Headphones - Hissing Noise

ZappiestOyster said:

Guys,

Another day, another observation. When you plug in the headphones, do you guys hear a hissing/static/white noise for a couple of seconds initially. I am able to reproduce this every time I plug in my headphones (tried three different sets). I am not too bothered by it because the noise dies after 2-3 seconds. I also witness the same behavior when I pause a song.

I guess I am raising the topic here because am not sure if this is common across all WP7 devices (thereby making this a WP7 issue), if it is only my phone, or if it is common across all Venue Pros.

Thanks for any input.

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I get the same noise, but mine is constant. Whenever a sound plays, the white noise/hissing in the background comes up and continues for 5-10 seconds after the sound is played and then goes out. Then when another sound happens, it does it again.

It almost makes using headphones unbearable.

I've tried multiple sets of headphones too, it does it on them all.

I think it may have something to do with the curved top of the phone and the fact that the plug doesn't go all the way into the device.

Anybody else have a similar experience?

I only hear the hissing sound for a few seconds after plugging it in to the jack...

Hearing a hissing on most smartphones is pretty common, in my experience. The better quality earphones you use the more you will notice it. The Nexus One did, the Venue Pro does, my N95 did a bit.

People I've called with the built in headphones/mic say the noise levels are so extreme they are unusable. Hopefully the free Bluetooth headset we're all getting will fix that issue...

Hello!

This is normal when companies use cheap DACs and amps for sound replication. The DAC turns on when you play sounds, and turns off when there's a period of no sound. If it's a cheap system, there's a noticeable base sound/noise that is added to your signal.

When you have music playing, that, of course, is drowned out by the music. Thus, you won't hear it unless you have really soft music, say, a few bars rest in your classical album or something.

The problem also is more noticeable with low impedance earphones (IEMs, for example).

A possible, easy way to fix this is to use an inline resistor/impedance cable on your headphones, since typically this noise does not vary with volume (in my experience). Then, you bump up the volume on your device... if it's powerful enough to do it. Otherwise, you'll have to inline resistor, a clean-sounding portable amplifier (powered by additional), and then your headphones. It gets pretty bulky...

Alternatively! Separate your music player and your phone. Unfortunately, the DVP has such a nice Zune interface. And still, with cheap music players you can hear the hiss if you're careful. I can hear this on iPods with my earphones still...

Sorry to hear about this! I was hoping that the sound quality would be decent. I might try to get an HD7 instead now...

Cheers!

linj said:

Sorry to hear about this! I was hoping that the sound quality would be decent. I might try to get an HD7 instead now...

Cheers!

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Just to let you know, the HD7 does not have the hissing/static that the DVP does. I've tried the HD7, Samsung Focus and DVP and HD7 had the best sound quality in my opinion. The Focus sounds muffled compared to both HD7 and DVP.

I've got the same hissing noise on mine, but I think it's an issue with a crappy DAC as it's only there when there is sound. I was hoping to replace my Zune HD but there's no way that's gonna happen with this noise - it's AWFUL!

I'm really thinking about moving to a Samsung Focus. I loved this phone when I first got it, but over time I just uncover more and more I don't like.

Arcarsenal said:

Hearing a hissing on most smartphones is pretty common, in my experience. The better quality earphones you use the more you will notice it. The Nexus One did, the Venue Pro does, my N95 did a bit.

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Very true. Almost every phone I've used has this. It's more noticeable on some phones than others but it's nothing unique to the DVP.

Bringing this back to the top, I've observed something on my new model, though I could have sworn the one I sent back for a refund did not have this problem...and it only occurs with earbuds, and not ear phones (I have a big pair of medium to high quality full-size Creative earphones, the buzzing is not audible at all with them.

Since this phone seems reasonably crash-free, I'm reluctant to press Dell for a replacement, especially if, viola, all the DVPs have this problem. Mine seems particularly loud, but that may be a combination of the Zune Premium earbuds I'm using and other factors. As others said, it vanishes briefly if you pause a song (like the sound output is switching off to save electricity or whatever) but resumes immediately. I might be better off just going through various earphones and finding a brand that's of at least the quality of my current earbuds but minimizes the effect.

EDIT: Additionally, lowering the volume simply makes it much more noticeable.