Speakerphone (loudness, clarity)

Speakerphone (loudness, clarity) - Lenovo Vibe X3 Real Life Review

Proper etiquette aside (hint: don't use speakerphone while doing your "business" in a public bathroom), rate this thread to express how you think the Lenovo Vibe X3's speakerphone performs. A higher rating indicates that you love it: it's loud and it's clear.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

One of the best in terms of audio clarity nothing can beat it, it can play 192khz sound 32bit audio very very good.
You need to use a package explorer and search for your a device app manually, it has a debug name I don't remember which, the lenovo forums has more info on it, and choose the right audio device, its hidden kind of look for audio devices with a package explorer, it lists about 20 products, where you can select yours, I don't know why Lenovo doesn't make this menu visible it seriously is in stock software.
In marshmallow you need to disable the OK Google setting or else the HiFi will be disabled even if the setting is on.
Dolby has to be set manually, i think movie setting is the only one that is adjusted by default, so go into dolby and change the settings yourself.
Since the speakers are front facing you won't block them with your fingers during games.
There are 40 volume levels when you use the volume rocker very very nice.
Leagues better than Samsung not an exaggeration.

Related

Possible workaround for a noisy mic

The microphone for the Nexus 4 is very noisy. A user on another thread described a video he recorded
to sound as if it was "recorded underwater".
I looked up the Android SDK and the MediaRecorder object has access to the following audio streams:
CAMCORDER, DEFAULT, MIC, VOICE_CALL, VOICE_COMMUNICATION, VOICE_DOWNLINK, VOICE_RECOGNITION, VOICE_UPLINK.
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/media/MediaRecorder.AudioSource.html
I noticed that while audio and video recorders sound bad on Nexus4, voice calls are of decent quality.
Not all phones have the hardware to handle all these so most sound recorders use MIC or DEFAULT.
I found the source code to the MIUI Sound Recorder and it was easy to add a setting that lets you
manually select which hardware stream to record from.
I ran some tests on the Nexus 4 and came to the following conclusions:
- MIC, DEFAULT and VOICE RECOGNITION are probably the same stream and sound bad.
- the CAMCORDER audio stream is the cleanest.
I propose that until Google and LG fix this issue ROM developers alter the Android API on Nexus 4 (only)
so that the CAMCORDER stream always overwrites MIC and DEFAULT.
I'm attaching the modified MIUI Sound Recorder with manual stream select if anyone wants to do
tests on their own. Here's an amplified view of MIC vs CAMCORDER.

-Mindroid- said:
The microphone for the Nexus 4 is very noisy. A user on another thread described a video he recorded
to sound as if it was "recorded underwater".
I looked up the Android SDK and the MediaRecorder object has access to the following audio streams:
CAMCORDER, DEFAULT, MIC, VOICE_CALL, VOICE_COMMUNICATION, VOICE_DOWNLINK, VOICE_RECOGNITION, VOICE_UPLINK.
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/media/MediaRecorder.AudioSource.html
I noticed that while audio and video recorders sound bad on Nexus4, voice calls are of decent quality.
Not all phones have the hardware to handle all these so most sound recorders use MIC or DEFAULT.
I found the source code to the MIUI Sound Recorder and it was easy to add a setting that lets you
manually select which hardware stream to record from.
I ran some tests on the Nexus 4 and came to the following conclusions:
- MIC, DEFAULT and VOICE RECOGNITION are probably the same stream and sound bad.
- the CAMCORDER audio stream is the cleanest.
I propose that until Google and LG fix this issue ROM developers alter the Android API on Nexus 4 (only)
so that the CAMCORDER stream always overwrites MIC and DEFAULT.
I'm attaching the modified MIUI Sound Recorder with manual stream select if anyone wants to do
tests on their own. Here's an amplified view of MIC vs CAMCORDER.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I modified my kernel to fix this and I used your apk to test for both mic and camcorder and I don't notice the difference with my updated kernel.
http://faux.androidro.ms/mako/beta/mako-jb-kernel-004b06.zip
check for me to see if I really fix it or not since I am not an audio expert

Thank you, faux!
I've been meaning to try your kernel for a while so now I just have to.
Please treat my ideas about how Android exposes the audio stream as a speculation for now.
I didn't run any in-depth tests and I didn't trace the kernel code.
To my ears the MIC/DEFAULT streams are very noisy. The CAMCORDER one is noisy also
and but somewhat less so. They all sound bandpassed (probably a microphone limitation).
I'd like to know what other users think of the sound.

