Sound on my new radio is muffled.

[micky]

I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled

Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but for
talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through some
sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table radios.

Is the problem that there is too much bass? If not that, what?

It has equalizer settings so I changed from default and various kinds of
music to "talk". I didnt' hear any change.

So I went to custom, which has 6 frequency ranges, and over time, I've
lowered the lowest 4 ranges to the minimum and raised the top one to the
max, and the one in between almost to the max. This helped at first,
but future changes were smaller and I didn't see addtional help.

I can still understand if I make the sound one or two steps louder, but
then it's louder than I want.

Is there an audio ng that's not dormant that I can post too. alt.audio
and alt.audio.pro had gone 3 years without posts.

[ohg...@gmail.com]

There's always the possibility there's something wrong with your particular radio and this isn't a normal or adjustable condition. How are the reviews for that radio? Model number? I honestly think a lot of calibrations are for the lowest common denominator - people with no idea of accuracy but think loud one note "thumping" is quality sound...

Yeah, a lot of groups were polluted by political assholes and killed them off - the downside of no moderation.

[David LaRue]

micky <NONONO...@fmguy.com> wrote in
news:gojrgilsq36fjgt7g...@4ax.com:

Start with the equalizer set for normal all the way across. Try
listening to talk only at first; AM might be good for this. It may be
that the extra sound you hear makes things sound muffled. Some AM
stations are also broadcast locally on the low end of the FM band.

Next make sure that music sounds good to you.

Make sure the volume isn't too loud.

Good luck,

David

[rbowman]

On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:42:01 -0400, micky wrote:

> I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
> problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled

Did you take it out of the Amazon box first?

[Peeler]

On 22 Sep 2023 18:36:58 GMT, lowbrowwoman, the endlessly driveling,
troll-feeding, senile idiot, blabbered again:

> Did you take it out of the Amazon box first?

Did you perhaps stuff it into your big mouth first? <BG>

--
Yet another thrilling account from the resident senile superhero's senile
life:
"I went to a Driveby Truckers concert at a local venue and they made me
leave my knife in the car. Never went back. Come to think of it the Truckers
had a Black Lives Matter banner. Never bought any of their music again
either."
MID: <k84ip9...@mid.individual.net>

[Retirednoguilt]

Time for a visit to an audiologist. If you don't use hearing aids, you
may need them. If you use them, the settings may need to be tweaked. A
few years ago, I thought something had gone wrong with my stereo
equipment, either the speakers or the receiver. I also noticed I was
having problems understanding dialog on the TV and in face to face
conversations. Turns out I have typical "mild-moderate" age-related
hearing loss. Hearing aids made a big difference in what I hear and
almost completely "repaired" my stereo system. If you will be getting
your first set, make sure they come with a 100% money-back guarantee if
not satisfied, for at least 45-60 days as it takes a little while for
your brain to adjust. Much longer than it takes to adjust to a new
eyeglasses prescription.

[😎 Mighty Wannabe ✅]

On 9/22/2023 1:42 PM, micky wrote:

You might have "Loudness" on, which raises the low and the high, and
makes human voice almost inaudible (muffled). The "Loudness" setting
would tire me out quickly when I listen to people talk.

I have been playing with Windows since the beginning of time. I found a
very good software equalizer (free software) in my Windows 10/11. It has
many equalizer presets. My favourite preset is "Telephone", which raises
the frequency range of human voices and depresses the high and low. I
can listen to Tucker Carson and Alex Jones all day.

Without that software equalizer, the high and low in the frequency
spectrum would tire me out quickly. Interesting enough, even with the
"Telephone" preset when I listen to music, I can hear the lyrics very
clearly, and the music still remains enjoyable.

[Bob F]

How big is the speaker in this "radio"? It seems to me that you might
have bought a piece of cheap junk. But then, the only "radios" I listen
to are the ones in my car and an old mp3/radio player with headphones.
Otherwise, I listen to the radio on my home sound system, which has
really good speakers or the similar one in my bedroom.

Does your car "radio" sound OK to you? That would suggest your hearing
is not going bad.

Could you be listening to wifi sources with low data rates? Have you
tried "stations"?

