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Level 1

65 points

iPod Photo: Poor Sound Quality - Updates

As most of us who have bought the iPod Photo already know, the sound quality IS FLAWED. The distorsion (or background crackling) of high frequency/high output sound (such as piano, high output electric guitar & some deep bass output - however the vocals seem to be fine) is there and something needs to be done about it. Some good examples of where this kind of problem occurs, from what I have found are: Radiohead (most of the OK Computer album), The Hives (the iPod Photo cannot seem to cope with their loud distorted guitar style & very high output), and Incubus (a lot of Morning View). Some people who are still using the tinny, lacklustre stock earbuds, or just don't listen to their music carefully enough, or listen niavely, may still not recognise this.

I refuse to let this issue drop, as I have spent good money on what should be, a technically flawless sound player. I do like this player though (mine is 60GB). The features are good, the photo element is excellent, the 60GB storage is unrivalled, but the main function of the player, to play music, is not good for this one issue. It is so disappointing considering Apple have obviously overlooked this issue (or simply let it slip by thinking nobody would notice), for what is otherwise an excellent piece of equipment.

I record all my music on iTunes, using the MP3 encoder. Some people think the MP3 encoder in iTunes is poor, but it is as good as most. It is all ripped at 224kbps VBR. I use Shure E2c earphones, which are also excellent, and by far the best value for money if you're looking for a warm tone & deep bass in your sound. The step up in price to the Shure E3c might be worth it if you prefer a more detailed, but possibly colder sound.

All that considered, there is absolutely no reason why the sound should be poor on my iPod Photo (when it is fine on the iPod Mini, and using Audio software on my PC), apart from there being a hardware/software glitch. There simply must be. Either that, or something in the sound has been compromised to accomodate the photo elements or colour screen.

I have sent an e-mail to Apple regarding all this, and will hopefully hear from them soon about what is going to be done to resolve this. I will keep this post updated as and when I hear news from them. I also have a case number in motion with their customer services department, and they cannot ignore this anymore.

Something must be done! Redeem yourselves, Apple!

Posted on Apr 10, 2005 10:29 PM

348 replies

Joephus

Level 1

9 points

Apr 13, 2005 7:31 PM in response to Johnny Wood

Well done Johnny on the good quality discussion you have going on about the sound quality the iPod photo. It has been most helpful. As you said:

Come on Apple, tell us what is the deal with the Ipod photo sound. We want to buy more but only when we are sure there is not a sound problem.(Hoping someone from Apple is monitoring this discussion)

Apr 13, 2005 9:11 PM in response to Johnny Wood

Thanks for the post Johnny. You're 100% correct. For those who aren't convinced, try playing some jazz music or piano music on both the Photo and a Mini and compare the quality and the difference is unmistakable. I'm completely shocked that Apple would've let this slide.

I've heard this has to do with the fact that the headphone jack also serves as a video out. To accomodate this, they had to make compromises in sound quality. To me, it was completely unacceptable so I returned mine and got my money back. I'm amazed that Apple would have put a product out that is this flawed. They need to get their act together.

Johnny Wood Author

Level 1

65 points

Apr 14, 2005 12:27 AM in response to Johnny Wood

I'm very glad this issue is starting to make consumers speak up. It's totally unfair & I'm not going to drop the issue until I have an iPp that functions how it should. It seems that unless they do something about it quickly, then this news will soon spread, and bad press will only make people look towards the competition (which is growing in numbers & quality fast!). The more people who speak up, the quicker they will have to respond. Simple as that.

Thanks to everyone so far who have expressed their opinions. I will keep the post updated with regards to Apple's response. Cheers everyone.

Apr 14, 2005 7:43 AM in response to Johnny Wood

My iPod photo sound awesome. I never had a problem with how it sounds. To make it sound better:

1. Open iTunes
2. Right click; (for windows only)
3. Get Info
4. On top of the window that opens, click on Options
5. Under Equalizer Preset, make it Rock.

I found that if you don't use the equalizer on your iPod, it doesn't sound that clear, and it sounds distorted because of all the treble. I hope this works!

Brian

Apr 14, 2005 9:40 AM in response to Brian A. Smith

Brian,

Where do you right click to change this setting. I know I can right click one by one on each song and change this setting but I am not going to do that one by one. Is there a better way to do it for all songs?

Please let us know. Thanks.

Apr 14, 2005 11:15 AM in response to Johnny Wood

Well I only know how to do this with a Windows PC.

1If you want to change this setting on all of the songs in your library just:

1. Open iTunes.
2. Go to your library, and hold these "CTRL" and "A" on the keyboard together.
3. Everything in your library should be highlighted in blue.
4. Right click on any song and go to "Get Info".
5. Click on "Options" on top.
6. Change the Equalizer Preset to Rock.

P.S. If you notice, there are a lot of selections to choose from when you want to change the equalizer preset. I just think that "Rock" sounds better. It's your choice! 😉

Brian

Jun 12

Level 1

45 points

Apr 14, 2005 1:39 PM in response to Johnny Wood

Hello,

Did you have to to reload all the music after using mp3gain or just syncing with iTunes is sufficient to update the music files in the iPod?

Thanks!

Apr 14, 2005 1:50 PM in response to Johnny Wood

Please note that changing the EQ settings on the MP3 files themselves through iTunes WILL NOT FIX the sound quality problem. This is the same thing as using the EQ on the iPod, you are simply telling the MP3 to default to the EQ setting in iTunes rather than having to choose it on the iPod for each song.

