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Walkman brand doesn't guarantee music quality. Beware of buying SE W800. |
i-am-andrew
Joined: May 10, 2006
Posts: 42
From: UK
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Thanks to everyone confirming the sound quality problems with their phone. 
Well, the good news for me is that under UK Distance Selling Regulations I have been able to cancel the purchase of my W810i within 7 days of receiving it. I have just sent it back today.
The bad news is that Sony Ericsson do not seem to currently recognise this fault. I have sent a summary email to complete my communication with them on the issue. In it, I pointed out the previous notification by kristianm who kindly supplied me with his SE case number. I have asked them to escalate the problem to people who can investigate and implement a solution.
It's amazing that this problem has not been addressed by SE, especially as they had a perfect opportunity when developing the new W810i model. 
What I have also noticed is that the problem may not be restricted to just Walkman phones, for example see this review of the bean walkman:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_[....]lack/4514-6490_7-31470473.html
To try and prevent others from wasting their time and potentially their money I have posted brief details of the sound quality problems to a number of forums and review sites. Where allowed, I have included a link back to this thread.
So back to my fantastic trusty T630 until either SE produce a decent Walkman phone, or one of their competitors produces something worthwhile. At least my 2-year-old T630 doesn't creak, unlike my ex one-week-old W810i.
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TeenInvader
Joined: May 13, 2005
Posts: 398
From: South Africa - Jo'burg
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W800I.
I can't complain much when I use earphones. But when ever I connect it to the sound system it s-cks. Luck I've been play music on my PC through that system so I have something to compare against.
I just sound like mono or something, I don't get the whole bass and treble.
I think the whole idea of walkman fone is really walkman not general mp3 player. |
janahan
Joined: Jan 13, 2003
Posts: 232
From: UK
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Well.. currently I have a Motorola V3i ....
The V3i has NO issues with soudn whatsoever.. and if not for the crappy music playing interface, its MP3 playback is surprisingly good....
Plus the Motos are VERY good for modding.
That being said.. the V3i is a stylish phone, but i miss my Sony Ericssons..
So let me get this straight, the NEW Walkman phoens have better sound than the old ones?
Owned (order of purchase): Nok 8110, Nok 6150, Nok 8210, Nok 6210, Eric r320s, Eric T68m, SE T300, SE P800, SE T610, SE S700i, Mot V3i, SE K800i |
chrisdaemz
Joined: Jan 06, 2006
Posts: 58
PM |
Yes I know what you guys are talking about but my hissing noise has been reduced to a level to where it's not noticable unless you concentrate on it. That's how undisturbing it has become. I'm talking about when you go into the walkman software without actually playing a song you would normally hear the hissing. I've bought this:
http://cgi.benl.ebay.be/Sony-[....]goryZ42423QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
The main reason for buying it was the short wire (With my W800 the headphone connector has a really long cable and it was really disturbing). The first thing I noticed when trying it out was the (for me atleast) great hissing reduction. Now with my new sony headphones it all sounds great. I'm not advertising for him in any way but it was from this seller that I bought it and if some of you are at a loss give it a try. If you are not really disturbed by it (I for one wasn't) then the short wire might be a selling point like it was for me. I still believe that it's all very subjective but maybe some people on here have bought from the same seller and can tell their story?
Grtz
[ This Message was edited by: chrisdaemz on 2006-05-19 20:11 ] |
i-am-andrew
Joined: May 10, 2006
Posts: 42
From: UK
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Quote:
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On 2006-05-19 21:10:17, chrisdaemz wrote:
Yes I know what you guys are talking about but my hissing noise has been reduced to a level to where it's not noticable unless you concentrate on it.
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It's interesting that you say the hissing is reduced by using a shorter cable. However, for me, the hissing is only part of the problem. I notice digital artifacts during quieter music or for example at the start/end of tracks as they are fading in/out. Do you experience this as well, and does a shorter cable help this problem? And does it affect the popping noises between tracks? Or as you imply, does it only affect the hissing problem? I'm surprised it makes a difference because I notice the problems on the speaker as well. Maybe the W800i and W810i differ in these regards?
I suppose that the importance each user attaches to these sound quality problems will depend on the kind of music and the volume at which they listen to it. Generally, the quieter, the worse the problems. For my intended use, this just wasn't acceptable and so I decided to return the phone.
We should expect the best from Walkman, and since other cheaper phones play music better, SE need to address these problems.
Using the shorter cable mentioned presumably means you can't use hands-free?
[ This Message was edited by: i-am-andrew on 2006-05-19 23:56 ] |
SexPest
Joined: May 12, 2006
Posts: 119
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Can't say i ahve thsi problem on my 810i - maybe its jsut unlucky handsets? |
chrisdaemz
Joined: Jan 06, 2006
Posts: 58
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I don't think the shorter wire has anything to do with it, just the fact that this is not officially from sony. I presume the guy makes these himself... I also experience those noices at end and beginning of songs (when they get quieter) but I think this has to do with the fact that I recompress songs to 128kb/s.
Grtz
EDIT: about the handsfree I guess it can't be used because there is no microphone (I never use handsfree so that's no biggie). But radio for example plays fine.
[ This Message was edited by: chrisdaemz on 2006-05-20 19:09 ] |
paternoster
Joined: Dec 03, 2005
Posts: 87
From: Belgium
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I don't think the wire has something to do with it. You can even hear the hissing on the external speaker! NO WIRE AT ALL
Let's just hope there will be a new firmware available soon with a fix for this! |
spitfire14
Joined: Oct 13, 2003
Posts: 39
From: manila
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is this hissing problem also present on k750i?
this is bad news for me, i was considering changing my phone to k750 or w800 but now i'm having doubts... |
Derfel
Joined: May 08, 2006
Posts: 48
From: Aura, Finland
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Thank you all. Because of this thread I hear the hissing noise all the time when playing music :-(
This message was posted from a WAP device |
Menulis
Joined: May 03, 2006
Posts: 2
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I have noticed one thing, then you are listening to radio, you hear no hiss at all.I have w810 |
kristianm
Joined: Aug 12, 2005
Posts: 490
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Guys,
SE already confirmed the presence of the hissing noise in W800, and it's not about the music files, nor the headphones, but on the phone software itself. Using the same songs and HPM70, my siblings' W550 and W900 don't produce any hiss at all. |
Menulis
Joined: May 03, 2006
Posts: 2
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kristianm
are they planing on realising a fix?
and i dont like to wait 3 or 4 months to get a fix.
i'd better get my money back and then they realise a fix will buy the phone cheaper |
laurentg0
Joined: Jan 07, 2006
Posts: 6
From: France
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Hi, everybody
Just to say I get the same problem with my W800I.
Friday, I resent the phone to the technical center via my reseller
The first time they didn't find anything wrong.
So I contacted them by mail. I explained the problem with
details. I also put a link to this thread, I hope they are able to read English 
(I live in France)
As some people say there is no hissing with their phone, I think it's hardware/software related.
As the phone is under waranty. Aren't they obliged to change the phone if they can't repair ?
Regards,
Laurent |
kristianm
Joined: Aug 12, 2005
Posts: 490
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Quote:
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On 2006-05-21 21:43:35, Menulis wrote:
kristianm
are they planing on realising a fix?
and i dont like to wait 3 or 4 months to get a fix.
i'd better get my money back and then they realise a fix will buy the phone cheaper
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Read the first post. |
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Posted: 2006-05-18 23:43
