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Improve outgoing sound quality in calls?

The out-going sound quality from Galaxy S during calls is bad:
- very little comfort noise (line sounds 'dead')
- overly tight noise filter that cuts of aspiration in certain natural speech sounds, making words cut off
- boxy, almost cardboard box type effect
- very high distortion
All this with the internal mic in a silent environment (no wind, noise), in a perfect network condition and in 3G or 2G.
Has anybody found a fix for this?
Upgrading the ROM up to XWJM5 (XXJM3 baseband) has not changed the sound quality at all.

I surely cannot be the only one who has noticed this?
Has any brave service menu tweaker found settings that relate to the microphones and/or noise-gates?

The only time that I get any sound distortion is when I make a call in less that ideal signal conditions. When I make calls and am in a a 4 bar signal region, the sound is as clear as a bell.

It's become clear that the microphone/drivers/implementation has some issues with distortion. Here's a thread about it, but no one has succeeded in fixing it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=721069

Hay Vasra. I just noticed your post today. I am having the exact same issues and am awaiting a replacement (they are all sold out) It is indeed extremely horrible for myself and my GF. I was thinking it was an isolated problem. I spent a lot of time searching for other people with the same problem, but have only found yours. Here is a link to the post i made this morning, i described it quite a bit different, but seems identical to what your saying.. just a lil more technical.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=776096
I'll be keeping a close eye on this thread and the thread that was posted in the 3Rd reply.

Thanks for the updates.
I originally thought that the video recording's sound quality was down to bad codec and auto-gain settings.
However, it could be that this is (also) a driver level issue that affects both video recordings AND speech calls (outgoing sound quality).

Or it could be that samsung put a cheap mic in the phone I was talking to my barber who just got his vibrant and he sounded like a tin can or on a cheap phone. This is said. ..gonna get my galaxy s on Wednesday and now I feel like cancelling my order.

Well. I finally got my replacement. The sound quality is 110% better. Even the gps is working perfect. The sales guy said that nearly every one of the units from the first batch were returned as defective. The 3 button recovery and download is even working on both of the replacement units. Finally! I'm now very very happy with my new galaxy!
Sent from my GT-I9000M using XDA App

Grashoper said:
Well. I finally got my replacement. The sound quality is 110% better. Even the gps is working perfect. The sales guy said that nearly every one of the units from the first batch were returned as defective. The 3 button recovery and download is even working on both of the replacement units. Finally! I'm now very very happy with my new galaxy!
Sent from my GT-I9000M using XDA App
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Very good to hear about your new unit being improved.
I think it's time to take mine back to the shop as well.

Sound problem on video recording ?

Hi friends. I noticed something today. I record a video in a silent room, just me and my wife. After recording I started to watch and noticed that there is no sound until one of us speaks. There is a sound cut in the video. No background sounds until someone speaks and when someone speaks I can hear all the voices. What can cause this problem? I tried it with lenovo super camera app, stock camera app and moded camera app and all of them has the problem. I tried it with my friends G2 and the result is same. No sound until someone speaks. BUt it is normal when the tv was open or there are much peaople talking in the place. Anyone noticed something like that?

It sounds like noise suppression is working to me.. compared to my One, I think it's great. I have 2 toddlers and this phone does a great job at blocking background noise during conversation.
Sent from my LG-D800 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

same problem here with the sound on video recorded.Mybe someone will find a solution for this issue.

yes I too have same problem. The sound keeps cutting in and out whenever there is no talking or loud noises going on. The mic picks up sounds great, especially voices. But ambient sounds are very hard to hear with all the sound cut outs and background noises. Maybe just some faulty units, or something that needs to be addressed in a future update just like on the Moto x.

