yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
well for me its been actually more irregular than before.

But i've barely noticed it (thus thinking it was fixed completely)
[Galaxy S III General] gandalf027:
Yup, still present. :(
[Galaxy S III General] Kendoji:
I'm starting to enjoy the crackling. It's like all my music is now vintage vinyl! :)
[Galaxy S III General] k0ekje:
Here is a link where the crackling is visualized (might be interesting):

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=27381652&postcount=328

Pitty that the crackling still occurs with the new update :crying:
[Galaxy S III General] fasty:
The waveforms are interesting.

I immediately thought this might be attributable to power management, but now I'm not so sure. People have reported getting this crackling with bluetooth headphones. Now, surely playing audio via Bluetooth keeps it always in the digital domain until it gets to the headphones, i.e. it never goes through the analog circuits that could be affected by power management transients?

So, if Bluetooth devices really are affected in the same way, the problem must be in some area common to both analog headset and bluetooth, like software or buffering?
[Galaxy S III General] studiominal:
Amplitude doesn't tell everything about the crackling. What explains better is the frequency response I attached on that article. Anyway, I remember that some guy said he reported this issue to Samsung, and heard they've fixed the issue already. Maybe Australia is going to be the first to get the fixed firmware, or the hotfix is still not in the turn to be packed in a firmware. (I don't get it though why they let this happen still by now)
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
they haven't called me back yet...

I'll give em a call on monday ;)
[Galaxy S III General] studiominal:
Good luck!

Hope this irritating crap of bug to be gone soon :rolleyes:
[Galaxy S III General] cromozone:
Crackling seems worse with this rom than before... nice. :(
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
I would argue the opposite, so far.
[Galaxy S III General] fasty:
Curiously, the spectrum plot didn't really help me so much, unless I'm missing something. There are high-frequency components in the waveform distortion that I'm not seeing in the spectrum anyway.

Incidentally, I've still not managed to definitively reproduce the crackle before or after the update. If I had it as bad as your waveforms clearly show, I'm sure that even my imperfect ears would detect it :laugh:
[Galaxy S III General] Erahgon:
Hmmm... What are your flashing procedures and use-cases?

Are you guys running heavy background tasks while listening? Is it limited to apps which play from storage or radio apps as well?

The crackling could also be an issue with file access (may be even interlinked with power management - as you identified it as a primary factor).

Could you test it with the radio (i.e. media that is streamed and not on storage)?

I quoted both of you as you guys seem to have opposing results.

What we have seen so far:

-> Scaling up the CPU freq resolves the problem (for most).

-> Increasing buffer resolves the problem (for few).

-> Present on both the on-board DAC as well as while using bluetooth (which would have it's own DAC).

-> Present on custom ROMs or Kernels based on Samsung code

Could some people report:

-> Whether the issues are present on a USB DAC setup as well.

-> Whether it is present on AOSP kernels (just the kernel if possible).

-> Whether ir is present on a complete AOSP ROM (such as CyanogenMOD 9).

Let's get to the bottom of this people!

I know these are a lotta questions. Remember that all you need to do to get the right answer is to ask the right questions...

And since I may not be that smart, I decided instead to ask ALL the questions, no matter how stupid!

Cheers!
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
Hey mate!

Well - flashed via ODIN, then full CWM wipe

Radio? I wouldn't mind...but I'de have to force myself listening to french radio :P

-> buffer size usually helps poweramp but that's in lagging.

-> cpu scaling is the one from me

->I wouldn't say on bluetooth no - I haven't experienced it

->yup on custom, stock and cm based roms -> all present

-> USB dac seems to eliminate the problem, completely.

->I've tried siyah and cf root, and stock kernel = all present

->Yes present on CM9 (well I tried SLIM ICS)
[Galaxy S III General] Erahgon:
The HF components that produce the crackling can be seen clearly as a distortion in the wave which was pictured. Won't help you hear it though!

Since it was replicated with the help of a consistent sine wave audio file, the distortion was more apparent.

