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I've been having a weird audio issue with my Nexus 7 and was wondering if anyone else was having it. I search before starting this thread and couldn't find anything similar, which leads me to believe the answer is 'no', but thought I would ask anyway.
So my N7 was one of the first to be released. For a couple months I've had no major issues. A little screen lifting, but not enough to make me send it back. Some issues with the screen (what looks like burn in, but goes away) which has been heavily reported, but again, I can live with it. Both of those issues are well known and common, but this one just started up.
Every so often, when my N7 has been sitting idle and in standby mode for a while and I unlock it, I hear a "click" sound from the speaker. It normally makes that sound, but on occasion it sounds weird and clipped. When this happens, I lose audio. The only way to regain it is to either reboot the device, or manually lower the sound to zero, wait a few seconds, and then raise it up again. The latter method usually works, but once in a while I have to do it multiple times before the audio is restored. When the audio stops, it doesn't matter if it's the built in speakers or headphones - nothing.
This problem seems to only occur right after I wake it up. In other words, if I'm using it actively and I have sound, the sound works fine.
Again, this problem only started occurring about a month or so ago, and is only sporadic. At first, I thought it might have something to do with a new app I downloaded, but I eliminated that variable.
It's not a major problem, but it does get annoying every so often.
My N7 is stock firmware with a custom kernel (Motley) and rooted (obviously) with CWM recovery.
The logs don't indicate any issues. And since the audio comes back with me turning it off/on (usually), it seems more like a software issue.
Anyone else experiencing something similar?
Also, when the sound is working properly, it sounds great. No static or distortion or anything like that.
I have the same problem, at first i thought it was because of the kernels so i switch kernels from stock to motley then now i am on clemsyn. I do not know whether it is a software or hardware problem because my speakers sound perfectly alright, except the symptoms which you described.
My case is then sometimes when i unlock it, the normal click sound on unlock might be distorted and then for a period of time there will be no sound. The quick way to solve it is to plug in a headphone and then pull it back out, this will get the sound back immediately OR i can just wait for a while and the sound will be back. Again because of the speaker not having any other distortion during normal music playback, this might actually be a software problem, but it seems not many pple have documented this behaviour so hardware problem is also likely.
kyo171 said:
I have the same problem, at first i thought it was because of the kernels so i switch kernels from stock to motley then now i am on clemsyn. I do not know whether it is a software or hardware problem because my speakers sound perfectly alright, except the symptoms which you described.
My case is then sometimes when i unlock it, the normal click sound on unlock might be distorted and then for a period of time there will be no sound. The quick way to solve it is to plug in a headphone and then pull it back out, this will get the sound back immediately OR i can just wait for a while and the sound will be back. Again because of the speaker not having any other distortion during normal music playback, this might actually be a software problem, but it seems not many pple have documented this behaviour so hardware problem is also likely.
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I think it could be a hardware defect with ours. Since you are the only other person to report the exact same symptoms, it seems to be rare. In my case, it occasionally happens even with the headphones in, so I don't think it's a speaker issue - more likely a sound card problem. If it was software, I think it would be much more commonly reported. Oh well.... Weird that it only started happening about a month or two after I owned it.
juz an update on my nexus 7 audio issue, i recently just flash franco kernel and the audio issue seemed to go away completely. i amnot sure whether its the overclocking or the undervolting that caused the problem but i am glad it is gone. Juz FYI.
I have a similar situation where the sound stops working randomly. It's rare, but maybe once a day. The volume buttons remain high but there is no sound. I have to reboot for the sound to come back. I am on Kaos Droid 3.8 Beta, with the Clemsyn Elite Battery Saving kernel.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Hello there everyone.
I am working on few of problems faced by Nexus regarding its sound quality and other issues related to hardware and software. One of the device has confused me completely is been addressed at the end of this thread.
Mostly, according to my experience, the sound is very loud compared to its previous model of Nexus 7 2012 which had mono speakers while this is loaded with two stereo speakers. Using it in portrait mode has best sound experience.