Very interesting.
I agree that N4 mic is so sensitive that it picks up a lot of background noises. I have been tweaking with mic volume to offset it.
If OP is true, then there's a hope for VoIP users who use Csipsimple. Without changing the kernel, csip can use CAMCORDER mode by changing the settings under media>audio troubleshooting.

The very high mic gain is the main issue with the sound quality. It needs to be adjusted from
the kernel driver which is not a trivial procedure. Gain from apps works on top of the hardware
gain and does not affect distortion that happens earlier in the signal chain.
One user put scotch tape on the mic to mechanically attenuate the sound and reported good results.

If the the sound system on the nexus 4 is built on top of ALSA, I.e. if the directory /proc/asound exists, then microphone levels can be adjusted in user-space. There is an app (ALSAMixer) available on the market that could be used here.

What would be the effect of covering the mic with something to reduce it's sensitivity?

chdloc said:
If the the sound system on the nexus 4 is built on top of ALSA, I.e. if the directory /proc/asound exists, then microphone levels can be adjusted in user-space. There is an app (ALSAMixer) available on the market that could be used here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if that will do it. The textbook audio recording chain goes like this:
microphone -> preamp -> analog-to-digital converter
If I'm not mistaken ALSA(the driver) will take over afterwards. We need a way to control
the hardware gain on the preamp. It's possible that preamp gain is permanently fixed by design.
On the other hand almost all modern preamps have automatic variable gain so it might just be
a matter of figuring out how to turn it on.
EDIT:
ALSAMixer doesn't work at all on my phone (stock 4.2.1 - rooted)
Do you know of any custom kernels for the Nexus4 that use ALSA?
donec said:
What would be the effect of covering the mic with something to reduce it's sensitivity?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aside from the ugly look it should work OK. I would suggest using some kind of soft thread fabric.
Wool is one of the best materials for sound absorption but you should try different materials.
The downside is that mechanical methods don't attenuate all frequencies linearly - they work much better
on higher frequencies so you will have to try and see what material works best.
If this works out it would be ideal to open the phone and plug the microphone hole on the inside with the proper material.

I don't have a Nexus 4, but I do know that the Nexus 7 uses ALSA. Have you checked for /proc/asound? If it exists, then you may need the proper ALSA libraries first.
Sent from my Nexus One using xda app-developers app

im starting to think LG just used cheap mics to keep cost down. From the buzzing to the sub par recording quality

-Mindroid- said:
Aside from the ugly look it should work OK. I would suggest using some kind of soft thread fabric.
Wool is one of the best materials for sound absorption but you should try different materials.
The downside is that mechanical methods don't attenuate all frequencies linearly - they work much better
on higher frequencies so you will have to try and see what material works best.
If this works out it would be ideal to open the phone and plug the microphone hole on the inside with the proper material.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have my Nexus 4 in a case and thought maybe I could improve the quality by placing a piece of cloth between the case and the phone.

Lockeskidney said:
im starting to think LG just used cheap mics to keep cost down. From the buzzing to the sub par recording quality
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The specs for the microphone do not look bad either. http://www.knowles.com/search/prods_pdf/SPU0410LR5H.pdf is the spec sheet and it should be working to 116 dB, which is louder than I'd want to be in - though it is only the loud end of rock concerts. Noise also looks okay on the spec sheet, but you cannot expect Schoeps quality of course..
The underwater sounds I'm hearing with the sound recording tool remind me of processing, heavy compression andf such. Not what I heard on my camcorder tests, which had a pleasant sound.
Overload is more likelely to be caused by audio codec settings. A voice call has the mouth close to the mic, that is loud too, and works well. But applications like movie recordings crank up the gain to record sounds further away.

