I’ve been using sansa mp3 players connected to my car aux in for years. I’ve had 3 Fuzes and 2 clip +'s with no issues. I recently bought a clip Jam. I noticed a faint whining hissing sound between songs and it seems much louder during silent parts of songs. I checked reviews and saw no reports of similar issues. I tried reloading the firmware with no improvement. So I exchanged it, figuring I had a faulty unit. Now I have the same problem with the new one. If I switch to headphones, no hiss. If I plug my clip + into the car aux, no hiss.
It seems like a ground loop problem, but why is it only with the Jam, not the clip +?
The Jam and Sport use a different chip and related technology from the earlier players–perhaps the explanation.
Also, I routinely see the suggestion to have the volume of the player at or near the top, and to use the car stereo to adjust volume–perhaps tinkering with that some will help?
I got a second cable. It is somewhat better. There is still a sound on the right channel, but quieter. More of a steady vinyl like hiss as opposed the AM radio-like whirring noise with the original cable.In both cases the sound goes away when the Jam is powered off.
Since it’s only in the car I’ll try to convince myself that it’s tolerable. Still-- suggestions are welcome.