However, if you try the surround sound option via Google Music, the sound isnot really loud. Just without it, I have noticed best performance.
Also, in MX Player Pro, I have seen that with good headphones, you can increase the sound upto 30 (rather than normal 15) yet you can not do the same whilst using the speakers. It could be due to codecs.
Overall, the sound is loud in a quite environment but hardly noticed in busy areas with background noises like streets. shops etc even on its full sound.
However, some devices do have a bit low sound which could be increased by modifying files a bit but this is kind of increasing your speakers output more than it is optimised to be used for. Thus, sound may break and might be distorted. I am trying to find a combination where an optimum balance could be achieved but I haven't been successful. (If anyone has these values, please share)
I havenot come across a speaker problem related to hardware where no sound was coming out of it. Although, few devices do have different maximum sound if measured in db (3 to 5 db on same track)
THE DEVICE
The device came without its top speaker working and after opening it up and checking the speakers, both speakers worked. I thought the reason, it was not working was due to software. I tried looking into it deeply through software modification without any luck.
One day, after heavy gaming out of curiosity, I just turned on songs to check if both speakers were working and viola, both were working out of no where without any software modification (I gave up and reset the Nexus to give it for warranty claim the next day).
I was overjoyed and till next day, both speakers were working perfectly until I did some heavy gaming again and the sound vanished after charging it (It got hot again during charging)
This has happened twice and today I was gaming with sound turned on and nothing. The device top speaker didnot turn on for a second even like two times it happened before. Both that time, my device was silent while gaming.
I suspect some wiring issue but still not sure, I am now a bit sceptical to open this Nexus again and void the warranty as I have already have taken the back lid off few times. I do not intend to heat it with soldering Kit as I have damaged Htc Sensation a while back doing that. Any Suggestions about this device in particular?
How have been your experience with sound quality and do share any mods you have find useful and have tested.
Just came across a disturbing report in a very recent Droid Life review of the Note 3 (from a list of N3 reviews posted on this forum) concerning "Audio Jack Issues". Anybody who treasures their hearing and uses their phablet for audio material (including movies, music, audiobooks, etc), especially using earbuds or headphones, might want to "listen up." The following is an excerpt from the review:
"...When listening to music through the 3.5mm jack, you are sometimes met with a very weak sound. It’s as if the sound of the music isn’t “full” or quite loud enough. Then, after a few minutes without touching anything while at full volume, the volume just explodes and you are left deafened by the surprise volume attack. Some people are pointing towards low-impedance headphones being the issue, but I have had the problem on multiple pairs of headphones, in-ear buds, through car decks, and everything else. It’s a very frustrating and reoccurring issue that I wish Samsung would find a cure for. Until then, I fear listening to music out of this device because I don’t want to go deaf. It might sound crazy, but it’s a very real issue that I experienced over the course of time I had the device."
I've had 3 Samsungs: a flip-phone a few years ago, a Fascinate 2 years ago, and currently Galaxy S3, and just preordered a Note 3. Of the three previous phones, two had infrequent but definitely-occurring audio issues where the volume changed unexpectedly. The flip phone blew out my ears once, and swore after that would never buy another Sammy (what a kidding-myself that turned out to be). What's unnerving is this seems to have appeared intermittently in multiple samsung phone models (the article reports yet another audio jack issue in the S4).
Chatted online with a VZW customer service rep. about this, who was really no help (wasn't her fault, i guess). She just regurgitated the company standard lines--14 days to return, restocking fee, can get a replacement if the problem occurs, etc. But she pretty much stated if there turns out to be a Note 3-specific issue, the customer is stuck with that model of phone; don't expect help from the carrier other than replacing with an identical unit might likely have the same problem; if you enjoy any kind of audio produced by the phone's audio jack, use it at your own risk. (Even more dicey is that it's intermittent--no guarantee you'll be able to demonstrate it to the carrier's service rep.)
