Bad audio quality with earbuds?


Dark Pulse

Retreaux
Joined
Jun 12, 2013
Messages
189
I've noticed a fairly distressing thing in my Pandora. The audio quality, when nothing whatsoever is plugged in, is perfectly fine - everything soundwise is "balanced." Sounds are as they should be.

But if I plug in a pair of earbuds I own, it absolutely murders the audio if it's closer to the center. If the audio is closer to the sides, however, then it becomes much louder and clearer.

I've tested it across two different programs, RockBox and RetroArch. Exact same issue, so I know it's not just a program, and I know it's not my earbuds, either, as while these are definitely old earbuds, I'd been using them on my PS Vita for months with zero problems whatsoever.

I tried looking for more advanced audio controls in XFCE, but all I was able to find were the master volume controls.

To be honest, I'm almost suspecting that the earbuds aren't making a "proper" connection somehow, but I don't have any way to make the plug go in deeper.

Any advice here would be appreciated.
 
I strangely am not in the mood to answer snarkly and mean so here is the answer:

Your earbuds have an Apple-Style connection which is not standardized, buy normal ones and sound will be superb.
 
There is a standard pinout for 3.5mm TRRS jacks, and there's the stupid Apple one which has two pins swapped over,  rendering all headsets for apple devices unusable with stuff that follows the standard, and vice versa.

The pandora follows the real standard.

Try getting earbuds not labelled "suitable for iPhone", or get an adaptor cable which swaps the two pins around.
 
These aren't Apple Earbuds. They're Razer Morays.

It's kind of surprising that that's the problem, though, given that they've worked in... well, pretty much everything else I've ever used them in flawlessly (to the point I bought another pair for when these start going south).

Any non-crap ones that would be recommended?
 
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Oh, OK <_<

Do you have anything else with a non-apple jack (portable speakers, cheapo earbuds etc) you could try to check that it isn't a fault with your pandora's headset socket?
 
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I don't have this problem with my cheap sony earbuds or my HD202 sennheiser headset (even if it's evaluated as a "not-really-good" headset :p ).


Have you tried another pair of buds or a headset?


If I can give you and advice, your earbuds have a small frequency range, try to get some that goes from 20Hz (or less) to 20kHz (or more).


It allows to get more details in the music ;)
 
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Oh, OK <_<

Do you have anything else with a non-apple jack (portable speakers, cheapo earbuds etc) you could try to check that it isn't a fault with your pandora's headset socket?
My desktop headset, I suppose, though that's a 7.1 and the plugs aren't all color-coded, so I'd have to look and make sure I pop out the right plug.

I don't have this problem with my cheap sony earbuds or my HD202 sennheiser headset (even if it's evaluated as a "not-really-good" headset :p ).


Have you tried another pair of buds or a headset?


If I can give you and advice, your earbuds have a small frequency range, try to get some that goes from 20Hz (or less) to 20kHz (or more).


It allows to get more details in the music ;)
I did take a look on Newegg and I did see this pair which has a much nicer frequency response. But I have no idea if they're "proper" in the way you guys describe. It does say compatible with iPhones and iPods, though, so it might not be.
 
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I strangely am not in the mood to answer snarkly and mean so here is the answer:

Your earbuds have an Apple-Style connection which is not standardized, buy normal ones and sound will be superb.
Because of the prevalence of Apple a lot of devices are using the Apple standard now as well.

As far as these particular headphones are concerned, they don't appear to have a microphone; that's what normally causes the problem, a TRRS plug with questionable standards, but this is a straight TRS so there should be no question as to the standard it follows. Try playing with the volume knob a little bit while the headphones are plugged in, see if it changes the sound in ways other than expected. Also try listening as you insert and remove, maybe the contact is a tiny bit off and pulling it out half a millimeter will make it better.

And I'd also recommend just grabbing a cheap pair of headphones from your nearest dollar-store equivalent; won't sound great but will be useful in diagnosing if the problem is related to headphones.

Very strange problem, what you describe is almost exclusively because of the Apple standard headset, something we have no control over. We'll get to the bottom of it though, no worries.
 
