yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] otacon888:
This is simply disappointing. I have used my XBA4 in the past with a S2, S3, Note 2 and XPERIA Z and no problem at max volume...but to be fair the max volume of the S4 is way higher than all the phones I have listed above.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
hmmm, that is interesting, because my listening tests and audio measurements show that the S3 and S4 have EXACTLY the same audio output levels, under low or high impedance loads:

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs S3 Headphone Output Levels
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] otacon888:
My tests are not scientific like yours. All I do is play the same song on the different phones with the same earphones. I have the international exynos S3 with Wolfson DAC...maybe its different from your Qualcomm variant?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Lienot:
That's it - I can not take this anymore.... It's on ebay, I hope I will get enough money.

I am not sure - what do you think is better for me, XPERIA Z or the new HTC ONE?

I need loud headphone output (rooting the phone is not a problem) The sound of the unit itself, without headphone is not that important.

Can someone tell me which sounds really good AND loud? Perhaps someone has listened to one of these phones?

All the best,

lienot
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
I think I said "listening tests" ... so I don't just do scientific measurements. My ears will dictate what I like and dislike and my ears tell me that the Qualcomm units I "listened to" and "tested" are virtually identical.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] avetny:
Xperia Z got the best sound around. Reference sound. -10Points

HTC One - 8Points

Regards
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] otacon888:
My XBA4 sounded great with the XPERIA Z. No crackling or distortion at max volume but the max volume is less than on the S4 I9500.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] avetny:
i9500 sounds garbage comparing with Xperia Z.

100% true.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] olaf63:
HTC ONE very good and loud sound

---------- Post added at 09:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:21 PM ----------

Mine is gone for service, only when I showed my two S4 and let listen them I convinced the service collector of my town. They also sent in my CX600 with the phone. let's hope.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
HTC has other issues. I owned one. I would no way go back to that cheap junk with low quality screen and materials. Also the s4 is really loud both headphone and speaker !

Custom Stock Rom 4.1 Eternity

Brilliantly Stock
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Lienot:
I just bought one, I hope to get it soon.

It's a good price, 333 Euro, NEW, from BASE (a smaller provider in germany, I think they have VIA in their Firmwares) and it is... Tataaa. The Galaxy S3

I want a Samsung, because I know it, I like it, and the Galaxy S3 is a phone I really know. I know how to root it, how to get the best sound of it, I know the camera is ok, the sound is very good and my 64exfat card is no problem, too.

333 Euro is a very good price for this phone, it is NOT simlocked - if it has a branding I do not care.

If I sell the S4 for 550 via ebay (I hope....) then it is absolutely ok for me.

As I said, camera isn't that important, the S3 has a good camera, not as good as the S4 - but the S3 has definitly a good sound!

BTW: When their will be a solution for the sound problem with the next firmware update I will bite myself in the... you know where...

All the best

lienot
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] otacon888:
[MENTION=1191710]NZtechfreak[/MENTION] Did you get a chance to test your octa?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] androidizen:
Hi all, I had a response from Samsung UK representatives, they are "Looking into it" which is something. Let's hope it won't be too difficult for them to fix. I've tried every firmware out so far and still have the problem, it's worse on some roms than others but always present.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] StuartTheFish:
I get a squealing noise through my headphone jack, but only when charging.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NZtechfreak:
Not yet, I only have some UE900 at the moment but their impedance isn't quite low enough to unmask the crackling. I get some UE600 the day after tomorrow so will check then.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] inolvidable:
Idem

¡¡So say we all!! from my GT-I9500
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] otacon888:
I was going through my old stuff and found some old Sony MDR-EX71 and MDR-E888.

On the I9505 both earphones crackled but at a much higher volume than the XBA4

I tried them on the I9500 as well. The MDR-EX71 had no crackles even at max volume but strangely the MDR-E888 crackles on certain tracks.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
Anyone been using audio technica ATH-M50 and AKG k450 and klipsch s4 or x10 ? Do they have any issues. My in ear Yamaha eph100 look like they will have to go :(

Custom Stock Rom 4.1 Eternity

Brilliantly Stock
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
Have the ATH-M50 with no issues.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] AF85:
I've narrowed it down to somewhere between 27 and 40 ohms that the crackle stops (Shure SE215 suffers, Koss PortaPros do not). I've got some EPHs and I'm also gutted they don't work, I love their response curve.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] UXELLR:
Could`t wait to buy I9500 even if I really wanted wolfson.

