Problem with speaker crackle in Voyager

Hi all,

I found this forum while looking for info about the LG Voyager.

I picked one up last week and really like the phone. The only problem I am having is with the actual voice calls and speaker phone.

If I turn the volume up on the speaker for either regular calls or speakerphone the sound is horrible. It has a high pitch vibration/ crackle sound as if it is a poor quality speaker, or some part of the phone is vibrating.

It even does this when the voice is coming form the phone for voice commands etc.

Is this a common problem with the phone or should I take it back and get a replacement? My old Samsung I could turn the volume all the way up, no crackle, and Chrystal clear sound.

Thanks.

I have 2 weeks to take the phone back and exchange ti for another one. I can also get a different phone, my options seem to be LG voyager, LG Dare or Samsung Instinct. All for the same price. I like the LG Voyager because it has an actual keypad.

Hi Rossi46,

First---and this is very important---it is impossible to say for sure whether the sound you're hearing is unusual for the Voyager or not. I would need to hear it for myself to know. What sounds bad to you may not sound bad to another person and visa Versa. In my case, I've worked professionally in the Pro Audio industry for several decades and my tolerance for bad sound and distortion is very low. Since my hearing is both very good and trained, I'll hear problems that most people will never notice. I'm explaining this so you'll understand why discussions about sound quality are impossible in a forum since we each can't hear what the other is writing about and our hearing "aptitudes" may be very different.

The easiest way for you to determine if your Voyager is defective or if the sound problem is "normal" is to go to your local Verizon Wireless store and duplicate identical conditions with another Voyager and compare it to your Voyager. In other words, play the same sounds at maximum volume on both phones and you'll see right away if yours is normal or defective.

Now to your question...
In my experience, it is normal for the Voyager sound to distort if you turn its volume to the maximum setting. This is one of its shortcomings and it isn't due only to a pair of deficient speakers. The internal amplifier also distorts when it is turned up to maximum. You can tell this when using a high quality pair of headphones with the phone.

If you want a loud and undistorted sound from the speakers, then you will need to select a different phone. And you'll need to do so before your two weeks are up.

My wife and I both have Voyagers and the sound quality is fine for us because of two things we do:

1. We use efficient pro-quality Sennheiser headphones whenever we listen to music or videos on our Voyagers so we never need to turn the phone's sound level to maximum. In fact, we keep the level set to 2 or more bars below maximum. At this setting, the internal amplifier sounds decent and pro-quality headphones are way better than the tiny speakers in the LG Voyager.
2. For calls, we use wireless bluetooth Plantronics headsets so the phone's speakers and internal amplifier are not involved.

Best regards, WiredNot

Thanks for the detailed reply.

My hearing isn't the best and when there is back ground noise I have to turn my phone up. But at the same time I hear detailed things that most people don't pick up on. I used to be a Dj so maybe that is where I get ti from. Like if a speaker is vibrating, or if a fan is on and it is ticking, I will pick up on those things and it will drive me nuts. I noticed the speaker crackle as soon as I made my first real call.

It must be the phones internal amplifier then, which is really kind of sad as the phone is good you would think they would actually test the actual phone part of the phone before putting it on the market.

My old Samsung was great, I could put it at full volume and it was loud and crystal clear. I expected a newer more expensive phone to at least be the same. The phone even vibrates while on speaker phone which is is very hard to hear even at full volume.

I don't use bluetooth as it is just one more thing to have to carry around with me and another device to charge.

Which leads me to another problem I discovered. The bettery life on this phone is really bad. It is bran new, on a full charge and it would only last for a few test messages and a 45min phone call. That doesn't seem normal at all.

I have another week to decide if I want to keep this phone, trade ti in or go with a completely different phone.

I am with tellus in Canada so the options aren't that great. The one thing that makes me want to stay with this phone is the real keypad for texting.

Thanks.

Hello again,

The Voyager is the first clamshell phone that I've used but my impression is that most clamshell phones will not have as good a sound for calls as a non-clamshell model. The exception, of course, is if you use a bluetooth headset like me, then it doesn't matter what design the phone uses as long as its bluetooth transceiver is decent.

So why is the call sound of clamshell phones not as good? Answer: Because most clamshell designs face the speakers toward the user when the clamshell case is open. When the clamshell case is closed (as it usually is for most calls) you are actually listening to the back side of the speaker(s). This creates a couple of problems...

First, the upper frequency response of almost every speaker is much less on the back side compared to the front. And the upper frequency response is essential for speech intelligibility (for Western languages). Second, in addition to the direct sound reaching your ear from the back side of the speaker, you also have the reflected (and muffled) sound from the front side of the speaker that leaks out the case and also reaches your ear a few microseconds behind the direct sound. This can further degrade the sound quality.

The bottom line is this: A clamshell phone design is not the best if you are looking for the highest possible call sound quality from the phone's built-in speaker.

But all is not lost for users desiring a full qwerty keyboard. There are a number of phones with slide-out keyboards (like the LG enV2) where the speaker always faces the user. That is the design you may find is best for your needs.

So don't wait until the last minute and risk losing the chance to trade your Voyager in. Get down to your local Tellus store and do it before it's too late.



