranks right at the bottom. Big difference with better phones.

evilPERSOn2009 said:
Since the Nook Color is a e-reader I'm pretty show Barnes & Nobles went with the cheapest DAC possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DAC is an integrated Ti chip TLV320DAC3100 http://focus.ti.com/lit/ds/slas671/slas671.pdf
The specs on the chip is reasonable - so I would expect acceptable sound quality at "reasonable" output levels.
rigy73 said:
Hey guys i have had a nook for quite some time now and it is a fantastic product but one thing that i really find annoying is the bad music quality.?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rigy73: what ROM are you using? I bet that it's not rooted BN stock ROM.

Is there any way you could bypass the Nook's DAC via USB to an External USB DAC?

I am using cm7 pherimod 5.1 and Sony's headphones, which are pretty good.
Is stock rom better? Should I go back to stock.

I am no audiophile, but FWIW both rooted stock and CM7 SD have a pretty decent output on corded external speakers and over the earphones including a BT FreePulse set.

rigy73 said:
I am using cm7 pherimod 5.1 and Sony's headphones, which are pretty good.
Is stock rom better? Should I go back to stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mostly likely it is something in cm7 pherimod 5.1. Try going back to stock and let us know the results.

There's definitely something funky going on with the headphone jack. I've found that often, when I first put them in, the sound is really tinny and the low-end is pretty much missing entirely. If I unplug them and immediately plug them back in, it improves dramatically. This has been the case both with my Sony buds and my Bose over-the-ears.
EDIT: This is on CM7. BTW.

rigy73 said:
Hey guys i have had a nook for quite some time now and it is a fantastic product but one thing that i really find annoying is the bad music quality.
The voice is so thin, and there's no bass at all. Why is that? please compare any song on a music player and a nook(same headphones) u'll see what i mean.
Is this because of the bad chip?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a problem with the Nook headphone jack, where you can push a plug into it in such a way as to get a mono sound - which has exactly the sound you describe.
Try pulling the plug out slightly.
The audio chip has excellent specs.

How much background hiss do you guys hear in CM7 off the headphone jack? I get quite a lot which is very apparent with quiet music. Volume levels don't affect it. I notice that the hiss goes away when the audio chip is reinitializing or whatever it does when apps release it.
I also hear some distortion some frequencies I think.

evilPERSOn2009 said:
Is there any way you could bypass the Nook's DAC via USB to an External USB DAC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
usb host has to be enabled on the NC, which hasnt been done yet.
swaaye said:
How much background hiss do you guys hear in CM7 off the headphone jack? I get quite a lot which is very apparent with quiet music. Volume levels don't affect it. I notice that the hiss goes away when the audio chip is reinitializing or whatever it does when apps release it.
I also hear some distortion some frequencies I think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lots of hiss when the headphone out is enabled.

I use a pair of klipsch s4 in early buds. When connected to nook
Sent from Fascinate SuperClean 2.9.2 Voodoo Using Xda Premium App

Portable speaker device?

I know some of you use Netflixs on your NC. Im at work right now and watching a movie with another guy so no headphone action. Can anyone recommend some portable (maybe rechargeable) speakers.
The nook color has a lot of potential but the speakers are just plain weak, even after adjusting the dsp manager to 10. Or is there a way to just make Netflix louder?

rnikec said:
I know some of you use Netflixs on your NC. Im at work right now and watching a movie with another guy so no headphone action. Can anyone recommend some portable (maybe rechargeable) speakers.
The nook color has a lot of potential but the speakers are just plain weak, even after adjusting the dsp manager to 10. Or is there a way to just make Netflix louder?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look for nook tweaks on the market. Adjust the dac, then speaker gain.

I strongly recommend this one if you're looking for an external speaker. I own one myself and I would buy it again anytime.
For the price, I don't find anything to complain about. Build quaility is excellent, volume is insane and I even like the SQ. There is actually something that could be called bass coming from this thing.
The mp3-player feature can be ignored, it can't even shuffle or skip albums, but you might like the option to use it as a card reader.
It can be powered with 2 AA batteries or USB. Haven't tried to power it via USB host on the Nook but it probably won't provide enough juice.
Here's a good review.

