yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NZtechfreak:
If you have the track Karma Police the bass in the verses is very good for reproducing the crackling.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i4mt3hwin:
You're right that it does have slight noise problems on other sources, but it's no where near as bad as this and the crackle on other sources isn't the same kind of crackle. This one is beyond annoying -- some songs sound fine and you can ignore it, but any rock or metal song with a bass solo gets absolutely ruined. The same songs in my Galaxy Nexus sound fine.

Would it be possible to fix this problem through the kernel?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
I don't think any one of us have tried flashing a third party kernel, but I doubt it will solve it.

At what volume does this occur on the UE900? Do try the test tones from http://www.jensign.com/S4Distortion/ (at the bottom of the page) to see at what volume levels it crackles. Try the 1kHz tone. But make sure you don't turn it on loud for too long; it may blow out your IEM's drivers.

It seems rather strange for UE900 to have this problem as it's rather high impedance. Perhaps its power requirements are too high?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Lienot:
Hello, I started another thread, but as I read right now I am not the only one with these problems..

I think I have these problems only when I am rooted, I.will test again. It is a no go. My main reason for a smartphone is listening to music.

Gesendet von meinem GT-I9505 mit Tapatalk 2

---------- Post added at 05:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:18 PM ----------

I don't know which specific sound chip is in the s4 but my note 2 with the volume mod was extremely loud but clear at the same time. With the right headphones it was a pleasure!

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[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] olaf63:
It would be interesting to make a sort of poll to see if all devices are affected or only some ones. In the last option I could risk to buy a new one.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i4mt3hwin:
Kind of confused at this point. I downloaded the tones and tried the 1Khz but didn't hear any distortion across the volume. At 60Hz though and 250Hz at exactly volume 11 and nothing else there is severe distortion. Soon as I go past 11 volume it goes away. I repeated the test on my Galaxy Nexus and had no issues at any volume or frequency.

No idea what is going on, but it's frustrating as hell because I really like this phone but this is a deal breaker for me. I'm going to try flashing Faux's Kernel -- it has gain control, maybe playing with the settings will reveal more.

Edit: For the record I'm using the T-Mobile SGH-M919
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
Yep then it's the same problem we have all been experiencing. It's weird though since I wouldn't expect this to happen at the UE900 is of relatively high impedance.

Is the UE900 easy to drive? If so then staying at volume 7-8 should eliminate the distortion. Otherwise, equalise the first 2-3 sliders downwards.

If you do flash a custom kernel do keep us informed of the results! If miraculously the problem can be resolved via software then wow, I'll be really glad.

Also, do you have other IEMs or headphones around ~30ohm-ish to test? Or try the default earpiece as well. You may have gotten a lemon.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i4mt3hwin:
I recorded a video of it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIx5p1yAjXs for people wondering what it sounds like or whatever.

I'm not much of an audio guy, aside from knowing that my UE900's sound a **** ton better than other headphones, so I'm not really familiar with how to determine how easy each IEM is to drive. I have SE425's and the stock S4 headphones I can test. I also have Senn 595's but I know those are much higher impedance. I'm going to try flashing a custom kernel in the mean time as well.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Lienot:
The frustrating thing is - really - I had no problems with the stock Rom. Is this possible? I am an audio freak, I have more than 5 different headphones/sets

Because I only get the distortions with the rooted phone it is even more confusing.

I really don't know why it is happening...

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[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
Don't forget that the tests I reported are for PURE RESISTIVE LOADS. Real headphones have an impedance that will vary considerably with frequency (the "nominal" impedance of headphones I think is measured at 1 kHz). So maybe the impedance drops too low at some frequencies. Anyway, those "fuzzies" which show in the sine tones (on the scope) and sound like a "buzz" are well known in output driver stages and are circuit design issues. I'd be really surprised if any sort of firmware update could fix it and maintain the same outstanding characteristics that the S4 has. I updated the RMAA audio tests (for 32 ohm resistor loads) at the web page. My results are for open headphone output (what you'd get if you used a small external amp) and 32 ohm resistor loads are very similar to GSMArena's measurements ... probably the best audio performer of any current smartphone. So we really have to continue to leverage this to Samsung to get a proper response.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Lienot:
Sorry that I have to post again, but I tested it again and it is interesting... it is not the volume, it is the frequency.

Two different songs, one is crackling at ca 70% volume other song, not crackling at 100 percent although the bass is not "unheavy", too...

All the best

Lienot

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[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
Yes, but a check on innerfidelity reveals that the lowest the UE900 dips is 20 ohms: http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/LogitechUE900.pdf. A friend with the Shure SE425 also experiences the same issue when the lowest impedance it goes is around 19 ohms: http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/ShureSEseries.pdf

I wonder if different sets may be more 'lemon' than others.