If you would like to read more about the sound distortion problems that are present in all of the iPod photos there is another thread that details these problems at Internetdude 01, "Ipod Photo bad music quality?", 10:53pm Mar 15, 2005 CDT.

This is a fault within the iPod hardware or software and has nothing to do with the EQ settings (which actually make the problem worse if you use the EQ.)

Using MP3gain to alter the level of the tracks reduces but does not eliminate the problem. It also alters the original source files and modifies them permanently. Which means that all of those MP3 files that you digitized have been modified and the sound quality changed. Granted, MP3 gain uses a sophisticated algorithm to determine how to modify the sound level of each track. However, MP3gain does alter the perceived volume level thoughout the song and that results in a track that does not have the dynamic range of the original file. Needless to say, you shouldn't have to further compress the dynamic range of a track just to get it to sound good on your iPod photo. Especially when the same track sounds just fine on any other iPod (other than the photo)....

Please Apple, acknowledge this problem and do what is necessary to repair it.

DenZ

Level 2

250 points

Apr 14, 2005 3:36 PM in response to Johnny Wood

My ipod has this when im playing piano solos that go into high frequencies, starts making buzzing echoes afterwards (if you own a piano that can open up, put a piece of tinfoil on a string and play the key that has the tinfoil on the string. this is what it sounds like)

Apr 14, 2005 5:44 PM in response to Johnny Wood

Hey to all those people who are considering getting an iPod photo and these people are scaring you off, listen up. I have listened to practically every generation of iPod, and just recently upgraded to a iPp 30. Its sound is exactly what i expected from previous iPods, with no distortion, buzzing, or anything. I have the hives, and radiohead (some of the music that has been suggested to cause bad sound quality), and both come in perfectly clear at all volumes. I have listned to all types of music at all types of bit rates and file types and nothing can be discerned at all in terms of background crackling or distortion. Maybe im not a sound engineer and dont have a professionally trained ear (and i certainly dont test all my equipment for ohms and impedence), but i consider myself to have above average hearing. If you stop trying to kid yourself into thinking you're hearing something, you might actually enjoy your music and be perhaps a more sane individual as well. In any case, i read all the posts about photo's sound quality, and still decided to buy one, and came out a winner. Great features, excellent in every way.

Johnny Wood Author

Level 1

65 points

Apr 14, 2005 7:12 PM in response to Kasey Curtis

Ok Kasey, are you telling hundreds of people they are liars? Since you have not listened to their iPod Photos, who are you to say that they have no problem what so ever!? One thing I, and several people, have already stated is that they don't know if every single Photo has this problem, just the majority, so until you have solid evidence that we are apparently "kidding ourselves about hearing things" then you should probably stay out of this post, and leave it to people with more constructive ideas/opinions. If you had read the whole post you would realise that I, and others, have tested our Photos against the other iPod models and the results are clear to be heard. Well done if you seem to have picked up one of the few none-faulty Photos, or that you just don't have the hearing capabilities to notice it. Probably the latter. Bye now. (some people!) (probably an apple rep!)

As to the other recent posts, yes Sallie you're right in that the EQ settings have nothing to do with this sound problem, either tagging them in iTunes or directly using the iPod. Also after having used the MP3Gain volume tagging method for a few days now, I am picking up on the crackling and distortion once again. I'm noticing it more faintly now, but it's enough to put me off. Something still needs to be done.

NOT GOOD ENOUGH APPLE!!!

Apr 14, 2005 7:30 PM in response to Johnny Wood

I agree with Kasey!

Mine sounds great.

Johnny, you say that "hundreds" have this problem. I am not sure that it is "hundreds", and if it is, I am not sure "hundreds" equals the "majority" of iPod photos that where purchased. You cannot judge by this forumn. People come to this site if they have problems. (Also i know many people come to help others), but the ones that are working fine may not be posting on this site.

Just a thought. When you used the word "majority" it made me think. How are you sure it is the majority?

And I don't think that Kasey call anybody liars.

Chris

Johnny Wood Author

Level 1

65 points

Apr 14, 2005 7:41 PM in response to christopherjoe

Well technically he did call us liars. Also insane, come to think of it. Chris, even if it is not the majority, do you think it's right that the people who do have the problems should just accept that thats the way it is? I'm sure if you had this problem you would be just as angry as the rest of us. It is not just this site people are lodging their compaints. There are several other sites with forums on as well. How do we know half the people with the problem even know they have it because they are still using stock earbuds, which sound terrible anyway.

I don't want this post to start getting bitter and turning into a debate. This is to try and resolve the problem at hand, and find out what Apple's response will be. Thanks everyone.

Apr 14, 2005 7:41 PM in response to Johnny Wood

Just to clarify for Johnny and those others who thought i was calling them liars. My post was merely to state that the "faulty iPod photos" are not a majority, as no one that ive talked to in person has ever heard of the problem. Of course there's going to be plenty of posts with the problem, because if you're iPod is fine (unless you're here to help out as i am) you usually dont post a message to say that you're iPod is working in perfect condition. I definitely dont believe that it is a majority as Johnny says. So sorry Johnny, if you misread me calling people liars, and thank you Chris, for reading closely. (And no i am not an iPod rep)

Johnny Wood Author

Level 1

65 points

Apr 14, 2005 7:53 PM in response to Kasey Curtis

Point taken, lets move on now...

iPod Photo: Poor Sound Quality - Updates