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JB newcomer: headphone level problem

jefboyardee

jefboyardee

Extreme Android User
Abandoning Gingerbread, I just bought a Jellybean phone. I returned it for several reasons, principally because the headphone volume was so weak. Then I got another, same result. And another. On my fourth new Jellybean phone, I decided it was not the phones, so I googled and found that this was quite the uproar when Jellybean was released. Apparently Google reduced the headphone level just to avoid courtrooms.

I've tried a dozen apps that say they boost levels but only boost advertising. I also tried the 'real' ones like Volume+ and Soun**bout. They appear to be taking this seriously, but neither helped me -- not that I'm doing it right. I really don't want to return this phone for a Gingerbread phone, to forsake all those advancements just to recapture my audio levels.

Finally, out frustration, I stuck a USB stick into my car, with the same music I was playing off my SC card. The levels, of course, sprang right back. So now I have a solution, but I find it very irksome to have to sidestep a Google device just to get what I can get any number of ways.

If anyone here knows of an app that really really fixes this, please lemme know. Having just been through a rooting hell of my own making, I'd rather not do that again, but will if I have no other choice...
 
Oh, and by the way, I already tried boosting all the frequencies of my graphic equalizer. Although it does raise levels, it just causes terrible overloaded signals.

...feel free to PM it you'd rather.
 
It's probably something to do with this...
EUROPA - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - Consumers: EU acts to limit health risks from exposure to noise from personal music players
...as well as Google fearing multi-million dollar lawsuits in the US and elsewhere. Probably not all manufacturers and devices implement it though, Androids in China seem to be as loud as they've always been.

I believe the volume limit might be determined at the system or kernel level, no app alone can fix that. Might have to root(could be hell or really easy depending on the device) and change the kernel or something.
 
On my stock Nexus 4 I get an on-screen warning dialog when I try to exceed "maximum" volume, requiring me to confirm that I want it louder. I have no real issue with the true maximum, just the irritation of having to interact with the screen to get to it. The soft "maximum" is ridiculously quiet, the true maximum is just about right or a touch too loud for me with the Sennheiser headphones I normally use but a touch too quiet with some other less sensitive headphones.

One option if you want "much louder" is to use one of the many small battery-powered headphone amplifiers that will produce all the volume anyone could want. They plug into the phone and the headphones plug into the amplifier. Job done, no matter how insensitive the headphones.
 
I saw it occasionally on my HTC. It was just a pop-up notice that you shouldn't listen too long with it too loud though, nothing that stopped you setting it high.

Not seen it for a while, but it may have been removed in custom ROMs I've used.
 
It happens the first time you use it after a restart and it does stop you from increasing the volume further unless you expressly say you want to by tapping the "ok" button, otherwise the message goes away after a few seconds and the volume doesn't change. Very annoying if you're using the phone with the screen off.

Once you've given permission it will remember and not ask again but only in the current session; restart (and some other conditions I can't pin down) will reset the low volume and cause the pop-up to appear again when you try to increase it.
 
Poweramp seems to be able to get around this using the loudness/speaker setting but using a headset. Although I'm downloading an update right now, not sure if it will change yet.
 
I have no 'okay' button, no matter how many times I restart, just a media slider I always slide fully right. No popups, no warnings, no other options on this Chinese phone. Raising the Pre level on the Poweramp EQ does show promise; I'll get back on that.
 
Poweramp does boost it some, but not enough to spend four bucks... I give up, seething, settling for that usb card.
 
Out of curiosity how loud do you want it? My phone's headset volume is quite loud that I only keep it at around 20%
 
I think it's fair to expect it to feed the same levels to my car's amp as the car's radio and CD player does. Then 'how loud it is' can be determined by the the car radio's volume knob, everything else being equal.

Back in Gingerbreadland my droid could actually exceed those levels and I'd have to back off. With Jellybean, I crank it full up and it's only a about a third of the radio/CD levels. With the usb card, levels roughly match the radio/CD. They've obviously chickened out.
 
Are you using the same headphones as before? Could also be a headset quality difference. For example, mediocre quality the headset that came with my Note is, loudness and quality is superior to the headset that came with my Tab 3.
 
jefboyardee said:
I think it's fair to expect it to feed the same levels to my car's amp as the car's radio and CD player does. Then 'how loud it is' can be determined by the the car radio's volume knob, everything else being equal.

Back in Gingerbreadland my droid could actually exceed those levels and I'd have to back off. With Jellybean, I crank it full up and it's only a about a third of the radio/CD levels. With the usb card, levels roughly match the radio/CD. They've obviously chickened out.
Click to expand...

Now is this just the GB and JB phones that you've had or something that affects all of them? Because to be frank, I've only had one GB, and several ICS and JB phones, and have not really noticed much difference, certainly no obvious limiting or restrictions on volume. The only thing I've seen is the warning sometimes when you turn it up past a certain level. That's only really there to avoid lawsuits because of people's stupidity. Like the way that McDonald's have to warn you that the coffee is hot.
 
Are you using the same headphones as before?
Click to expand...
The only thing that's different is the droids used; judged as good with gingerbread, all judged as unacceptably weak with the four jellybeans I've just tried.

I'm going from the headphone output of whichever droid to the input of the built-in stereo of my Kia, plugged into a stock usb port. The radio and CD I mentioned are also stock Kia, which, together, make the most thrilling musical experience I've ever had, in a car, a house, anywhere. That experience was the same when using audio from my late gingerbread Huawei Accent 2, but not with the others.