I am trying to leverage this to Samsung, but it would help if everyone does their part to email Samsung about this. One person reporting this problem they'd probably ignore, but if hundreds or thousands come to them with the same issue it might do the trick.

Though I doubt Samsung will initiate a recall for this since realistically 99% of users will probably be satisfied with Samsung stock earphones. Just take a look at the 'screen smearing' thread, I think that is a much more minor issue than this but no one apart from a few of us seems to care about the amplifier issue which may be much more troubling.

By the way, I'm no sound engineer, but what exactly is the output driver stage? Is it part of the amplifier or the DAC? If it's the DAC then maybe we need to involve Qualcomm in this too. Is it connected to the motherboard or integrated to the 3.5mm jack? Take a look at the teardown to see how the S4's motherboard looks like: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+S4+Teardown/13947/1

---------- Post added at 05:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:03 PM ----------

To get a better objective test, try the test tones I linked to above.

BTW, on your rooted phone are you using a custom kernel or still the default kernel? Are you sure it doesn't happen on the stock ROM for you? Maybe you would want to try again! Or is it two different S4s you are talking about?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Lienot:
I use the djembey - or how the name was... and I am 99% sure that with the unrooted phone I don't have this problem. It is the second time I have it. I have to test the tones, but I am not at home right now

CU

Lienot

Gesendet von meinem GT-I9505 mit Tapatalk 2

---------- Post added at 06:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:20 PM ----------

Same phone, stock kernel...

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[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i4mt3hwin:
Well I flashed a stock image with odin, no root, and I still have the issue. That being said -- I'm pretty sure I didn't have this issue when I bought the phone because the first thing I remember doing is listening to music and thinking about how good it is and I definitely had it turned up. It's possible that I wasn't listening to the right songs or whatever but so far I can't get it to go away. I've tried disabling all the S4 features and stuff to see if it's maybe interference by something, the wifi or whatever, I tried disabling the radio. I've odin flashed back to stock official and now I'm going to try a custom kernel.

I've already sent an email to samsung via their customer support about it -- I only have another few days to return the device back to T-Mobile. I don't want to because I kind of like it and I don't want to go a few days without a phone but whatever. What annoys me is that because this only effects people who care about the sound quality of the device no one is really going to report it as an issue. I haven't seen one review mention it. GSM Arena who supposedly did an extensive audio portion said nothing about it.

Frustrating.

I posted Jens link up on reddit android:

http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/1e6s5v/galaxy_s4_may_have_severe_audio_distortion/

Hopefully more people will see it there and make a fuss and it will get resolved.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
If it's possible, try to get a 1-1 exchange from T-Mobile. Some phones are less sensitive/affected than others for some reason. When I found out about this issue I went to get a 1-1 exchange. The exchanged unit had noticeable crackling even at volume 8 so I rejected it and stuck with my original one. Decided to send it in to the service centre, and got back a unit that was a little less sensitive where the crackling is much less apparent even at max volume.

BTW I suggest you post a video of the apparent crackling in a normal song to convince more people. Test tones may seem unconvincing to the uneducated masses.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] otacon888:
Tested on I9500 with my XBA4 and perfect sound at full volume. What's strange is that there were two I9505s on display and both were perfectly fine. Tested with same song and same earphones.

I don't get it...
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
That is great!

I've tested demo sets without the issue as well. But the demo sets are running i9505X which have slightly different hardware (particularly they do not have a SIM card slot). Probably they do not have the cellular hardware too which may explain the differences.

Anyway, I have made a video of the problem using an actual song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5qj8Ba1wkc&feature=youtu.be

Feel free to share them.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] otacon888:
Yup...the demo sets are I9505x.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
Actually I am really curious about the hardware differences in the 9505X. I enabled airplane mode on my 9505 and the problem still happens. Probably added/removed something in the production sets that may have caused the problem.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Lienot:
I am sorry but I can't hear anything on this video...

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[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
I used my iPhone to record it so it may be a little soft. Try turning up the volume if you can!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Moedot7:
The crackle dissapeared when I plugged this little bad boy in

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0016CFZQ0?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links

beginning to think its the number of bands on the jack. 3bands work. 2bands flop.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NZtechfreak:
The XBA4 have a 32ohm impedance, so wouldn't particularly expect there to be issues with those.

RE: Root status - it has nothing whatsoever to do with this. Mine is unrooted.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] otacon888:
The XBA4 crackles with my I9505 already at low volumes. The XBA4 is 8 ohms..no?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Moedot7:
Can someone please check the issue with the number of bands on the headphone jack. Im pretty certain now that its the case.

If you have 4metalic, with 3black lines on the headphone jack which is below 32ohms, it should not crackle.

