yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trotski1977:
Samsung, you shower of b******s!

This is a nightmare...

I have a Sony Smart Wireless Headset Pro which provides excellent sound over bluetooth, unfortunately the bluetooth stack in Android 4.2.2 totally sucks, which results in regular drop outs!

However the headset comes with a SD slot so I listen to my music from a 32gb SD and only use bluetooth for calls etc.

I forgot to charge the headset the other day so plugged the headphones into the S4 only to hear crack, pop, crack, crack, crack!!

I've been commuting for 2 hrs a day for over 10 years and spend a fair bit of cash on personal audio, but have never heard of this BS in mid-high end equipment.

Absolutely ridiculous Samsung, how the hell could this of passed through QA...

Does the term throw away headphones/sets mean anything to you guys!

Anyways you can add these headphones to the bleeping list:

Beyerdynamic DTX100

Shure SE102

Sony MH1a
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] UXELLR:
What firmware are you on?

Samsung has fixed the issue on latest formwares. No more crackling on any headsets, low or high impedance.

Think if you still have problems with all the above headsets, you should think faulty hardware and do an exchange!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mo_mail:
I just realised the problem has gone, was getting used to low volume audio.

So happy, S4 is awesome.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] steelefriese:
Where do I download this firmware? I'm having crackling with the Sony XBA headphones.

Edit- Kies says I have the latest firmware..
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] UXELLR:
As always, google and search button is your friends!

Here is a good place to start to download latest firmware:

http://samsung-updates.com/device/?id=GT-I9505&details=Galaxy_S_4__Snapdragon

1. Find your region. If its not listed any "nearby" will be good.

2. Flash with odin.

3. Enjoy your music!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] PockySnacks:
Does anyone know any roms that do not have the crackling problem? Right now I know that Fox hound 0.7 has the problem
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
www.sammobile.com
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] PockySnacks:
Thank you,

But I have the USA tmobile variant Galaxy s4 and there are 3 different download links to June 2013 Firmwares. Does it matter which one I choose?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] steelefriese:
I need to know this too.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] UXELLR:
Here you go!

http://xdaforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2279
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] steelefriese:
Are you retarded? You didn't help at all. I know that's the sub-forum for the T-Mobile GS4.

That wasn't the question.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] UXELLR:
Cute!

Since you posted here again, instead of reading up in the right forum for your phone it seems like you didnt help yourself either.

You have gotten a lot of pointers. In what position do you think you can demand more?

The signature was not ment especially for you so don't feel hurt.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
FiiO E17 and the GS4

I think in many ways, the ultra-compact FiiO E17 is the perfect mate to the GS4 if you use low impedance phones/iems (16 ohm or lower) and you insist on the best possible sound you can get from your S4. Although the new S4 firmware reportedly fixes the "buzz/crackle" instability problem, distortion will always be higher with lower impedance buds for any headphone output. I tested my FiiO E17 with my S4 SGH-I337 (not updated so still has horrible buzz for loads below ~ 15 ohm when used alone). With my S4 connected to the E17, there is no sign of the crackle or any instability. (The E17 line-in presents an input impedance of ~ 12 kohm to the headphone output of the S4 so not surprising there is no "crackle").

The results are impressive imo:

http://www.jensign.com/FiiOE17

I've also included some measured FiiO parameters that aren't in the official specs.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] UXELLR:
Thanks for getting thread back on topic.

Good work as always. Looking forward to see your measurements after you update.

Will be interesting to see if the fix has done something strange with frequency curve or other things.

My personal subjective opinion is that the SQ is top notch. Good bass and treble control. Its even better than S3 with wolfson, when compared side by side.

Tested with Monster pro copper and JVC HA-fx40

edit: I did not notice a tonal change. Feel the galaxy line has a relatively cold tone, the s4 even more than s3. Great for detail retrieval. Could be its missing some power to really pump the bass. But thats not my preference.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
Sometimes, based on my own listening experience in jazz, rock, classical, I think "cold" can sometimes mean a very flat frequency response with very little distortion combined with the type of music you are listening to. However I don't claim to have audiophile-quality ears :D . I know lots of folks like pumping up their bass. I do this for older recordings but prefer to set the response flat with no EQ (with my Senn HD 598). I think the S4 has a good reserve of available power for typical listening volume and typical sensitivity phones, so it's hard to think that (unless you have really hard-to-drive high impedance phones) bass pump capability is missing in the S4. I find that some audio gear I have that technically doesn't look great in distortion etc. can actually sound warmer to my ears (for headphone listening). Whopps! I didn't intend to start a cross-over into the tube/solid-state preference so there I go not! (even though I must admit I have a Fender Twin Reverb tube amp :)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] UXELLR:
Audiophile ears are sometimes overrated anyways, people have their own preference and notice changes where there are non. Me included (no, i'm not an audiophile).