As far as these particular headphones are concerned, they don't appear to have a microphone; that's what normally causes the problem, a TRRS plug with questionable standards, but this is a straight TRS so there should be no question as to the standard it follows. Try playing with the volume knob a little bit while the headphones are plugged in, see if it changes the sound in ways other than expected. Also try listening as you insert and remove, maybe the contact is a tiny bit off and pulling it out half a millimeter will make it better.
And I'd also recommend just grabbing a cheap pair of headphones from your nearest dollar-store equivalent; won't sound great but will be useful in diagnosing if the problem is related to headphones.


Very strange problem, what you describe is almost exclusively because of the Apple standard headset, something we have no control over. We'll get to the bottom of it though, no worries.
If I turn it up, I can hear more of the sound, but simply put, by that point, the other sounds are absolutely deafening and drowning it out. Like I said, it's more like there's not proper "balancing" - the sounds are there, just much, much, much quieter closer to "center" than at the edges. Like some kind of stereo separation or something?
 
Does this issue clear up if you hit the control button on the earbud?

If so, it's how the earbuds are wired..
 
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Does this issue clear up if you hit the control button on the earbud?

If so, it's how the earbuds are wired..
There are no buttons on the earbuds at all. There's no volume control or anything. Here's a picture I found online of them to show that.

dhlfree-razer-moray-m100-stereo-gaming-handphone.jpg
 
Ah okay, the apple wired earbud headset issue is so common I just assumed it was the same thing.
 
Yeah. Personally, I hate Apple products. :p

I did check with the new pair, and no surprise: They worked.

And then I remembered why.

Morays come in two flavors, basically: The regular Moray, and the Moray+... which has the capabilities for a microphone on devices that support it (like DS and PSP). The replacement pair I got were regular Morays, but the pair they'd "replace" were/are Moray+. (I planned to use the voice stuff on my PSP but never wound up doing so.)

So... I guess there's the answer. The Moray+ must have the Apple-like TRRS stuff, and the regular Morays, having no provision for mic things, have no such thing.

It still probably would be a wise idea to somehow support both ways for the next revision of hardware though. Unfortunately, Apple's stuff is pretty ubiquitous to the point that it's necessary. (Either that, or consider packing in the adaptors or something?)
 
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So wait, I'm confused: which are you using? The regular Moray with a single ring (three contact points) on the connector or the Moray+ with two rings (4 contact points)?

It still probably would be a wise idea to somehow support both ways for the next revision of hardware though. Unfortunately, Apple's stuff is pretty ubiquitous to the point that it's necessary. (Either that, or consider packing in the adaptors or something?)
Yeah, unfortunate. 4 years ago when the Pandora was designed it wasn't a problem, Apple wasn't nearly as pervasive as it is today. It's not something that can be fixed though, not without a soldering iron and steady hands. A P2 will almost definitely have the ability to switch between the two since it's pretty easy at the hardware design stage, or they'll just drop microphone support entirely.
 
I still suggest using a set of DIP switches (or a jumper) on the P2.

Then the user can choose which convention to use.
 
As noted above.. Pandora audio is actually pretty good; the problem is Apple has _Really bad_ audio (which is very surprising) and many other cheapo companies following suit.

Given Apple typically likes to have some shiny in there, and made their name here with iPods, it seems very surprising they have a genral poor attitude towards audio.

Witness:

- iTunes. Just a piece of garbage, most can agree :)

- Early edition iPods and phones - with the sunken connector, specifically made so only Apple (at the time) earbuds/phones would work; after a year or two when everyone else was pumping out adaptors and Apple nolonger coudl use it as a lead, they went to the standard jack form. Basicly, if you had $500 headphones.. too bad, despite your being perfect Apple audience.. too bad, use shitty earbuds only!

- Early on, Apple deliberately obfuscating the stereo bluetooth profiles; again, trying to give themselves an edge .. clearly anticompetitve

- iphones etc .. fairly poor audio chip, to this day

Just bizarre stance.

But then, most people know Stve Jobs was an asshole; a brilliant asshole, but nonetheless.. a guy who parks in handicapped parking spots.

jeff
 
So wait, I'm confused: which are you using? The regular Moray with a single ring (three contact points) on the connector or the Moray+ with two rings (4 contact points)?
The old pair (the one I was using when I made this report) was a Moray+. It came with an adaptor that would split the single plug into two plugs: One for regular sound, one for the mic, as well as adaptors that would let you plug that adaptor into a PSP or NDS:
Moray_Plus.jpg


The replacement pair I'd bought (again, I knew the Moray+ would be going soon as the rubber shield around where the wire goes into the base has completely split) were regular Morays, however. Upon testing those, audio completely worked - and then I noticed one thing that I had gotten used to on the morays: There's a thick little bit of plastic on the cord leading to the right earbud, that is not there on the regular Morays. That bit missing actually is what reminded me that old pair was a Moray+ as opposed to the new pair being regular Morays.