jutezak said:
The specs for the microphone do not look bad either. http://dl-bacon.bbqdroid.org/GeebCM/EN_LG-E973_SVC_ENG_121127.pdf is the spec sheet and it should be working to 116 dB, which is louder than I'd want to be in. Noise also looks okay on the spec sheet, but you cannot expect Schoeps quality of course..
The underwater sounds I'm hearing with the sound recording tool remind me of processing, heavy compression andf such. Not what I heard on my camcorder tests, which had a pleasant sound.
Overload is more likelely to be caused by audio codec settings. A voice call has the mouth close to the mic, that is loud too, and works well. But applications like movie recordings crank up the gain to record sounds further away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice find! Thank you for sharing!
Microphones in general are almost never bad. It's the preamps and digital processing that add more to the mix.
Regarding the "underwater" sound I now suspect a lack of a Low Pass filter. Check out my other thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=36856100&postcount=18

jutezak said:
The specs for the microphone do not look bad either. http://www.knowles.com/search/prods_pdf/SPU0410LR5H.pdf is the spec sheet and it should be working to 116 dB, which is louder than I'd want to be in - though it is only the loud end of rock concerts. Noise also looks okay on the spec sheet, but you cannot expect Schoeps quality of course..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Human speech can generate 116dB SPL measured at 1-2" distance fairly easily. I just measured the level my speech at 1" distance (with a lab-grade device) and I did not have to shout to produce 116dB SPL. The spec sheet says that the microphone produces about 10% THD typically at 118SPL for a 1kHz tone.
jutezak said:
Overload is more likelely to be caused by audio codec settings. A voice call has the mouth close to the mic, that is loud too, and works well. But applications like movie recordings crank up the gain to record sounds further away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Distortion of the microphone signal is generated (or amplified) in at least four locations:
1. The microphone itself (analog or digital if the microphone is a digital microphone as many MEMS are; the above referenced Knowles mike is analog)
2. The amplifier (analog)
3. The analog-to-digital converter (ADC) which is spec'ed with a maximum input voltage to generate a signal that hits "digital rail", i.e. 0dB FS (full-scale)
4. digital gain along the digital processing path
Potential "clipping" (i.e. signals producing 0dB FS at the ADC) can only be avoided if the analog amplifier (if there is one) can be controlled. By looking at the ALSA mixer settings for the Nexus 4 my only hope lies in the controls that are labeled "ADCX Volume" where X=[1,6], i.e. numid. I believe -Mindroid- shared his "idle" settings vs. settings during a call and only X={1,3}, i.e. numid={48,50} have changed. Give changing those two parameters a try...

I posted this in a different thread, but thought it would be useful here as well as a potential lead to a workaround:
Looks like the audio chip in question is a Qualcomm WCD9310.
It's used in a few other devices as well (eg: GS3 USA). If their audio runs fine, perhaps we could try running their audio drivers on our device?

Call quality

When you call granny, does she keep saying "Huh?! Wut?!" or does the conversation flow pretty well? Rate this thread to express how you feel about the BLU R1 HD's call quality. A higher rating indicates that calls are clear and crisp, and that regardless of background noise, you can hear the other party clearly (and with ample volume) and they can hear you.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

Call quality is good over AT&T 2G. Earpiece has decent enough volume.

This is actually my only complaint about this phone. Don't get me wrong, I love this phone, but I feel like it is slightly difficult to hear the other person when they are talking to me. Other people do not have any problems hearing me, so it's just on my end (earpiece speaker). I have AT&T. It also could just be my hearing, I've had some ear problems recently....
It's not annoying enough for me to give up my phone. In fact, my s6 Edge+ is sitting in my desk drawer collecting dust because I've fallen in love with this phone. I'm not saying that this is a better phone than the s6 Edge+, but in terms of day to day use, it's great. I just wish the earpiece volume would be a little higher.
Anyone know of a mod that will do this?

Agreed. No major complaints, but a slightly quiet volume on average. I'm using H2O Wireless (an AT&T MVNO).

aklee987 said:
I just wish the earpiece volume would be a little higher.
Anyone know of a mod that will do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this to increase earpiece volume:
Get MTK engineering from the play store. Run it and go into MTK settings -> Hardware testing -> Audio -> Normal mode.
On that page select type = Sip (should already be set) then set max volume to 160. Then change SPH and SPH2 Level 6 value to 160.
This works for me.

waingro808 said:
Try this to increase earpiece volume:
Get MTK engineering from the play store. Run it and go into MTK settings -> Hardware testing -> Audio -> Normal mode.
On that page select type = Sip (should already be set) then set max volume to 160. Then change SPH and SPH2 Level 6 value to 160.
This works for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worked for me as well!!
Thanks so much!