I trust my ears, but measurements more, atleast when it comes to digital players. And happily I find those who measure great, to be pleasing to the ears. Headphones are another matter.

When I say I dont notice a tonal change, is that it was not big enough for my audio memory to draw any conclusions, given the time after the update. When comparing we should have volume matching and blind testing to really reveal differences. So my subjective experience is just that, and absolutely not scientific facts.

What is your experience with the q amp? I see the stero crosstalk is so much better. Do you percieve this listening to music?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
By "q" do you mean the Headphone Quadbuffer? I haven't noticed a huge difference in actual listening crosstalk even though there is a big difference in measurements. I don't worry much about crosstalk though. That quadbuffer amp (i've included a plot of rechargeable battery drain) can run for over 35 hours without recharge, and with a pair of the op-amps removed can run for well over 50 hours. Of course there is no digital processor in there so that keeps the battery drain way down.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] UXELLR:
Yes, that answered my question. Again, hope you get updated!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
Yes can hardly wait .... my test gear is "locked and loaded", waiting for the update to hit the SGH-I337 versions. Spoke to a Bell Mobility rep. last week and he thinks a firmware will roll out within a month or so.

BTW, that quadbuffer amp will have very similar performance to the flagship FiiO E12 Mont Blanc headphone amp. It uses the identical first stage opamps, but that product uses a final high-current output opamp whereas my design quadruples (parallels) the first stage opamps to provide a lot of current drive. Also I believe that the quadbuffer can run for much longer on a recharge cycle. The E12 can deliver a lot more current but for many headphones that is unused capability. BTW I don't have plans to package QuadBuffer into a product so this isn't a sales pitch ... but the QuadBuffer can be easily expanded out to a "HexBuffer" (4 dual opamps per channel ... and then gets to have the capability of the E12.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] nashant:
I had an awful crackle problem on my i9505, only at lower frequencies. Terrible for me, as I listen to a lot of drum n bass with the bass amped up to the max! Stock was terrible, PACman was terrible, just flashed rootbox jfltecan (Canadian version) and it's fixed!!! RHA MA350 buds, 16 ohm impedance, heavy heavy bass working again :D
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] UXELLR:
Thats the problem, you think people should "give" you things, or be served on a silver plate. We dont owe you anything or are your personal support service. Be thankful for the help you get/deserve. And the namecalling makes me hope the crackling on your phone never goes away.

-my last post on the matter.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] 299792458:
Look, I think the point is that, despite the issue being addressed in a firmware update, this thread is not about how to do a firmware update.

That being said, I'm a VZW customer that is anxiously awaiting an update. I'm actually considering ordering a15 ohm adapter from eBay, but I have a feeling that by the time I order and receive one the VZW update will be right around the corner.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
Since all the firmware-updated folks here claim that the crackle is completely gone, I'd hold off on the 15 ohm adapter for another month or 2. As I said above, over here in NA my carrier thinks we'll be getting new firmware in less than a month.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
I installed it manually from www.sammobile.com so easy and won't void warranty either ;) no crackle since
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Shaun--77:
:( i dont want to go to stock. im using foxhound 0.8 (themed stock with performance tweaks) and my crackle is still there using jvc xtreme explosives and sound magic p11s. i only noticed it today when my stock earbuds died in one ear and found this thread. when do you think samsung releases kernel sources( if it is the kernel as some are saying)?:confused:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
but .... sometimes digital just isn't as good as analog! More detailed measurements show that the USB and S/PDIF playback using the E17 DAC isn't nearly as good as the analog line-in. See newly added last paragraph in the page above.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
High Quality S4 Portable Headphone System

Since the S4 has one of the very best headphone audio output characteristics of any smartphone (notwithstanding the crackle problem with very low impedance buds), here is a fairly portable and (almost) wireless 3-component system which will work well with almost all headphones up to ~ 300 ohm (even without the new firmware):

The FiiO E17 is a very good match (audio performance wise) to the S4 audio performance (if you use the E17 line-in connection). For large music databases, I use a Seagate 1 Tb Wireless Plus drive (on the left) which streams to the S4. I did RMAA audio measurements with music played this way and the playback headphone quality (over streaming) is identical to that played directly from S4 memory or an expansion SD card ... no artifacts of any sort. This is mainly because the WP uses its own dedicated Wi-Fi network. The benefits of using the E17 with the S4 are greater the smaller your headphone impedance.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gregandkelly1:
My I9505 has this issue. I am using some SoundMagic PL30's - which sounded truly awesome in my old samsung cappy with the Voodoo DSP mod.

Anyhow.... rang Samsung NZ (my country) they advised me that they have not got any HQ notes to say they have headphone playback issues and there is no slated (if even possible) software update fix for this.