Furthermore, i was one of those who got a free continuation of unlimited plan (thanks to the VZW ordering "system glitch" last weekend), which has been reported in the last day that VZW is going to honor contracts which show unlimited data. This rep completely contradicted that and claimed my data will be capped at 2gb at activation time. So with this diametrically-opposed chatter from VZW, what is one supposed to believe? Really suggests getting a satisfactory resolution from any carrier on a brand-specific phone problem like this to be wishful thinking.
Any thoughts or has anybody experienced thru-the-audio-jack sound issues with sammy phone products? My take is i'm not going to be on the bleeding edge of this one, too much of a hearing risk, cancelling preorder and wait for more reports on the N3 as time goes by.
For sure something is wrong with mine. (tmobile N3) The output levels are maybe half or less what my N2 can put out. I have carefully setup audio systems in my house and car, and it is unusable. Its also not USB compatible with the new Kenwood KMM 100u deck that plays FLAC files. It must be a glitch they can fix, i hope! The jack SQ sucks right now.
I hope mine won't have this problem.
*wierd double post an hour later*
dareo said:
For sure something is wrong with mine. (tmobile N3) The output levels are maybe half or less what my N2 can put out. I have carefully setup audio systems in my house and car, and it is unusable. Its also not USB compatible with the new Kenwood KMM 100u deck that plays FLAC files. It must be a glitch they can fix, i hope! The jack SQ sucks right now.
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I got that the first time you said it.
im experiencing this too with an AU Telstra Note 3.
ive tested it a bit and it seems like its 2 separate things to me, but I could be wrong.
firstly it seems like all EQs either crash or just lose their settings at random moments. this can be things like between track changes or when the 3G signal drops out. if you go back into the EQ panel it will kick in again, almost like it was off and you've launched it again.. very annoying. ive verified this with both the stock EQ and noozxoide. the difference in volume is minimal though, its more quality / bass / whatever EQ you use.
the second part with the volume dropping out completely only happens to me between track changes. if i pause the music for a couple of seconds then play it again, it will play at normal volume. fast forwarding between tracks is the most obvious since every other track will be minimal volume, and the ones in-between normal volume.
ive only tested this with google music. although my phone isnt stock now, the same behaviour was there out of the box. using etymotic earbuds with reasonably high impedance but i doubt thats the issue since pause/replay fixes it.
Doesn't happen to me on N7player or PlayerPro. (nor on videos in Dice, MX or VLC.)
Try not using stock apps if you have the issue. Might just be a stock problem.
I can't test Google music, I disabled that. Stock player itself is too annoying for me to try.
Send From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk
kanemari said:
im experiencing this too with an AU Telstra Note 3.
ive tested it a bit and it seems like its 2 separate things to me, but I could be wrong.
firstly it seems like all EQs either crash or just lose their settings at random moments. this can be things like between track changes or when the 3G signal drops out. if you go back into the EQ panel it will kick in again, almost like it was off and you've launched it again.. very annoying. ive verified this with both the stock EQ and noozxoide. the difference in volume is minimal though, its more quality / bass / whatever EQ you use.
the second part with the volume dropping out completely only happens to me between track changes. if i pause the music for a couple of seconds then play it again, it will play at normal volume. fast forwarding between tracks is the most obvious since every other track will be minimal volume, and the ones in-between normal volume.
ive only tested this with google music. although my phone isnt stock now, the same behaviour was there out of the box. using etymotic earbuds with reasonably high impedance but i doubt thats the issue since pause/replay fixes it.
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Click to collapse
Got the same here. N9005 with Google Play Music. Sometimes it's also (it seems) input-triggered. Sometimes when I push Menu or Back button, volume goes down and when I open Browser volume goes up. I know this sounds like voodoo and I'm completely crazy but I got this situation some times now.
With original sound files this problem came very often but after installing sound mod, it became seldom but not solved.
Annoying!
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Silberpfeil3110 said:
Got the same here. N9005 with Google Play Music. Sometimes it's also (it seems) input-triggered. Sometimes when I push Menu or Back button, volume goes down and when I open Browser volume goes up. I know this sounds like voodoo and I'm completely crazy but I got this situation some times now.
