NW-S706F with static noise.

[no9008]

Hello,

I just purchased an S706, and i've got a problem:

When i turn the volume to zero, I hear electric(static) noise even when noise cancelling is turned off.

Its like when you play an audio casette in a walkman :S

Please tell me, if you have the same problem. (you can try it easily, just turn the volume to 00 and listen if you hear any noise)

Thanks for helping,

Adam

[aznbro85]

Hey Adam,

Welcome to ATRACLife Colloquium, I hope you enjoy your stay here.

I have the NW-S705F, which is the 2GB American model. When I turn it all the way to zero, I do hear a slight static/electic sound as well. I heard it while using the stock earbuds (MDR-NC022) as well as two of my day-to-day earbuds (MDR-EX71SL and MDR-NX1)

I'm not sure if that's a 'problem' or not... I hear it too in my NW-S205F, my NW-E507, and in my Apple iPod shuffle. Incidentily enough, all of these aformentioned players are flash-memory based..

I can't quite detect it as much on my NW-A1200

It's not that loud though.. it's just there slightly. Is it really loud and unbearable for you?

Edited January 19, 2007 by aznbro85

[dura_]

Not yet owning a 7xxx myself, I could be completely wrong, but I've heart static noise in all players I owned that did have a radio on board. Sometimes really really bad, for me a reason to buy DAPs without tuner for the last years (the 7xx is vertempting though).

But I also read somewhere people blaming it on noise cancelling; is the static still there when nc is turned off?

[Zizone_]

But I also read somewhere people blaming it on noise cancelling; is the static still there when nc is turned off?

I can still hear the static even when the NC is turned off.

[Zizone_]

I hear it too in my NW-S205F, my NW-E507, and in my Apple iPod shuffle. Incidentily enough, all of these aformentioned players are flash-memory based..

It's not that loud though.. it's just there slightly. Is it really loud and unbearable for you?

Yeah, I also noticed this static sound is evident in most flash based players.

The static is bearable unless I am listening to some soft rock or classic. However, in most cases the static in my player doesn't bother me (only when I am in a very quiet place). Sony should fix this issue immediately on next Walkmans.

But still, the NW-S706F has very nice sound quality compare to most other DAPs.

Edited January 19, 2007 by Zizone

[no9008]

It's not that loud though.. it's just there slightly. Is it really loud and unbearable for you?

Hello everyone:)

Its not that loud if noise cancel is out, but i can still hear it when volume is under 04.

But its much much louder with nc022 earphones, and with NC turned on.

I think i have a sensitive hearing, so it bothers me a lot...

SO Yes, Sony should defenetly fix the problem whatever it is.

[aznbro85]

no9008,

I'm pretty sure that it's not just a Sony only problem.. Like I said I have an Apple iPod shuffle, and that too, once i move the switch over to the "on" position, I can already hear the electrical/static sound.

and with the noise cancelling ones turned on, i think it's amplified even more because it detects your background noise and tries to cross cancel it by using white noise, or something to that effect..

I'm guesing it might be the nature of these devices, and not by whom and what way they were manufactured.

But hey, what do I know, I'm not an engineer...

[aob9]

This is interesting as I have just bought an NW-E305 Walkman Bean ( 512 MB with FM tuner ). I bought it to replace my Memory Stick player NW MS7 which is limited to ATRAC3 codec. Well, I'm going to go back to my NW MS7 as the sound quality is superior and there is absolutley no static ( hiss) from this 6 year old player. I'm not sure this is a 'Flash based memory' issue as the original Magicgate memory stick is now old technology compared to todays chips. My dilemna now is whether to bother with upgrading to a new flash based player because of this issue.

[adlanar]

hi all,

i also notice that the static reduced considerably when music started playing in the s706f. this was more noticable at higher (~10) volumes and less so at lower (~3) volumes. what i'm trying to say is that the background static is less of a problem at normal listening levels. i've noticed this problem in the previous gen ipod nano as well. the nano has to be playing music much louder for you not to notice the background static.

i own both the s706f and the ms7 and can verify that the ms7 do not suffer any background static. i am using the s706f as it sounds better, only because it can handle higher bitrate atrac as well as the greatly bigger capacity. another problem is that sonicstage 4.xx do not recognise the older player.

