Sansa Zip: Sound "clicks"

[pepelugil]

Hi,

I just purchased a Sansa Zip and the first thing I've done is rockbox it, but I have a problem: Every few seconds I can hear a small click in sound, it's week but still audible.

I've only played VBR and 320Kbps mp3 files and all suffer the same problem, while playing them using the OF all sound great without that clicks.

¿Anybody else has or has had this problem before and knows how to get rid of it?

Greetings

I've tried today's latest build and some of the yesterday's releases.

Edit: I've tried latest dfkt patched build here: http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/sho...&postcount=148 and it's the same every few seconds there's a subtle click on right channel (it's easier to detect on quiet tracks).

[pepelugil]

Well, answering myself it seems that the problem is due to power on the Zip without earphones and plugging them with Zip on (I was a/b testing with Zip and my old iRiver iMP-550).

If I power on the Zip with the earphones plugged in then that clicks disappear (or at least I cannot hear them in my fast test).

[TexasRockbox]

Headphone detection issue maybe?

[pepelugil]

Unfortunately the clicks still continue... They're very subtle, but when you know they exists they are very disturbing and destroy the listening experience... I've tested with two different earphones and they have the same problem (random sound "clicks"), that disappears using the original firmware.

Am I the only one having this problem?

[WalkGood]

Have you upgraded to the latest build? I don't hear any clicks on mine but did when the original v1 beta rockbox came out a few years back, which they eventually removed via newer builds before it was released.

[TexasRockbox]

All EQ turned off?

[pepelugil]

Originally Posted by WalkGood

Have you upgraded to the latest build? I don't hear any clicks on mine but did when the original v1 beta rockbox came out a few years back, which they eventually removed via newer builds before it was released.

Yes everyday i put the newest version, but i have the same problem.

Originally Posted by TexasRockbox

All EQ turned off?

I've set Bass and treble to 0, turned off crossfeed and equalizer, but I still have these anoying clicks on the right channel...

It can be one or two minutes without clicks, but then in the next few seconds you can have two of them, and if I rewind to a point where a click was heared the click has "disappeared".

The sound I get with Rockbox is much better than what I get from OF, but these clicks make unusable for me right now.

[dfkt]

Pepelugil, what phones do you use with the Zip? I noticed that some very weird armature designs (Final Audio) don't play nicely with the AMS Sansas, and show some interferences from time to time. Not sure if this is Rockbox-related, though, I never tried them with the OF.

[pepelugil]

I've tried two headphones: YUIN Pk3 and Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (2x 80 Ohms), and both behave the same.

[cowoniriver]

Try using more low&common impedances (16&32ohms) i've listen 30mins of a bethoven
piece and no click with rbox even on quiet moments.
Be sure the EQ is OFF(again), compresor is off ,replay gain is Off and any other processor is OFF
i have 0 clicks with my rockboxed clipzip even with 10$ jvc's nor panasonic ear candy,
and believe me , i'm very "bug-sensitive" listener
Does the clicks still exist if the headphone is plugged before switch on the zip?
I bet nothing would happen using 16ohms/mass-good brand phones
Does it happen if you plug the zip to a line-in or external speakers?
Also get a look to the audiophile patch and 150+ OHMS headpones patch:

http://www.rockbox.org/tracker/task/11304

[pepelugil]

Pk3 is 32 ohms, DT 770 is 2 x 80 ohms (I've also tested stock Zip headphones and have the same problem, plugged or unplugged when powering Zip on).

I've been listening to radio and it sounds perfect, without any click...

I've been able to isolate a 15 seconds sample where I hear these slight clicks on right channel always at the same points, could you please download it and test with your Zips (the music doesn't help much, but if you listen carefully, you hear it)?: http://www.mediafire.com/?s46abm8okgasp00

At second 1 most of the times I hear the click, and at second 4 and second 13 I always hear it (with OF there aren't any clicks).

And it doesn't matter if I disable all audio enhancement, the clicks are still there.

[WalkGood]

I rarely ever hear trance so I could be wrong but I don’t hear it with sensitive armature IEMs on my Clip Zip or it could just be hard for me to tell with that "four-to-the-floor" time signature. As stated before, I don’t know trance well enough but is it possible that it’s an intended sound or offshoot produced by a synthesizer technique?