With original sound files this problem came very often but after installing sound mod, it became seldom but not solved.
Annoying!
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Click to collapse
I actually moved to the stock sammy app since it was irritating me so much. i have to say though, that if you can be bothered syncing a playlist to your phone that the sound is much better through that... hard to pick fault with.
i set up galaxy adaptive sound first, which is the one that plays high med low tones through left and right channels on your headphones independently and lets you tune it. found a much more balanced tone coming out after that, to which I then applied higher bass EQ settings from within the sammy music player and it sounds pretty good. some distortion on really heavy bass tracks at high volume, but very nice otherwise. MUCH BETTER than variable bass and audio volume on the google music player.
i think samsung neglected to test the standard music APIs and borked them, but their own proprietary ones work fine. the adaptive music filter doesnt work in any player apart from the sammy one I read.
since i cant cross-flash regional roms without voiding knox warranty i havent tried the updated EU roms, but maybe they fix it there?
Experiencing same problem on my AT&T note 3. Google Music tracks will randomly apply a shoddy EQ setting that is either too loud or too soft. Then the next track will be normal. It explodes my ear drums constantly. I have the EQ set off also, but that doesn't seem to matter. Also unplugging and re plugging the headphone jack "fixes" the issue as well. I'm pretty annoyed by this problem.
<<SOLVED>> The moto G Opamp is not very efficient. It struggles to go down to 2Ohm stable. This means average earbud type headphones rated at 16Ohms. will have hiss and other artifacts. Higher impedance headphones. 40-70Ohms have much better sq. Much above 70Ohms and I suspect the Moto G won't be powerful enough to drive them.... so, that's the sweet spot!
Hey,
Since I updated to kitkta4.4.2 I notice there is a significant background hiss listening with headphones.
As soon as you use an app that activates the audio jack the hiss kicks in, it is constant, not volume dependent. If you turn the volume down to zero, but the app keeps the sound output active the hiss remains.
when the app is closed, the hiss abruptly stops (presumably when the sound API deactivates the inbuilt opamp to save battery)
I'm about 90% sure this wasn't present under 4.3 or was far less noticeable.
I'm not being picky either, this is bad enough that it would make using the phone as a walkman at a low or moderate volume unpleasant. From experience I'd estimate the hiss at approx -20dB.. this is similar to the hiss you would hear from your average desktop PC fan at idle under your desk..
can anyone test this too, on 4.3 and 4.4.2?
Oh, and use earbud headphones or good closed cup ones. Open phones, unless you are somewhere very quiet won't give a good idea of the hiss..
thanks
Can confirm this on 4.4.2, too bad I didn't see your post before updating, as I don't really remember how it was on 4.3 :/
You don't actually have to use earphones, it's noticeable through the speaker, too (well I'm in my room alone and I put my ear close to it). However, I wouldn't say it's very significant - when using earphones I can hear it when muted, on the 1st bar after mute; on the 2nd you can't really say if you hear it or is it your imagination; and on the 3rd bar it's unnoticeable.
I can't notice any hiss in 4.3, even if I use a headphone amp. No clicking sounds either when the opamp turns on.
Sent from my XT1032 using xda app-developers app
UnknownAX said:
I can't notice any hiss in 4.3, even if I use a headphone amp. No clicking sounds either when the opamp turns on.
Sent from my XT1032 using xda app-developers app
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this is what I was worried about. I didnt notice any hiss before either, and I had it connected to a car stereo so would amplify the issue (if it was there).
maybe something did change in the audio settings/drivers then. I have already tried dissablying all the dsp stuff with no luck, still the hiss and click when the opamp switches on/off.
Maybe it was there before though, and it's bad luck with the phone, rather than the OS version.
I have got UK Retail 4.4.2 and I have tried to replicate this. I have tried YouTube, Spotify Play Music and TuneIn. I do not experience a hiss!
UnknownAX said:
I can't notice any hiss in 4.3, even if I use a headphone amp. No clicking sounds either when the opamp turns on.