[aob9]

Thanks for that adlanar, although I have no problem with SS 4.2 recognising the MS7. Do you think the NW S706 is a worthy upgrade as the Walkman Bean definitley is NOT (in my opinion).

[Guest Stuge]

Thanks for that adlanar, although I have no problem with SS 4.2 recognising the MS7. Do you think the NW S706 is a worthy upgrade as the Walkman Bean definitley is NOT (in my opinion).

aob ,I have used Walkman Bean as well & If you ask me, Sound Quality of NW-S7xx series is much better .

[adlanar]

aob, i definitely thinks that the s706 is a better player especially in terms of features. at the same bitrate, 132kbps if i'm not mistaken, the s706 sounds significantly better when using its supplied earphones. can't really tell much difference when using the earphones from ms7. do you know if there's any firmware updates for the ms7 to work with SS4.2. right now the ms7 has to be loaded using SS2.0 i have on my old vaio. the ms7 now is relegated to in-car duties.

[aznbro85]

do you know if there's any firmware updates for the ms7 to work with SS4.2. right now the ms7 has to be loaded using SS2.0 i have on my old vaio. the ms7 now is relegated to in-car duties.

adlanar,

Are you sure that sonicstage 4.2 doesnt support the NW-MS7? That sounds quite strange... I have both the NW-MS9 and NW-MS11, as well as a pretty old clie (PEG-N710C), and all three of those work fine under Sonicstage 4.2 Does it not show up in Sonicstage at all? Maybe it's a driver issue? For me when i plugged those in the first time Sonicstage detected them and had the device up and running no problem..

[aob9]

Same for me adlanar. My MS7 is recognised no problem by SS 4.2. The only thing I can recommend is a re-install but that is not always wise with SonicStrage. Incidentally, I have a Sony memory stick reader which Sonicstage recognises; I use this to transfer Music to memory stick instead of connecting the Walkman to the P.C.

[adlanar]

my apologies for jacking this thread. on my sonic stage 4.2 it just doesnt show up on the transfer tab neither when my ms7 connects directly nor when the memory stick is connected via memory card reader. i have 2 memory sticks, the original white 64mb and a darker blue 128mb. both are magic gate and formatted thru the ms7. i really dont want to start reinstalling ss4.2. went thru lots of trouble when i upgraded from ss4.0 as it didnt initially recognises my psp.

[aob9]

SonicStage won't read from ANY card reader. It has to be one recognised by the software I.e a Sony card reader designed with MagicGate in mind.My one is MSAC-US40.I'm sure it can got at a reasonable price online. As for your prob with SS4.2 and the MS7 I'm afraid I'm out of ideas with that one.

[doomlordis]

Back to topic, i have owned in order - nw-ms9 / 11 , nw-ms70d , nw-a608, nw-e005 , the older models ms9/11 and ms70d have a lower noise floor than the new models, i cant detect much hiss on my ms70d , it is there but is undetectable with all my headphones except e4c , the newer models have a very noticable hiss ,just switch it on and listen, even with stock buds you can hear it.

I think it may be to do with the screens or just poor components/build.

If you want a zero noise floor buy a MZ-RH1 minidisc player , it is silent, they put in a high capacity coupling condenser to filter switching feedback from the digital amp and it works perfectly.

[aob9]

Just bought the NW-S703F and there is a slight hiss through both the supplied noise cancelling buds and my Seinnheser CX-300's. But this is a slight problem considering the incredible leap in sound quality compared to the MS7,HD3 and E305. This is some piece of kit. I spoke an Apple ipod owner that switched to this player before Christmas and shelved the Apple device since........Sony deserve to impact the market with this one. It's great value too which is something of a first for Sony devices.

[rosjos]

This static, or slight hiss, seems to be inherent in all hard drive/flash players - be it a Sony or Apple i-pod or whatever -and this is not the first time it has been mentioned on the AL forums.

I must back up doomlordis with his observation of the MZ-RH1 - if you want a totally clean, hiss/static-free sound go with Hi-MD. Minidisc is the only digital player I have used where I have not experienced this noise.