Using the regular Morays, sound is 100% balanced and fine, with no audio issues (aside from having to keep the volume pretty low so I don't blow my eardrums out :) ) so the conclusion is that my Pandora's headphone jack is fine - the problem was that the Moray+'s regular jack uses that four-ring Apple TRRS, as seen here.

379333771_079.jpg


Only problem now is that I have to figure out a way to "mark" the earbuds so I know which one is L and which one is R. The little ring on the Moray+'s right earbud cord helped me do that. I'll get no such mercy on the regular Morays.

Yeah, unfortunate. 4 years ago when the Pandora was designed it wasn't a problem, Apple wasn't nearly as pervasive as it is today. It's not something that can be fixed though, not without a soldering iron and steady hands. A P2 will almost definitely have the ability to switch between the two since it's pretty easy at the hardware design stage, or they'll just drop microphone support entirely.
Mmm, it'd be a bad idea for them to drop microphone support, I'd say. While it would be mostly a gimmick, it would be essential for some DS games being playable, for example, and I'd think that by the time they're ready to release a whole new revision as opposed to a refresh, most people would be looking to see if DS is able to be emulated at good speeds. (I haven't tested it on my 1 GHz admittedly, but considering it can stutter even on PS1 games at 1.1 GHz, I'd not place the odds on being too good. :p )
As noted above.. Pandora audio is actually pretty good; the problem is Apple has _Really bad_ audio (which is very surprising) and many other cheapo companies following suit.

Given Apple typically likes to have some shiny in there, and made their name here with iPods, it seems very surprising they have a genral poor attitude towards audio.

Witness:

- iTunes. Just a piece of garbage, most can agree :)

- Early edition iPods and phones - with the sunken connector, specifically made so only Apple (at the time) earbuds/phones would work; after a year or two when everyone else was pumping out adaptors and Apple nolonger coudl use it as a lead, they went to the standard jack form. Basicly, if you had $500 headphones.. too bad, despite your being perfect Apple audience.. too bad, use shitty earbuds only!

- Early on, Apple deliberately obfuscating the stereo bluetooth profiles; again, trying to give themselves an edge .. clearly anticompetitve

- iphones etc .. fairly poor audio chip, to this day

Just bizarre stance.

But then, most people know Stve Jobs was an asshole; a brilliant asshole, but nonetheless.. a guy who parks in handicapped parking spots.

jeff
Apple is a mixed bag, but I really hated their attempt to appear "hip" and trendy over the last dozen or so years. Steve Jobs was, as you said, a genius but also an asshole - The "Mac vs. PC" ads really drove me insane, and to this day I still look at Apple as the company that'll sell you a $750 PC for $1399. At the same time, people of my age (kids of the 80s and 90s, which I think would include a vast majority of the people who will buy the Pandora in the first place :p ) pretty much grew up on Apple II and early Macintosh models in grade school, And obviously they're capable of jerk things like that TRRS swap, to the point that other companies have had to mimic the way they do it just to avoid a massive amount of complaints, since obviously the goal there was to make the competition sound "bad" and persuade the user to buy pricey, genuine, hiliariously bad Apple earbuds.
But we will have people who will come in using the things. The fact I got that kind of response shows this problem isn't unknown to the Pandora community, but as it turns out, I became very useful in pointing out that it isn't just Apple earbuds (I've never owned an iPod or iPhone in my life and don't plan to - now that I fixed my audio, Rockbox on the Pandora is mighty fine :) ), but the fact that headphone makers are making this change in order to keep compatability and, thus, sales, means that future development of the Pandora should take this sad fact into account. It either needs to be some kind of user DIP, or some kind of converter plug provided, or simply just making it able to detect what kind of TRRS plug is plugged in through some kind of diagnostic/tester and able to convert itself to the "right" pinout on startup. Like I said, this was the first device where I had this problem, so either my DSi XL, PSP Vita and PSP accounted for Apple's TRRS and assumed it, or else they were able to detect and switch those jacks to it appropriately.
 
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