Sent from my XT1032 using xda app-developers app
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dhilluk said:
I have got UK Retail 4.4.2 and I have tried to replicate this. I have tried YouTube, Spotify Play Music and TuneIn. I do not experience a hiss!
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Click to collapse
Under 4.3 to save battery I disabled apps I wasn't using, including the Audio Effects app, and google play. When you disable them it forces you to 'uninstall updates' which I didnt realise at the time, but I think may have been specific to the moto g, as you cannot redownload them from playstore, or update them.
Would someone be so kind as to upload the FULL apk of their google play and and Sound Effects, from their stock 4.4.2 build?
Im pretty sure this is down to the software API that activates the opamp. (as it is very distinct), it even happens when you activate audio by using the rocker to increase the ringtone volume!?!?!???
It sounds like listening to a really cheap mp3 player with a low S/N ratio...
** edit I mean 'Play Music' not 'google play'
Hi,
I actually just registered to say this was very much present on my moto g on android 4.3 and is still the same on KitKat. It definitely sounds like a cheap mp3 player. Does anyone know of a fix?
Thanks
helppme said:
Hey,
Since I updated to kitkta4.4.2 I notice there is a significant background hiss listening with headphones.
As soon as you use an app that activates the audio jack the hiss kicks in, it is constant, not volume dependent. If you turn the volume down to zero, but the app keeps the sound output active the hiss remains.
when the app is closed, the hiss abruptly stops (presumably when the sound API deactivates the inbuilt opamp to save battery)
I'm about 90% sure this wasn't present under 4.3 or was far less noticeable.
I'm not being picky either, this is bad enough that it would make using the phone as a walkman at a low or moderate volume unpleasant. From experience I'd estimate the hiss at approx -20dB.. this is similar to the hiss you would hear from your average desktop PC fan at idle under your desk..
can anyone test this too, on 4.3 and 4.4.2?
Oh, and use earbud headphones or good closed cup ones. Open phones, unless you are somewhere very quiet won't give a good idea of the hiss..
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
motg-gm said:
Hi,
I actually just registered to say this was very much present on my moto g on android 4.3 and is still the same on KitKat. It definitely sounds like a cheap mp3 player. Does anyone know of a fix?
Thanks
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Click to collapse
Now this is getting weird. I think I'll install the ota to see how mine behaves. The G's audio quality decent enough imo. Probably above Android smartphone average. But what I like the most is that it's 100% silent, regardless of the volume setting, headphones or the amp.
Having said that, I will still get a USB DAC solution for it, which luckily has native support on both stock ROMs.
UnknownAX said:
Now this is getting weird. I think I'll install the ota to see how mine behaves. The G's audio quality decent enough imo. Probably above Android smartphone average. But what I like the most is that it's 100% silent, regardless of the volume setting, headphones or the amp.
Having said that, I will still get a USB DAC solution for it, which luckily has native support on both stock ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there anyway to update the phone without wifi ?? ...my friend as unlimited data but no wifi and she really wants to update ?
boe323 said:
Is there anyway to update the phone without wifi ?? ...my friend as unlimited data but no wifi and she really wants to update ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see how this is on-topic, but of course, you can download the update either on Wi-Fi or mobile data.
I don't know what you mean with "hiss", but since I updated mine (today - uk), i have started to notice some "clicks" in musics, that i didn't have before.
I was using PlayerPro, turned off the equalizer, uninstalled and reinstalled it again, and it was solved.
Google music, had no issues.
RickPinto said:
I don't know what you mean with "hiss", but since I updated mine (today - uk), i have started to notice some "clicks" in musics, that i didn't have before.
I was using PlayerPro, turned off the equalizer, uninstalled and reinstalled it again, and it was solved.
Google music, had no issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
by hiss, I mean hiss. It is probably around 18KHz, and is similar tot he sound of RF interference on a stereo (alsmost like the snow screen sound on a tv).
