Retrostone 2 (Clear blue) - Atrocious Sound Quality

[Fenny]

Hello there, 

Just recently received my Retrostone 2 and applied the 4.3 Full image http://www.retrorangepi.org/download/ a few days ago. While the performance seems pretty much OK and consistent at 60 FPS in most tested SNES and GBA games I noticed that the sound out of the speakers in many games is of a very distorted quality, as if resonance or overmodulation is killing certain frequencies. 

In the main menu after bootup idle I also notice that the speaker emits audible white / static noise and emits a slight high-pitched coil noise that seems to change based on whatever the screen is showing.

I read in another thread that sound problems are going to be fixed with the next update, however this feels as if it is an electrostatic / shielding type of problem. Is there any way to mod or improve this? Do others experience similar results on their units?

Thanks in advance for any shared experience or helpful input!

[alexkidd]

doesnt look like software, have you posted at 8BCraft forum?
Also, did you download image from this thread? http://orangepi.club/showthread.php?tid=3316

[Fenny]

Hello Alexkidd,

thanks for getting back to me quickly. A friend applied the image, but confirmed using that image. Is there a quick way to tell if its the right distribution by telling from the splash boot screen or somewhere else?

I'll bring my issue over at the 8BCraft Forum, thanks for the pointer.

Edit: Found the issue there already https://forum.8bcraft.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=4923 - sounds very much like this is the same one.

[Dubs]

Same issue here :

http://forum.8bcraft.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=4923

[Marco Verhoeven]

Indeed. I have the same issue. I’m going to open up my Retrostone and place something between the speaker and the board but for now i kinda used to it. It looks like the board gets amplified by the speaker. Btw. Tape isn’t great for solving this issue. :-)

[alexkidd]

can you guys upload an actual gameplay video?
I'll check if the volume can be tweaked to avoid such thing

[Marco Verhoeven]

I made a video but it’s hard to capture:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/70ql6exr97cfnw...e.mp4?dl=0

That’s the constant background noise but if somethings happening like loading a game you can hear it.

[alexkidd]

some gameplay would be better

[Marco Verhoeven]

Like i said, it’s hard to capture the changing of the noise. Gonna try it when i have the time.

---

Here you can here the noise changing when i start a game.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6nqgy4lw93chxe...2.MOV?dl=0

[Fenny]

some gameplay would be better

I recorded the speaker sound (at full volume) with a decent audio recorder: 


Menu static noises are audible at 1:20 (I upped the volume of my recorder a few seconds later to make it more audible).

The glitch noises in certain games are harder to reproduce, but they seem to be a software problem as certain frequencies seem to kick the speaker out of his "comfort" zone temporarily. Overall it seems the levels are pushed too high, especially when the speaker is turned up to full.

Headphone jacks seem to be OK soundwise, but needs more testing.