Regarding the battery, how long it lasts can vary A LOT depending on many different factors. Since the LG Voyager is a multimedia phone it has lots of extra gizmo's inside that can consume power if you use them. Most of us who bought Voyagers did so because we use them for way more than phone calls, we tend to want them to run a long time. So it didn't take my wife and me long to upgrade our original 950 mAh batteries to bigger ones.

At first we tried the optional 1500 mAh battery from LG. They work great and increase time between recharges by 50%. But eventually we both decided to get the huge 3000 mAh batteries from Mugen. They add quite a bit of weight to the phone but they are worth it! Some weeks, I can go the whole week before I need a recharge.

Here are some things that can cause your battery to run down more rapidly. Some of them are beyond your control. Some are not.

• Poor signal strength. If your phone is turned on and your EV and/or 1X signal strength is low, then your phone must turn up its transmitter power in order to stay in communication with the network. If you have no signal (for example, you go inside a building where you can't get coverage) then your phone's transmitter will be switched automatically to maximum power and your battery life will be much less. Plus, whenever your phone can't find an EV (3G) signal, it will continuously try to find one and this uses up battery power more quickly. These problems happen whether or not you actually take a call. And it happens to ALL cell phones---not just the LG Voyager. There is only one way to avoid this: When you enter an area with low or no coverage, you need to either (1) turn you phone off, or (2) turn on your phone's "Airplane Mode" which turns off all wireless communication.
• Turning on the bluetooth transceiver runs down the battery faster (even if a bluetooth device is not connected). When you're not using a bluetooth device, turn bluetooth off.
• Turning the sound level up will use the battery faster.
• Setting the display backlights to stay on longer will use the battery faster.
• Using the camera will run down the battery faster.
• Using Mobile TV will run down the battery faster.
• Listening to music or watching videos or surfing the internet will run down the battery faster.

Best regards, WiredNot

Wow, thanks for the in depth reply. I did notice that the speaker seemed to be facing inward (towards the keypad), your reply tells me I was right.

Unfortunately for me the LG enV2 is not available form tellus at the moment.

Here are the phones available, there aren't too many new phones that have a true keyboard available, we seem to get them way after they are released in the U.S.

One thing I just fund out is the LG Voyager does not support google maps, which is a nice app to have.

I was thinking about biting the bullet and getting a data plan and going with the Samsung Omnia i910.

It doesn't have the true keyboard but it does support google maps (not sure if telus locks the GPS though like verison).

telusmobility.com/en/ON/smartphones/index.shtml

I have to make decision soon as like you said I don't want to leave it last minute. The phone I get I will be stuck with for 3 years so I want to make sure it is what I want/ need.

Thanks again.

Ouch! 3 years!!! That's a long contract!!! I have a 2-year contract and that's about as long as I can handle. I don't think I could accept a 3-year contract unless it allowed me to get two new phones during the life of the contract.

With 3 years in mind, I would definitely consider one that is upgradable---a phone that can accept third-party applications as needed. If I'm not mistaken, the Samsung Omnia is a smartphone and uses Windows Mobile. If that is true then it would have this flexibility. All of the LG phones use LG's proprietary BREW operating system and you can only use their applications with it. It's pretty much a closed system and they want to charge you for every little thing.

My next phone will probably be an HTC Touch Pro2 with Windows Mobile. But it is an expensive smartphone. I'm hoping it will be more affordable by the time I'm ready to upgrade in about a year.

Best regards, WiredNot

ya, it was either sign a 3 year contract or pay through the nose for a phone.

The HTC Touch Pro2 is 249 with a 3 year contract, 700 with no contract. We get shafted over here in Canada big time. There is not much competition os the cell phone companies know they have us.

The omni i910 is 80.00 with a 3 year contract.

But you are right about it being upgradable. I am thinking my LG Voyager is not the phone for me, though I really love the real keyboard for texting...

But it would be nice to have a phone that is upgradable, especially if I can use google maps for it. 3 years is a long time.

Have you made sure that the internal speaker is off?

I have found out that if you have the speaker on, it actually uses the speakers and crackles something terrible.

If I was you, and your thinking of upgrading to a smartphone, I'd go with a Blackberry. Full qwerty keyboard, google maps and everything else a smartphone offers.

Thanks for the reply.

I have tried using all the speaker settings and it is still the same.

I think I am going to return it and just get the HTC Touch Pro2. I didn't want to spend the money on a phone but if I am going to have it for 3 years I may as well get one that is going to give me the most options/ functions etc. right now.

Edit: just realized you're in canada. What service are you on?

I would recommend looking into a blackberry if you want to go smart phone - or the new enV Touch if you don't. I hated the Touch Pro (first version).

Unfortunately the ENV touch is not available form Telus.

I like the real key board and there aren't many options out there form telus that have the key board. I was looking at the Samsung Omni but ruled it out because typing with the on screen keyboard wasn't as god as a true keyboard.

And I am not really a black berry fan, they seem to have smaller screens, and a condensed keyboard. My fingers are too fat for it, lol

Why didn't you like the touch pro? The Touch Pro2 seems to be getting a lot of good reviews.