It is not volume dependent so it is defenitely downstream from the DAC, and must be the opamp or downsteram from the opamp in the phone. It is most likely from a poor ground some where in the audio path (assuming the opamp isn't awful, anyone know the chip?). It could be due to the single board set up of the Moto G mainboard design. I'm guessing here, but if the PCB has the audio channel close to any of the ground of power channels, this would explain my hiss. If it is built to tight tollerance, this could also explain why some people have it, others don't.
In laymans terms, I'm saying the audio signal is 'dirty. If anyone has every used a PC with crappy audio on the motherboard, they will know exactly what this problem is like. When no program is using the audio driver, the board puts the audio to 'sleep', when you open a program that uses that audio driver, the audio wakes up and you get some hiss, noise through the audio and pc speakers. This is exactly what I experience with my moto G.
if im honest, it's unlistenable, however I'm a bit of an audiophile so I can appreciate for most people they won't see it as a problem..
helppme said:
if im honest, it's unlistenable, however I'm a bit of an audiophile so I can appreciate for most people they won't see it as a problem..
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I found 4.3 to already be noisy with the hiss when using my earphones, which have a low attenuation and so even low volumes sound loud on them. To get around this problem I bought an attenuator which connects between the phone and the earphones. Then I set the phone audio to maximum, and reduced the volume using the attenuator. Setting the phone audio to loud means the hiss volume is low compared to the volume of the sound coming out of the phone.
This is the attenuator I use:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008EWP07E
RickPinto said:
I don't know what you mean with "hiss", but since I updated mine (today - uk), i have started to notice some "clicks" in musics, that i didn't have before.
I was using PlayerPro, turned off the equalizer, uninstalled and reinstalled it again, and it was solved.
Google music, had no issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
superusr said:
I found 4.3 to already be noisy with the hiss when using my earphones, which have a low attenuation and so even low volumes sound loud on them. To get around this problem I bought an attenuator which connects between the phone and the earphones. Then I set the phone audio to maximum, and reduced the volume using the attenuator. Setting the phone audio to loud means the hiss volume is low compared to the volume of the sound coming out of the phone.
This is the attenuator I use:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008EWP07E
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is a possibility, but its not ideal... sadly this is looking like a hardware issue not a software one though as if it was software, I'd expect it to be upstream of the opamp. The fact your attenuator solution works, is more evidence this is a downstream issue . (as implification induced noise increases with the square of the volume (assuming a logarithmic volume scale))
I'm on 4.4. I notice a slight hiss when music is coming out of the phones speaker, though its completely undetectable if the phone is at around half volume. No hiss when coming through headphones.
Sent from my XT1034 using xda app-developers app
Ravinxx said:
I'm on 4.4. I notice a slight hiss when music is coming out of the phones speaker, though its completely undetectable if the phone is at around half volume. No hiss when coming through headphones.
Sent from my XT1034 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Please can you test something, with some sensitive in ear headphones (or in a quiet room if they are normal headphones.)
>Connect headphones to phone
>Make sure ALL apps are closed.
>turn the phones ring volume to zero
>you should hear silence.(regardless of what headphone volume is)
>On the home screen, Press the Up volume rocker 3 times quite quickly.
>On my phone, the headphones go from silent to Hiss, then I hear the 'Beep'.....'Beep' of the volume increase on top of the hiss. Wait 2 seconds after the second beep and you hear the Hiss abruptly stop, and you are back to silent.
I have this problem with all audio activity on the phone, but the ringtone volume trick is the easiest way to demonstrate it.
helppme said:
Please can you test something, with some sensitive in ear headphones (or in a quiet room if they are normal headphones.)
>Connect headphones to phone
>Make sure ALL apps are closed.
>turn the phones ring volume to zero
>you should hear silence.(regardless of what headphone volume is)
>On the home screen, Press the Up volume rocker 3 times quite quickly.
>On my phone, the headphones go from silent to Hiss, then I hear the 'Beep'.....'Beep' of the volume increase on top of the hiss. Wait 2 seconds after the second beep and you hear the Hiss abruptly stop, and you are back to silent.
