[Albert B]

Hello,

Sorry for using this forum since I'm not a "developer", but I am interested that my message reaches one.

One of the most important criteria when I decided which phone to buy was the ability to play audio files. After studying the the market, I bought a Nokia 6230.

I was tempted to acquire a smart phone, but the complaints about the poor quality of audio reproduction (i.e. mono output, hiss etc.) for some Nokia models, or lack of trust in the overall quality of the phone (some Windows based mobiles) made me choose 6230 model. Apart from interesting features (AAC playback, equaliser), it seemed a robust and well designed terminal.


I am very disappointed though by the quality of sound. The dynamic of the music reproduction is hardly narrowed. To be more specific, the amplitude of the "punchy" sounds is automatically reduced, whilst quieter sounds are played unaltered, or even slightly amplified. What's even worse is the audible latency of these adjustments. As a result, playing files with a wide dynamic range is unrealistic (and very unpleasant).

The characteristic mentioned can be observed also when increasing the volume (for a very short moment the volume is higher, but afterwards it is automatically reduced). But one of the best ways to observe it is to change equaliser mode from flat to a custom preset where the slides are almost to maximum level for each frequency. The volume increases strongly (as it should), but immediately after it is again reduced.

On Nokia web site I found that the phone has a feature called "automatic volume”, which can be activated/deactivated from menu. I supposed this was the source of reduced dynamic. Unfortunately my phone (software version 5.35) does not have this option in the menu. I searched the internet for information about the feature and about poor quality of audio playing, but I could not find something exactly about this. On some forums, I red posts about decreased maximum volume and automatic volume options disappearing from menu after software upgrades.

I also wrote to Nokia support team from my country, but they said they were not aware of the artefacts I mentioned. They also told me that "automatic volume" feature is available only when a loopset is connected to the phone.

No matter the origin of reduced dynamic, I cannot accept it. I am very aware of the fact that a phone is a phone and the quality of audio reproduction cannot be compared to that of a dedicated portable player. But compared to other phones - even to my previous phone (a Siemens SL42 - launched in 2000/2001) - 6230 model is the poorest in this respect. And that only due to the limitation described above (I have no complaints regarding frequency
response or signal to noise ratio). I must say it's a pity that such a great phone has such
a drawback.

I am wondering whether this limitation can be eliminated by software or even hardware means. I would prefer to have a player more sensitive to distortion at higher volumes rather than an unrealistic one. I listened to a 6230i and to my surprise there is no such limitation (or at least it is not that obvious); I actually was very pleased and surprised to hear a powerful sound, with lots of bass. Much more than my 6230 offers me.

I hope somebody will offer me a solution.

Thank you.