Sound levels, pre and post update

[kungpaoshizi]

Generically looking at the windows volume mixer graph, it looks about a 20% reduction in volume. I personally would really like some communication from Razer on this matter.
It's not going to stop me getting a 2nd razer phone, because they're freakin uber! But I'm concerned to hear if it was botched code, hardware issues with the speaker manufacturer, of if it's a temporary mask of the problem.
I have the 2nd phone you see there, and it's perfect.
Here's the sound comparison, pre vs post update, Atmos on, all 3 ehancements on, custom1, maxxed eq

https://youtu.be/oog8apxoC58

Not sure what to say about this. :|

 

[KOLIOSIS]

Same here,I noticed a drop in overall volume post-update,but,I really don't mind too much.
I'm going to use the phone as I normally would & the fact that Razer is proceeding w/RMAs w/o hesitation for those here having issues gives me a measure of assurance they'll do right by us.
For my use,I'm good w/the post-update volume levels,but,w/the Dolby Atmos,I'm not getting a very rich sound (needs a bit more bass,any settings recommendations are welcome). The Dolby demo shows the potential,so,I suppose quality of content plays an equally large part of the experience.
I don't use the speakers a whole lot,but,it's nice to have the dual front-firing ones w/decent sound: together w/the display quality & overall performance,well worth the price of admission. :good:

 

[kungpaoshizi]

I really hope it's temporary, the sound levels were great for working in the garage.

 

[terrapin4]

I'm noticing some erratic changes in volume using the 3.5mm adapter and headphones. The volume will go from normal to extremely loud when I skip tracks (I've used the stock player and a 3rd party music player). When it gets super loud and I exit to the homescreen it will normalize again. It makes no difference if I turn off Dolby Atmos, and the volume leveler within the Dolby app makes no difference either.

Wondering if anyone else is experiencing this.

 

[KOLIOSIS]

I'm noticing some erratic changes in volume using the 3.5mm adapter and headphones. The volume will go from normal to extremely loud when I skip tracks (I've used the stock player and a 3rd party music player). When it gets super loud and I exit to the homescreen it will normalize again. It makes no difference if I turn off Dolby Atmos, and the volume leveler within the Dolby app makes no difference either.

Wondering if anyone else is experiencing this.

I haven't used the 3.5mm adapter or USB-C headphones yet (got the Razer Hammerhead USB-C set on order),but,I did notice a lot more consistent/cleaner sound through the external speakers when turning off Dolby Atmos & using another equalizer app (Bass Booster):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.desaxedstudios.bassbooster&hl=en

I think there's some work that needs to be done w/the Dolby Atmos,no matter how I tweaked the settings,or,used the presets,sound was unbalanced & sounded almost as if the speakers were blown.
Hard to describe,but,like a recording of someone else's blown speakers.

If you'd like,I can test this w/some earbuds,but,they're nothing note worthy,just some buds that came packaged w/Samsung Galaxy & Note phones from the past couple of years..................

 

[terrapin4]

I haven't used the 3.5mm adapter or USB-C headphones yet (got the Razer Hammerhead USB-C set on order),but,I did notice a lot more consistent/cleaner sound through the external speakers when turning off Dolby Atmos & using another equalizer app (Bass Booster):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.desaxedstudios.bassbooster&hl=en

I think there's some work that needs to be done w/the Dolby Atmos,no matter how I tweaked the settings,or,used the presets,sound was unbalanced & sounded almost as if the speakers were blown.
Hard to describe,but,like a recording of someone else's blown speakers.

If you'd like,I can test this w/some earbuds,but,they're nothing note worthy,just some buds that came packaged w/Samsung Galaxy & Note phones from the past couple of years..................

Thanks. I'd like to know if anyone else can reproduce this issue. My earbuds are nothing special either. Just goes from normal to really loud when skipping tracks. Going to try a factory reset.

Sent from my Phone using Tapatalk

 

[KOLIOSIS]

Thanks. I'd like to know if anyone else can reproduce this issue. My earbuds are nothing special either. Just goes from normal to really loud when skipping tracks. Going to try a factory reset.

Sent from my Phone using Tapatalk

I'll post back here in an hour or so,see what I can find.
FWIW,I'll be using Google Play Music,switch back & forth from no equalizer/the Dolby on-board & the Bass Booster equalizer app I mentioned earlier.
Here's the earbuds I'll be using:

https://www.cnet.com/products/samsung-eo-ig955-tuned-by-akg-earphones-eoig955bsegww/specs/

---------- Post added at 06:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:53 PM ----------
@terrapin4

I was able to duplicate your volume spiking issue,skipping back & forth & the tracks that were low volume now played back @ the louder volume.
Very weird,not an audio software engineer here,but,this sounds like (pardon the pun) something a software update will take care of.
On a somewhat related note:
While using the Dolby Atmos w/the wired earbuds,switching between the presets had little to no difference,if any effect at all,barely noticed a difference when I turned the app on & off.
The Dolby Atmos,at least in my usage,pales in comparison to the Bass Booster app,I'm guessing any decent equalizer app in the Play Store will have the same results.

