iPhone (iOS 5) High Bass Audio Distortion

I am also experiencing serious degradation of sound since applying iOS 5 to my iphone 4. Prior to the update I never had to use EQ and was very pleased with the sound when playing music. Since iOS 5 my music is unlistenable. High end bass and treble are horribly distorted. I can make this tolerable by using either the 'Lounge' or ironically the 'Loudness' EQ presets from settings (I say ironically as the 'Loudness' setting seems to reduce the gain and dampen the sound).

2 other things I have done to work around this. There are 2 apps available that I have bought and installed. 'Equ', which allows you to set your own EQ presets. And the other is 'Reprise', which is a shuffle player. Both totally bypass the iphone's in-built EQ settings. 'Reprise' does not require you to make any settings and to my ears at least my music sounds like it did pre iOS5 through 'Reprise'. The downside of both is that you are accessing and playing your music thorugh these apps so miss out on Genius, etc. Also 'Reprise' will not work if you have a lot of music with DRM.

Nevertheless, we should not have to buy 3rd party apps to fulfill what is one of the primary function of the iphone, i.e. to play music! These are simply my workarounds until Apple rectify the EQ settings.

Same problem here especially when listening to Hiphop with loud bass. You can really here it while listening to Lil Wayne - Megaman from his newest album the Carter IV. Apple fix this ASAP and put iOS 5.0.1 out there!

Ok I have spoken to Apple support UK about this problem and the guy I spoke to has acknowledged there is a problem with high bass sound distortion but could not give me any dates for future firmware updates. He assures me that all problems are passed on to Apple HQ so let us hope, and I'm sure something will happen due to this and other threads filling up with this same issue.

well the 128 fix doesn't work more then a couple of hours so don't waste your time there people.

Hope apple is working at furious speed on this because music is one of the most important features on the iPhone, at least it is for me .

All of my recordings are either Apple lossless or wav to keep the best sound quality and I turn off all eg settings because I like to keep the recording true to the original. All these fixes I keep reading 128kbs, turning on sound check, using bass reducer do nothing to rectify the sound quality and totally flattern the sound of the recording. It amazes me why Apple would change their already award winning sound to what it is now, I cannot listen to my music on my iPhone anymore it's that bad plus anyone who has the problem and is using quality head phones or hi fi, be careful as your speakers will play the distortion which at high levels will kill them a lot sooner than a loud clean signal. For me it's back to using my iPhone as a phone and my old iPod for music. Thanks Apple for forcing me to step back to the old ways. Pls sack the sound guy for fiddling and sort this mess out.

The iPhone has always had the best sound there is. Till IOS 5 that is. The new sound of IOS 5 is atrocious and renders the iPod on the iPhone completely useless. For people who listen to music for several hours a day this is torture.

I've tried all the fixes suggested on this threat but nothing seams to make any difference.

It makes me very upset as my music is absolutelyno fun like this.

PLEASE PLEASE Apple fix this as soon as possible.

Hey All,

So I have been thinking about this one, trying to figure out why some folks have the issue and others do not. So here are some questions that might help us figure out what is going on:

1. Do you use Sound Check? Lots of people seem to indicate that adjusting this fixes the issue. Does it fix it for you?
2. Do you use Optional Volume per track? You set optional volume for specific tracks in iTunes. To see what it is set at, you right click on the track, select get info, then go to options. The normal setting for volume adjustment is zero. If you have it set to something else, try setting it to zero and see if that fixes it.
3. Do you use EQ settings? If so, which ones? When you change EQ settings, does this help or even eliminate the problem?
4. If you do use EQ settings, did you have your optional volume set to anything other than 0% before you updated? Did you have Soundcheck on before the update? Did you have both on before you updated?
5. If volume adjustment was at 0% before the update, did it change to something other than 0% after the update?
6. Did you have an EQ set before the update? If so, which one?
7. Are the tracks that have a problem from iTunes?
8. If you turn off all EQ, set volume offset to 0% for each song, restore your device and then resync the problem songs, does it fix the issue?
9. What operating system are you using for the upgrade process?
10. Which iOS product are you using? Touch? Phone? Which gen of these?
11. Do you know what version of iOS you had when you updated?
12. Do you know which version of iTunes you had before the update?
13. Are you using any non-Apple software that is supposed to improve your sound levels?
14. If you change the volume level does the sound quality improve, get worse or stay the same?