Samsung also advised I can return my phone to have it checked for errors however it will be a 4-6 week turn around (leaving me with out a phone or mp3 player). The lady informed me that it could just be a compatibility issue and that Samsung hold no responsibility for the headphones not being compatible with the handset. Seriously 2013 and you have compatibility issues with headphones?!?!?!?

I asked if they had received any other calls about this issue and she advised that they had not and believe the fault to be a one off with the headphones I am using.

My 2cents.

So my options are either sell the phone at a loss buy some new headphones (which *hopefully* will work) or go back to the Sansa Clip I used many many years ago.

All in all not overly impressed with Samsung.

Is there a list of earbuds which are known to work without issue?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
Rubbish, it's a commonly known issue that was fixed in software. They're not going to openly admit fault, so of course they'll say it's an isolated issue. Update your phone via Odin.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gregandkelly1:
Awesome - thanks.

Looking for NZ updates and there are only the April ones which is installed on the phone. Can I just use any later firmware off that site (say the UK one for example)? Will the phone still work as it does now?

And last but not least.. does this kill warranty? (the phone is 2 days old - I knew i was going to load some custom firmware but i didnt think it would be this soon lol)

Sorry for the noob q's!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
Best place to ask would be in here:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2250824

But if it's an i9505 then any of those would do. These roms are stock ones which are already rooted too, but if you'd prefer a non rooted version then ones off Sammobile and the likes would be fine. If after you update you find your reception is worse, just flash a different radio. You can't use a custom rom to fix this issue yet since the source for the fix hasn't been released yet, so you'll still be stock meaning warranty should be left intact if you keep to the stock recovery, reset the flash counter and remove root access before returning it, etc. Anyway, it's all in that other thread. :)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] whirloop:
I have problems with the sound quality and volume being too low when I'm using FM-Transmitter.

Receiver volume must be kept too high to hear anything and then all the buzz noises comes thru the music.

I didn't have this issue with my Lumia 920, but when I changed to SGS4, I immediately noticed how bad sound quality galaxy s4 had.

Does anyone have any ideas what to do or try?

Could this latest firmware I9505XXUBMEA fix this?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
MEA isn't the newest any more, but that or newer versions should fix it.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] almakorte:
Can somone try for example "The Da Vinci Code - Chevaliers de Sangreal" from youtube, (the last 1-2min is enough) on his i9505 with low imp head/earphone and with max volume?

Sorry for not providing the link but xda sucks I cant link it.

I have BMF4 and still has crackling and other sound issues. They not as bad as before but its still there.

---------- Post added at 09:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:36 AM ----------

Im on BMF4 and with a lot of songs it still has the crackling other sound issue. Check my last post on full volume with a low imp head/earphone pls.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
Well then your the first person I've seen who claims they're still getting the crackling on the newer firmware/rom versions.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] almakorte:
oyetsH 5000

btw have you tryd the song I linked? You could be the second one! :p
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
Haven't seen a link?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] almakorte:
ok u are right... xda alows me not to link but "for example "The Da Vinci Code - Chevaliers de Sangreal" from youtube, (the last 1-2min is enough) on his i9505 with low imp head/earphone and with max volume?"

btw xda simply sucks with this u are not alowed to link, for each msg i have to solve CAPTCHA.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] whirloop:
Firmware I9505XXUBMEA didn't fix this. The volume is still poor and much lower than in Lumia 920.

Where can I find newer firmware to try?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
S4 has very impressive background noise

As I eagerly await an official firmware update for my SGH-I337, I must say that for a smartphone, this S4 has a VERY impressive background noise level. It's good to have ALL this info now so I can compare with my eventual updated version to ensure nothing has been tampered with (to remove the crackle).

I did more careful measurements of background noise level (in a 20 kHz BW) with headphone output loaded with 33 ohms. I did this playing back a null .wav track (pure silence but playback being exercised) with default Music player Vol set at 15/15. This gives a measured absolute headphone output voltage noise of:

Vrms(Noise) ~ 3.2uV or -108 dBu

(my measurement capability is ~ 0.4uV so this is real)

Since the maximum SIGNAL level output I measure for my S4 is ~ 0.88Vpeak (or 0.62Vrms), this translates to a S/N ratio of 20*LGT(0.62/3.2E-6) ~ 106 dB ... very very impressive for a smartphone considering all the digital circuitry, complexity and compromises to audio performance in smartphones.

Since we never listen at full output level, that is why the absolute value of noise is important. For comparison, at a unity gain setting, these are the background noise levels of some headphone amps:

QuadBuffer: 2.1 uV

FiiO Alpen E17: 5.0 uV

FiiO Mont Blanc E12: 13 uV

Although the E17 and E12 are listed as having the same S/N of ~ 110 dB, the Mont Blanc output voltage drive capability is higher (up to 6Vpeak) versus the E12 which is ~ 3.5Vpeak.