And if you have 3metalic with 2black lines you will need a headphone with high impadence.

Please someone verify this.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gavinfabl:
I thought the XBA-4 were 8 ohms too.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i4mt3hwin:
Mesaone over at reddit recommended this : http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290372905689&ssPageName=ADME:L:eek:C:US:3160

I bought one and I contacted the seller to see if he could send me a custom 10 ohm one which should just push my UE900's over the 20 ohm mark at low frequencies. When I get them in I'll let you guys know what I find. But it seems like a decent temporary solution that doesn't take up too much space.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
I don't think that is the root problem. I used an adapter cable to break out the 4 pole jack to two parallel outputs and it doesn't fix anything (tried various terminations on the Mic to Gnd output) for low loads like 10 ohm. In fact (and not surprising) it can make things worse (probably parasitics on that Mic/Gnd pole). When you use a 3 pole (simple headphone jack) on that 4 pole jack, the Mic pole is shorted to Gnd. If you don't short that Mic pole to Gnd, it floats at ~ 2.3 VDC. If you have at least ~ 1.4kohm load on it which drops the voltage on it to 1.0V, then the system recognizes that load (or a higher load) as a signal that there it should not use the internal mic and (if one is connected) will use an external mic between the Mic pole and Gnd. http://www.jensign.com/S4Distortion/adaptercable.jpg
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NZtechfreak:
Ah, I looked it up on a quick n dirty Google search.

At 8ohms the crackling must be intense, it was unbearable at 12ohm for me. Got an Octa today to test again, only have the UE900 to test with right now though. Hopefully can borrow some low impedance IEMs from somewhere...
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
Any results on the custom kernel yet?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i4mt3hwin:
Sorry about that was doing mothers day stuff then game of thrones -- i'll try it right now.

---------- Post added at 04:00 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:36 AM ----------

Nah it has no effect really. Lowering the headphone gain decreases the max volume which makes it so it doesn't happen but that defeats the point. What I really wanted to see is if raising the gain past stock then lowering the volume would fix, but that just does the same thing, though the effect starts happening around 7/8 instead of 10/11. Oh well. Hopefully this resistance adapter will work.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
Okay, I'm a noob to ROMs and such, but does flashing a custom kernel change the root firmware of the phone? Or the firmware is still Samsung-dependent and there's a tiny hope that Samsung could fix it via firmware?

BTW the resistance adapter probably won't help your cause as volume will be decreased as well. For your UE900, is it very soft at volume 7/8? Just curious because normally for my UE600 I listen at around 2-3.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] RaptorMaster:
Hey Guys,

i found a solution for me (sorry for bad english, iam german ^^) i use the Stock Headphone now!!! With my Galaxy S2 i use sennheiser (dont know model at the moment, but with s4 i have cracking with it)

i install this kernel on my european i9505: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2273437

p.s.: you must have cwm or twrp to flash this "zip" file!!!

after that i download the "FauxSound" App @ google play store (you must pay for the app but its awsome:D thx faux)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teamkang.fauxsound

open the app and change it like this:

my phone specs:

and i use power amp for bass control:

and now, with stock headphones i have big fat sound and bass :good::laugh::D

its awsome!!!!!

try it out... btw i dont know why i must set "Headphone Poweramp gain control" to -3, but with this value its verry loud and good sound!!!

also the value -2 and -1 are good!!!

btw: even with my sennheiser its sounds better, because the FauxSound app boost the amplifier verry high, so you can cross the "crackling" line....!!!!

peace RaptorMaster
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NZtechfreak:
Tried my UE900 - no crackling with either version S4. I wonder if there is something else in play for the other user of the UE900 getting crackling?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
I went to the local audio store and tested the ue 900 as well. didn't notice any distortion at any volume level. Tried the 1khz tone and it was all clean too. I suspect your set may be a lemon. may I know what firmware version you are on?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ker0zene:
I'm another T-Mobile Galaxsy S4 owner confirming the crackle/distortion using my Ultimate Ears SuperFi 3 headphones. I tested the same headphones vs. my S2 and friend's S3 with no distortion. I may purchase the adapter once someone confirms it resolves the issue. So far someone has confirmed that their headphones distort on the Galaxy S4 they own, but the behavior didn't appear on a display model S4 using the same headphones. I'm not sure if we should be exchanging these units or waiting for a software update or workaround.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NZtechfreak:
That's the Ultimate Ears 900s again also?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ker0zene:
They are the Ultimate Ears SuperFi 3. I bought them in 2011, they may have changed the model number.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NZtechfreak:
Those are 13ohm, would expect those to have bad problems with crackling.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] tyoung88:
Received my i9505 last night and the clipping is horrible with my JVC HA-FXZ200 headphones. No clipping with my Beats Wireless headphones but not sure that bluetooth audio should have a similar issue? Hopefully this gets resolved soon, I would expect a lot more from Samsung's flagship product.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
Since I suspect the problem is (almost certainly) the output analog-driver part of the DAC (those "fuzzies" are well known in output analog stage design), so there shouldn't be any similar problem with bluetooth since it doesn't use that part of the output.

