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  1. #1
    Mike S.
    Guest

    After my unsatisfying experience with the old TDMA 8260, I vowed to shy
    away from tiny Nokia phones with miniature speakers. But I'd been looking
    for an inexpensive, unlockable 850/1900 GSM phone for roaming in the US,
    and came upon all the glowing reports on the 6590i's sound quality and RF
    performance. Everyone said it had adequate earpiece volume, so I bought
    one used on eBay. To my surprise it performs quite well in all.

    But the phone was used and rather beat up, so I started looking at
    replacement housings. I bought two no-name faceplate sets from different
    vendors and was surprised/disappointed to find that I could barely hear
    the phone even with the volume at maximum. What was so different between
    these faceplates and the OEM Nokia?

    The three speaker holes on all the faceplates are dead center, but the
    phone's speaker is actually to the right of center. On the phone chassis
    itself, there is a small rubber hood mounted onto the front of the
    speaker, with a slitlike opening that directs sound from the top and side
    of the speaker towards the earpiece.

    On the inside of the Nokia faceplate, the plastic is scooped out
    underneath the earpiece holes, in an irregular shape that encompasses all
    3 holes as well as an extension towards the right, where the speaker
    actually sits. A thin screen covers the entire scooped-out area, and keeps
    dirt from entering the phone. Frankly, I can't see the purpose for all
    this, especially when compared to....

    One of my third-party faceplates simply has 3 holes with nothing to direct
    the sound to them.

    The other one actually has a circular foam rubber washer glued to the
    inside, off center to the right, just like the speaker itself, with which
    it mates when the faceplate is installed. To my enormous surprise ... the
    volume when using this faceplate is actually LESS(!!!) than when using the
    plain faceplate with no special mechanics.

    I'd like to modify these faceplates to improve the volume they transmit.
    So what is the secret to making a faceplate deliver the maximum earpiece
    volume from a tiny Nokia speaker? I still don't have a clue.




    See More: Earpiece Volume & Third-Party Faceplates




  2. #2
    Mark
    Guest

    Re: Earpiece Volume & Third-Party Faceplates

    the std. nokia faceplate uses sound dynamics to reflect sound from the
    speaker through a small chamber to your ear.
    aftermarket ones do not consider this, the one with the rubber washer will
    actively stop sound transmission, not help it.
    -mark

    "Mike S." <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    >
    > After my unsatisfying experience with the old TDMA 8260, I vowed to shy
    > away from tiny Nokia phones with miniature speakers. But I'd been looking
    > for an inexpensive, unlockable 850/1900 GSM phone for roaming in the US,
    > and came upon all the glowing reports on the 6590i's sound quality and RF
    > performance. Everyone said it had adequate earpiece volume, so I bought
    > one used on eBay. To my surprise it performs quite well in all.
    >
    > But the phone was used and rather beat up, so I started looking at
    > replacement housings. I bought two no-name faceplate sets from different
    > vendors and was surprised/disappointed to find that I could barely hear
    > the phone even with the volume at maximum. What was so different between
    > these faceplates and the OEM Nokia?
    >
    > The three speaker holes on all the faceplates are dead center, but the
    > phone's speaker is actually to the right of center. On the phone chassis
    > itself, there is a small rubber hood mounted onto the front of the
    > speaker, with a slitlike opening that directs sound from the top and side
    > of the speaker towards the earpiece.
    >
    > On the inside of the Nokia faceplate, the plastic is scooped out
    > underneath the earpiece holes, in an irregular shape that encompasses all
    > 3 holes as well as an extension towards the right, where the speaker
    > actually sits. A thin screen covers the entire scooped-out area, and keeps
    > dirt from entering the phone. Frankly, I can't see the purpose for all
    > this, especially when compared to....
    >
    > One of my third-party faceplates simply has 3 holes with nothing to direct
    > the sound to them.
    >
    > The other one actually has a circular foam rubber washer glued to the
    > inside, off center to the right, just like the speaker itself, with which
    > it mates when the faceplate is installed. To my enormous surprise ... the
    > volume when using this faceplate is actually LESS(!!!) than when using the
    > plain faceplate with no special mechanics.
    >
    > I'd like to modify these faceplates to improve the volume they transmit.
    > So what is the secret to making a faceplate deliver the maximum earpiece
    > volume from a tiny Nokia speaker? I still don't have a clue.
    >






  3. #3
    Mike S.
    Guest

    Re: Earpiece Volume & Third-Party Faceplates


    In article <[email protected]>,
    Mark <m.nikia#optusnet.com.au> wrote:
    >the std. nokia faceplate uses sound dynamics to reflect sound from the
    >speaker through a small chamber to your ear.
    >aftermarket ones do not consider this, the one with the rubber washer will
    >actively stop sound transmission, not help it.


    That's exactly what I found; the plain plastic one was actually louder. Is
    this "small chamber" the hollowed out area in the faceplate behind the ear
    holes? It looks like the plastic is half-thickness in this area, but I
    couldn't imagine how that could have such an effect on volume. I
    guess I'm stuck with nokia brand faceplates until I can figure this out.




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