There have been absolutely no warnings or workaround options, just weakness.

To go from that to the feeble mumblings of these jellybeans has really ticked me off...
 
Also, I forgot to mention, it's not physically possible fot a 9mm headset driver to be as loud as the 100mm drivers on car speakers AFAIK. The hardware isn't up to it. You'll need to use noise isolating headsets to be able to change your perceived music volume to similar levels.
 
The only thing I've seen is the warning sometimes when you turn it up past a certain level.
Click to expand...

This is all the user manual says about it:

Loud Noise
This phone is capable of producing loud noises, which may damage your hearing. Turn down the volume before using headphones, Bluetooth stereo headsets or other audio devices.
 
Tbh I don't think this is an Android version issue since you aren't getting the stock android warning and option but I don't know what is causing it.
I know certain custom kernels or a custom audio driver could probably fix it but that takes us back to the whole rooting/flashing thing lol :banghead::thumbup:
 
it's not physically possible fot a 9mm headset driver to be as loud as the 100mm drivers on car speakers AFAIK.
Click to expand...

The Kia has a built-in stereo 2.5mm input jack, just like the stereo output jacks on most droids. I just got a 2.5 to 2.5 cord and bingo.

The car also had one usb port which, when loaded with a stick, recognizes and plays music files. In fact, the songs, artists and play commands are accessible on the radio display when used that way.

Which leads to the obvious question: is there a way I can plug the droid into the usb port and have the stereo see the music files within? I've tried to do that, got nowhere, but maybe missed a step...
 
I know I've read about people using the USB for music output .... :thumbup:
Not just using the phone as a dumb flash drive though, using USB as the digital output
 
jefboyardee said:
The Kia has a built-in stereo 2.5mm input jack, just like the stereo output jacks on most droids. I just got a 2.5 to 2.5 cord and bingo.

The car also had one usb port which, when loaded with a stick, recognizes and plays music files. In fact, the songs, artists and play commands are accessible on the radio display when used that way.

Which leads to the obvious question: is there a way I can plug the droid into the usb port and have the stereo see the music files within? I've tried to do that, got nowhere, but maybe missed a step...
Click to expand...

I'm not talking about the jacks or connections. I'm talking about the speakers themselves. On a headset, inside the earbuds, are 7-9mm audio driver hardware (depending on headset model). Doesn't matter what the connection is. Asking a 9mm driver to be as loud as a 100mm driver on a loudspeaker is like asking a pocket flashlight to be as bright as a rescue search/flood lamp.

Not really sure how to explain it better. I dunno, take a ruler and measure the headset earbud. That's approx 1cm in diameter, fitting a 7-9mm driver inside. Then get the car speaker and measure it's diameter and compare. Plus the car speaker has a bigger power input and output.

What you need for your headset is better noise reduction/isolation, not software to make it louder. For example, if I use non isolating headsets, I need to crank the phone volume up to 70% to seem as loud to me as 20% on isolating headsets. This is because of ambient noises leaking into your hearing, and the sound from the headset leaking out of your ear. Using an isolating headset prevents ambient noise leaking into your ear and music leaking out.
 
funkylogik said:
I know I've read about people using the USB for music output .... :thumbup:
Not just using the phone as a dumb flash drive though, using USB as the digital output
Click to expand...

If the stereo is newer it MAY support MTP.

I have no idea how to multiquote on Tapatalk so somebody merge this. Lol
 
chanchan05 said:
If the stereo is newer it MAY support MTP.

I have no idea how to multiquote on Tapatalk so somebody merge this. Lol
Click to expand...

Lol 😸
But instead of MTP, isn't there a way to get digital audio out from a music player on the phone via USB?
 
If I plug a stick, loaded with mp3s, into the built-in usb port on my Kia, I can play that music and navigate to other folders with the buttons on my car stereo panel. It's acting like a file manager and a player. And to repeat, usb music from a stick has no audio level problems, sounds great.

If I try to do that from the usb port on my droid, I get 'reading usb' and eventually 'reading error,' and never get audio at all. So the car can't navigate or play the folders inside the droid, even though they can on the stick. Solving that, I think, would solve this problem.

At least the stick discovery will get me around this...
 
I'm not talking about the jacks or connections. I'm talking about the speakers themselves.
Click to expand...

The speakers in this debacle are always the stock speakers built into my Kia -- I have no idea of their dimensions or specs and it makes no difference here. The only thing that's changing are the droids -- specifically, the operating systems therein.
 
jefboyardee said:
If I plug a stick, loaded with mp3s, into the built-in usb port on my Kia, I can play that music and navigate to other folders with the buttons on my car stereo panel. It's acting like a file manager and a player. And to repeat, usb music from a stick has no audio level problems, sounds great.

If I try to do that from the usb port on my droid, I get 'reading usb' and eventually 'reading error,' and never get audio at all. So the car can't navigate or play the folders inside the droid, even though they can on the stick. Solving that, I think, would solve this problem.

At least the stick discovery will get me around this...
Click to expand...

That means your stereo supports USB hosting but not MTP. You'd need to root to fix that. Samsungs get around this using thei car docks I think. The phone plugs to the dock and the stereo plugs into the dock as well, not the phone. No idea if any non branded stuff like that exists anywhere except China.
 
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