My i9505 bought a couple of days ago with hardware rev. 0.9 has no issues with

JVC HA FX40. 16 ohm Tried all volumes. Played a lot of bass heavy music.

My first impressions is that the sq is on par with my s3 with wolfson dac. Maybee a little colder in tone.

It gives the feeling of more space and air between instruments. Great for people who love a analytical

sound signature. The bass is tight, and the highs have good clarity.

The i9500 is probably better, but havent seen any review/measurements on the matter.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] MattBastet:
Hi everyone,

I'm reassured to see that I'm not alone with these f**** problems (650€ for this S4 with problems like this it's just inadmissible !!).

I've tested it with UrBeats.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] owgees:
Aww, I have the problem too. Crackles like a freshly milked bowl of puffed rice breakfast cereal. So disappointed. I've put up with my slow (but awesome voodoo sound) o.g gs1 until yesterday when I finally upgraded. Everything else I love so much about this phone but I use it a lot for music, so has to go back. I am using klipsch s4 iem's.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] noufel:
Having same problem but on the loud speaker headphones are fine :/
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] vandal4e:
currently im testing I9505 have severe issues of distortion @ some tracks, but i found for the last 10 minutes there's absolutely NO distortion @ volume 13, 14-15 cracking instantly comes in or even a slight move in preamp @ poweramp,sadly 13 is just average this is really inexplicable but shouldn't be by any means hardware limitation

Edit : same thing with stock player no crackling @ 13 , and suddenly it distorted at this position,going +1 or -1 instantly fixes the issues something is very wrong
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
Wow I thought I was the only one with eph-100s ;) they are amazing eh !!!! Shame I will have to get some klipsch s4 by looks of things :( still ok headphones. Agree eph are amazing !!!!

---------- Post added at 08:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:21 PM ----------

Are they great like reviews say. ? Off topic I know but wondered if they are any good as coming from in ears to use in my S4 on the train or akg are any good ? :)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] owgees:
Klipsch s4 crackle. At least mine do with my gs4
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
Thanks. . Avoid. Maybe sound magic with some comply tips ;) anyone using those. Had a pair and they were really well built but they dis not fit my ears. My ears are klipsch registered. Lol. Only earbuds that work in my ears or eph of course. Time to change to on ear or over ears me thinks.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] owgees:
I want to get the comply tips since the silicone klipsch ones fall out all the time at the gym. Amazon reviews say they fall apart quickly though(sorry for off topic)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
For sports I use neck band sweat resistant headphones like these Sennheiser PMX 685i Sports In-Ear Neckband Headphones

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0094R4Q6Y/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_gb?ie=UTF8.

If you want music in the gym neck band is the way to go. Never ever fall out ;)
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
At home for evening listening in bed I use these klipsch headphones which I purchased around 4 years ago..... no idea of model number etc but they fit great and would love another pair but can't find them anywhere. Shame as they are amazing.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] noufel:
Can anybody tell me if someones s4 loudspeaker is crackling??
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rc0310:
loudspeaker is fine at all all volume. . no crackling

I have crackking problems with my JVC HA-FXZ200 at 50% or more though
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] donovan2123:
Sound magic e10 crackles as well. I reckon are best option here is a mini portable amplifier such as fiio E05-E06 I think that's our only choice at the moment.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
That's rubbish...... hope there is a mod or fix. !!!!!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NZtechfreak:
Got some UE600 today. My god, the crackling is unspeakably awful on the i9505 with those, much worse even than the sets I tested before. My i9500 does not crackle on the same tracks.

Next up: blind ABx between the two models with the UE900 which do not crackle on either for me.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] otacon888:
Thanks for the update!!! Anyways, I switched back to the I9505. I went to Samsung and demoed the crackling on my I9500 to the staff there and they recommended me to send it in for repair. Lets see how that goes...

Do you guys think they can fix the problem or I should just get new earphones?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Joe0Bloggs:
You have crackling on the 9500??? :eek:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NZtechfreak:
Honestly, I would get some new ones. There are basically no smartphones with output impedance low enough to use with the XBA4 given its impedance is around 6ohms in the bass frequencies (not even the iPhone 4 or Note 2 with their very low impedances around the 0.9 mark). Everytime you change phones there is likely to be issues with them having wonky frequency responses in the bass spectrum.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
They may not sound the best with the iP4 or N2 but at least they give off no crackling. It's one thing to have a different frequency response and another thing to have annoying distortion noises altogether! I mean in either case just plug in an amp and you're good to go but it's troublesome.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NZtechfreak:
True, totally different scenarios, but even so, if you're not planning to use an amp the XBA4 just aren't really set up for portable sources (which begs the question what they were designed for, unless the boomy uncontrolled bass due to the impedance in the bass spectrum is there by design).
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] otacon888:
What's annoying is that when I was at Samsung yesterday I tried my XBA on everything on display there...S3, Note 1+2, S4 display models (9505x), S2, all the cheapo models and tablets and none of them crackled...of course I played the exact same track on all of them. I spent like 3 hours there checking and double checking and triple checking.