The actual background noise of the E12 and E17 are higher (than the S4).

What does this mean? If you don't need the extra driving capability of an external headphone amp, you will have lower noise using the S4 alone (even though the output noise for the E12 and E17 are very low). If you have phone impedances of over say 200ohm, you might want greater drive voltage to get higher sound level. At the lower-impedance end, say with high-end iems (say < 20 ohm), the distortion will increase significantly with the S4 (not the crackle effect). So I'd suggest this:

- With headphones between 32 ohm and 100 ohm, use the S4 alone .... it is gold.

- With headphones over 200 ohm and if you can't get enough volume, use a headphone amp .. I like the E17 for almost all headphones

- With headphones/iems < 20 ohm, and to reduce distortion, use a headphone amp .. I like the E17 again
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
Can you hear your background noise?

How "noisy" is your S4? i.e. how much background noise can you hear during playback of really quiet tracks? As you can see from the measurements above my S4 noise floor is incredibly quiet (during playback of a digital silence track) at ~ 3uV. I checked the headphone noise output also (under 33 ohm loads) when a track is PAUSED ... in this case, about 3 sec. after the pause is pressed, the output noise drops to ~ 0.5 uV (essentially the output is shorted). This is about the same level when Music player is stopped/exited so the headphone output should be dead silent. Using the stock Samsung earbuds, I can't head any hiss/noise during the null track playback at 15/15 (no EQ) so the mic connection isn't introducing any noise from the internal mic (probably muted).

To determine how quiet your music playback experience really is (i.e. your noise floor) you need to playback a track that you know doesn't have any background noise (e.g. recording noise). I've included a pure silence track in this archive:

http://www.jensign.com/S4waves
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] okiru880:
You STILL not received the firmware update yet Jensigner??! They really are making you wait... jeez.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
nothing yet. Perhaps Samsung is avoiding the NA (North American) market ;)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] euphoria47:
I am getting impatient lol. It seems updates are rolling out all over the world but not here. I guess I can say I am lucky that using the 3.5mm to an fm transmitter in the car doesn't have this issue, but then again its not exactly good quality sound.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] cz4r3n:
I had same problem of crackling sound issue but when I flash THIS, it fixed but not as loud as before...for the mean time it's better than nothing...
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] raydc2r:
I can confirm that my I9505, bought from Hong Kong but updated to the latest official firmware today in Australia, now has no crackling issues as it did originally!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
installing system update (on SGH-I337) .... not sure if this is what I think/hope it is but if so, will report here in a day details of any changes to headphone audio output characteristics .. .stay tuned :fingers-crossed:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
S4 Crackle/Instability is Fixed!

I have completed my tests on the new update for the SGH-I337 version:

I can confirm that the crackle instability is completely absent now. Tests were done at 250 Hz and 1kHz with 4.7, 10 and 33 ohm headphone loads at all volume levels and digital levels from zero to 15/15 volume using default Samsung Music player with no EQ.

The maximum output level for full digital volume is identical to that before the update: 0.88 Vpeak ( 0.62Vrms). The frequency response is also identical to before-update so absolutely nothing was tweaked in the frequency response. The background noise level (during playback) is ~ 3uVrms in 20 kHz BW so is really dead quiet, even for very high-sensitivity phones and identical to before-update value providing an amazing S/N of ~ 106 dB. Distortion characteristics are also unchanged. In a nutshell, all headphone audio characteristics I've measured with the new update are identical to those before the update as discussed here except that the buzz/crackle instability is gone! Note that, just as before (and as measured and discussed in the page above) the distortion characteristics WILL increase as the headphone impedance is lowered but this is normal. How noticeable is this distortion? Listening with my Senn HD598 (50ohm) with PARALLEL resistors of 10 ohm (or 4.7ohm) to deliberately increase harmonic and intermodulation distortions produced no detectable sound difference to my ears playing jazz and pop! In this case, simulating very low impedance iems, the distortions would be above 0.1%. No crackle, no buzz, no noticeable deteroriation in audio that I could perceive.

How much power will the S4 provide to drive headphones?

100 ohm phones: 4mW max

33 ohm phones: 11 mW max

10 ohm phones: 32 mW max

The most severe test was driving a 100% digital amplitude sine wave at 15/15 vol into 4.7 ohm loads. This just starts to show fizzie artifacts at the very bottom of the sine-wave and is definitely showing the current limit at a pretty amazing ~ 150mA peak.

So all thumbs and toes up to Samsung for fixing this problem! Would be great to know what was actually done to fix the crackle but I suspect we'll never know.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] euphoria47:
Glad to hear the update solves the issues. I am still waiting for mine (getting number of rollouts exceeded message when I try to update) so hopefully in the next day or two I can listen to music on my phone :)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sc4ryB3ar:
Have you identified the code that causes the problem?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
Did you miss his last sentence?