BTW, if you decide, as a temporary fix, to use a simple series resistor to raise the output impedance seen by the headphone output, you can easily determine if you will have enough volume available, since you will loose part of your available signal across that series resistor. The internal resistance of the S4 (measured) is about 2.5 ohm. So with a series resistor (you add) and the known nominal impedance of your headset (say 12 ohm), you have an internal max voltage source (~0.75Vpeak) in series with 2.5 ohm + (your added resistor) + (your headphone impedance). An easy voltage divider calculation will show your available volume when driven at 15/15. To help with this, I have added a measured voltage levels (and corresponding dB) for each volume setting under a load of 33 ohm (so these values are very close to the internal voltage of the S4):

Problem With Low-Impedance Headphones
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Lienot:
I can't believe that my 600 Euro Phone sounds like ****.

I had the S2 / S3 / Note2 - Note2 was the best, but I can not believe that I hear what I hear.

I hope I can give it back (guarantee), although I tried to flash everything and hoped to get it back to original stock - I can't get an "original" system status. It sucks big time. Anything I did - it was in the end "custom"

lienot
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] i4mt3hwin:
I mean I posted the video and I tested it with both the stock player and PlayerPro. I don't have any issues with my Galaxy Nexus or plugging my UE900's directly into my computer. The S4 is the only place where I'm hearing a problem. I'm going to call T-Mobile today and see if I can get a swapped unit, but the last time I asked them they said I'd have to pay a $50 restocking fee.

My firmware is JDQ39.M919UVUAMDL

http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/0...cing-terrible-audio-clipping-with-headphones/
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
No idea then. There's a new ME2 firmware released today I think, but I doubt it will solve the problem. Best to get a 1-1 exchange. Or you could try swapping between the black and blue cables for the UE900 and see if that solves it!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] pintycar:
I have just tested my i9505 and the sound is acceptable. I tried with some Sony MDR-1R and it sounds clean all the way to 12. The stereo depth is poor though. I'll do a similar test tonight with my S3 (i9300) to compare.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] elfary:
Certainly is the very first non iPhone smartphone that has no hiss drivingy UM3x iems.

So this fuzzy thing is really frustrating.

It seems impossible for me to decomission my iPhone 4S 64gb which for audio purposes is (sadly) still undefeated.

Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
Aren't those UM3x > 50 ohm? Maybe I missed a posting about someone's experience with UM3x but I think those would be fine with the S4 ... no "fuzzies".
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] donovan2123:
Question is do we think these issues with higher end headphones crackling at higher volumes can be solved with firmware update or is it down to a poor quality hardware dac?

As crazy as it sounds this is really stressing me out as this phone is flagship and I feel let down that I can't use my own headphones with out causing issue.

I may leave android and go for a simple Nokia lumia 920 for a year until Samsung sort out there build quality.

It also seems that the new HTC one is experiencing similar issues to us as i also considered trading the s4 for the one as music is one of the main reasons I bought phone and is probably most feature used.

Any suggestions or thoughts?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] elfary:
As in all balanced armature earphones UM3x impedance varies across the frequency spectrum. 56 ohms is the average impedance but at dc impedance is 23hz, at 1kHz its 117 ohms and at 10kHz it's 21 ohms.

Optimism is the depth of technical ignorance
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
If it doesn't drop below say ~ 16 ohm at any frequency it *might* be fine. Did you try the UM3x with an S4?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] elfary:
I tried the UM3x with a 9505 S4 at a showroom and didn't have an issue.

But i find hard to put up with a source that it's so limiting with low loads.

And that's sad because i just managed to hear the preloaded Over The Horizon tune i sensed that the 9505 was capable of very nice and clean audio.

I deem this issue so unfortunate that i think that Samsung will fix it in future variants so i'd rather hold back for the time being. And anyway i was interested in 64gb version that sure will not pop out anytime soon.

BTW your measurements of the S4 are phenomenal. I'd wish you could test more smartphones ;)

Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] olaf63:
I tried 3 mid good sennheiser headsets all at 16 ohm and all crackle at volume past 12. Very sad.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ker0zene:
Just curious if anyone has tried flashing a CM10.1 nightly via ROM Manager to see if that resolves the issue. Trying to narrow down whether this is hardware or software. If no one else chimes in I'll go ahead and flash tonight to test.