Nexus 5 has same issues, read a long thread about it this morning. I have the same problem when recording audio, almost like an underwater sounding effect. I think it has to do with the LG noise cancellation algorithm. Not sure of a fix, only thing I don't like about the G2 so far. On the Nexus 5 some folks adjusted the build.prop to turn off noise cancellation if they were rooted and it seemed to work. Not sure how to do that though.
Sent from my Verizon LG G2 VS980 using Tapatalk 4

Galaxy S5 call quality / loudness? Awful or okay?

I might make a move for the Galaxy S5 when the GPE is out, but I have a query to the current users, how is the call quality on the S5? I have read GSMA's review and they mentioned that it's 4 dB lower than on the S4, 4 dB is a lot, but is the earpiece volume that low? On a noisy street do you guys able to hear the caller? Or you have move to a quieter place to be able to hear? And what about speakerphone, I have read that when you enable speakerphone the sound become muddled, and both party can't make out each other!
This query is specifically for people who have to deal with plethora of crowds on street, where it's noisy almost always, not particularly for people who talks under a calm and silent environment.
I am Moto X user at the moment and call quality is brilliant on this one, and I am not expecting the same from S5, but it hurts to see that it's actually been downgraded from S4!
Thanks in advance.

devilsdouble said:
4 dB is a lot, but is the earpiece volume that low? On a noisy street do you guys able to hear the caller? Or you have move to a quieter place to be able to hear? And what about speakerphone, I have read that when you enable speakerphone the sound become muddled, and both party can't make out each other!
This query is specifically for people who have to deal with plethora of crowds on street, where it's noisy almost always, not particularly for people who talks under a calm and silent environment.
I am Moto X user at the moment and call quality is brilliant on this one, and I am not expecting the same from S5, but it hurts to see that it's actually been downgraded from S4!
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4 db is not a lot. 3 db is the smallest change that most people can detect. For comparison, if you were to stand 4 feet away from a person that you are talking to instead of 2 feet, that would probably be a 6 db difference. It's not a linear scale and you need a ten fold reduction in power to perceive a 50% decrease in volume (10 db).
The earpiece volume on the S5 is not at all low by any reasonable standard. And even if you disageed, there are readily available mods to increase the volume. Motorola is known for ear splitting volume levels, something difficult to characterize as "brilliant" if you value your hearing at all. Excessive loudness is known to cause permanent hearing damage.
I've used the S4 and S5 and don't find the S5 inferior in any sense. Noisy streets are a challenge with any phone and a better solution is to use a noise isolating and canceling headset. Speaker phones - all speaker phones for time immemorial have been notably bad experiences. No different here.
In short, the voice quality and loudness are good, the external speaker tinny and it remains a mystery why some brilliant folk insist on annoying everyone around them by using the speaker phone mode while walking down the sidewalk.
.

I value hearing a lot, in fact more than anything, that's why I have never listened to music above 50/60% of total volume while all others keep cranking the volume up. That's completely irrelevant for earpiece volume though, however loud the earpiece goes I don't think there is any possible way to damage your hearings from a person's voice!! Maybe if a cat starts to sing on the other end you might have problem, but it's impossible with normal human beings! Having a loud earpiece is always good. What you said is applicable for music listening via IEM. Motorola's earpiece volume is brilliant, that's why I mentioned it as brilliant.
Anyway, thanks for the input. Nice to know that you don't find the S5 inferior to S4, and that there are some mods as well. However I think those mods will distort the earpiece sound to some extent, still they are available, and that's a good news.
Speakerphone is a thing I have never used for ringtone or listening to music, it's only for phone calls and that was the point of my query. I hate those persons who use the speakerphone on streets too. Pocketnow's review mentioned that on noisy streets you won't be able to hear the caller if you turn the speakerphone on, and the caller won't be able to hear you as well, and that scared me, still kinda does.
Seems like I might not have any serious problems regarding phone calls if I get the S5.
fffft said:
4 db is not a lot. 3 db is the smallest change that most people can detect. For comparison, if you were to stand 4 feet away from a person that you are talking to instead of 2 feet, that would probably be a 6 db difference. It's not a linear scale and you need a ten fold reduction in power to perceive a 50% decrease in volume (10 db).
The earpiece volume on the S5 is not at all low by any reasonable standard. And even if you disageed, there are readily available mods to increase the volume. Motorola is known for ear splitting volume levels, something difficult to characterize as "brilliant" if you value your hearing at all. Excessive loudness is known to cause permanent hearing damage.
I've used the S4 and S5 and don't find the S5 inferior in any sense. Noisy streets are a challenge with any phone and a better solution is to use a noise isolating and canceling headset. Speaker phones - all speaker phones for time immemorial have been notably bad experiences. No different here.
In short, the voice quality and loudness are good, the external speaker tinny and it remains a mystery why some brilliant folk insist on annoying everyone around them by using the speaker phone mode while walking down the sidewalk.
.
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I find the in call volume and quality on S5 to be excellent. I come from a Sony Z2 (exchanged for S5 with someone) and first thing I noticed when I bought the Z2 was the awful call quality and very low volume (during a call). I was used with my old S2 which was crystal clear and I was disappointed with Z2.
PS: S5 has a boost volume mode during a call.
Sent from my Galaxy S5 using Tapatalk.

