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Newbie troubleshooting crackling... think it's my clip+?

post #1 of 12
4/26/10 at 6:03am
Thread Starter 
Hi guys, been reading around and doing as much as I can on my own, but now I could use some advice.

A few months ago I got myself a Sansa Clip+ and some Shure SCL-2Ks, figuring 120 bucks was enough to figure out if I was interested in higher-quality sounds than come from my old sanyo stereo.

Never realised what I'd been missing

But to cut it short, recently I've noticed a very light crackling when playing some songs. It's only certain songs, or even parts of songs, and it's pretty consistent, but mostly during reasonably fast, rich, complex mid-tones (Best example is most stuff by the Black Mages).

Upgrading from MP3 to FLAC made very little difference, so not the files' problem.

Happens on both the earbuds that came with the Clip+, and the Shures...

Not sure whether it's a new thing, or just something that I'm noticing now that I'm actually listening properly...

So is this normal for entry-level 'phones, entry level players, or should I be warranty-ing my Clip?

It's not enough for me to stop listening to those songs, but it's enough to drive me up the wall J=

*EDIT* Also, listened to some straight sine-wave tones from 30Hz to 20kHz and it crackled like hell for a moment between each 3sec file, in both pairs of phones, from both laptop and Clip+... Is that normal?
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post #2 of 12
4/26/10 at 7:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragunov-21 View Post
Upgrading from MP3 to FLAC made very little difference, so not the files' problem.
I hope you re ripped your CD to upgrade your files to FLAC and didn't convert your mp3's to FLAC. I ask this because it would make the most sense to be the files causing your trouble.
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post #3 of 12
4/26/10 at 6:25pm
Thread Starter 
Haha, that'd be a little pointless, no?

Yep, proper FLACs, I'll test them on a friend's iRiver when I get the chance (if FLACs are supported, otherwise, the mp3s) to see if there's a difference...
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post #4 of 12
4/26/10 at 6:30pm
It certainly would be pointless, but you would be surprised how many fools do it.
Well in that case, I have no idea what it could be. Good luck finding it out, and hopefully fixing it.
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post #5 of 12
4/26/10 at 7:08pm
Quote:
*EDIT* Also, listened to some straight sine-wave tones from 30Hz to 20kHz and it crackled like hell for a moment between each 3sec file, in both pairs of phones, from both laptop and Clip+... Is that normal?
So if I understand you correctly, you are saying the problem is reproduced exactly regardless of source (laptop/clip) or headphone? Looks like it's time to re-rip those CDs with EAC in secure mode. In my experience poorly ripped CDs tend to result in more obvious pops and skips, or like the crackle you describe, but maybe your improved audio setup is allowing you to hear more subtle flaws that are inherent in your rips as well.
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post #6 of 12
4/26/10 at 7:55pm
Thread Starter 
^^Those weren't CD rips, they were separate WAVs exported from a tone generator, and the crackling wasn't during playback, but rather during between one file finishing and the next beginning. Didn't know if it was relevant or not, but was curious about it.

Another member has noted "grain" in mids on the Clip+ in another thread, so it may just be the Clip+ itself... In which case I might just have to try rockbox and see if that helps.
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post #7 of 12
4/26/10 at 9:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragunov-21 View Post
^^Those weren't CD rips, they were separate WAVs exported from a tone generator, and the crackling wasn't during playback, but rather during between one file finishing and the next beginning. Didn't know if it was relevant or not, but was curious about it.

Another member has noted "grain" in mids on the Clip+ in another thread, so it may just be the Clip+ itself... In which case I might just have to try rockbox and see if that helps.
As you say you only seem to notice it during fast and complex passages, perhaps your ears would prefer faster BA phones over any kind of dynamic design.

But that's just a shot in the dark. Regardless, clips have been around for a while, so it's pretty unlikely you have discovered any hidden flaw in them that's never been heard before. The problem you've described seems too prominent to be related to the more subtle grain that a very small percentage of owners have reported.

I like rockbox for it's interface, even at it's current stage of development, it's well worth the upgrade. Having to wait for the player to "update" my 16gb card for 3+ minutes after disconnecting from the computer -- even if I only changed a single song -- is a bit limiting, not to mention being able to get only 6 and half hours of flac playtime from Sansa's OF. If RB solves the problems you're hearing, all the better.
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post #8 of 12
4/27/10 at 12:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragunov-21 View Post

But to cut it short, recently I've noticed a very light crackling when playing some songs. It's only certain songs, or even parts of songs, and it's pretty consistent, but mostly during reasonably fast, rich, complex mid-tones (Best example is most stuff by the Black Mages).
i recently purchased a clip+ as well, and overall i'm happy with it. but i noticed a similar phenomenon. slight pops at certain drum sequences. it only happens in a few songs though. i'm using mediamonkey to auto-convert my ~256kbps VBR mp3's from my library to ~160kbps OGG vorbis for the clip+ uSD card, so i can fit more songs since i only have a 4GB expansion card. i thought it was the file format that caused the problem, but now that i see someone else is having a similar issue...

also, i notice the effect both with klipsch image s4's and orto e-q7 straight out of the headphone jack. my clip+ is not rockboxed.
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post #9 of 12
4/27/10 at 9:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by seekadds View Post
i recently purchased a clip+ as well, and overall i'm happy with it. but i noticed a similar phenomenon. slight pops at certain drum sequences. it only happens in a few songs though. i'm using mediamonkey to auto-convert my ~256kbps VBR mp3's from my library to ~160kbps OGG vorbis for the clip+ uSD card, so i can fit more songs since i only have a 4GB expansion card. i thought it was the file format that caused the problem, but now that i see someone else is having a similar issue...

also, i notice the effect both with klipsch image s4's and orto e-q7 straight out of the headphone jack. my clip+ is not rockboxed.
Try listening to the same tracks with FLAC and see if you still hear what you are hearing. Transcoding lossy to lossy is not a good idea if excellent sound quality is of value to you. Transcoding - Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase
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post #10 of 12
4/28/10 at 11:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wrist-Fi View Post
Try listening to the same tracks with FLAC and see if you still hear what you are hearing. Transcoding lossy to lossy is not a good idea if excellent sound quality is of value to you. Transcoding - Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase
thanks, i'll try that. but honestly, even if it fixes it, i will probably still continue to use mp3 -> ogg vorbis. it's a very minor issue; i'd rather save the time (from re-ripping) and space (with ogg vorbis) than have the ultimate sound quality from my clip+. it's really only my ultra-portable compromise rig, anyway. i use a different setup for higher-quality portability. and like i said, i'm happy overall with the clip+'s performance. cheers!
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post #11 of 12
4/28/10 at 1:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by seekadds View Post
thanks, i'll try that. but honestly, even if it fixes it, i will probably still continue to use mp3 -> ogg vorbis. it's a very minor issue; i'd rather save the time (from re-ripping) and space (with ogg vorbis) than have the ultimate sound quality from my clip+. it's really only my ultra-portable compromise rig, anyway. i use a different setup for higher-quality portability. and like i said, i'm happy overall with the clip+'s performance. cheers!
Your own ears cast the final vote...if they are happy with your setup, then that's what matters most.
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post #12 of 12
5/3/10 at 5:13am
Thread Starter 
UPDATE:

Issue is fixed - apparently a result of cranking up the equalisers too high, though I've got no idea why that would happen...

Also, got a pair of ER-4Ps for 120 bucks US (awww yeeeeea!)
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