Check out this thread. I'm still using this capsule and loving it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=925204&highlight=external+speaker

Arbelzapf said:
I strongly recommend this one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's pretty neat.

I use a Vulcan Phantom Solo speaker. you out it down on any hard surface and it turns said surface in a speaker. also it is rechargeable

You should also check out an app called Volume+ (made by the same guy who did louder volume hack). Has made the volume on my nook more than usable.

I have a pair of Tweekers...availble at office depot for $20. Usb rechargeable and sound pretty good.

Stereo speaker inbalance

Has anyone tried switching off the Beats audio while using the stereo speakers? I find the sound shifts heavily towards the right side (lower speaker grill). It is completely unbalanced as if the speakers in the top and bottom of the phone are totally different. With Beats enabled I think there is still a bit of a skew towards the right speaker. I read 1.29 mentions something about Beats audio speaker balance but I don't know if this is connected or not. 1.29 is not out for SIM free UK yet.

Same for me, the lower speaker is defiantly louder, Beats or no Beats on 1.28 or 1.29

rovex said:
Same for me, the lower speaker is defiantly louder, Beats or no Beats on 1.28 or 1.29
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm...not good. But thank you for confirming you hear the same thing. In my case switching on Beats seems to reduce the inequality but it is still there.

Slightly off topic, but I haven't used beats, until now. I just tried through speakers with beats on, sound quality dreadful to my ears, muddied and lacking in clarity compared to beats off.
I did think beats was intended for use with earphones, typically less expensive ones that were lacking in bass response
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

Hi all,
Same problem here, very obvious with this test : youtube.com........... /watch?v=e8ODm-F9-IM
This problem doesn't give many answers when googled, so i think it is not so common.
Probably going to ask for a RMA...

jonstatt said:
Has anyone tried switching off the Beats audio while using the stereo speakers? I find the sound shifts heavily towards the right side (lower speaker grill). It is completely unbalanced as if the speakers in the top and bottom of the phone are totally different. With Beats enabled I think there is still a bit of a skew towards the right speaker. I read 1.29 mentions something about Beats audio speaker balance but I don't know if this is connected or not. 1.29 is not out for SIM free UK yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for bumping such an old thread. I hope I am not going against rules here...
Anyway, I have exact the same scenario as described by OP. When beats are off, the balance is quite heavily on the lower speaker, when beats on however, the balance shifts to the center and it is okay then (I feel like it might still be a little bit towards the bottom speaker but very very slightly if any). I have no idea what to think about it. How come turning beats on changes the balance, how does it make any sense? If those are just software presets that would mean it is software related, not hardware.
Anyway, is it still happening to you guys? Any update on that?

Ciebiada said:
Sorry for bumping such an old thread. I hope I am not going against rules here...
Anyway, I have exact the same scenario as described by OP. When beats are off, the balance is quite heavily on the lower speaker, when beats on however, the balance shifts to the center and it is okay then (I feel like it might still be a little bit towards the bottom speaker but very very slightly if any). I have no idea what to think about it. How come turning beats on changes the balance, how does it make any sense? If those are just software presets that would mean it is software related, not hardware.
Anyway, is it still happening to you guys? Any update on that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fact that it does shift with Beats may indicate something about the hardware design and that it is intentional. I need to see a tear-down that closely looks at the speaker components. Perhaps the lower speaker has more space behind it to resonate, or perhaps it is a different size of speaker cone. The Beats function may be specifically set-up to help offset the imbalance and perhaps the speakers were never intended to be used without Beats.
I tried a friends who bought his just two weeks ago (mine was a launch day phone), and his is exactly the same. I think a lot of people just haven't noticed it.

