Speakers different?

[Madana]

Hello everybody.

First I would like to thank all contributors to this highly informative and helpful forum.

I have a practical question -- when playing a soundtrack through X20's inbuilt speakers I started alternately covering one of them at a time with my thumb and noticed that the right speaker (when holding the player with ports down) sounds MUCH louder than the left one (say by 2-2.5 times). The left one sounds audibly muffled and blunt, whereas the right one is crisp and clear.

To prevent a possible suggestion -- yes, I did try different soundtraks with the same result. Earphones, however, sound the same on both channels.

I would like to ask X20 users if they could reproduce the same experience with their players -- just to make sure whether this is an innate problem to all X20s or that I just got a lemon that needs to be replaced/fixed.

Many thanks.

[Preddy]

Got the same, one of them is much louder

[Tinutu]

Now THIS is plain wierd! You're right... the right speaker is cristal clear if you compare it to the left one. I believe it's an internal problem. As a matter of fact, I'm sure of it. You see, even the slightest change in a speaker chamber can make a big difference. The other explaination would be that it's meant to create a bit of stereo effect. High band sounds travel faster, therefore, if you put it on a table, the sound bounces off different surfaces at almost the same time, but it's quite unlikely for this to be the reason.

I have only one month since I joined MisticRiver and it's the best thing i've done lately but when it comes to the X20, i find the wierdest problems possible

[reverendbert]

I agree. It's an internal problem as I've opened it up again and had a look and found there is no physical reason for the left speaker to be really quiet. Imagine how much louder the X20 could be then.

[Madana]

Originally Posted by reverendbert

I agree. It's an internal problem as I've opened it up again and had a look and found there is no physical reason for the left speaker to be really quiet. Imagine how much louder the X20 could be then.

I think so too. It is hard to believe that this oddness is just a smart design decision. Too smart...

However, if it is indeed a design flaw, iRiver should perhaps recall X20 and replace it. I guess for that we may have to write a collective letter to their top manager and request an explanation.

Regards,
Madana

[reverendbert]

It's not causing obstruction of proper use or not functioning properly as it is? It isn't so chances are iriver won't do a recall.

[Madana]

Originally Posted by reverendbert

It's not causing obstruction of proper use or not functioning properly as it is? It isn't so chances are iriver won't do a recall.

I guess you are right.

[Tinutu]

There is an answer to this, for all mod-lovers out there. Try finding another speaker so you can replace the bad one. Try using headphone speakers, i think they're the same size.

Or, if you can, find a damaged X20, use it for spares, get the good speaker from the bad X20 and replace the bad speaker on the good X20.

[reverendbert]

It hasn't been long enough for a fair few X20's to be broken. Find a similarly sized speaker to use instead.

[Madana]

Originally Posted by reverendbert

I agree. It's an internal problem as I've opened it up again and had a look and found there is no physical reason for the left speaker to be really quiet. Imagine how much louder the X20 could be then.

Reverendbert, didi you try swapping the speakers in their positions? I am just wondering if the design of the left speaker socket has anything to do with muting the sound.

Being not as tech-savvy as you seem to be, I am a bit apprehensive to do it myself.

Regards,
Madana

[Madana]

Hi everybody!

The good news is that the muffled speaker can actually be fixed in 5 minutes -- you just need to unscrew the 4 screws holding the speaker plate (two under the grey caps and two from the battery compartment), carefully pry it off, then insert a 5 mm layer of poliurethane foam or other similar firm and resilient plastic foam cut according to the size, jam the plate back in place and replace the screws -- voila, the left speaker is as loud and clear as the right one!

(I take no liability for accidental damage of the player, but it took me 5 minutes and the player now is pleasantly loud)

Regards,
Madana

[l l a m a]

i might try that, il see first if anyone else gets a good result first though...

[Madana]

Originally Posted by l l a m a

i might try that, il see first if anyone else gets a good result first though...

There are plenty of people on a Russian forum http://player.ru/talk/showthread.php?t=34107&page=57 who did it successfully with stuffing materials ranging from synthetic cotton to foamed plastic, all with invariably good results.

[matthewcyh]

I have been to the customer service in Hong Kong today and have asked them this problem. Their reply is that it is only the first few batches of X20 have got this problem and they also told me their sample X20 do not experience the speaker different. However, they have taken my X20 to replace the speaker today and hope I will hear from them within a few days.

[Madana]

Originally Posted by matthewcyh

I have been to the customer service in Hong Kong today and have asked them this problem. Their reply is it is only the first few batch of X20 have got this problem and they told me their sample X20 do not experience the speaker different. However, they have taken my X20 to replace the speaker today and hope I will hear from them within a few days.

Thank you for this valuable information, Matthewcyh. This means that, based on your experience, other owners can now also report this fault to their respective service centers and demand a replacement or repair. Stuffing seems to be unnecessary now.

Regards,
Madana

[Madana]

Originally Posted by matthewcyh

I have been to the customer service in Hong Kong today and have asked them this problem. Their reply is that it is only the first few batches of X20 have got this problem and they also told me their sample X20 do not experience the speaker different. However, they have taken my X20 to replace the speaker today and hope I will hear from them within a few days.

Matthewcyh, could you please tell us how the repair has worked out for you? Does your player sound audibly louder after the fix?

[matthewcyh]

Originally Posted by Madana

Matthewcyh, could you please tell us how the repair has worked out for you? Does your player sound audibly louder after the fix?

They didn't contact me yet. However, I will try to contact them on Monday (customer service office hour is Mon-Fri: 09:00-17:00). I will let you know what happen after the repair (I guess it will take another week). I will also bring my micro sd card to test on site (I can't be ask to bring my laptop to transfer the content). Thank you

[matthewcyh]

My x20 is back now. After repairing, the left speaker is as clear as the right speaker. In addition, they also replace the plastic the cover the micro SD card slot for free (I break it by opening it too often with extensive force, but I can only manage to put micro SD card in by this way). My player do sound louder after the fix (just a little bit, since before the sound from right speaker will cover the sound of the left one). They also updated the firmware to 1.04 for me, so irver plus 3 cannot recognize my player anymore, apart from this, they did not format the device for me and when I go home and plug my player into the usb, my anti virus (Kaspersky 6.0) said it contain a virus (what a gift from iriver). I immedately format the device (just right click the x20 iconin my computer and format, IMPORTANT: You MUST have the back up of the system file, otherwise you device may NOT work, I am NOT responsible for this if you format this way) because I have got a back up of all songs but I only have system file from firmware 1.0, so I put that in and have a go, it does work.

Last thing to say: Iriver Hong Kong insist that NOT all x20 have this speaker difference, they said they have tried another 4 X20 and none of them have this problem. (I didn't see them test this so I have no comment)

[Madana]

Thank you, Matthewcyh, for the information and congratulations with the successful repair. I also bought mine from Hong Kong through eBay, so I wonder if they will respect the warranty here in India.