Also with regards to frequency scaling and the digital domain on which these files are present:

The CPU experiences a small jitter as the cores are turned on/off, or are clocked up/down. As a friend of mine recently pointed out (shout out to you DJ Noop!) his old computer (with a P4 processor) was producing more consistent results during recording, as it doesn't support scaling down the clock speed and has only one core. That is why it is a guideline to remember to enable a power-plan which does not feature clock-speed varying (i.e. Intel SpeedStep for Intel processors) while doing any audio or latency critical tasks (such as recording large, HQ, uncompressed audio or video files). Crackling issues have presented in the past, when I did not know better.

Also, crackling issues present in conjunction with a HDD that cannot keep-up. That is why I had previously asked about what media they are using and whether the crackling is present on radio/streamed media.

---------- Post added at 01:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:08 AM ----------

Ah shucks! LOL thanks in advance for the try-out! Also, where do you store the music that you play back (as in an external SD card? If so what make, class and capacity)? I was hoping that it wouldn't be present on AOSP ROMs as well... Drat.

In related news: anyone following Supercurio on Twitter (the only reason I go to twitter honestly!)? The pics of Voodoo Sound seem to be packing quite a feature set! Can't wait!

I really wish I could test this stuff myself too, but I haven't gotten a device just yet - waiting on the next paycheck! Blew my last one on a midi synth! :D
[Galaxy S III General] cromozone:
I need to test more thoroughly tomorrow. Whenever I've tried listening to music I've had nothing else going on in the background (afaik), but my music is all on a class 10 SD card rather than the internal storage so perhaps that's worth trying. Also need to try the radio, I've not used it thus far. I did try a Bluetooth headset early on and could detect no crackle using that; I assumed because Bluetooth is basically streaming a buffered audio stream so tiny glitches wouldn't show up...
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
I play them from my ext SD card only - all around 256kbs

Supercurio...i stalk him often, but...its been so long :(
[Galaxy S III General] Aimara:
well i have faith in wolfson chip but not samsung software lol
[Galaxy S III General] studiominal:
Like TotallydubbedHD said, switching governor seems to be the key workaround to evade/minimize the irritating crackling noise. Honestly I had more cracklings on this new firmware(LFB) which runs on pegasusq, so I rooted my device, changed the governor to ondemand, and I found it AT LEAST happening less often. (it's been only a few minutes of listening and actually I found none of the crackling so far, but I should be careful not to give wrong information :))

Talking about governors, I read that a governor called 'hotplug' is said to totally eradicate the noise, which is only available on some custom roms like Siyah's mod. I know it might be another rumor I'm fomenting, but guys who are/were on Siyah's mod, would you please share your experience with regard to crackling with 'hotplug' governor? Thanks
[Galaxy S III General] Aimara:
@Fasty

you have to report to samsung at your respective country site
[Galaxy S III General] studiominal:
Solution found!

Just for your reference, I've recently updated the firmware to the latest one which is LFB, but I still had the noise on pegasusq governor. Then I posted that changing to ondemand governor would help decrease or eliminate the random pop noise a few hours ago. Based on that approach, I think I can now share with you guys how I managed to make the noise gone because my test results seem to confirm that it works actually. I recorded a 10min 1000Hz sine wave at the maximum output power through stereo RCA cable this time again, and you can see the results below.)

I used SetCPU to switch the governor to ondemand, and you might notice after ticking it, that the pop noise is gone. However, there's one more important thing to check before you get out of the SetCPU app, and forget about it - set on boot also needs to be checked. Not having that option enabled doesn't bring the noise back right away, but if you reboot your phone for any reason, the noise reappears as if ondemand governor didn't work for you, which is why you need to tick it.

Procedure

1. Switch to ondemand governor, and check/uncheck set on boot option.

2. Reboot the phone

3. Record the playback signal from the phone to the PC.

4. Using Sound Forge Pro, find glitches in the samples using the corresponding function.

Results

1. ondemand checked, set on boot unchecked

2. both checked

As the data above shows, I can fairly say that it actually does a great job, but I still need some more people getting the similar experience to totally get convinced about this, and there might be possible drawbacks like battery drain which we'll have to keep our eys on.
[Galaxy S III General] knights.JayTana:
its mentioned here many times that setting it to "ondemand" is a temporary solution. Of course you will have to set it on boot to retain the tweak even after rebooting...