[Bob F]

Have you tried other "stations"?

[micky]

In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 11:13:11 -0700 (PDT),
"ohg...@gmail.com" <ohg...@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Friday, September 22, 2023 at 1:42:07?PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
>> I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the

$270 it was!!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BG67YH18/

It has a wood or wood-composite cabinet. That's good for bass iiuc.
(But so do two of my table radios that don't have this problem.)

Do you think opening the cabinet and stuffing it with wadded newspapers
or rags or something would change the sound to be more like I want?

>> problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>>
>> Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but for
>> talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through some
>> sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table radios.
>>
>> Is the problem that there is too much bass? If not that, what?
>>
>> It has equalizer settings so I changed from default and various kinds of
>> music to "talk". I didnt' hear any change.
>>
>> So I went to custom, which has 6 frequency ranges, and over time, I've
>> lowered the lowest 4 ranges to the minimum and raised the top one to the
>> max, and the one in between almost to the max. This helped at first,
>> but future changes were smaller and I didn't see addtional help.
>>
>> I can still understand if I make the sound one or two steps louder, but
>> then it's louder than I want.
>>
>> Is there an audio ng that's not dormant that I can post too. alt.audio
>> and alt.audio.pro had gone 3 years without posts.
>
>There's always the possibility there's something wrong with your particular radio and this isn't a normal or adjustable condition. How are the reviews for that radio?

4.1 on 24 ratings. That's pretty good and I think we've all seen
reviews, of restaurants too, where one person says it was terrible and
the other says 5 stars. So i didn't worry too much about reviews,
mostly because iirc this and one other they themselves sell were the
only wifi radios with presets. And presets was a deal-breaker,
especially since wifi radios can't scan

Maybe I should have shopped more than Amazon and Google and I think I
looked in BestBuy. There still are not many wifi radios afaict**.

That said, this review starts off almost like mine would:

>However, sound quality is very muddy. It has plenty of volume and hood thumping bass, but the high end is just not there, regardless of EQ settings.

Ugh.

>Most internet stations are lousy 128kbps MP3, which sound awful. But that is not a fault of the radio.
>...
>Oh, and one last thing: frequently when I am changing radio stations via the presets, when I choose a new station to listen to, the radio immediately shuts off. When I turn it back on, the chosen radio station plays.

I noticed this too. Not a big problem, because it only takes one button
to turn back on.

He has other serious complaints but still gives it a 3.
----
Review 2 gives it 5 stars and says "sounds great"
Review 3 says bluetooh has a problem but other wise, "the 50 watt
amplifier was excellent, had good amount of bass, etc. to make the music
sound like good quality"

Review 4 says "First off, the unit did not appear as nice as in the
pictures here. The finish of the wood (if it even is actual wood) looked
grayish and cheap" --- I have the same color as he, walnut, and I think
it looks nice, not greyish or cheap.

Review 5 " also did not enjoy the way this radio sounded at all! I spent
several hours listening to a wide array of stations and musical styles
while trying to adjust the EQ settings, but could not find any tolerable
balance whatsoever. The equalizer is quite limited and did not seem to
make a significant difference in changing the overall sound quality,
which was muddled and lacking in detail, while also making my ears
really, really tired and sore."

So we have muddy, muddled, and muffled. Not encouraging.

continued: "I found not being able to walk over and turn on the Mondo
Elite Duo without a remove very unsatisfying." Strange, since I can do
it.

Review 6: Plays Radio Paradise perfectly, and all the music in my
Logitech media server library. Highly recommended.

Review 7: sounds decent, and works fine. I have no complaints.
Review 8: 5 stars Very pleased!
Review 9 5 stars Great sound and features Great speakers for a radio
of this size.
Review 10 5 stars after all, great sound
Review 11, 5 stars Easy to use with good sound
two more 5 star reviews

> Model number?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BG67YH18/

Amazon changed a few weeks ago and even though there are 24 questions,
one can no longer see the list of questions and answers, even there is a
link at the top to what should be the list. I wonder if that is an
error on the programmer's part and we are supposed to be able to see the
list of quesitons.

