Distortion at maximum volume. - ZTE Axon 7 Questions & Answers

Hello a7 users!
So the audio experience on this device is extraordinary. But unfortunately, I've been having some issues while listening to my music on auxiliary. There's ton of distortion when I go to max volume. This happens when using the included headphones, my jbl car stereo system, and my Bose quiet-comfort 25s when noise cancelling both on and off.
I'm not sure if this is a defect with my phone in particular or if it is an issue with others as well. It's not THAT big an issue, as I never go to max volume with headphones because I like my hearing, and in my car, I can just go one step down from max volume and control the audio level with my car's stereo.
I have the US variant in the sexy quartz grey.
I am thinking it might be my audio source might not be enough for the beast mode dac. I am using spotify [email protected] extreme quality and some WAV files I converted from youtube. (Which is probably not a good idea as it's not a true WAV.)
If anyone has suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

I believe this is normal behavior. My old HTC m9 did the same thing

gumbyx84 said:
I believe this is normal behavior. My old HTC m9 did the same thing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oooh, that's unfortunate! Thanks for your input. :laugh:

Related

Volume headphone jack.

Here's my issue, hooking up the phone thru the headphone jack to the aux of my benz the volume level is extremely low. I have the volume on phone all the way up. I have to turn it up extremely loud on the car volume to hear it. Is there like a child protection volume setting or? Didn't have this issue with the gnex
Thanks for any help...
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Hi,
This is the same for me Anyone got a solution?
Pandora is much quieter than Google Play if you're using one or the other. I find the volume on mine to be on par with my MP3 player so I am satisfied. If you haven't run an aux into your car before you may be just unaware of how 'loud' you have to make it. My car stereo has been to turned up to 45 to hear it while driving, but I listen to the FM radio on like 22.
Nothing much else I can say about this sorry.
You are correct. Its much much lower. My n4 on my car stereo is at like 30 compared to my wife's iPhone at 20. Through Bluetooth its a bit more normal.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
I actually find my N4's headphone jack to be a bit louder than my LG G2x's; I have to turn down the speakers from where I had been setting them. (Both require a higher volume than the radio or a CD, though.)
Yea I can't even listen to music without hearing other peoples conversation on the train, Stock Android Volume has always been Low what the heck is Google smoking , the iPhone has great volume levels, I know the N4 3.5mm jack is more than capable
Had the GSM Galaxy Nexus before the N4. In my car, the volume goes from 0-40, 40 being max. On my GN I had the volume from 15 to 25, with 25 being incredibly loud. Anything above that would probably make your ears bleed.
On my N4 with the volume all of the way up and the EQ off (loudest setting) I have to turn the volume up to 40 to hear it at all. I'd say my GN at this volume level would mean my car was on 10, whereas with my N4 is has to be at 40.
The volume is MASSIVELY lower - basically unusably so. I've warrantied out my current N4 in hopes that this is a hardware problem, but after seeing threads like this, I'm beginning to wonder if it's just ridiculously low on purpose.
I don't notice it on headphones/car aux in, I do notice it on a cheap set of external speakers...I haven't found a fix.
any of you tried the volume+ app from the store? I used it on my Sony xperia and it did the trick....
Sent from my cm_tenderloin using Tapatalk 2
Atrix27 said:
Here's my issue, hooking up the phone thru the headphone jack to the aux of my benz the volume level is extremely low. I have the volume on phone all the way up. I have to turn it up extremely loud on the car volume to hear it. Is there like a child protection volume setting or? Didn't have this issue with the gnex
Thanks for any help...
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem solved through Bluetooth Audio: http://www.amazon.com/GOgroove-BlueGate-Wireless-Bluetooth-Headphones/dp/B00727FE5U/
my headphone goes in crooked.
Yeah.
I tried my bluetooth adapter and, while it's slightly louder, it's still not really that loud. Why do manufacturers choose to make the volume out on phones SOOOO quiet?
Also, Bluetooth audio (A2DP) always sounds so bad to me. I'd much rather have a real, physical connection.
This just seems to be what you get with Android phones. They dont get it. At 100% volume it should be as loud as the radio or CD, except its like 30% lower. My iPod touch and regular ipod were just as loud as the radio and I didnt need to adjust the volume when switching between sources, on my Android stuff I have to crank the stereo volume to unsafe levels and then hope to god I remember to turn it down before switching to the radio. If Im riding on a loud road I have to turn the volume up to like 80% to hear it, that would blow out my speakers if I switched to radio at that volume.
Android makers simply dont understand that AUX needs a pure audio signal at native db, they design the phones for headphone use and have probably never even heard of AUX.
qwahchees said:
my headphone goes in crooked.
Yeah.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol mine is crooked too. I'll get used to it I guess
I'm having the same issue and its driving me crazy! I read somewhere to try "Volume+" but apparently its not compatible with Jelly Bean...
Low earphone volume - Solved !
My friend who is an audio engineer, measured the audio output from nexus 4.
This is what he recommended.
Use a earphone with 16 ohm impedence. (Most commercial phones are 30 ohm).
The sensitivity of the earphone must be 108 dB/mW or higher. Higher the better.
Sensitivity measures the efficiency of conversion of electrical enery into sound.
Based on this, I bought a JVC HA-F150-B. Now audio volume is practically doubled.
You can buy one at ebay for cheap prices.
i have the same problem hooking up my nexus to my car stereo through aux. at first i thought it was just the songza app, but i had no issues with it on my gnex. its to the point where its so low i had to crank my volume on phone and car stereo all the way up and it was still not even as loud as say a cd at half the volume. tried volume + which i was using on my gnex but it doesnt seem to work with my nexus 4. its so annoying .
I bought a Fiio E6 headphone amplifier and called it a day. Problem solved for me at least.
It's not a problem with the phone, it's a problem with the car receiver expecting higher voltage.
Go through the receiver manual and find out if there is a way to adjust the input voltage.
Bump.
I'm facing exactly the same. I'm coming from a cheap Huawei phone that sufferered the same problem (extremely low output, though not as clean) but before that I was using a tiny Samsung Galaxy 5 which cost £30 new and had PERFECT audio/levels on all roms.
I do most of my listening via Tunein which doesn't have any kind of built in amp which can help. I have to crank the volume to max (50 on my Blaupunkt unit) to hear it at an acceptable level, and often that isn't enough. I use radio traffic reports but god help me and the cars around me if they come in while the N4 is hooked up, it'd be deafening!
Surely this can be fixed? I understand the need for safe volumes but there's nothing safe about having to crank everything to max only to have your eardrums popped when you go to listen to the radio.
Very frustrating!!

