| Author |
Walkman brand doesn't guarantee music quality. Beware of buying SE W800. |
kristianm
Joined: Aug 12, 2005
Posts: 490
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SE finally confirmed the presence of a background hissing noise present in the Walkman player of W800, but even though they have knowledge of it, they have no plans on fixing it.
Here's the conversation I had with SE Customer Support (Sweden):
SE's first reply:
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Thank you for contacting Sony Ericsson Call Center.
We have now received an answer and this will not be fixed for the W800i since this is an issue regarding an earlier update to prevent digital distortion.
Best regards,
/Jimmy
Sony Ericsson Call Center
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My first reply:
Quote:
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Thank you for the update.
But does this mean that you have confirmed that this hissing noise is really present with the W800i Walkman player and you have no plans to fix it? Do you expect us to get high quality music listening experience with hissing noise present during playback?
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SE's 2nd reply:
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Thank you for contacting Sony Ericsson Call Center.
As in previous message this hissing sound is because of a fix which prevents digital distortion.
This fix have increased the background noise and will unfortunately not be fixed.
Best regards,
/Jimmy
Sony Ericsson Call Center
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My second reply:
Quote:
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Do you really expect me to be satisfied with your answer and leave
this issue just like that?
Do I need to remind you that we are talking about a noise problem on a
WALKMAN branded phone? WALKMAN. What do you expect people to think of
a WALKMAN device? Something that plays music with background noise?
How is it that W550 and W900 don't have this issue? And why fix
'digital distortion' when even with it we still end up with poor audio
playback?
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SE's final reply:
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Thank you for contacting Sony Ericsson Call Center.
Since we only provide support we are not able to answer why this choice has been made.
If you are not satisfied with your phone we recommend that you get in touch with your dealer.
If you have any further questions I am available at Sony Ericsson Call Center - xxx - xx xx xx.
Best regards,
/Jimmy
Sony Ericsson Call Center
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Am I the only one disappointed with SE regarding this issue? |
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absinthebri
Joined: Feb 11, 2004
Posts: 476
From: London, UK
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I've never experienced the problem.
[addsig] |
kristianm
Joined: Aug 12, 2005
Posts: 490
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The noise should be audible when playing soft songs on a quiet environment, with the volume level set about halfway (to keep the song from drowning the noise). Once, I've had my phone sent to a service centre to have the phone repaired for this hissing noise. After receiving it the noise was gone, but after tweaking the equalizer to manual setting, the noise is back again. |
DeLa
Joined: Jan 22, 2003
Posts: > 500
From:
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Do you still have the noise when putting the equaliser off?
Contrary to the old 'real' equalisers, most electronic equalisers (even in the iPod) downgrade the overall quality of the sound and may produce noise. |
Xema
Joined: Dec 27, 2005
Posts: 108
From: Barcelona
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On my w800i the hissing noise is audible as soon as you press the walkman button. When listening to the music, however, you do not hear it unless you set the volume rather low in a quiet environment.
I think this is a hardware issue that cannot be solved by software.
My question to anyone who already has de w810i: is hissing noise audible in this new model ?
[ This Message was edited by: Xema on 2006-04-04 07:59 ] |
JK
Joined: Feb 24, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: S. Africa - JOZI
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Could be your headphones... |
kristianm
Joined: Aug 12, 2005
Posts: 490
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@dela,
Yes. The hissing noise stayed even after I reverted to the default "Normal" setting.
@Xema,
Same case as mine. The hissing starts as soon as the Walkman player is running, even when no song is being played.
Yes, hardware could play a part, but based on SE's reply and on experience, it's a software issue too. R1L002 never had any hissing noise problem, but started to appear after they included this supposed fix for "digital distortion" (which I assume has been introduced since R1N035).
@786KBR,
I'm sure it's not with the HPM-70 nor with the headphone connected to it. My brother has a W550, and I tried his HPM-70 on my W800 and the hissing noise is still there. Likewise, I used my HPM-70 on his W550 and his phone doesn't have any hissing noise. I also have a couple other headphones and the hiss noise is still audible with W800 (but not with W550).
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BTW, this hissing noise that I experience is not an isolated case. Other W800 users report this as well.
http://www.esato.com/board/viewtopic.php?topic=118023
I think the rest of the W800 users hardly notice this because they play music at much louder volume level, and rarely listen in quiet setting.
[ This Message was edited by: kristianm on 2006-04-04 08:51 ] |
below24
Joined: Jul 16, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: London
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Well what are you ripping your music at as in the quality of the songs...
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kristianm
Joined: Aug 12, 2005
Posts: 490
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The very same songs that play excellently without noise on a W550, W900, MP3 CD player, and PC (WMP 10, Winamp 5, iTunes) play with hissing noise on a W800. |
Xema
Joined: Dec 27, 2005
Posts: 108
From: Barcelona
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@kristianm,
You are right that there was no hissing with R1L002, but considering that later firmwares increased sound level, and I am just trying to guess, I think that probably the hardware problem that was hidden by R1L002 clearly appeared when they introduced R1N035 and the "improvement": - Increased MP3 Volume.
One important point is that the hissing noise starts as soon as you open the media player, without playing any song. So it is clear that the problem has nothing to do with the mp3's quality.
It would be interesting that other w800i and k750i owners try the above, in a quiet environment, and let us know their findings.
[ This Message was edited by: Xema on 2006-04-04 10:43 ] |
rockygali
Joined: Nov 21, 2005
Posts: > 500
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yea i can confirm that there are no hissing on my K750. from R1L - R1N - R1AA to R1BC i didnt hear anything.... it was clear as day.
i only notice hissing sounds on W800 when i tried visiting a showroom and trying out W800 on a big headphone.
cheers!
"Darkness is the absence of light.. and not the opposite..." |
ciudatelu
Joined: Mar 21, 2006
Posts: 4
From: Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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I also experience hissing on my W800i, but it's not very disturbing as i (almost) always play music loud. |
andybutkaj
Joined: Dec 18, 2002
Posts: 75
From: Slovakia
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i havent experienced this problem yet, am i def or what???  |
paternoster
Joined: Dec 03, 2005
Posts: 87
From: Belgium
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Never had any hissing of any kind on my w800i. It seems the hissing isn't a problem everyone has! |
WelshTom
Joined: May 20, 2004
Posts: 364
From: Costa del Cardiff Phone: K610i
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I thankfully do not get this hissing noise on my W800i.
However I find Sony Ericsson's response a disgrace. Not even so much as an appology in any of the replies. If i did suffer from poor quality audio then I would not be satisfied and leave it with that response. Lets not forget that untill new models are released the W800i remains one of SE's top end models and it has a price tag to go with it. It is marketed as a music phone and if it is not able to perform this adequately then it is unfit for purpose. I would reply and say you want to speak to a customer services manager to complain as you device is not fit for purpose. The least they should offer is an appology. I dont see why you should have to take it to the place you bought it from when they are admitting it is a recognised fault with the firmware of the phone. What do they expect the shop to do?!
Good luck,
Tom
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Posted: 2006-04-04 05:04