raducanmihai said:
I find the in call volume and quality on S5 to be excellent. I come from a Sony Z2 (exchanged for S5 with someone) and first thing I noticed when I bought the Z2 was the awful call quality and very low volume (during a call). I was used with my old S2 which was crystal clear and I was disappointed with Z2.
PS: S5 has a boost volume mode during a call.
Sent from my Galaxy S5 using Tapatalk.
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Thanks for a constructive and succinct response and for staying on the point, appreciate it.

Audio reproduction quality

Hi guys,
i need your opinion concerning the call quality . I have read on Android Authority Blog that the tester was not delighted by the audio feature of the Mi Mix .
He write : " Speaking of calls, there is really no other way to put it – the ceramic vibration that replaces the phone speaker is just not a good alternative. Not only because of the nature having just one piece of vibrating material, but also because it is tucked below the layer of screen and ceramic.
There is simply not enough sound emitting from the top of the phone to make calls comfortable to listen to, much less in loud environments. I moved the phone around a lot because I thought I was just landing it improperly on my ear, but it was just not loud enough for my calls" .
What's your opinion ?
Regards.

I've not really had any problem with it, it's initially quiet but if you turn up the volume it's fine. The phone can even be heard when not to your ear.

paulrgod said:
I've not really had any problem with it, it's initially quiet but if you turn up the volume it's fine. The phone can even be heard when not to your ear.
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Yeap, I've no issues with sound so far when it comes to calls.
Music audio is pretty good too. While I'm no audiophile, it does should better than my Note 5 and Lenovo Phab 2 Pro (returned in less than a week of ownage).

I find it totally satisfactory. For sure, it is not as clear as a dedicated loudspeaker but I have had no problems hearing calls. I actually enjoy the novelty of hearing sound come out of the frame and appreciate the technology involved.

Call audio is fine.
The difference is the direction of the audio, it's not as direct to the ear as a conventional phone speaker. Not any worse or better, just different.
As mentioned here, just bump up the volume if needed & you'll be fine.
If call privacy is often a concern in an otherwise extremely quiet environment, a Bluetooth may be in order. In most other scenarios, I'd say it's a non-issue.
It works well for me & I'll take this design w/the added benefit of more display real estate every time.
Sent from my T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 4 using XDA Labs

Ok Thanks guys ...

My call volume is low since start even after upping the volume.is thee anything i can do? No warranty in uae

gauravsuneja said:
My call volume is low since start even after upping the volume.is thee anything i can do? No warranty in uae
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is there any mixer file one can modify? (would need root I guess)
(I do not own this device)

Someone mentioned to install Viper4Android if you have root to boost the sound level.