Although the noise is slight, and is dependant on the listening environment, it can still irritate. There again, some people don't even notice it (especially the "sound conscious" i-pod user! ).

Having bought 2 Sony HDD players I have now returned to Hi-MD for "headphone listening". My HD3 now only gets used through small speakers at the office, and the A1000 is now plugged into my car through the Aux-In.

I was keen to see how the S7XX would perform in relation to the hiss-issue, and this thread has answered that.

I don't know if this is something that can be sorted or not.

[lashag]

Thought I ought to share my experience in this topic. For most users this might not be a big issue though? I sent the following question to the Sony Support in Sweden:

"Summary: Can I expect a NW-S705F firmware upgrade, solving the static noise issue?

Background: I recently purchased a NW-S705F, which I selected due to prior personal experiences with Sony’s high quality audio equipment. I am since the MD breakthrough very impressed by the ATRAC technology and was thrilled by the fact that Sony now has brought ATRAC recording capability to flash players. I’m extremely happy with the NW-S705F’s build quality and functionality. The sound quality is excellent for tight music on medium to high levels of volume.

However, when listening to sparse music on low volume, a static white noise totally destroys the listening experience. This is most obvious when listening to speech or acoustic music with quiet parts, in a silent room on a low volume (1-3). Very annoying, indeed! The noise floor is constant, regardless of volume setting or type of encoding. I have disabled the following features:

- noise cancellation

- clear stereo

- equalizer

- clear bass

- spatial virtualizer

- volume limiter

In other worlds, the tonal controls are totally flat. The noise is also present while the display is shut off, so the problem is not related to the OLED driver. The situation is the same for FM, so it is not a MP3/ATRAC decoder issue. I have also tried various headphones, like Shure’s in-ear phones. I realize I could decrease the hiss by increasing the impedance via an adapter, but that would add bulk and that would exclude usage of the NC in-ear phones. Can I expect a firmware solution in near future, or do I have to limit my listening to certain types of music and environments?"

The reply (in Swedish) indicates they do neither recognize the problem, nor do they have a solution apart from sending in the unit for repair. I made a complaint at the store and got to try another unit, but as expected it had the same problem. I returned the player since the static noise is too annoying for me the way I would use it. I will keep an eye on future firmware upgrades, since I would definitely buy a NW-S700 again, if Sony could only decrease the noise floor. It is an excellent player in every other aspect.

I noticed the noise was less of an issue when I plugged in my Etymotic ER-4P. The impedance is probably slightly higher on these IEM, requiring higher output which lowers the noise floor relatively. The noise was really bad with my Shure E2g, which I guess are quite easily driven.

My guess is the hiss is added somewhere late in the amplifier circuit. It puzzles me why manufactures don’t make flash players as quiet as MD players. I guess they make other considerations when optimizing the amplifier, like component size, cost and battery life?

[ceres]

I have noticed some static when I turn on the player but once music starts playing the static subsides even at low volumes.

I own Sony Ex90s as well as UE Superfi5Pros and the effect is there with both phones. Strangely enough static is sometimes noiser and more prolonged, sometimes more subtle. It also kind of depends how long the player has been running. It´s the most annoying when I turn it on after a few hours of non operation.

[ender325_]

This is weird, I mean, I've been using the NW-E507 daily for a year and 3 months and I've never noticed any static noise (maybe I don't have very sensitive ears??). I've always used the Sony MDR-Q55GOLD Headphones so I don't know, really (I mostly listen to rock and industrial music, I don't know if this has an impact either).

[jonny mac]

After reading through this thread I still plan on buying one of these babies. Almost every digital player has some level of static, some more than others of course. I know I'm spoiled for SQ with HiMD but I'm sure the Sony flash players have SQ that's still miles ahead of the competition, even with a little hiss.

PS - You remember tapes? :-)

Edited March 24, 2007 by jonny mac

[markey]

After reading through this thread I still plan on buying one of these babies. Almost every digital player has some level of static, some more than others of course. I know I'm spoiled for SQ with HiMD but I'm sure the Sony flash players have SQ that's still miles ahead of the competition, even with a little hiss.

PS - You remember tapes? :-)

Can't say I've noticed any hiss myself. If any, it's only at extremely low volumes.