Also, I have used my XBAs in the past with the HTC One X, XPERIA S, NEXUS, S3, NOTE 2 and no crackles.

I was thinking of getting the Sony XB90 with 16 ohm impendence but I am afraid it will crackle too...anyone tried the XB90 with the S4?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
Whether it crackles or not depends very much on your handset too. To be on the safe side, I would check the impedance curve on Google. If it's a constant 16ohm you should be safe. If sensitivity is high (115 and above for example) it would be better, as even if it crackles you can run it at a lower volume and still get very loud output.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] otacon888:
Thanks for the input!

Does anyone understand the graphs at the following link?

http://en.goldenears.net/17313
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NZtechfreak:
The impedance and phase graph is the one you want to look at it in relation to the S4 crackling issue, their measurements show it at a fairly flat ~18-19 impedance throughout almost the entire frequency range (there is a blip at 5KHz but that won't make any difference in terms of what we're discussing here), which *should* mean they're OK with the i9505 to the best of our knowledge at this point.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] otacon888:
Thanks!!! I will update you guys when I get my I9500 back.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
Would it be possible to update op with headphones that crackle and those which are 100% safe ?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
It obviously isn't an acceptable solution to add a headphone amp (to "buffer" the problematic S4 output for headphones with impedances dropping below ~ 14 ohm somewhere in the spectrum). You can always buy compact high performance headphone amps. However since the maximum output of the S4 is only about 800mV, and provided you don't need tons more volume, it is reasonably easy (if you are a DIYer) to put together a very inexpensive headphone buffer which matches the great audio performance of the S4 but with lower impedance phones. The National dual LM4562 op-amp is perfect for this, but it only can deliver ~ 35 mA max output current and we need more like 50mA. Putting 2 of these in parallel works perfectly and with a minimum number of parts provides extremely low noise output and distortion matching that of the S4. Easily powered by +/- 3V or +/-4.5 V supplies. I have tested the circuit below at 10 ohm loads and as expected no fuzzies or any distortion.

Output impedance of the buffer is ~ 1 ohm.

The parts shown are the minimum possible (if you are paranoid very small DC currents you can easily add decoupling caps) ... just your super-simple buffer with a bit of current boost. Shown below is the very low noise floor and harmonic distortion at a Music player level of 14/15 when driven by the S4 playing a full-level sine track:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ZANGETSU786:
This would be a really good idea for all of use to know.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ipmanwck:
Legend ;) crazy thing is the audio from the s4 headphone jack I thought was pretty amazing apart from thr snap crackle and pop ;) I wonder if sammy will accept this issue.... surely more people hear this ??
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] donovan2123:
And how much would such a project cost to make and what sort of size we talking about.

Could be nice little earner for you unless Sammy pull there finger out there arse.

I got a new black s4 coming tomorrow from the new batch that's just become available as they been on back order. Will be interesting to see how that is..

Although I'm not expecting problem to be solved but you never know.

I9505
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
well if anyhone has/gets a i9505 or SGH-I337 and there is no "crackle" when tested (a) with earbuds known to have impedance < 16 ohm and (b) at all volumes with the standard Music player, then THAT would be very very interesting. The challenge then would be to figure out what, if anything, Samsung actually changed in the hardware. Re; the "project", I didn't really post that headphone buffer circuit to suggest that someone should necessarily make one (although I have breadboarded one). I did it more to show how easily Samsung could have fixed this problem by simply integrating some sort of chip into the output. I'll bet they weren't even aware of this problem. But if I did build this "box", most of the space would be taken with the rechargeable battery pack, i'm sure (assuming no pots for level adjust, or anything else fancy). Maybe something this size, and perhaps with a really clever design, it could also be used as a recharging pack for the S4:
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] deelz001:
how did you get on then mate? i had my phone replaced 3 times, they all have the problem lol
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Jensigner:
i just tried to do another "Samsung chat' on this but they sent me to Samsung Mobile Support (a 1-888 ...) and talked to a guy there. He admitted that he HAD NEVER HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM. So clearly we aren't making enough "noise" about this ;)

