Anyone else think the speaker isn't loud enough?

JMac202 · Mar 8, 2012

Personally since my Evo 4G with Sprint phone external speakers have gotten weak. The iPhone has a decent speaker but my Evo3D, Nexus S and now the Note have very weak external speakers.

With the volume turned all the way up it's still hard to hear. I tried Volume+ but that didnt do anything for me. Using Equalizer in the market works but it has to be active to do so and it gets killed automatically after so long listening to something. Still it's not as loud as I would like it.

I swear my speaker wasn't this weak when I bought it but maybe it was. I've only had it about a week now.

Anyone have any tips?

ZeroOne · Mar 8, 2012

JMac202 said:
Personally since my Evo 4G with Sprint phone external speakers have gotten weak. The iPhone has a decent speaker but my Evo3D, Nexus S and now the Note have very weak external speakers.

With the volume turned all the way up it's still hard to hear. I tried Volume+ but that didnt do anything for me. Using Equalizer in the market works but it has to be active to do so and it gets killed automatically after so long listening to something. Still it's not as loud as I would like it.

I swear my speaker wasn't this weak when I bought it but maybe it was. I've only had it about a week now.

Anyone have any tips?

Hey try this hope it helps.

Volume+ | AndroidAudioHacks

Doddsmack · Apr 4, 2012

The speaker is very disappointing. Today the external speaker quit all together. No sound output at all unless plugged in to headphones. Generated test tone by dialing*#0*# and selecting speaker. After a few seconds sound finally pushed through. Good to go for now, but overall the external speaker is weak and quirky.

ryandelman · Apr 5, 2012

Personally, I think this is a Samsung hardware issue. My Note too has a pretty weak external speaker and my old Captivate did as well.

-Ryan

Ether176 · Apr 5, 2012

It sucks that the one speaker is on the back, but try Poweramp if you need it for music?

dlcpa · Apr 5, 2012

I bought a new I5 Gateway Laptop and it's volume is much too low. Maybe it's a trend.

JunBringer · Apr 5, 2012

I was expecting the speaker to not be loud enough after reading lots of reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised. Works fine for me, and I'm hard of hearing.

ndfan4u · Apr 5, 2012

Mine sucks big time. Are there any Samsung top dogs reading these forums??? I'd hate to go back to Appleland.

ryandelman · Apr 6, 2012

ndfan4u said:
Mine sucks big time. Are there any Samsung top dogs reading these forums??? I'd hate to go back to Appleland.

About as many Samsung decision makers read user forums as there are big league scouts at rec-league kids baseball games. lol

That might be a slightly different story if we're talking about a development site like XDA or something, but otherwise, you're just talking to yourself here (so to speak).

Besides, come on man; a somewhat junky external speaker isn't REALLY gonna send you running back into Apples arms is it? I mean, with their stuff, you can't even get at the damn battery or add storage to the device.......

I know your post was just tongue-in-cheek and you were more likely than not messing around, but seriously; with quality earbuds costing less than $20 nowadays, how big a deal is a shoddy external speaker in the grand scheme of things, you know??

-Ryan

dlcpa · Apr 6, 2012

ryandelman said:
About as many Samsung decision makers read user forums as there are big league scouts at rec-league kids baseball games. lol

That might be a slightly different story if we're talking about a development site like XDA or something, but otherwise, you're just talking to yourself here (so to speak).

Besides, come on man; a somewhat junky external speaker isn't REALLY gonna send you running back into Apples arms is it? I mean, with their stuff, you can't even get at the damn battery or add storage to the device.......

I know your post was just tongue-in-cheek and you were more likely than not messing around, but seriously; with quality earbuds costing less than $20 nowadays, how big a deal is a shoddy external speaker in the grand scheme of things, you know??

-Ryan

About 5 years ago I bought an LG phone from VZW. The sound was so tinny and disorted, I turned around and returned the phone. I use the speakerphone often enough and I don't like ear buds. So for me it's important.

The Note is a top end phone, shouldn't there be checklists to prevent this from happening?

ryandelman · Apr 6, 2012

dlcpa said:
About 5 years ago I bought an LG phone from VZW. The sound was so tinny and disorted, I turned around and returned the phone. I use the speakerphone often enough and I don't like ear buds. So for me it's important.

The Note is a top end phone, shouldn't there be checklists to prevent this from happening?

No, I get where you're coming from but let's keep this in perspective: Only a handful of us (as far as we know) are experiencing this issue with the external speaker audio. This might be a Samsung hardware flaw (running through numerous makes and models), or it may not.

We don't know for sure that this is a pervasive issue, and plus, having a device that sounds "tinny and distorted" (like your old LG) which I totally agree is unacceptable by any and all standards, is a far cry from a device that essentially sounds "ok", just not as loud as we'd like it??

At least that's the problem I have with my external speaker; not quality of sound, just amplification is all.

Really, I'm not trying to stir the pot for the sake of itself, just saying....

-Ryan

wodin · Apr 6, 2012

I'm not sure it's the speakers, I too came from and EVO 4G. I have a Parrot hard wired Bluetooth hands free kit in my car. When I was using the EVO with it it was quite loud and had good tone.

The Note, on the other hand is noticeably weaker and tinnier. That, to me indicates that it is either the radio or the audio circuitry that is causing it. It is not significant enough to make up for the other advantages of the Note, but it is a little disappointing on such a high end phone.

Peaches037 · Apr 16, 2012

I am going a galaxy note this week and I am surprised to hear about the speakers being weak.. I have the Samsung droid charge and the speakers is great with or without poweramp or without plugging a headset in. I love listening to music on the go so now I'm kinda wondering should I get a note..
Why would samsung have good speakers on certain phones? I I don't think verizon has anything to do with the droid charge having great sounds.

05GT · Apr 16, 2012

It could definitely use a bit of amplification. Volume+ usually work nicely!

damewolf13 · Apr 16, 2012

ryandelman said:
Personally, I think this is a Samsung hardware issue. My Note too has a pretty weak external speaker and my old Captivate did as well.

-Ryan

I wish it was just Samsung, but I have had this on my HTCs and Motorolas as well.

CASUAL · Apr 22, 2012

I dont have a SGN yet, but right now i have a samsung galaxy captivate and its External speaker is not weak at all. So i suspect that it may be a hardware issue specific to your phone. Someone else posted that their note speaker worked fine.

By The Way, If you guys are looking to get some nice ear phones for your Notes. Go on ebay and buy some of these.... they are only around $5!!!
and i kid you not! these are some of the best headphones out there... these came originally with my samsung captivate and these headphones are spectacular.. they are In Ear headphones and they may take some getting used too but The bass is really deep and the treble is really crisp...they also cancel out noise... (no this is not my ebay listing)

trust me on this though, if your looking for a great set of headphones for cheap, pick up these babies

New OEM Samsung Headset EHS60ANNBE for Vibrant T959 Droid Charge i510 Convoy 2 | eBay

in two years of having my captivate ive only had to replace them once, and i jog with them and keep them on full blast all of the time. They last a really long time.

droidcentric · Apr 22, 2012

It's doubt it to be a hardware problem because the ringer is loud enough to hear in the next room. With Netflix though it's barely loud enough to hear with the speaker next to your ear.

Anyone else think the speaker isn't loud enough?

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