I have something in mind (a dream actually:) ) and i dont know if its possible... i call it "Smart Profile";) where Kernel can set profiles for each applications when detected running... User can tick/customize the governor and # of cores running, and is based also by priorities... For example: if the Kernel detected that im running a music player and set as MAIN-100% priority (user have the choice what player he can tick if 2 or more players is installed), Kernel automatically choose "Ondemand" governor and Dual-Core mode (Or only single-core mode without changing the governor)... Itll remain in that mode until you forcefully close the player, then itll return to the dafault configuration which is PegQ+Qaud... If you also set another profile which can conflict with the other profiles, the profile with highest priority will be followed...

Just a thought... Sorry for day-dreaming... LOL
[Galaxy S III General] gavinfabl:
I only get cracking with Bluetooth if Wi-Fi on. Can't get any issues using wired way.

I wonder if its to do with recording at 320 bit rate. Or maybe its because I listen to cool music :D
[Galaxy S III General] hykhleif:
well i am shocked that with its wolfson DAc this cracking sounds is happening, that was the only selling point for me if i wanted to switch from he galaxy note to GS3, now that is not gonna happen as music quality is the most important thing I look for in a device
[Galaxy S III General] omersak:
The crackling is because of poor power management, not the DAC itself
[Galaxy S III General] fasty:
Probably not - I can't hear crackling on my phone (maybe I'm too deaf!) :laugh:

Was just trying to help others.
[Galaxy S III General] hykhleif:
So did. The rom update not fix that problem
[Galaxy S III General] studiominal:
Have no idea if switching the governor to ondemand and applying it on boot will be effective in eliminating the random noise on the firmwares older than I9300XXBLFB. But I have to say, after doing so above, the noise seems to be totally gone no matter how many hours I play music. :)
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
Excellent post studio!

This proves the theory correct.

That said...now to get to the bottom of this, do you think, kernel devs would be the ones to ask?

I want to know the exact differences between those two scalings

If a kernel devs chimes in, then we are pretty much sorted and solved
[Galaxy S III General] fatguy666:
ndituted ratio

using wanamlite with no changes poweramp, sound quality is amazing!
[Galaxy S III General] pANd4:
which kernel are you using?
[Galaxy S III General] studiominal:
Yes I think so. Since I applied, no issue at all while maintaining good battery performance. Finally got the audio working properly, but still waiting for the advent of Voodoo Sound for GS3 :)

---------- Post added at 06:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:16 PM ----------

Using the stock kernel actually. I just rooted my phone via CF-root v6.4, and that's all.
[Galaxy S III General] fasty:
Nice one, Studio.

Just hope that Samsung are listening, for longer term fix and those who are not rooted (presume setcpu needs root)
[Galaxy S III General] studiominal:
I can't agree with you any more! Since that workaround is only for some sort of people knowing at least what 'rooting' is, others who are totally unaware of tech are unlikely to get their audio working properly this way.
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
Well I'm using CF root, as that one for sure had ondemand. Gok's didn't.

And yup....when I called samsung:

"Yes and the temporary fix I have found involves voiding the warranty - which is fine for me, but not for the rest of the world ;)"

Let's contact some kernel devs
[Galaxy S III General] cromozone:
Just a question for you guys who have tried the governor change in SetCPU, I'm considering rooting my phone so that I can 'temporarily' fix the crackling issue by this method too, but do you need a custom kernel for this to work or is it ok with the stock kernel?

Thanks!
[Galaxy S III General] studiominal:
You know we're all sick'n tired of those bureaucratic sayings :D

I guess they'll someday fix it or even have fixed it, but the day the users will be getting the fix would be so far away.

---------- Post added at 06:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:51 PM ----------

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1695238

You just need the CF-root and follow the instruction on installation - no additional kernel.
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
PM'ed 5 kernel devs.

And studio, I've run out of thanks, but when I get em back, you'll get thanked, for your help!