Sound quality through headphones

It is noticed that while listening through headphones that the sound is being affected by some sort of 3D/spacial/EQ process that might give the impression of "punch" for movies but at the expense of phase-y sounding vocals and smeared high notes for music.
Yikes. Thst stuff is not good for music quality. No way to turn off? The settings options seems kind of scarce.
After playing around with various music players and headphones it seems that the audio is now OK.
Not sure what happened. It may have been a headphone jack issue. Audio sounds great now.
Oooops!
There is an issue with sound quality. Compared it to a Rockbox'ed Sandisk Clip Zip with a very wide stereo track 2-channel stereo track (fyi -- Brook Benton's "Kiddio" 1960). There is some EQ bast boost and high frequency crossfeed that narrows the stereo separation. I'm going to boot from CM and see if the problem persists.
For video I would not notice the issue, but could get to me listening to music with my Klipsch S4 buds.
Update:
It is not bad. Seems part of the issue is low gain which can be increased with Volume+ or other similar app function.
Volume+ did the trick for me. Jamming to some Coheed at the moment. Sounds as good as my other tablets now
The problem was never with volume -- I think stock has plenty of volume for driving Audio Technica ATH-900x. The problem is with some sort of audio processing that affects the soundstage and frequency response.
I am not hearing it using the Google player app. Gain is not the same as volume. Both need to correlate or weak quality.
SRS processing is used and applied at the headphone output. See HD+ file \system\etc\srs_processing.cfg
This is what I use, have my settings set to Jazz "my preference", audio sounds great, not talking about low resolution MP3's.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smartandroidapps.equalizer
TonyBigs said:
SRS processing is used and applied at the headphone output. See HD+ file \system\etc\srs_processing.cfg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand the config issue, but I am not hearing it. I should hear the sound manipulation with cymbal decay as example, but not hearing it. Weird.
Playback in CM 10.1 has the correct stereo image.
so am I
so am I ,after checking

