High-pitched pulsing noise when recording

[jthor]

Hi,

Today I got a iFP-790, and right away updated the firmware.

I bought this thing mainly to record in the field. I heard it has good recording quality.

But, I've tried recording with the internal mic and hear a weird high-pitched pulse or click on the recording.

If I lower the bitrate, the clicks slow a bit, but are still very annoying.

Any ideas???

[jthor]

Actually, I wouldn't describe it as a pulsing noise...it sounds like a child's squeaky bike wheel being spun very quickly.

Anyone else had this, and know what to do about it?

Thanks,

J

[mrmistic]

I just received my hp120d, and I have same problem of spinning noise for both internal and external recording methods;

[mkraus1970]

I bought an iFP-799 for recording with an external mic, and I heard that same cyclical noise in my recordings. It was more noticeable on some recordings than others even though the settings were the same. I downloaded every firmware version available, but the noise was there when recording on all of them, even without a mic attached (so it's not the mics fault). Changing the bitrate changed the speed of the noise somewhat, but it didn't go away.

I thought perhaps I had a faulty player, so I returned it for an iFP-895, but have had the same problem. I think the problem is in the internal mic preamp. Other than that artifact, the recording quality is good, but I was surprised I hadn't seen it mentioned in these forums or other internet posts touting the recording features of the iFP 7** & 8** series.

Also Jthor - I'm not sure what you mean by recording in the field, but if you want to improve your recording quality, an external mic will sound better than the internal one, but that noise artifact will likely still be present.

Here is a great recording guide for the H** series hard drive players, but most of what is discussed applies to the iFP line as well http://www.misticriver.net/showthread.php?t=5072
Different external mics are discussed here. I'd advise staying away from the sony line because they are not very sensitive. I have the ECM907 from sony and usually have to record on full gain, which means the recording glitches are louder. I think the Sound Professionals seem like a good place to find an external mic: http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cg...cgi?category=0

[TokyoDan0]

I know this sounds hard to believe but my iRiver iFP-795 recorded perfectly with no preamp noise at all - UNTIL I upgraded the firmware from 1.24 to 1.25. Now I got that slight clicking / squealing (like some moving parts) sound. I also noticed that the recording level is higher at the same setting than before. I want my old firmware back.

Tokyo Dan
What's Happening In Tokyo podcast: www.WHITokyo.info
JIndies - The music of Japanese independent musicians www.JIndies.com

[hakujin]

wow... glad I found this spot off google and also glad I'm not the only one experiencing this rather annoying issue. Though, TokyoDan, I don't think it has to do w/firmware. I too have never experienced this issue until now, but I downgraded to the previous firmware and it doesn't matter. Same annoying chirp noise. I think it has to do with a worn-out flash memory. Flash has a predefined life doesn't it? So many X writes. It appears the OP's iriver is brand new, though maybe it's a refurbished? In any case, I wonder what we can do about this one.... my warranty is up, I have a 795 series 512MB and this really sucks. The only reason why I kept it was for the recording. Maybe it's ebay time?

[hakujin]

gosh... thought I'd give the manager version a go and the site is stalling at 99% on my downloads....

[hakujin]

UPDATE! I was wrong... it does have to do with firmware. Changed to manager version... no more chirping! Still kind of a bummer as UMS is nice but glad I see absolutely no utility in this thing as a thumb drive. I also don't care for the music manager so have opted for windows media player (since that can't be easily uninstalled from xp anyway). somebody else give it a shot and see if problem is resolved.

[funkyhammond]

EDIT: Aside from the UMS glitches, it does appear there is a weird noise with the mic preamp even when using the IMM firmware. I haven't noticed it because I guess I use a fairly sensitive mic and I'm recording my band, so I never need to have the recording level past 30-35. At that level, the chirping is not audible. When I tried cranking the level to the max (64), I could hear the repeating high-pitched chirp and also a lower motor-like grinding hum. It sounds like the mic preamp is picking up noise from the internal electronics when the gain is really boosted. This is using the ext-mic mode. The line-in mode seems to work fine, though. All you get at max level is expected hiss, no weird chirping or humming noises. So a mic with an external pre-amp will probably be much better if you need sensitive recording. Otherwise, try reducing your recording level and boosting the recording later in software. Of course, you'll have worse signal-to-noise ratio, which may be a problem depending on your application.

[hakujin]

Originally Posted by funkyhammond

EDIT: Aside from the UMS glitches, it does appear there is a weird noise with the mic preamp even when using the IMM firmware. .

