Problem with clear bass

[rey33]

Hello, recently i find out that clear bass problem and other bugs that i have is only experienced by some of Xperia SP users.

Some of my friends have it, but most of them don't have it. What should I tell to Service Center to claim my warranty?

NB: If I set clearbass to +10, volume in louder part of song is reduced, but when it is calm, volume rise up again. I already tick off Dynamic Normalizer but still hhaving that issue

Topic edited by Rickard

[him]

I don't think your xperia is defective I'm also having the same problem.

[857077]

I think mine has the same problem.

[mcmaros]

Same problem here. There is a big compression when Clear Bass is set to higher values. It sounds like some silly normalizer.

I´ve got the latest sw. (12.0.A.2.254)

I´m little bit disappointed, I was expecting one of the best sound through all brands - I´m a huge fan of Sony Walkmans, I´ve got A865, E474 and A805, all of them sound superior with no compression. 

I think it´s a software issue, because in case of sound quality it´s very good. Sound is very clear with no hum or distortion. There is just problem with the compression (or some kind of normalizer) when clear bass or other frequencies in EQ are set to higher values. Maybe some kind of protection against distortion when the higher values are set in eq. But it´s too agressive, and, of course, it´s a little bit annoying at higher volume.

(sorry for bad english)

[rey33]

Hmm.. But why not all of Xperia SP users have this problem? If it is a software problem, all users will have same problem like us right? But most of my friends (Xperia SP users) don't have this problem. So what is this? Will any fix come? I'm very frustated 😕

[him]

This problem exists in .254 update maybe some of your friends haven't updated their phone till now.

[stealthfighter]

I've been having the same problem since upgrading to .245. I've decided to use PlayerPro instead. I'm really disappointed with what they did to their walkman through their updates. And to think they can't even fix the wifi connection glitch, and constantly making the bugs more serious after every update.

[rey33]

oo so this is happen since .245? i hope this is true so i don't have to claim my warranty to SSC since sony service center in my country is really bad. fixing little things can take 1-3 months Thanks guys.. I'll try PlayerPro instead

[gadgetman1 · Accepted solution]

Don't know if we're talking about the same thing, but:

Maximum headphone volume is rather limited on the sp.  It doesn't matter what you try to do to boost it, it won't go any louder, because it's a function of the audio amplifier gain between the output of the DAC (digital to analogue converter) and the 3.5mm headphone socket.  Only a hardware mod would increase the gain and hence loudness.

But, you can make the most of the limited volume by careful use of an equaliser.  The trouble is, the built in "hardware" equaliser (the chipset feature that 99% of Android music players with 5 band equalisers use) is not that good.  Even when you set a nice bass boost, as the music gets louder it gradually reduces the boost until there's nothing left, leaving a very harsh sound.  Of course, you need to reduce the boost as volume gets louder to prevent digital clipping, but the system equaliser does it very crudely, leaving a very lo-fi sound where the bass is constantly rising and falling in level.

If you want a better sound, and a more accurate bass boost which doesn't diminish with volume, you need to use a music player app which does its own "dsp" and doesn't rely on the phone hardware for eq.  I personally use JetAudio, but there are others, like PlayerPro etc.  The free version has a 10 band eq, the paid one 20 bands.  It also has a "gain" control.  If you like heavy bass and set a big boost, you have to turn down the master gain on some music to prevent unpleasant digital clipping.  This is what the system hardware eq is trying to do, but it doesn't do it very well.

You don't actually get more volume this way, as outlined at the start, but it can appear to sound louder because the spectrum is better balanced and the bass doesn't reduce when the music gets louder.

I've spent 3 months trying to get decent sound out of the sp (I work in audio) and this has been the only solution I've found to get "hi-fi" sound out of it.  The sound is actually very good, but sometimes still too limited in volume depending on what's going on around you.

[rey33]

Wow there is a lot of writing 😛 Thank you so much man for your time and effort to write your perspective. I'll give it a try soon