IPhone 3GS Speaker Complaint...

[sy-83557]

I did a search on this and found one thread with a similar complaint, but I didn't see enough responses to satisfy my OCD.

So, I just got an iPhone 3GS (love it!)... my only complaint is the distortion of the speaker at high volume.

When I use iPod feature and put the volume at max volume, the speaker sounds slightly distorted.

Also, with most YouTube videos, the volume doesn't even have to be near max to sound severely distorted.

Does anyone else experience this, or might I have a defective unit?

It sounds fine with the volume lowered.

 

[jav6454]

Obviously you hit the max on the speaker. Any higher and you'll blow it out. Distortion happens to any speaker when it hits max volume.

 

[thelatinist]

I suppose the could have limited the volume. Then there wouldn't be any distortion at max, but you'd complain that it was too quiet. I mean come on it's, what, a 3 or 4 mm speaker?

 

[jav6454]

I suppose the could have limited the volume. Then there wouldn't be any distortion at max, but you'd complain that it was too quiet. I mean come on it's, what, a 3 or 4 mm speaker?

Agreed.

Also I forgot to mention. The iPhone is not a boom box.

 

[sy-83557]

So I take it you two have the same problem?

 

[jav6454]

So I take it you two have the same problem?

Like I said, it's not a Boom Box, hence I don't treat it like one. I have no problem with the speaker as is. It's very loud for a speaker that size and delivers clear audio.

 

[pellets007]

It's not defective, the speaker just sucks. Or you could sugar coat it and say that it wasn't built for loud music.

 

[jmann]

I think the speaker sounds great. But like others have said it will get a bit distorted at high levels.

 

[-aggie-]

I think the speaker sounds great. But like others have said it will get a bit distorted at high levels.

I've never agreed that the speakers are that great on an iPhone, but I know I'm a minority. For me, I have to use the speaker phone and then put it to my ear to hear. Sometimes I can treat it like a normal speaker phone, but then I need total quiet. The speaker sucks to me. My old dumb phone was much better.

 

[greygray]

Erm, the iPhone's speakers are distorted when maxed out. When lowered, the sound is fine and there is no distortion at all. It happens to all iPhones.

 

[mrochester]

I've got the same problem with the 3GS. My 3G had no distortion at full volume, but its full volume was lower.

 

[sy-83557]

Is the distortion especially bad on YouTube videos? For instance, can someone look up the song "Fireflies" on YouTube and tell me how bad the distortion is? It's really bad for that video on mine, but i don't know if it warrants an exchange.

 

[Techhie]

Is the distortion especially bad on YouTube videos? For instance, can someone look up the song "Fireflies" on YouTube and tell me how bad the distortion is? It's really bad for that video on mine, but i don't know if it warrants an exchange.

Unless distortion is intense enough to render the music unidentifiable around 75% or so, AppleCare won't replace it. If you make a big enough deal about it in the store, you might get lucky.

 

[sy-83557]

Unless distortion is intense enough to render the music unidentifiable around 75% or so, AppleCare won't replace it. If you make a big enough deal about it in the store, you might get lucky.

Does yours distort at all on that video?

 

[Megalobyte]

Wow, exactly at what point did we come to expect a phone speaker the size of a pin head to deliver room filling sound comparable to an actual audio system? I think we've become a little spoiled.

 

[IronLogik]

use headphones, plug it into a docking system or plug it into a stereo.

It's meant to only HEAR what you're listening to. Not really for listening to music or videos with high quality sound.

I think many of you are just expecting too much.

 

[Small White Car]

I've got the same problem with the 3GS. My 3G had no distortion at full volume, but its full volume was lower.

This is it.

My wife's 3GS at 70% sounds the same as my 3G at 100%. Clear, but not that loud.

She can go louder, but the quality suffers.

Honestly, I'd rather have the choice to go higher if I really need it (if I'm in a noisy environment) than what I currently have where I don't even have the option. If she wants clear sound she turns it down. If she wants it loud instead she turns it up.

That's not a bad thing, trust me. You'd be annoyed if you didn't have that option.

 

[IronLogik]

This is it.

My wife's 3GS at 70% sounds the same as my 3G at 100%. Clear, but not that loud.

She can go louder, but the quality suffers.

Honestly, I'd rather have the choice to go higher if I really need it (if I'm in a noisy environment) than what I currently have where I don't even have the option. If she wants clear sound she turns it down. If she wants it loud instead she turns it up.

That's not a bad thing, trust me. You'd be annoyed if you didn't have that option.

My guess is that they added this because people were complaining that the speaker phone didn't get loud enough. Now people wanna complain because it distorts when you go higher than it used to go. Go figure right?