Popping/scratching noises while playing music. Unusable! :(

SanDisk MP3 players Sansa® Clip | Sansa® Clip+
1

 Hi guys!

I was a happy owner of a sansa clip 2gb for a year until I started having problems while playing music.

Suddenly I started to hear popping sounds (like scratching a vinyl!) that make the player unusable. Since then I have been using my old heavier player again :S

Any idea about how to fix? I have already formatted the card and upgraded the firmware without success. It seems to be a hardware failure, but not sure though.

Many thanks,

Pablo

2

@praices wrote:

Suddenly I started to hear popping sounds (like scratching a vinyl!) that make the player unusable. Since then I have been using my old heavier player again :S

 

Any idea about how to fix? I have already formatted the card and upgraded the firmware without success. It seems to be a hardware failure, but not sure though.

 

Many thanks,

 

Pablo

 

Formatting,  firmware would be my first suggestions.  But you have already done this step.

Second sounds too simple, but check to be sure the earphones are plugged in all the way, sometimes the clips jack is abit hard to snap in.

Third,  Check your Song files.    There are mp3 file checkers that can detect corrupt mp3’s.     And I have heard of sound quality issues with lower bitrate ogg files.   Maybe re-encode a song  and check it on your computer playback vs the CLIP vs your old heavyweight.      If your clip is sounding bad…  then maybe it is the clip.   But I am thinking its not your clip’s hardware. But anything is possible.

Good Luck,  let us know what you find out.

3

I’m sure this is obvious, but you didn’t state that you’ve tried a 2nd set of earbuds.  We just lost a set of Sony earbuds this weekend with similar symptoms - other earbuds work fine.   

4

Hi Niko,

            thanks for your answer and sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

> Formatting,  firmware would be my first suggestions.  But you have already done this step.

Yes, I have already done this. 

> Second sounds too simple, but check to be sure the earphones are plugged in all the way, sometimes the clips jack is abit hard to snap in.

I tried connecting the player to my my hi-fi and had the same problem. 

> Third,  Check your Song files.    There are mp3 file checkers that can detect corrupt mp3’s.     And I have heard of sound quality issues with lower bitrate ogg files.   Maybe re-encode a song  and check it on your computer playback vs the CLIP vs your old heavyweight.      If your clip is sounding bad…  then maybe it is the clip.   But I am thinking its not your clip’s hardware. But anything is possible. 

The tracks (mp3) sound fine on my computer and in the older player. Unfortunately I think it is the player :S

Probably I should ask much for £30, shouldn’t I? 

Many thanks for your answer anyway,

Pablo

5

Hi kmk_01kmk,

                           thanks for your answer. I tried with another set of earbuds and had the same problem.

I also tried connecting the player to my hi-fi without success.

No idea man :frowning:

Thanks for your advise,

Pablo 

6

It could be something as simple as a loose headphone jack. You said it is over a year old, so no longer covered under warranty.You could try searching the net for instructions on how to open the Clip up and try to fix it yourself. It doesn’t pay to have have it fixed by a repair shop unless you are in an area with very low labor costs . A new 2 GB Clip+ is under $40.