I have this problem with all audio activity on the phone, but the ringtone volume trick is the easiest way to demonstrate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or even easier, just press the volume down or up button once in any direction with headphones plugged in. Regardless of what it was set to and becomes set to, you will hear a faint background hum/hiss be emitted through the headphones for a second. This is fairly normal on any phone and even most audio devices. I don't know what you expect really in a smart phone that costs £129 in the UK. It is a compact environment to build so much electronics into and will never be a hifi device.
I tested with 3 phones on my desk right now and they all have a hiss when you first do something to make audio come through the headphones like quickly play and then pause a track. In fact, one phone (Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus) has not only a hiss, but a screech/high pitched whine as well. All of these "noises" that are detectable, become undetectable when volume of anything is turned up past the first or second bar anyway.
Ravinxx said:
I'm on 4.4. I notice a slight hiss when music is coming out of the phones speaker, though its completely undetectable if the phone is at around half volume. No hiss when coming through headphones.
Sent from my XT1034 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
coursemyhorse said:
Or even easier, just press the volume down or up button once in any direction with headphones plugged in. Regardless of what it was set to and becomes set to, you will hear a faint background hum/hiss be emitted through the headphones for a second. This is fairly normal on any phone and even most audio devices. I don't know what you expect really in a smart phone that costs £129 in the UK. It is a compact environment to build so much electronics into and will never be a hifi device.
I tested with 3 phones on my desk right now and they all have a hiss when you first do something to make audio come through the headphones like quickly play and then pause a track. In fact, one phone (Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus) has not only a hiss, but a screech/high pitched whine as well. All of these "noises" that are detectable, become undetectable when volume of anything is turned up past the first or second bar anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a fair point, and I agree is not surprising given the phones price. I think the reason I have posed this question was to a) determine if it could be software related (4.3 vs 4.4.2) but It doesn't looks so. b) Is it universal, or could be a slight lottery and maybe my phone is worse than others. As some people say they definitely have no issue. (granted it could be subjective)
Also, I would say, although it is present in most devices to some degree, it is noticeably worse on this phone than any other I have had. Multiple sony erricsons, galaxy Ace, Nokias.. And my last phone Galaxy S2 had extremely clean audio production. (i compared directly with moto g).
I do concede I am an audio snob though, so don't like listening to poor quality. I never really expected to use the moto g for music, but would have been a nice to have.
helppme said:
This is a fair point, and I agree is not surprising given the phones price. I think the reason I have posed this question was to a) determine if it could be software related (4.3 vs 4.4.2) but It doesn't looks so. b) Is it universal, or could be a slight lottery and maybe my phone is worse than others. As some people say they definitely have no issue. (granted it could be subjective)
Also, I would say, although it is present in most devices to some degree, it is noticeably worse on this phone than any other I have had. Multiple sony erricsons, galaxy Ace, Nokias.. And my last phone Galaxy S2 had extremely clean audio production. (i compared directly with moto g).
I do concede I am an audio snob though, so don't like listening to poor quality. I never really expected to use the moto g for music, but would have been a nice to have.
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Yeah, it seems to me too that you are a bit more on the audio than most people
By the way, I was wondering up to which levels can you really say that you hear the hiss? As I've said before, for me it's definite hiss when muted and 1st level, weird feeling on the 2nd and I can't hear it from the 3rd.
theArchitektas said:
Yeah, it seems to me too that you are a bit more on the audio than most people
By the way, I was wondering up to which levels (just the volume slider, no music) can you really say that you hear the hiss? As I've said before, for me it's definite hiss when muted and 1st level, weird feeling on the 2nd and I can't hear it from the 3rd.
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Depends on the music. pop music which has a lot of mids and highs, the hiss isnt noticible from notch 4 up maybe.
Quiet music, classical, R&B & hihop with a lot of bass beats but not many highs, you can hear the background his up to maybe 2 notches off max. But its acceptable from maybe half volume.
tbh it's more of a shame than an issue. I didn't expect this to replace a decent mp3 player, would just have been convenient is all.
