Maximum volume way too low

Hi,

I have bought a clip+ player and am very happy with it, except for one thing.

The  maximum volume is really very, very low. I’m not deaf or something, my ears are still pretty ok,

but I have several titles recorded from last.fm and shoutcast, which are pretty low volume. These are 

not hearable at decent volume with the clip+. Even my cd-ripped titles must be played only slightly

below maximum volume. All in silent environment.

Is there a way this can be corrected somehow ? I know there are legal restrictions, but I didn’t know

they were _this_ strict. Maybe there is some way to defeat this limit so I can hear my last.fm titles ??

Another question : my player is one day old and the case has hearable and feelable creaking when I 

press the button for next title. Approximately where the card slot is located.

Is this a defect or do you have this too ?

Greetings from germany

edit: oh, yeah, I have of course set it too “loud” in the system settings, so that’s not the reason :smiley:

Message Edited by ogg_ardent on 12-15-2009 12:28 PM

Are you perhaps using power-hungry headphones?

Hi turnstyle,

I’m using koss porta pro headphones. The loudest I have …

Under:

Setttings -> System Settings -> Volume

(between brightness and reset factory settings)

Set to ‘high’.

Which earphones are you using? The supplied earphones? Mine were extremely bass heavy, therefore sounding a bit more quiet then they should.

However, my Clip does not have a clicking creaking issue. Less than 5 hour battery life with Ogg Vorbis instead of 15, but it’s solid enough.


Ha, love the timings :wink: How does the radio sound?

Message Edited by dihenydd on 12-15-2009 08:32 PM

dihenydd wrote: How does the radio sound?

Radio sounds good and has about the same volume level as my cd-ripped titles. So with volume set close to maximum it’s ok (in silent environment).

dihenydd: I just tried toggling the settings > volume between ‘normal’ and ‘high’ – it didn’t seem to do anything at all – what does that do for you?

ogg_ardent: have you tried using other phones, such as the ones that came with your Clip+?

@turnstyle wrote:
ogg_ardent: have you tried using other phones, such as the ones that came with your Clip+?

yes. With the delivered earphones my last.fm titles are loud enough when I put the volume to maximum.

They are louder than the koss porta pro. But they fall out of my ears and they sound like laptop speakers in a bathtub …

I’d really prefer to use my good old porta pro and get higher volume level. Sounds so good with the player !!

Can the limit be defeated by using a firmware from usa for example ? Is the us version louder than the europe version ?

Anyone know that ?


I just tried toggling the settings > volume between ‘normal’ and ‘high’ – it didn’t seem to do anything at all – what does that do for you?


It ‘lengthens’ the volume bar. So, if you’re at max volume when on normal, switch to high, then the volume bar should now only register at about 66%.

This is on an ‘American’ firmware player (although apparently you can switch between firmwares). Not sure if European players ignore this option (Region listed in version.sdk).

Listening to the music and radio is about the same volume, and loud enough to drown out the TV (although not too loud), that’s on maximum normal volume - max high hurts.

ogg_ardent wrote:

Hi,

 

I have bought a clip+ player and am very happy with it, except for one thing.

 

The  maximum volume is really very, very low.

 

my player is one day old and the case has hearable and feelable creaking when I 

press the button for next title. Approximately where the card slot is located.

Is this a defect or do you have this too ?

 

Greetings from germany

Guten abend!

This is actually 2 things, but since you’re new, we’ll let you slide! :smileyvery-happy:

The volume issue does not sound normal. And the case creaking is definitely not up to par. 2 reasons to take, or send it back to where you bought it and get another.

I think you just got a dud.

If the radio also only achieves a listenable level toward your max volume, and even so with the included earbuds, then I’m inclined to agree that you may have a dud – did you get it from a physical store?

The Portapro is 60 ohms 101 db/mw efficiency. The Clip+ and Fuze work best with 16 ohm earphones, and work good with headphones or earphones up to 32 ohms if they are efficient. Much above 32 ohms though, and the Clip+ does not perform so well. I have had a Porta Pro for around 10 years and don’t like how it works with my Clip+ and Fuze. The 16 ohm Sennheiser CX300 canalphones work great with the Clip+ and Fuze. If you want headphones, consider the Sennheiser PX100. It is very efficient and 32 ohms. It can play quite loud with the Clip+ or Fuze. It has great bass, and imo is a much better headphone than the Portapro.

I had both headphones and i think the Porta Pro are better, but you need external amplifier. On the go PX100’s should be better, but the Porta are a much better option in terms of SQ.

Porta Pro and PX100 are kinda like the Ford and Chevy of the portable budget over-the-head 'phones. Each one has their fans, yet neither one is clearly better than the other, it just comes down to individual preferences. I have KSC75’s, which need more power than the PX100’s, and since the Portapro has the same specs, it stands to reason that it would also need more power.