PM is:
[Galaxy S III General] gokhanmoral:
the only notable difference between ondemand and pegasusq in stock kernel is that there is no cpu hotplugging when you select ondemand.

so, you can try to set max_num_cpus parameter in pegasusq to 1 and see if you still have that crackling issue.

at least we will know if it is the hotplugging or not.
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
Thanks a lot for the input gok!

May I ask where/how I could change the parameter?
[Galaxy S III General] gokhanmoral:
you can use setcpu

or if you are using siyahkernel there is a spinner in cpu tab in extweaks. you can limit the number of cores , to single core mode.
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
Time to flash the kernel! :)

Thanks

---------- Post added at 12:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:10 PM ----------

Right testing now - first leaving it on peagasusq till I hear the crackling, then will limit the core to single core.

--------------

Lol that was east - cpu on default - 4

Crackling issue showed up.

Now listening to 1 core. I have already noticed several cracks.

Will do more listening before concluding.

CPU = 1

FYI:

I turned power saving mode OFF, as I know that limits it to 3 cores.

-----------------

---------- Post added at 12:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:27 PM ----------

Ok:

CPU: 0 = quad core

&

CPU: 1 = single core

Both had crackling issues on pagasusq scaling, both on power saving mode OFF (CPU limiter)

Now testing "hotplug" with default cores (4)

---------------------

Another EDIT:

Hotplug seems to be fine so far.

Added pics of the core selection on pagasusq

&

My current testing rig :D!
[Galaxy S III General] knights.JayTana:
i can now reproduce the god damn cracks... Using "i will always love you" track by "Whitney Houston". You have to be very attentive on the music for you to notice it...
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
Right been listening to hotplug for a while now - still no problems.

I'de appreciate if someone starts testing too :)

I need to write reviews & guides (Got so many on my mind atm lol)
[Galaxy S III General] knights.JayTana:
just got home this afternoon... im also infront of my rig now... testing it now buddy...
[Galaxy S III General] knights.JayTana:
Gokhan

regarding your PM, it doesnt help... aftr+lpa mode; crackling is still there...
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
Would appreciate all info posted here, rather than in secret privacy - so that others can help.

More ears the merrier.
[Galaxy S III General] knights.JayTana:
No secrecy here Pal... PMed you for an explanation...
[Galaxy S III General] rlorange:
I just listened to a FLAC album on Latest Siyah with DAC direct enabled and DIDN'T hear the crackling. Could someone try DAC direct and report if it fixes the crackling?
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
mine is already enabled via extweaks if I'm not mistake right?
[Galaxy S III General] studiominal:
Flashed Siyah kernel v1.2.6 to give it a shot with hotplug governor, and did the same test after changing the governor using ExTweaks. Unfortunately, I found the noise on hotplug governor and went back to ondemand governor which seems to be the only one without the problem.
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
really?

Darn it - hotplug worked for me for a good amount of time - I'll continue testing (with 4 cores enabled)
[Galaxy S III General] studiominal:
Yeah it still persists. You can count on me 'cause I've used the same methodology and found several pops out of 10min-sine sample.

One thing I can notice from ondemand governor is that UI performance seems to slow down a bit compared to pegasusq or hotplug. (especially when getting out of the music player by pressing 'back' button)

So one pro and one con here: no crackling, but a little bit of UI slowdown.

Oh well, I didn't tick anything except for the governor in ExTweaks, so I think you might've found the real solution there! But you know, you'd better use the sine wave sample to figure out whether the noise actually happens. How about playing the file that I'll send to you and you give me back the recorded sample? Then I would be able to diagnose whether there's a noise.
[Galaxy S III General] rlorange:
Might be wrong but it was reintroduced in latest version once GM fixed the radio interaction with it. Its DAC ME now (you know why the name change) and no not activated by default
[Galaxy S III General] knights.JayTana:
hotplug with 4core; issue is still there:(
[Galaxy S III General] rlorange:
With DAC ME and anti jitter enabled it seems to have fixed it for me on latest Siyah
[Galaxy S III General] simone201:
Please try out with NEAK using Lulzactive gov...mine uses also the stand-hotplug driver (configurable via multicore app)

I think 60% is caused by the govs hotplug system, but i'm not sure as i always use pegasusq (so i always hear the crack)

Edit: just tried out, crackling still there...so it might be something else
[Galaxy S III General] studiominal:
Possible enough that hotplug system causes that random noise, because ondemand has got no hotplug-related parameters. I'll give it a shot later 'cause it's late in the night here :)
[Galaxy S III General] knights.JayTana:
Good to see another Kernel Dev here...