I upgraded my iPhone 4 to iOS5 and I don't see this issue at all. I have tried to make it happen by fooling with some of the settings I mentioned in the list. I know there is a whole lot there, but it might just help those of us in the community to figure this out with this information.

i

I think the only question that should be asked is why so many people have this problem after the upgrade?

The answer is obvious, some thing is wrong with the software.

As much as I appreciate the willingness to understand the why and how at the end of the day the

consumer should not jump through loops to use any type of system or software and franlky

what I now experience with the iPhone brings back memories of the recent upgrade to OS X Lion.

Apple should do more extensive testing after development and also test consumers because every

that we have had upgrades and new system over the years half of the new feature dissapear really fast as they are not user friendly or they gop as far as causing problems.

To answer your questions.

1 ) no it did nit fix the issue

2) I have just try that and like all the other fixes I have done has only worked for a short while

also since iTunes gives users the capacity to set volume for each song I see no reason why

that feature should not be used other then a temporary fix until apple fixes this severe problem

3) No i do not

4 see above

5) No

6) No

7) what does that means? If you are asking if the problem is present with iTune the answer is no

the same songs that have distortion on the iPhone play just fine on iTune, so the problem is only

on the iPhone new software

8) again no equalizer use, and setting all songs to 0 (none) only does a temporary fix,

same result as doing the 128 fix or restoring the phone itself, after a short while the problem comes back

It should be noted that the bass distortion on some songs is quite atrocius and is clearly not the result

og any equilezer adjustment as the equilizer would only increase or decrease the base.

9) Lion

10) iPhone 4 few months old

11) the prior one or latest what ever that was

12) the latest aka 10

13) No

14) No change the distorsion stay the same at higher or lower levels of volume

Hi there Ipod whisperer

Okay answers to your questions,

1) No I don't use sound check. Its basically a sound limiter for limiting all the volumes of each track to one level so one recording isn't louder than another. Plus it flattens the sound of the recording. (my personnal feeling)

2) Yes I do use optional volume, for the last two years and three iPhones it's been set at 100% I have tried lowering the volume to 0 but all that does is quieten the recording but the distortion on all high bass recordings is still present.

3) I do not use the EQ settings, EQ is always switched off as I like the recordings to sound natural and clean. Using EQ does not help and alters the original recording sound.

4) Both EQ & Sound Check were switch off before update and all previous updates.

5) Option settings were at 100% before update and remained the same after.

6) EQ set to off before update and was the same after update.

7) I do not own or download tracks from iTunes, I record all my music into Wav import them to iTunes and then use iTunes to convert them to apple loss less. Or there put straight on as Wav. Had no problems until iOS 5 update.

8) I have tried all of the suggestions listed on question 8 and no it hasn't worked, still same issue with over blown bass being distorted.

9) I use a mac os.

10) I have an iPhone 3gs 32gb.

11) Belive I had update 4.2 second update down from ios 5.

12) I am using the latest version of iTunes.

13) No I am not using any third party apps to listen to my music because of this problem ( I shouldn't have too )

14) Changing the volume up or down does nothing but make the distortion less or more noticeable.

May I just add that this has never been a problem on any of the iPhones I have owned and all my recordings have sounded fantastic until this ios 5 update. We all know someone at apple has changed the sound and all I'm asking for is that they change it back. This problem is affecting more and more peoples iPhones and for me it has rendered my iPhone unlistenable causing me to use an old iPod for music which is unacceptable. I have bought these devices so I can use the phone and have my music with me all the time. I may as well burn the £2000 it'll have cost me at the end of contract and buy a £35 tesco phone and just use my iPod, basically what I'm forced to do now.

Apple pls fix this issue.