Low AUX Volume (ZE551KL)

I don't know if anyone else has experienced this, but the volume output from the 3.5mm headphone jack is much lower for me than any other phone I've owned. With the volume maxed out, I have to almost crank my car audio volume all the way up to hear songs, and in general, I need to have it at least twice as high as I did with my Galaxy S3 or Droid 4.
I've tried a few volume boosting apps in the Play Store, but none of them made a significant difference. I've also tried messing with every setting in the Audio Manager App, which can make it slightly louder, but also distorts the audio (crackling noises).
I've read that rooting and using a root-specific app of some kind may help the issue, but I don't believe rooting is an option for the ZE551KL yet.
Anyone know a solution that will work?
With earphones working good?
pedrazadixon said:
With earphones working good?
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Click to collapse
It is less noticeable with headphones, but I haven't used them for an extended period of time. I thought maybe it was my AUX cable, but its the same one I used with my older phones and had no issues.
Sent from my ASUS_Z00TD using Tapatalk

anyone else find Bluetooth audio streaming quality not good?

OK I finally gave in my note 7 after I broke it today..And I am really trying to love this phone. Samsung's aren't perfect, but one thing they do well is stream clean music with *slightly* pushed bass. This works amazing in my car especially because I have a added subwoofer in my car.
I was really looking forward to the increased audio quality everyone says this phone has, but in my experience thus far, I am finding it incredibly lacking! Is it because I am not using the auxillary port?
In my car over Bluetooth the music streamed from it sounds okay except for there seems to be a huge lack of bass. I try to compensate by cranking the bass some on the radio, however it just sounds muddy. Not clean and powerful without being too powerful like the Samsung's.
Has anyone else experienced this, and short of rooting have you found any remedy? The part that sucks is the majority of the music I listen to comes from Spotify, and Spotify doesn't connect with any equalizers you can download. Only the phones operation system equalizer. Someone please chime in
Yea weak sound quality with Bluetooth
But when connected with 3.5 cable the quality is outstanding with the hi dac
Damn that sucks. I haven't used a headphone jack in damn near 3 years.
rowihel2012 said:
Yea weak sound quality with Bluetooth
But when connected with 3.5 cable the quality is outstanding with the hi dac
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Click to collapse
Are you rooted by any chance?
The amazing sound quality you're hearing about is from the wired connection. Once you hand off to BT, it's pretty much up to the device you're sending it to.
CHH2 said:
The amazing sound quality you're hearing about is from the wired connection. Once you hand off to BT, it's pretty much up to the device you're sending it to.
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Click to collapse
Well that's not true. You can play multiple Bluetooth devices and there is differences in sound. A iPhone, and galaxy, and this phone all sound different in my car stereo system and on my reciever in the house. Clearly 3 different sound profiles
Lg v20 is AptX/AptX Hd compatible. You should look for bluetooth IEM/Headphones/Speakers with those features and then you will get optimal quality sound for bluetooth. Personally have the LG tone platinum's with AptX HD and its the best audio experience I've from bluetooth earphones.
Success100 said:
Are you rooted by any chance?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea and
Has weta rom
Sounds great in my car, Powerbeats wireless and Samsung level pro speakers. Nothing wrong with Bluetooth over here.
Sent from my LG-H915 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Sounds amazing on my Harmon Kardon Onyx Studio and my Tones infinims.
This sounds great over Bluetooth with aptx. I have a a car stereo with aptx and it makes a difference. I was running viper on my old S4 before and I am pleased enough that I haven't even rooted to install viper yet. S4 sounded like crap over Bluetooth until I found viper with the appropriate convolver.
rowihel2012 said:
Yea and
Has weta rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weta included Dolby Atmos in his rom. Have you tried that with bluetooth?
I hear a big difference with it set to music and intelligent equalizer to open.
Lots of bass on my lg headphones.
androiddiego said:
Weta included Dolby Atmos in his rom. Have you tried that with bluetooth?
I hear a big difference with it set to music and intelligent equalizer to open.
Lots of bass on my lg headphones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea fantastic rom with fantastic audio mods
---------- Post added at 10:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:50 PM ----------