waingro808 said:
Try this to increase earpiece volume:
Get MTK engineering from the play store. Run it and go into MTK settings -> Hardware testing -> Audio -> Normal mode.
On that page select type = Sip (should already be set) then set max volume to 160. Then change SPH and SPH2 Level 6 value to 160.
This works for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot. This worked for me also.
Is there something similar to increase the loudspeaker volume for calls and regular audio?
Sent from my BLU R1 HD using Tapatalk

luisenriquereyes said:
Thanks a lot. This worked for me also.
Is there something similar to increase the loudspeaker volume for calls and regular audio?
Sent from my BLU R1 HD using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, go to MTK settings -> Hardware testing -> Audio -> Loudspeaker mode and change the same settings

About average

Once I applied the audio engineering mods, I'm satisfied.

jury still out. Bought for my wife and mic failed within 4-days. have replacement almost ready for daily use.
My early opinion is not promising. Yes it's a good deal but only if all components work as expected. To say things such as "for the price" speaks to a false economy. But will give it time.
Early take is my total POS Samsung Core Prime has significantly superior call quality for out going voice, i don't really care is ear speaker is tinny only what our outbound voice quality is...bought this for two line ability using 2nd SIM for business line.
Will prolly keep it as backup since it will be good in pinch if she loses yet another phone.
Sent from my SM-G360T1 using Tapatalk

OK I've increased both the earpiece and loudspeaker volumes with the instructions here in MTK settings and I am happy with the changes.
But I'm planning on giving this phone to my hard of hearing mother so I was wondering if I could increase any of the other settings to get earpiece and loudspeaker volumes higher for her?
Sent from my Moto G Play using Tapatalk

I have had this phone about a month or so now and am pleased with it. I bought it because it was recommended for FreedomPop and it works well with that. I also have a T-Mobile sim for the other slot. Overall it works quite well with both. Couldn't beat it for 50 bucks.

I seem to be getting a lot of distortion from the mic when making calls. Almost sounds like the mic sensitivity is too high. Is this common on this phone or is my phone defecti

BLU R1+
waingro808 said:
Try this to increase earpiece volume:
Get MTK engineering from the play store. Run it and go into MTK settings -> Hardware testing -> Audio -> Normal mode.
On that page select type = Sip (should already be set) then set max volume to 160. Then change SPH and SPH2 Level 6 value to 160.
This works for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which one? There are a lot of MTK Engineer apps there.

Proper etiquette aside (hint: don't use speakerphone while doing your "business" in a public bathroom), rate this thread to express how you think the HTC U Ultra's speakerphone performs. A higher rating indicates that you love it: it's loud and it's clear.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

USonic headphone :good: ; Speak is loud
The USoic headphones are really good. Bass is strong. If the ear scan feature is activited, some noise is then introduced as the result of the algorithm trying to balance the sound when you play quiet music like piano ones, but the feature can be turned off easily through notification screen.
The speaker, however, does not produce strong bass at all. But sound is clear, and no cracking even at max volumn. Max volumn is also really high on the speaker. A lot of times the ringtone gives me heart attacks when it is on my computer desk.
It is dual speaker, as in the one you use for phone and bottom firing speaker can both produce sound. However, unlike M9 or previous dual speakers, it is not entirely stereo, and the impression it gives me is that they seems to cover different part of frequency range.
In short, other than the lack of bass for the speaker, I absolutely have no other complains about the sound part of this U Ultra.

totally agree with @Frofire
Envoyé de mon TF700T en utilisant Tapatalk

The speaker has enough bass when boomsound is set to music mode. In the default theater mode, I agree that it has almost no bass. I prefer music mode to theater mode. With my HTC 10 I always prefered the theater mode, so I guess HTC changed something in the configuration for the HTC U Ultra.
Actually I wanted to start a new thread and ask what is your preference. Do you use theater mode or music mode?

petvas said:
The speaker has enough bass when boomsound is set to music mode. In the default theater mode, I agree that it has almost no bass. I prefer music mode to theater mode. With my HTC 10 I always prefered the theater mode, so I guess HTC changed something in the configuration for the HTC U Ultra.
Actually I wanted to start a new thread and ask what is your preference. Do you use theater mode or music mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you think the htc 10 has better speaker system??

The Quantum Guy said:
do you think the htc 10 has better speaker system??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the Ultra is better. Even better is the U11+ though.