The guy told me his "boss" would look at the problem (based on that web page I put together). I suspect that if we bombarded the same support phone number with the same message, they *might* get the message, but god knows how many phone-support folks work there. I mentioned that the problem is being discussed in many of the top discussion forums. He claimed I could get a quick response (in as little as 25 min. he claimed ... really??). If they contact me for more evidence, I'll point them to the discussion thread here and over ad hi-fi plus a few others. Is it really conceivable that this problem is just so low on their radar that it hasn't precolated up yet to something significant?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NZtechfreak:
Oh, don't think I mentioned this earlier - I have a contact at Samsung, relatively high up the chain in their NZ division and I have passed it on to him. The scope of his role means that I don't think this would be something he would be directly involved in, but he is passing it along.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] owgees:
I got my replacement today from Amazon who sent it fast! But it has the same problem (though less obvious). So disappointed. I love everything else so much about this phone.. I think i will send them both back for now and wait a month or so to see how this pans out. Gutted, but i need it for music. Back to sgs1 :( with voodoo sound .
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ramhen:
Mixed Results

Before adapt sound (settings -> sounds -> adapt sound) crackling on cheap skullcandy headphones, Samsung provided headphones. Panasonic So-So performance. Great sound on iPhone 5 headphones.

After adapt sound, all headphones improved. I still think that the iphone 5 headphones are the best of the 4 headphones I tested.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kooshalghoora:
Issues with the screen on the i9500 16 GB

Hi am from Mauritius island in the indian ocean... I bought a samsung galaxy s4 i9500 16 GB from a local supplier, after a few hours i got some problems with the screen. it started to flash by itself, i was seeing many line on the screen. so i sent it for repair and they said it was a manufacturing problem from samsung itself.... The supplier gave me a new phone with all the accessories
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] donovan2123:
Recieved another handset from the new stock which has arrived at Vodafone.

And so far it seems ok will keep this updated over coming days in case problem starts to show.

This is the black version.

First black handset was really bad then I had a white one which was better but still distorted at high volumes and now back to black with full volume and fairly high levels of boost at full volume in poweramp and some bass heavy hip hop tracks which caused major issues on last two phones.

All seems good so far
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Obagleyfreer:
I have also spoken with someone in the Tech team @ Samsung NZ regarding this and screen issues.

Hopefully we can get this resolved :)

I would be very interested in hearing what outcome you get.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] msavic6:
This is the one thing holding me back from getting an S4. Has it been determined a hardware issue or is it software?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] NZtechfreak:
Unknown, although I think the best guess at this point is hardware. What headphones are you planning to use with it though? The majority of headphones and IEMs will exhibit no fault. so this isn't necessarily a reason to avoid the phone.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] trenzterra:
Hey guys I just wanted to report that I have received my impedance adapter and there isn't any distortion issue when using it. So you guys may want to look at it as a temporary workaround. The con is that it may not work with certain cases cos the plug itself is quite big!
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] msavic6:
I am currently shopping around for a new set of iem's or maybe on/over ears. I was looking at getting the xba3 possibly but I havent decided yet. I may even go for a pair of v-moda m80/m100.

What is a good iem that works on the S4 without crackling?
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] otacon888:
Which S4 do you have? My XBA4 is completely unusable with the I9505.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DevilzGtr:
Micro usb > Female Jack

Do you guys think a micro usb to female jack will make any difference?

Worth a try?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Micro-USB...ion_Audio_Cables_Adapters&hash=item1e789fd69c

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MICRO-USB..._MobilePhoneDataCables_JN&hash=item3cd1147c14
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Lienot:
I don't think this will work with the S4.

These are only for phones that have no real 3.5 connector.

All the best

lienot
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] donovan2123:
Yes I think this will work as it works on Samsung galaxy s3 4.0 onwards. Plus most docks including Samsung usually dock using micro usb but at back of dock it has micro usb for charging/data and aux out.
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Eambo:
Got an interesting response from Samsung:

I wonder how long I should wait before asking when the "software fix" is due out X-D
[Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] RHAZ3R:
Hello guys,

So for the list of the OP : I use Brainwavz M5 with the Galaxy s4 GT-I9505 and the crackling begins almost at above 50% Volume.

Gesendet von meinem GT-I9505 mit Tapatalk 2