I haven't been using the default music app because randomly it does an action after a while of playback, pretty much every few minutes; back, forward, pause, whatever, it random action just randomly happens. I've wondered if I somehow accidentally used some sort of gesture or touched the screen, but it happens when the screen is off as well and there doesn't seem to be any gesture that would affect the music app anyway. Does anyone have any idea what can be causing this?
I've been using PowerAmp which doesn't seem to support the A7's DAC. I have it set to 24 bit sound in the last Alpha of PowerAmp (which was many months ago, I've given up on any update for PowerAmp ever arriving) but after side by side sample comparisons they do sound different. The problem is I'm not sure if there's a slight volume difference between programs causing that, or if it's some setting, or if it really is due to the output being done on different DACs resulting in the differences. Pocket Now's video stating it only outputs 16 bit downsampled audio has also stuck in my mind, but despite contacting them twice on different social media, they never responded. That's infuriating, making a bold statement like that, then never providing an explanation and leaving it ambiguous, never stating if the downsampling was at software level, firmware level, or anything.
So I basically have no idea what the hell is going on with the audio on this thing in any way, from software to hardware. That's incredibly frustrating considering the DAC is a major reason why I bought this phone instead of something else.
Edit: I forgot to ask, what software should I use to confirm what sort of bit rate depth the Axon 7 is outputting? I have a Sound Blaster ZxR for recording, so I can plug the A7 right into that.
I can't tell you how to test the depth of the audio coming from the cell. If you can't tell the difference is there any real point? It it just a matter of wanting the product you thought you were paying for?
For the other issue, a really simple thing you've probably done already is checking that ZTE's voice software isn't enabled for media control. An old S4 of mine would go "back" any time a sound remotely like a short "a" played.
PiArc said:
I can't tell you how to test the depth of the audio coming from the cell. If you can't tell the difference is there any real point? It it just a matter of wanting the product you thought you were paying for?
For the other issue, a really simple thing you've probably done already is checking that ZTE's voice software isn't enabled for media control. An old S4 of mine would go "back" any time a sound remotely like a short "a" played.
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I can tell a difference, on the default music player it sounds better, for example instruments sound more crisp and separated from the rest of the audio. The issue is that I can't tell if that perception of more crisp/separated sound is due to a slight difference of volume between programs which is difficult to perceive. Just to add to the confusion, different songs seem to have different volume levels on each player, which aren't consistent. For example song A may be louder on PowerAmp, but song B is louder on the stock player. In those cases where the songs are clearly different volumes (maybe 10% of the time) it makes it extremely difficult to tell which one sounds better to me. This is with all equalizer/Dolby settings disabled.
Humans easily mistake higher volume for "better" quality in various ways. That's really the reason for the "volume wars" or whatever it's called; music was often mastered with levels just blasting instead of balancing the audio properly.
What I was asking is what free program can I use to record audio from my phone to check if it's outputting 24 bit audio? But on that same note, yes, I suppose that would also let me directly measure volume as well.
As for the voice recognition, I'll try disabling that and see if it helps, but isn't that supposed to only work when holding down the back key anyway? Also, often when it did a random command like next or previous song, I was silent.
Ah, I see. Sorry to not be helpful whatsoever.
Hmm y somehow ZTE has volume differences. I also noticed it if i enable/disable Dolby Atmos.
But i also think that ZTE set up some DSP stuff on AK4490/61. I would be happy if there was an app which could change DSP etc settings of this DACs :/
I also noticed the fluctuating volume, for me it's via bluetooth.
It would progressively become quiet and when the next song starts it would scare the crap out of me (much louder), then repeat.
Rarely, it would continue to play randomly after I disconnect from bluetooth (not immediately after).
So it would be nice if someone found a good music player that takes advantage of the DACs and not exhibit random behavior -- alternatively if this was fixed that would also be good.
EDIT: For me, it happens in a certain volume range in the upper end. Anything lower or higher this does not happen.