I can only speak for my iRiver 795 but after going through every UMS firmware (inc. the MOD), I'm unable to eliminate the chirping. It's distinctly there, although not as pronounced with the MOD. However with the IMM firmware, it is gone, thus it's all I can use. I figured out that I had to download the music manager again, unless someone knows of a plugin to convert .rec to .mp3 in WMP. I'm really all about simplicity so I don't want or need a plugin for WinAmp etc.. But for know, I guess I'll be running the music manager.

[ewald]

I've got the same problem with an iFP 999, no matter what firmaware version I use, but only at very high recording sensitivity (volume).
One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet: the frequency of the noise changes with the recording quality.

[Nothsa]

Originally Posted by hakujin

Iunless someone knows of a plugin to convert .rec to .mp3 in WMP

Just rename the file to .rec or .mp3. The files are both MP3s, the entensions are just different.

[matthiaselmo]

I hate that dang squeeking noise.

I originally purchased this device to listen to audio but now that I've gone back to school I have started recording my class lectures. Because it is relatively quiet with the exception of background noise and the voice of my professor the squeek comes through VERY loud and clear.

I hate it.

I really like using UMS because I can just plug in and copy the recorded files to my computer using windows explorer in just seconds but if it gets rid of that annoying sound it might be worth it.

I am using the 1.85 (UMS) firmware from the iriver.com website.
(link)

[matthiaselmo]

Arg!
It has been a while since I've posted.. I still haven't found a solution. I need UMS but all my recordings have that dang pulsing churp noise. I still love my ifp-799 but now I also hate it.

[Soulquarian]

I recently bought an ifp-899 for the sole purpose of audio recordings. Unfortunately, I have the whine sounds as well, and it's quite annoying. I may have to return it and go with something else...

Any suggestions?

[nitty-gritty]

I've got an ifp 995 and while it's a little beauty of a player, I have the same problem with the squeaking. Can't remember when it started but it hasn't always been there. It nearly drove me insane while I was studying for last semesters exams, listening to lots of lecture recordings.

I hadn't actually thought about trying to fix it and just stumbled across this thread while looking up info on the H320 I bought, partially as a result of the dodgy ifp recordings, so I haven't tried changing the firmware yet. I'll post again when I've done so.

Just a suggestion matthiaselmo and for those who record lectures: the annoying repetitive squeak seems to be in quite a narrow frequency so by lowering one bar in your equalizer it may be able to be mostly removed without affecting the vocal range of your lecturer, unless your lecturer squeaks. That's what I do anyway. Alter the equalizer that is.

btw. I use a little sony stereo external mic and it works really well but like mkraus1970 said above, it needs the highest recording volume really which exasperates the squeaking sounds. The internal mic is also surprisingly good (still squeaks tho) but even touching the player when it's recording makes a pop or scratch sound on the recorded file.

First post on this forum by the way love your work, regular posters, cheers.

[nitty-gritty]

Well I went and tried a few different firmware versions including some for different countries. However, like hakujin, the only version that records without the "cyclical noise" is the "iriver music manager" (IMM) version, (that's the and iFP-900(us)_V165 version below and, I guess, the same version developed for other countries will also work perfectly).

For what it's worth, if anyone wants to try those I didn't to make sure, I tried ifp900T(eu)-umsV13, iFP900T(jp)-umsV130, iFP-900(eu)_V185ums, iFP-900(jp)_V185ums and iFP-900(us)_V165 and iFP-900(us)_V165 was the only one without the squeaking.

Interestingly, the IMM version allows recording bitrates up to 320kbps at 44.1kHz where as the MSC version 1.85 (that allows file transfer plug-and-play usb use) only allows 96kbps at 44.1kHz (apparently the same as all the rest?) What's with that? Why is the latest IMM version so much better? The Latest IMM version and the Latest MSC version were released on the same date so one would think the quality of recording would be the same in both...right?

I'm now wondering if there will be a new firmware release where this problem could be fixed. I suppose that as the product has been discontinued iriver will have lost interest in developing the firmware?

It's a real annoyance because as well as a great radio and mp3 player, and in all other respects apart from the squeaking, a great recorder, it is incredibly bloody useful as a usb stick to move texts from uni to home and so on.

Looks to me like we're stuck with it, matthiaselmo. If you do find a fix let us know! Good luck. Anyway, I'm off to try rockbox on my new (secondhand) H320