[Q] Hiss / Static in headphones on Nook Color

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Alternate title: Why does my new eReader not make a great audio player too?

So, I went out and bought a Nook Color on Friday. I bought it for the Android hacking fun and doubt that I'll ever use it for its B&N "intended purpose". With that being said, I've noted that there is a hiss / static in the headphones any time the audio is enabled. There appears to be some self-muting going on on the device itself almost as if it is completely disabling the bias to the audio output transistors after some seconds wherein the hiss goes away but, any time there is active sound going on, the hiss and associated noise (likely RFI getting into poorly designed/shielded audio circuitry) is very clearly and annoyingly there.

I'm using very good headphones (Bose QC-3's) which sound wonderful on everything else I plug them into including my Droid and Milestone phones.

Has anyone else noted this very annoying audio issue on the NC? If I don't figure out some way to get rid of it, it's going to put a serious damper on using the NC to watch videos when I fly. (LONG trans-oceanic flights!)

I noticed a slight static noise from the built in speaker on my NC. I've not listened that much with headphones - and it was in a noisy environment.

Originally Posted by johnopsec

Alternate title: Why does my new eReader not make a great audio player too?

So, I went out and bought a Nook Color on Friday. I bought it for the Android hacking fun and doubt that I'll ever use it for its B&N "intended purpose". With that being said, I've noted that there is a hiss / static in the headphones any time the audio is enabled. There appears to be some self-muting going on on the device itself almost as if it is completely disabling the bias to the audio output transistors after some seconds wherein the hiss goes away but, any time there is active sound going on, the hiss and associated noise (likely RFI getting into poorly designed/shielded audio circuitry) is very clearly and annoyingly there.

I'm using very good headphones (Bose QC-3's) which sound wonderful on everything else I plug them into including my Droid and Milestone phones.

Has anyone else noted this very annoying audio issue on the NC? If I don't figure out some way to get rid of it, it's going to put a serious damper on using the NC to watch videos when I fly. (LONG trans-oceanic flights!)

Usually portable audio front ends include a mute circuit to suppress the pop when the power for the amp turns on and off to save power. But that's besides the point...

My ATH-M50s give a lot of hiss when plugged into the NC, and at 38 ohms are somewhat less sensitive than most cheapie headphones that these amps are usually designed to. When I get a chance I'll try some higher impedance phones.

Originally Posted by johnopsec

Alternate title: Why does my new eReader not make a great audio player too?

So, I went out and bought a Nook Color on Friday. I bought it for the Android hacking fun and doubt that I'll ever use it for its B&N "intended purpose". With that being said, I've noted that there is a hiss / static in the headphones any time the audio is enabled. There appears to be some self-muting going on on the device itself almost as if it is completely disabling the bias to the audio output transistors after some seconds wherein the hiss goes away but, any time there is active sound going on, the hiss and associated noise (likely RFI getting into poorly designed/shielded audio circuitry) is very clearly and annoyingly there.

I'm using very good headphones (Bose QC-3's) which sound wonderful on everything else I plug them into including my Droid and Milestone phones.

Has anyone else noted this very annoying audio issue on the NC? If I don't figure out some way to get rid of it, it's going to put a serious damper on using the NC to watch videos when I fly. (LONG trans-oceanic flights!)

Might be worth taking your headphones into a B&N store and trying another NC out to confirm its not just an issue with your unit.

Have the same issue with the NC and bose QC3 head phones. Plugged in a cheap pair of ear buds from the airlines and no hiss.

The amp is definitely noisy-- the worst I've heard since my 1st Gen iPhone. I guess they had to skimp somewhere.

Yes, pretty hissy sound. I can live with it, I think, but it's bit disappointing.

Ditto. The hiss using my Ultimate Ears makes the Nook Color unusable for audio or video in a quiet or normal environment.

It might work on a plane where the ambient noise is so high.

Pretty loud hissing sound with both apple earbuds and image s4's.

I noticed this too the first time I used Pandora...

Typically, for me and I assume it's the same for most pepole...
A reader likes to read in a quiet environment and therefore when they do decided they want to use the audio on their nook it is for music at a lower volume in a quiet setting. So this static / auto shutoff problem is blaringly obvious.

Any chance this will/could be fixed with an update?

If not then the audio feature will be useless for me

*edit*

Also... the static only gets worse (louder) as you up the volume. So listening to the music at a higher volume doesnt mask the static it only makes it worse