jonstatt said:
The fact that it does shift with Beats may indicate something about the hardware design and that it is intentional. I need to see a tear-down that closely looks at the speaker components. Perhaps the lower speaker has more space behind it to resonate, or perhaps it is a different size of speaker cone. The Beats function may be specifically set-up to help offset the imbalance and perhaps the speakers were never intended to be used without Beats.
I tried a friends who bought his just two weeks ago (mine was a launch day phone), and his is exactly the same. I think a lot of people just haven't noticed it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried asking here on forums once, but got just one reply from a guy that said that his unit is perfectly fine.
This and also the fact that it is not mentioned more frequently made me think that it may in fact be a problem with my (or more, but not all) device.
However when I think about it now, if it happens to you, to me, and a bunch of other people it cannot be a coincidence.
Since the Beats Audio is turned on by default, and it is one of the phone's selling points, I am sure that most people use it and don't notice the imbalance, the rest may not use the speakers too much to notice, many people may be too ignorant to notice that there is something wrong, others may just don't care.
Yesterday I tried to compare with a device in a shop, but there was too much background noise for me to tell if there is imbalance or not.
Anyway. Regarding to what you have said if that's true then alright, I am okay with using Bets Audio while listening through speakers, but it is annoying if I would want to keep my EQ flat when listening through headphones.

Included Samsung Earphones Quality?

Hi guys
I was just wondering if the included white earphones (with the mic + remote) that we got with out Note II are any good? I have been using other ones + the bluetooth Jaybird BlueBuds X, but I was wondering if the included ones are any good? I suppose I'm looking for the answer of whether they are any good for included earphones, and if they are any good in a more general term?
The reason I ask is because I have not used them or removed them from their packaging since I've had the phone (over 6 months) as I wanted to have them as new for when I eventually sell the phone. But curiosity has got the better of me but I'm wary of opening them in case they are awful.
Thanks

They are better than Apple's old earbuds for sure, but can't beat the EarPods in terms of mids and lows. I'd say they're good for bundled earphones, but sound too weak to be good IEMs.

The problem with the stock Note 2 is sound level is too low and bundled earphones are no solution for it.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 4

g0kb3rk said:
The problem with the stock Note 2 is sound level is too low and bundled earphones are no solution for it.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with cheap earphones - low sensitivity. You need to drive them with a high output signal level, and when it's loud you also facing distortion. Do you want to try something good? Use UE 600vi (these ultimate ears, which i have reviewed in my signature link, now on sale on amazon for $59) - they have very high sensitivity and even at low volume level everything will be loud and clear, not to mention these are the most comfortable in-ear headphones I ever had, and also come with mic and controls where using JAYS or 3D MAVEN free apps can turn single function button into multi-click playback control.
Regarding OP question, I have blue buds X as well and you will laugh you arse off going from bbx to stock headphones. No comparison. Btw, only a few carriers included stock headphones with their Note 2, Verizon never included headphones so you will not loose much in the value of sale if you open these up to test them out Worry more about your screen, battery cover, and the area around micro-usb connector that gets warned out.

vectron said:
The problem with cheap earphones - low sensitivity. You need to drive them with a high output signal level, and when it's loud you also facing distortion. Do you want to try something good? Use UE 600vi (these ultimate ears, which i have reviewed in my signature link, now on sale on amazon for $59) - they have very high sensitivity and even at low volume level everything will be loud and clear, not to mention these are the most comfortable in-ear headphones I ever had, and also come with mic and controls where using JAYS or 3D MAVEN free apps can turn single function button into multi-click playback control.
Regarding OP question, I have blue buds X as well and you will laugh you arse off going from bbx to stock headphones. No comparison. Btw, only a few carriers included stock headphones with their Note 2, Verizon never included headphones so you will not loose much in the value of sale if you open these up to test them out Worry more about your screen, battery cover, and the area around micro-usb connector that gets warned out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your info mate, will give those a look. I'm on the lookout for good earphones with a working mic that I can use when not using the bluebuds. It's a shame they don't have 3 buttons but I can live with that if they're the best in their price range.
On a side note, curiosity got the better of me and I tried the stock ones. They were ok but yeah, as expected they weren't great.

g0kb3rk said:
The problem with the stock Note 2 is sound level is too low and bundled earphones are no solution for it.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, but you should do this mod if you're rooted.
http://galaxy-note2.wonderhowto.com...me-limits-your-samsung-galaxy-note-2-0144571/
55db was plenty fine with me, and I wouldn't recommend going over that.