But i love Hi Fi dac sound
You shouldn't have to root at all.
Try this app for play store
Equalizer FX
But in short no phone uses DAC once Bluetooth is connected. The only thing that may make your old phone any different is its Bass settings.
shwnr11 said:
You shouldn't have to root at all.
Try this app for play store
Equalizer FX
But in short no phone uses DAC once Bluetooth is connected. The only thing that may make your old phone any different is its Bass settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it work for Spotify?
Success100 said:
Does it work for Spotify?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its a free app and runs in the background.
It appears to detect any media playing thru the phone.
I haven't tried it with Spotify, but my guess would be yes.
As I haven't found an app it hasn't worked with yet.
I've used it with Napster, Pandora, Slacker, You tube, web browser, lg player, and a few other things. And have been able to adjust the EQ settings every time.
Only glitch I have ran across is sometimes it doesn't start up or was killed off by the OS while not being used. So I have to open up the app once in a while and toggle it on and off to activate it again. But once that's done it usually stays on and continues to function until I stop playing media and stop using it for a period of time.
Success100 said:
Does it work for Spotify?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just installed it myself and yes it does.
Keep in mind though these apps can only do so much with whatever hardware you're using.
Would be bad ass of the DAC could work with Bluetooth but unfortunately that's literally impossible since a DAC requires a wired source.
Sent from my LG-H918 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
evo4g63t said:
I just installed it myself and yes it does.
Keep in mind though these apps can only do so much with whatever hardware you're using.
Would be bad ass of the DAC could work with Bluetooth but unfortunately that's literally impossible since a DAC requires a wired source.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downloaded it and yes it does help even with Spotify thank you very much. It helps some. I'm now getting the infamous static over Bluetooth.
I actually asked my dude to come over who has 2016 dodge charger (I have a 2013 300) because I was starting to think maybe I'm just tripping. I hooked my phone up in his car via Bluetooth and played a song by Migos (lol horrible artists but they have a lot of dynamic beats) I first played it on my phone with the said app running In the background. First thing he said is "why it sound like that?" I told him wait until we listen to the whole song. We then had him hook up his s7 edge via Bluetooth and there is a CLEAR difference. Much higher *quality* bass. Much more "fuller" highs. Not that the V20 does not get loud...That's not the case. The V20 will get loud but sounds like crap...
So to play devil's advocate. I pull out his aux cord from his center console and made sure I turned DAC on and played the same song. Yes. DAC does help with the quality especially when playing 320kbps music. It sounds great. Yet still, I still find the lows sloppy, muddy, and just not quality in my opinion. I expected alot more out of this phone audio wise, and call me crazy, I am extremely let down as I find the Samsung's have a much more natural, full, sound profile. Maybe I just prefer the Samsung audio profile vs LG's implementation. I know when it comes to clean low end bass, Samsung's have a clear advantage. Even with Bluetooth headphones.
I am going to continue messing with the equalizer app I downloaded and hope to find that great balance I am looking for. I may ultimately end up returning the phone. Seems fickle, but having to do all of this and use antiquated aux cords and rooting etc just to get the sound I want is overkill to me especially when there are no promos thru T-Mobile for this phone right now..
Rant end.
Try out Napster.
They have a built-in equalizer unlike Spotify.
And their built-in equalizer is a little better than the stand alone equalizer I mentioned earlier.
Just make sure your not running both equalizers at the same time. Also make sure that the phones volume is turned down to start off with, than increase once music is playing.
The phones output thru auxiliary seems to be a little higher than most head units can handle, when the volume is max out on the phone.
I also have a second device called sound shocker. It allows me to keep the phones volume low, but maximize the quality of the music and have high volume output from the head unit.
Go check it out at sound shocker.com
Also being on T-Mobile, dont forget you have the Hi-Fi settings. Adjusting the dB in the settings will also have great effect when playing thru auxiliary chord.
Oh....one more thing.... Under the accessibility settings under hearing, make sure you have stereo turned on or off to suit your preference.