With only 1core + PegasusQ, the crackling is still there...

Messed up with every combination i can with Siyah:( No luck...
[Galaxy S III General] simone201:
Another small news...

For me the random crackling is there with ondemand as well, same frequency as with other govs...but remember that my kernel always uses an hotplug system

But is strange as during suspend it switches automatically to single core mode (as the driver mod is designed for) so no hotplug during suspend
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
I'de love to - but how do I do it :p?

I have got: "DAC ME" in extweaks - on siyah v1.3.7beta

And it was enabled by default :)

So hot plug doesn't work then?

Anything relating to hot plugging makes it crackle - if I understood that correctly?

Glad to see you came to help simone201 - thanks for listening to the PM :)

OH and important update I guess:

Hotplug = crackle for me too - so studio and jay, you aren't alone - did take a while to appear though!
[Galaxy S III General] knights.JayTana:
Is there any application/tweaks/mod where we can set the screen brightness to the lowest possible value (or even semi-off) and then prevent the system to go idle mode? it can be a temporary solution for this... We know that our display is most powerhog component, thats why im pointing this out...
[Galaxy S III General] simone201:
Well seems so at least...neither the standalone hotplug driver solves the crackling sound, but without using any hotplug driver the issue goes away

I think it's related to something wrong in shielding the audio chip from the cpu, maybe they're too close so if the cpu does something that needs more power, then the audio chip "feels" the electric disturb and there goes the crackling sound

If so, then we can't do anything, just disable hotplug and use it manually

I try now to use my manual core control, and set 1 core mode

EDIT: using single core mode with stand hotplug driver using multi-core interface/app doesn't either solve the issue using lulzactive, i try now ondemand

EDIT2: tried with ondemand, single, quad, tri and dual core mode (using multicore, no pegasus hotplug) and the issue is still there

BTW i'm using a very high fidelity AKG headphones, 17Hz-23kHz response, 126dB/V and 16Ohm impedance
[Galaxy S III General] hykhleif:
wow wow wow I am just amazed that a flagship phone suffers from this problem, this should be solved by dam samsung, audio must be flawless else this phone does not worth a penny. WTF are we debating here an anger message should be high scaled to samsung HQ to dam solve this
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
ondemand is easier than leaving your phone constantly on...

Many thanks for the tests - but ondemand...as far as I know solves the issue - no matter with what audio equipment I throw at it.

Many many thanks for testing though

I don't know if it really has to do with a static noise interfering, or the cpu jsut being set so low that it can't provide enough power for it to run stably.

Does hotplug/ondemand change cpu power of some sorts?

well...we are trying
[Galaxy S III General] simone201:
If it is an hardware production issue then there is no way they can fix it via software

BTW i am seriously thinking now that the crackling is related to ANY cpu idle state (idle/lpa/aftr) because if i continue using the phone, even with pegasusq, i cannot hear the issue at all

Definately something wrong in the idle driver or in the hardware design
[Galaxy S III General] nodstuff:
What if people try setting min and Max CPU speed as the same value, say 400/400 and see if the problem continues. Maybe its the processor scaling rather than them hotplugging in and out.
[Galaxy S III General] simone201:
As far as i can hear, with ondemand and hotplug on/off the issue is still there, at least for me

Tried with 2 different high fidelity heaphones and had the same problem

Yeah with ondemand is less present and if your heaphones aren't much sensitive then you almost cannot hear it
[Galaxy S III General] TotallydubbedHD:
I could try that - and yet again - another idea...

What if I actually force the CPU to go UNDER 200mhz

then i shoudl get the problem consistently....I presume.

Is there any kernel that does OC/un-OC and has ondemand?

interesting.

Well the things I test with are:

TDK BA200

PFE232

Denon AH-D2000

FA-002 W MSHE