My replies:

1. I dont use Sound Check as it makes the volume of all songs in iPhone 4 EVEN lower. I listen to the songs in the iPhone now using 100% of volume and STILL super low, if you compare to iOS 4.

2. All the tracks in my Itunes are +80 volume adjustment, years ago. If I put this in 0, they were sounding low in iOS5. I tried to put it in 0, and in iOS5 I can't hear the songs in the iPhone even at maximum volume, SUPER low, apart from the infamous distorsion no matter what settings you apply.

3 and 4. I never use EQ, not itunes not iphone, as until now it was sounding cristaline and LOUD. I refuse to use a EQ preset to "fix" this problem, only bass reducer makes something, and sounds like C R A P.

5. New Itunes version dislikes when I put volume adjustement to all tracks at 80+, sometimes doesn't obey, and see some tracks at +0. I even tried to go back in Time Machime to my mp3 version "prior new itunes". nothing happened after sync to iphone, same crap.

6.. EQ, never.

7. the tracks with problems are from itunes store and other sources, all have problems.

8. I tried, it doesnt fix it.

9. Mac os X.

10.iphone 4.

11. ios4.

12. Itunes BETA. I put iOS5 one week in advance. I had the problems, then I installed new Itunes final one and even restored iOS5 last version, not GM of 1 week before official launch.

13. No.

14. stays the same crap. This is HORRIBLE. How can I downgrade to iOS4? I prefer crappy notifications and GOOD sound. I listen 5h per day to music....

I replied yesterday to this thread but now I can't see my message. I guess it is another error in this forum, it works bad sometime.

I said that I think the problem has to be related to the jack output. The sound is crystal clear using bluetooth in my car, or with the mini-speakers

To answer your questions, @iPod whisperer:

1. I never used it. I tried it now and it did not solve anything.

2. Yes, ever since I got my first iPod back in 2005 I always had all my songs at +100%. It never gave any problems. Now, setting them back to 0% kind of solved the problem (the distortion went from terrible to mildy annoying).

3. No

4. No EQ

5. No, it remained at +100% as I had it

6. No

7. My own MP3s. They are perfectly ok in my iPod and on iTunes.

8. More or less (I didn't restore it, just the volume offset).

9. Windows 7

10. iPhone 4

11. The last one, 4.3.5

12. The last one, 10.5 I think

13. No

14. I didn't try different than 0% or 100%

I won't answer all the diagnostic questions above as my answers seem to mirror most of those posted, in particular manuelmdm. I will add though that I don't think it is the headphone jack as when I airplay my music onto apple tv from the iphone the distortion is present on the apple tv. If I airplay music using the 2 third party apps I mentioned in my earlier post there is no distortion. Hence my thinking that this is a problem with the eq in iOS 5 in the music app. The newly re-designed music app in iOS5 is also presenting other airplay problems with apple tv (posted in another discussion) so there seem to be more than just a few bugs. Significant ones though and need addressing.

Same thing for me: after upgrading to IOS5, sound began to get distorted. I found that rebooting helped reduce the distortion for some time.

Hey!! I've got the solution.

this is some what a format problem.

if you see a aac file, the it's not all the same aac format. there are, aac low complexity VBR, aac low complexity CBR, aac high-efficiency. the files are being corrupted are the aac high-efficiency. make sure you don't convert your file using aac HE or high-efficiency.

you'll have to delete the files with HE, converted to low complexity then load it again to your device.

I don't know why it sounds wrong only on iOS 5 though...

hope it helps!!

Sorry~ many typos...

Hey!! I've got the solution.

this is some what a format problem.

if you see a aac file, it's not all the same aac format. there are, aac low complexity VBR, aac low complexity CBR, aac high-efficiency. the files are being corrupted are the aac high-efficiency. make sure you don't convert your file using aac HE or high-efficiency.

to check if it's HE,

in itunes left click on a song and click "get info", go to "summary tab and it will appear on the right upper corner..

you'll have to delete the files with HE on the ios device, convert the original files to low complexity then load it again to your ios device.

I don't know why it sounds wrong only on iOS 5 though...

hope it helps!!