Did they lower the headphone volume on latest update?

I feel my headphones sound significantly lower on latest January update.
Did anyone else notice this? Did they do it to deal with the "hissing" issue some people had?
gordito_gr said:
I feel my headphones sound significantly lower on latest January update.
Did anyone else notice this? Did they do it to deal with the "hissing" issue some people had?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So are the hissing issue gone?
soralz said:
So are the hissing issue gone?
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Click to collapse
I'm on the latest build. The hissing is for me gone (or so quiet I don't here it anymore. At about volume 1 or 2 you maybe be able to here some. But like I said, to quiet to notice and only when you play something without sound ) I think it got quiter, but still damn loud on max. I love it.
Petty Palkovics said:
I think it got quiter, but still damn loud on max. I love it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course it's not "damn loud" anymore, it's significantly lower and not enough loud.
Does anyone know a way to being back the old audio output on headphones?
gordito_gr said:
Of course it's not "damn loud" anymore, it's significantly lower and not enough loud.
Does anyone know a way to being back the old audio output on headphones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe the build in equalizer could help you? You can easily access it through google play music settings..
Maybe its your phone? Or your headphones? When I'm on max I can literally use my headphones as speakers...
There is a new headphones audio menu with Oreo.
Configuration > Sound > headphones and audio effects.
There are some headphone presets, some are louder than others.
jonpagecr said:
There is a new headphones audio menu with Oreo.
Configuration > Sound > headphones and audio effects.
There are some headphone presets, some are louder than others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe that to. Personally I didn't notice a big difference change those settings. It could also be your music player. SoundCloud for example can't be equalized through normal ways.
Hissing is still there, maybe a tiny bit lower. Max volume is still "damn loud", my max comfortable listening level (without ear bleeding) is not more than 50%. I often listen at volume 1 or 2 (out of 30).
Both earphone volume and loud speaker volume have been reduced for me.
Prabin813 said:
Both earphone volume and loud speaker volume have been reduced for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, personally, I think that the speaker sucks, quiet or loud. I never use it. I really bought the phone for its "rare" headphone jack, which since the latest update is wonderful. Maybe headphone hisses a little bit, maybe they cancelled the Oreo update ( I believe) and maybe the speaker are horrible. But it's the best you can get with almost fully stock Android and a headphone jack.
Yes I wrote to much
Yes, I noticed this too...
I noticed this too as the volume that I used to play music at (about 60%) with my headphones was MUCH to soft after the update! Something definitely lowered the volume, though it SEEMS that it is more on headphones than the speaker. I have to go to max when on headphones to listen to music now. I say 'seems' because I don't use the speaker for much more than phone calls, and while it is quieter, it is not so quiet you cannot hear the conversation. It would be nice if there was a way to get the volume back, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
KB_Thailand said:
I noticed this too as the volume that I used to play music at (about 60%) with my headphones was MUCH to soft after the update! Something definitely lowered the volume, though it SEEMS that it is more on headphones than the speaker. I have to go to max when on headphones to listen to music now. I say 'seems' because I don't use the speaker for much more than phone calls, and while it is quieter, it is not so quiet you cannot hear the conversation. It would be nice if there was a way to get the volume back, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Volume at max? Wow, what headphones do you use?
_mysiak_ said:
Volume at max? Wow, what headphones do you use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Xiaomi Mi In-Ear Headphones Pro HD that I got a deal on when I bought the A1. They are ok... not great, but ok for what I paid for them.
I've tried multiple headphones since the update, and the volume issue is true across the board with anything plugged into the headphone jack. I have NOT tried bluetooth headphones as I don't keep bluetooth enabled.
My wife's red A1, which is still on Nougat, is much louder than my A1 on Oreo, update 1. (still haven't gotten the latest one)
--KB
maybe they lowered to power of the DAC because everyone was moaning about a tiny hissing noise, the only way to stop it is to buy more powerful headphone or lower the DAC, now its quieter we cant have it both ways guys
KB_Thailand said:
Xiaomi Mi In-Ear Headphones Pro HD that I got a deal on when I bought the A1. They are ok... not great, but ok for what I paid for them.
I've tried multiple headphones since the update, and the volume issue is true across the board with anything plugged into the headphone jack. I have NOT tried bluetooth headphones as I don't keep bluetooth enabled.
My wife's red A1, which is still on Nougat, is much louder than my A1 on Oreo, update 1. (still haven't gotten the latest one)
--KB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly can't imagine listening to any of my IEMs at max volume. I can't get comfortably over 50% while commuting (bus, train etc). In quiet environment my volume's somewhere between ~3% and 16%. I would accept further lowering of overall volume to remove the hissing noise in a blink of an eye (and hopefully I'll be able to do that with custom kernel)
_mysiak_ said:
I honestly can't imagine listening to any of my IEMs at max volume. I can't get comfortably over 50% while commuting (bus, train etc). In quiet environment my volume's somewhere between ~3% and 16%. I would accept further lowering of overall volume to remove the hissing noise in a blink of an eye (and hopefully I'll be able to do that with custom kernel)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never noticed the hissing noise people talk about so much, but then, my ears are old so it may be that. Before the Oreo update, a tick over half was plenty loud. After, I had to raise it, a lot. Some songs require max, while most are ok at around 85-90%. So yeah, there was a huge reduction in sound volume on my phone with the update. At least, I THINK it was the update. I installed a Sony app to record sound. I've only owned one Sony phone, an Experia 3Z. The sound on that phone was horrible. Even at max volume, you could not hear it ring if it was in your pocket, and music was always not loud enough on headphones. I may uninstall that app and see if the volume level returns just to be sure it wasn't the app and not the update, but doubt the app would affect the whole system.
I feel that too that they reduced the volume for the audio out put via 3.5 mm jack.
I got update today, and can't really tell if there is any difference in volume. I still use no more than 30-40% of volume (my head would explode with MAX), and there is still some hissing.
This applies to Oreo patch 1. Patch 2 arrived today but I have not installed it yet.:
I am not sure what I did (or what I did that made the difference) but I deleted the Sony app, then went into the settings on my music app and did some tweaking on the modes there, and the volume is now louder than it was. I can set the volume to about 55-60% now and it is loud enough. A few songs in my library still need higher settings, but I am assuming that is because they are pretty old, converted to .mp3 files from CD's (remember those?) way back in the late 1990s/early 2000s.
Bottom line: I am not sure that the update really hurt sound volume. It could have been a combo of app differences with the update. Still no hissing that I can hear.
Regards,
--KB
EDIT: I just did the new Oreo update (89MB) and the sound was different again. I went into my music app and changed the EQ to Flat and the sound was much better. I did not hear any hissing, even with classical music, but again, old ears may be the issue there.

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