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by pepelugil

Pk3 is 32 ohms, DT 770 is 2 x 80 ohms (I've also tested stock Zip headphones and have the same problem, plugged or unplugged when powering Zip on).

I've been listening to radio and it sounds perfect, without any click...

I've been able to isolate a 15 seconds sample where I hear these slight clicks on right channel always at the same points, could you please download it and test with your Zips (the music doesn't help much, but if you listen carefully, you hear it)?: http://www.mediafire.com/?s46abm8okgasp00

At second 1 most of the times I hear the click, and at second 4 and second 13 I always hear it (with OF there aren't any clicks).

And it doesn't matter if I disable all audio enhancement, the clicks are still there.

I don't hear it with Grado SR60i's, Audio Technica ATH-P5's, or AudioTechnica ATH-FC700's.....with or without EQ.

[saratoga]

Do the clicks happen if you play a wav file containing silence? Do they occur with the radio?

If you play something with a very low bitrate (say 32 kbps mp3 or wma) do they happen less or more frequently?

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

I don't hear it with Grado SR60i's, ...

Glad to read that I'm not the only one to not hear it, hard to tell with that type of music IMHO ...

Originally Posted by saratoga

Do the clicks happen if you play a wav file containing silence? ... ...

Good idea, probably the best and lowest cost way to test it for sure. I'd also try the same files with different phones ...

[pepelugil]

Originally Posted by saratoga

Do the clicks happen if you play a wav file containing silence? Do they occur with the radio?

If you play something with a very low bitrate (say 32 kbps mp3 or wma) do they happen less or more frequently?

No clicks when playing a silence wav or listening radio.

I've converted the sample I uploaded to 32 kbps, and the click at sec 4 is still there, but the one I heared at sec 13 is now at sec 7: http://www.mediafire.com/?1xbxxk2maotgjyh

I have a quiter flac where I can also clearly hear these clicks, but if I try to cut the fragment with the clicks, I won't have clicks in the resulting file.

Another thing that bothers me (and that's why I said at the beginning that the clicks where random) is that if I rewind only for a few seconds when I hear a click, the click not always happens again, but if I start from the beginning of the track again the clicks occur at the same spots.

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by pepelugil

No clicks when playing a silence wav or listening radio.

Does the volume of the clicking scale with the loudness of the track? So if you listen to loud metal you get louder clicks, if you listen to very quiet music they're difficult to hear?

Basically I'm asking if its:

1) additive (click + music)

or

2) multiplied (clicks x music)

Originally Posted by pepelugil

I've converted the sample I uploaded to 32 kbps, and the click at sec 4 is still there, but the one I heared at sec 13 is now at sec 7: http://www.mediafire.com/?1xbxxk2maotgjyh

Is that a recording of the player, or just a track you listened to on your player?

[pepelugil]

Originally Posted by saratoga

Does the volume of the clicking scale with the loudness of the track? So if you listen to loud metal you get louder clicks, if you listen to very quiet music they're difficult to hear?

Basically I'm asking if its:

1) additive (click + music)

or

2) multiplied (clicks x music)

Nope, the volume of the clicks is independent of the loudness of the track, it only changes with Zip volume: If I turn up volume the clicks are louder, if I turn down the volume the clicks are quiter.

Originally Posted by saratoga

Is that a recording of the player, or just a track you listened to on your player?

It's the track I listened on my player (I just reencoded the original 320 kpbs file to 32 kbps).

If I connect the earphone output of my Zip to the microphone input of my sound card, then I have no clicks listening in my computer.

I've also noticed that time position where clicks happen change upon audio
enhancement activated: they differ for example if I activate equalizer or if I activate equalizer + bass + treble.

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by pepelugil

Nope, the volume of the clicks is independent of the loudness of the track,

But you said they went away with a silent track. If they don't depend on loudness, you should still hear them. How did you test this?

Also, what is the exact SVN number of the build you're running?

[pepelugil]

Originally Posted by saratoga

But you said they went away with a silent track. If they don't depend on loudness, you should still hear them. How did you test this?

Also, what is the exact SVN number of the build you're running?

I created a silent track with Adobe Audition and saved it as wav and mp3, and none of them had clicks (radio is also click free), but any other track with sound has clicks on the right channel and their volume is always the same.

I've been uptading version everyday, now I'm with r31467-1111229 but with every version I've tried the clicks are on the same spots of the tracks.