 

[terrapin4]

I'll post back here in an hour or so,see what I can find.
FWIW,I'll be using Google Play Music,switch back & forth from no equalizer/the Dolby on-board & the Bass Booster equalizer app I mentioned earlier.
Here's the earbuds I'll be using:

https://www.cnet.com/products/samsung-eo-ig955-tuned-by-akg-earphones-eoig955bsegww/specs/

---------- Post added at 06:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:53 PM ----------

@terrapin4

I was able to duplicate your volume spiking issue,skipping back & forth & the tracks that were low volume now played back @ the louder volume.
Very weird,not an audio software engineer here,but,this sounds like (pardon the pun) something a software update will take care of.
On a somewhat related note:
While using the Dolby Atmos w/the wired earbuds,switching between the presets had little to no difference,if any effect at all,barely noticed a difference when I turned the app on & off.
The Dolby Atmos,at least in my usage,pales in comparison to the Bass Booster app,I'm guessing any decent equalizer app in the Play Store will have the same results.

Thanks so much for testing and posting your results. Glad it's not just me, but disappointed this will affect other users as well.

I also had similar issues switching between the Dolby presets in that they made little to no difference. I think the update broke Dolby and messed up the amplifiers. Hoping a stock factory image gets posted so I can revert back. In any case I opened a ticket with Razer. I'll let you know what they say. Thanks again!

Sent from my Phone using Tapatalk

 

[KOLIOSIS]

Thanks so much for testing and posting your results. Glad it's not just me, but disappointed this will affect other users as well.

I also had similar issues switching between the Dolby presets in that they made little to no difference. I think the update broke Dolby and messed up the amplifiers. Hoping a stock factory image gets posted so I can revert back. In any case I opened a ticket with Razer. I'll let you know what they say. Thanks again!

Sent from my Phone using Tapatalk

THX for opening a ticket w/Razer: :good:
Often people post in places like this & while it's definitely good to get corroboration,it does nothing if the mfgs aren't made aware of the issues.

Definitely something amiss w/Dolby as-is on the unlocked model w/the update.
I didn't try much of anything out pre-update,so,I have no basis of comparison,at least w/the wired earbuds.guessing my results would mirror yours,as did w/the OP & the decreased volume levels w/the external speakers post-update.

 

[skinnytoo2]

I just opened mine, immediately got an update. So I didn't have anything to compare to except my Pixel 2 XL which sounds much better!!

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[kungpaoshizi]

:/
Just got the 2nd phone from amazon as I'm awaiting the return label for the first from razer. Though the first phone now, with severely limited volume compared to the RTM phone since it's post-update, is as loud as the new phone which happens to be the 813 pre-update build.
I will reset it here in a sec to see if that changes it, but it's much quieter than the gf's still. heh

*edit
I was going to restart the phone and check, then maybe reset.
After a restart, the phone is MUCHO louder, just like the gf's phone. Speakers are fine.
Soooooooooo
The only change? Other than setting the phone up, deny network to avoid update, and allowing google play to install the games and update everything else, I enabled dolby atmos, enabled 3 enhancements, chose custom1, turned up eq across the board, and then restarted.

So the restart enabled atmos? Sounds great though. 33% failure rate from my experience though. So I suspect the speaker failed or atmos blew em. Unless I'm completlely missing an aspect of signal processing when dealing with compact mobile audio designs.

 

[jdunker26]

I also received the update and tested against my pixel 2 XL. The Pixel sounds luck better than the Razer now. When I ran a test in the Dolby app the Razer sounded amazing again.

 

[terrapin4]

THX for opening a ticket w/Razer: :good:
Often people post in places like this & while it's definitely good to get corroboration,it does nothing if the mfgs aren't made aware of the issues.

Definitely something amiss w/Dolby as-is on the unlocked model w/the update.
I didn't try much of anything out pre-update,so,I have no basis of comparison,at least w/the wired earbuds.guessing my results would mirror yours,as did w/the OP & the decreased volume levels w/the external speakers post-update.

Been going back and forth with support today. They predictably asked me to do a factory reset to begin with. I did that and my symptoms now are as follows:

The erratic loud volume issue still persists when skipping through music tracks. This time however, the volume normalizes when I lock the screen of the phone. Whereas before it would normalize when I just navigated to the homescreen.

I've also noticed that when the volume goes super loud, I can lower it with the volume rocker key (obviously), but it's still in a louder state overall. However if I go into the Sound menu and click on the 'Media Volume' slider (without adjusting it) it normalizes the volume as if I turned off the screen like before.

None of these symptoms are present without using the dongle, so I'm inclined to believe it's something to do with the 3.5mm adapter. I'm curious to see if a normal (non THX) adapter produces the same result.

They are escalating the case now...I'll post as things develop.

 

[DOTC]

I'm assuming Razer lowered the volume and ringtones until they can figure out if their current settings are blowing speakers, or maybe they have bad batches of speakers. It really sounds like they ditched QC to get as many units out the door at launch, then they will RMA bad devices once they get their line sorted out. Just my thoughts anyway. Hopefully they have all this sorted in January.

 

[kungpaoshizi]

I think it would have been awesome if they figured this stuff out before launch, but at the same time I'm still cool with having the phone sooner than later.
They need to work on their communication though to the end users.

 

[bencozzy]

Mines definitely not as loud after the update.

 

[Xshooter726]

Wonder if doing a system restore through the recovery will downgrade it back to the out of the box firmware?

 

[UltraM8]

Can anyone dump the /system? I wanna see if there is any room for tuning this device

 

[kungpaoshizi]

Well, as soon as I saw this I'm now installing the update.
If you turn it up and listen carefully you can hear the Custom 1 default profile, all 3 enahancements off, max volume, the RTM build vs the update today, build details in vid description.

* Vid soon to come, Kanye took the original down :/