“Porta Pro and PX100 are kinda like the Ford and Chevy of the portable budget over-the-head 'phones. Each one has their fans, yet neither one is clearly better than the other, it just comes down to individual preferences.”

Perhaps the PortaPro isn’t so bad if given enough power, however with a Clip+ and no supplemental headphone amp, the PortaPro does not work so well. I do remember getting decent sound from my Portapro using high output CD players, however I don’t like how it works with my Clip+ and Fuze(I don’t want to use a supplemental headphone amp).

I own a PX200 from Senheiser, which I replaced with
the porta pro some time ago. The earpads were ruptured
and they cannot be replaced. This is a thing I dislike
about those Senheisers.
However, when I got the porta pro I was genuinely shocked
about how much better they sounded. Especially because
everyone and their grandma recommended me Senheiser before.
The PX200 has a very flat sound compared to the porta pro
but I agree that this is a matter of preference. Maybe the
PX100 sounds better.

From your comments I conclude that you do not share my
problems, so I either have faulty device or bad ears.
I will try to find my old PX200 and see if that makes a
difference.
My clip+ is from amazon.de, but I have already destroyed
the packing box, so sending it back would probably cause
problems.

Apart from those 2 things, which disturb me a bit, I really
like the player. I’m not a fan of watching movies on a 3"
display and am a 100% linux user with an ogg-only music
collection. So my choice of matching players isn’t too big
anyway.

I’m gonna do some headphone tests and then see what I do.
My micro sd card should also arrive tommorow, then I’ll see
if the creaking is maybe caused by the empty slot.

Thanks for your help in the meantime …


My clip+ is from amazon.de, but I have already destroyed the packing box, so sending it back would probably cause problems.


 Not sure if Germany is much different from the UK (I’m guessing EU consumer law should keep us vaguely similar. However, at least in the UK, if a product is defective you don’t need to have the packaging that the unit originally came in. It’s convenient, but most certainly not needed. And, if anyone tells you otherwise - they are completely wrong.

Before considering returning the unit, please just plug the original earphones in, and play a set amount of music (as long as you know roughly how long it is).

Leave it play until it is flat (play from fully charged).

I only ever managed under 5 hours out of two of these. Both are now winging their way back to Amazon. There is no chance I’m going to accept the bull argument that they did quote the test was only done on 128kb/s mp3, with the wind no higher than 2 knots from a South Westerly direction, whilst you have one foot off the floor and the other up a Sandisk manager’s rear-end. You claim 15 hours, with no other clear comment of limitations, then all realistic replay should be within 20%.

And, yes - I’m bitter, and angry. How dare companies treat customers like this.

@dihenydd wrote:

 

Before considering returning the unit, please just plug the original earphones in, and play a set amount of music (as long as you know roughly how long it is).

Leave it play until it is flat (play from fully charged).

 

I only ever managed under 5 hours out of two of these. Both are now winging their way back to Amazon. There is no chance I’m going to accept the bull argument that they did quote the test was only done on 128kb/s mp3, with the wind no higher than 2 knots from a South Westerly direction, whilst you have one foot off the floor and the other up a Sandisk manager’s rear-end. You claim 15 hours, with no other clear comment of limitations, then all realistic replay should be within 20%.

And, yes - I’m bitter, and angry. How dare companies treat customers like this.

 

Not sure I follow the need for a battery rundown – isn’t the problem that it doesn’t seem to play loud enough?

As best as I can tell:

If he’s using the included earbuds

If the system > settings > volume is set to ‘high’ rather than ‘normal’ (and I don’t think even that should be necessary with the included earbuds

If the EQ isn’t set to oddly lower the volume – but he said that the radio is about the same as the mp3s, and the EQ doesn’t affect the radio

If the mp3 files themselves aren’t “too soft” or perhaps tagged to play softly

 

If all that, and it still barely reaches an appropriate volume at max, even in a quiet room – then I have to think the unit my be defective. If it was purchased recently, I’d be surprised if Amazon made a stink about it. 

Setting the equilizer to anything but neutral will probably decrease maximum volume output quite a bit. Are you using the equilizer?

@jk98 wrote:
Setting the equilizer to anything but neutral will probably decrease maximum volume output quite a bit. Are you using the equilizer?

yes, I use the eq. Tried neutral setting, but it didn’t have noticable impact on the volume.

However, I borrowed a 16ohm headphone from a friend, as you suggested, and indeed it made a huge difference.

I will now buy the same ones, unfortunately in-ear (hate them …), but they do work very good.

The problem with my too silent last.fm titles was totally solved with vorbisgain.

If only the creaking wasn’t there everything would be awesome. It’s still there despite an sdcard filling the slot now.

I won’t return the unit though since I need it over christmas.