The problem with headphones supporting apple controls - only function button will work, but not volume control. But that single function button will play/pause audio and video, will pick-up/hang-up call, and using JAYS or 3D MAVEN apps you can configure double-/triple-click for other functionality. I typically have double-click to skip next and triple-click to skip prev. Plus, those free apps allow you to set delay between clicks so there is no mistake (setting it longer will eliminate errors). For breaking headphones in, refer to my UE600vi review where I have a link to on-line white/pink-noise audio player loop. Hook up your headphones to laptop and let it play for 10hr, just don't put it on your ears It's the best way to break any headphones in, and with UE600vi it help with bass definition. Still not as deep as Klipsch S4A but, UE has it's own driver for mids/highs - it creates almost 3D soundstage. Of course, you can get more expensive $200, $300, $400, etc earphones from Klipsch, UE, Shure, Seinheiser and others, but for a budget price I found UE600vi to be the best. They also have regular UE600 without inline mic/control for the price, but if you interested, get the one with in-line remote/mic.

My Samsung pair has been breaking in for 6 years, and they've gone through the washing machine once!

fade2black101 said:
True, but you should do this mod if you're rooted.
http://galaxy-note2.wonderhowto.com...me-limits-your-samsung-galaxy-note-2-0144571/
55db was plenty fine with me, and I wouldn't recommend going over that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't rooted my N7100 yet but Samsung's update policy is pushing me to do it ASAP. There are really good ROMs that could replace the stock one.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 4

fade2black101 said:
Hi guys
I was just wondering if the included white earphones (with the mic + remote) that we got with out Note II are any good? I have been using other ones + the bluetooth Jaybird BlueBuds X, but I was wondering if the included ones are any good? I suppose I'm looking for the answer of whether they are any good for included earphones, and if they are any good in a more general term?
The reason I ask is because I have not used them or removed them from their packaging since I've had the phone (over 6 months) as I wanted to have them as new for when I eventually sell the phone. But curiosity has got the better of me but I'm wary of opening them in case they are awful.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are actually quite good for OEMs. I like them MUCH better than most earphones in the $20 and $30 range. But nothing beats a premium earphone experience.

For me the quality of the original samsung earphone are really good.. I use, for hobby, piooner hdj2000 and the sound obviously is better, but is not bad for the original..

jt404 said:
They are actually quite good for OEMs. I like them MUCH better than most earphones in the $20 and $30 range. But nothing beats a premium earphone experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I think too. For IEMs, you'll need to go past $50 to really make a difference. I personally prefer on-ear and over-ear sets over in-ears though.

I am VERY happy with AWEI ES-S90Vi that I bought on focalprice . Com website
They were $12 including shipping and blow away the included white Samsung earbuds (which I always thought were great till I tried Awei). Mic works perfectly for phone calls however the headset volume controls don't work, only the hang up button (skip songs etc). There are apps you can get to get around that issue.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app

How to make z1 louder?

I seem to have broken one of my loud speakers on my z1 resulting in a very tinny/quiet phone.
Is there some mod I can flash to make my remaining speaker much louder? I'm running mx8.0 and lollipop 5.1.1
Cheers

There is only one speaker, the grill next to the speaker is the microphone.
Sorry that didn't answer your question though.

i would also love to know how, seeing how sony blocked/changed the file that use to allow us to volume mod in 5.5.1+
i have heard rumors of doing something physically to the speaker internally at the trade off of loosing waterproofing. bit i dont hear much on that anymore

tomascus said:
There is only one speaker, the grill next to the speaker is the microphone.
Sorry that didn't answer your question though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, didn't know that. I guess i might just replace the speaker then.
xdarkmario said:
i would also love to know how, seeing how sony blocked/changed the file that use to allow us to volume mod in 5.5.1+
i have heard rumors of doing something physically to the speaker internally at the trade off of loosing waterproofing. bit i dont hear much on that anymore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've already lost the waterproofing due to cracking and replacing the back, so I'm just gonna replace the speaker

downgrade to an official lower than lollipop rom, then turn on xloud. And yes, f*ck sony for removing it in lollipop, like our speaker isn't sh*tty enough...