Poor sound quality

Just got my 6gb Variant today in grey colour, the screen is a bit too warm for my taste and turning it cooler makes it look ugly, also I think brightness is not as good as note 5 pro. it has purer whites and gets way too brighter than this phone. But I guess I can live with it given stock android is way better than ****ty miui. What is bothering me is poor audio quality in headphones and over Bluetooth too. I'm coming from iPhone and redmi note 3 and comparatively, they both get very loud than this also sound quality is superior to this phone.. I can live with other shortcomings like the poor camera (hopefully gcam will fix most of the issues there) and warmer screen but the sound quality is very important. Is there a way to fix this? or I'll have to learn to live with it :\

Root and instal v4a.
PS: For me sound quality is good even though its not loud but enough for my tastes.

arvinchugh said:
Just got my 6gb Variant today in grey colour, the screen is a bit too warm for my taste and turning it cooler makes it look ugly, also I think brightness is not as good as note 5 pro. it has purer whites and gets way too brighter than this phone. But I guess I can live with it given stock android is way better than ****ty miui. What is bothering me is poor audio quality in headphones and over Bluetooth too. I'm coming from iPhone and redmi note 3 and comparatively, they both get very loud than this also sound quality is superior to this phone.. I can live with other shortcomings like the poor camera (hopefully gcam will fix most of the issues there) and warmer screen but the sound quality is very important. Is there a way to fix this? or I'll have to learn to live with it :\
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Me too brought the 6gb variant and flashed RR Rom. me also facing the same issue the call quality. The person at the other end of phone cant hear my voice clearly. This happens three or four times in a five minute call.
are you facing the same problem? I thought coming back to stock Rom will fix this..:crying:

GryTEcHoG said:
Root and instal v4a.
PS: For me sound quality is good even though its not loud but enough for my tastes.
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Thanks will try it
majiglobal said:
Me too brought the 6gb variant and flashed RR Rom. me also facing the same issue the call quality. The person at the other end of phone cant hear my voice clearly. This happens three or four times in a five minute call.
are you facing the same problem? I thought coming back to stock Rom will fix this..:crying:
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I was so busy unlocking bootloader and rooting I forgot to check the main function of it lol just tried calling and it works perfectly on my phone. I would not install any roms on this phone, buying a phone with stock android was to avoid flashing roms, as almost all roms have some issues. I'm just going to use stock firmware with root, adblocker and gcam and that's about it. I want stability more than the features. try going back to stock android with a locked bootloader and all. if that still doesn't fix it, get a replacement from Flipkart maybe there is a hardware issue with your device. The only sound issue I've is, it is not as loud as iPhone or my Redmi Note 3 but rest seems to be in order. Hope this helps. Cheers.

arvinchugh said:
What is bothering me is poor audio quality in headphones and over Bluetooth too. \
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I faced the same issue, the audio volume and quality was low on bluetooth (Headset/Car Audio). Flashed Firehound and that problem is resolved, though the sound is still a bit bright for my taste.

majiglobal said:
Me too brought the 6gb variant and flashed RR Rom. me also facing the same issue the call quality. The person at the other end of phone cant hear my voice clearly. This happens three or four times in a five minute call.
are you facing the same problem? I thought coming back to stock Rom will fix this..:crying:
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I am also facing the same bad call quality and low bluetooth audio.

paradise220 said:
I am also facing the same bad call quality and low bluetooth audio.
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Your rom and kernal please

majiglobal said:
Your rom and kernal please
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Fully stock with latest update.

Try this for wired headsets
https://forum.xda-developers.com/as...rease-audio-quality-earphonepoweramp-t3822791

paradise220 said:
Fully stock with latest update.
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I am using RR ROM since I got this device.
Didn't check call quality for bluetooth issue in stock ROM.
I did my research and found out that call quality may get better after 3 or 4 days in stock.
Don't know about custom ROMs though.
I am going back to stock after couple of hours.
Let me check and confirm the bug.