I honestly think a lot of calibrations are for the lowest common
denominator - people with no idea of accuracy but think loud one note
"thumping" is quality sound...

I plan to write the maker, Grace, but first I had sent them two
suggestions for firmware improvement, changes which should be
downloadable to my radio. Seek, and Undoing the connection they made
between Sleep and disabling the screen and most of the controls.

>
>Yeah, a lot of groups were polluted by political assholes and killed them off - the downside of no moderation.

That was some of it but I think a lot is that webpages get the attention
and some even advertise, and no one promotes Usenet, not even those who
sell Usenet readers. So I think most of us started here when the web
was small, and gradually some are losing interest, getting hooked on
webforums, or dying. And not being replaced.


My first suggestion got a prompt acknowlegement and they said they'd
consider including it.
But today's suggestion got an individualized email with some help about
2 stations I said in passing that I hadn't been able to connect to.



**One of the reviews mentions the Bose Wave SoundTouch Music System IV.
I forget if I knew about that before I bought this one, but it's $1750
on ebay and I don't think I'm going to spend that much on a radio. Okay,
it's down to 175 used, somewhere, but it's the typical Bose semi round,
and I may have rejected it for that reason alone. --- Darn, I've never
had a radio bigger than a deck of cards that didn't sound right. This
was the last problem I expected --- On amazon the Bose radio is $886 and
based on pictures there are no presets, except one the remote there are
6 preset buttons but I don't plan to use the remote, and 6 is not
enough. Grace has 100. On amazon the Bose radio has a terrible video by
Bose, but the one by a customer, influencer?, says that you can connect
to a smart device and stream music that way if you choose to do so.
That means I don't want it. The one I have keeps track of urls, once
you tell it, and doesn't require any other device. (You need a computer
to load up stuff, but I have a computer.) The bose video mentions
Pandora, Spotify, Amazon music, Iheart, SiriusXm and Deezer and mine
permits all of those except Deezer, but mine allows ANY url to be
stored, and Bose says nothing like that. There are no preset Okay, so I
didn't want the Bose one. Dodged a bullet.

Revo Superconnect has 8 presets, $500. only rates 3.8 Smaller, only
one speaker, 16,000 wifi stations. Doesn't look as nice as mine.

[micky]

In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:27:06 -0000 (UTC),

David LaRue <huey...@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:

>
>
>Start with the equalizer set for normal all the way across. Try
>listening to talk only at first; AM might be good for this. It may be

I have a radio right above it. I haven't yet, but I plan to play the
very same station via radio waves on the radio and compare with the wifi
radio.

Do you think putting wadded paper or rags in the cabinet will change the
sound the way I want it?

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 15:10:51 -0400, Retirednoguilt

What brand did you get and about how much were they?

Do you have to have them "tuned" by the audiologist? Just once or every
year or something?

Do you sleep with them?

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 15:19:40 -0400, ? Mighty Wannabe

? <@.> wrote:

>On 9/22/2023 1:42 PM, micky wrote:
>> I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
>> problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>>
>> Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but for
>> talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through some
>> sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table radios.
>>
>> Is the problem that there is too much bass? If not that, what?
>>
>> It has equalizer settings so I changed from default and various kinds of
>> music to "talk". I didnt' hear any change.
>>
>> So I went to custom, which has 6 frequency ranges, and over time, I've
>> lowered the lowest 4 ranges to the minimum and raised the top one to the
>> max, and the one in between almost to the max. This helped at first,
>> but future changes were smaller and I didn't see addtional help.
>>
>> I can still understand if I make the sound one or two steps louder, but
>> then it's louder than I want.
>>
>> Is there an audio ng that's not dormant that I can post too. alt.audio
>> and alt.audio.pro had gone 3 years without posts.
>
>
>You might have "Loudness" on, which raises the low and the high, and
>makes human voice almost inaudible (muffled). The "Loudness" setting
>would tire me out quickly when I listen to people talk.

Thanks. I'll check the settings again but I dont' think it has Loudness.

>
>I have been playing with Windows since the beginning of time. I found a
>very good software equalizer (free software) in my Windows 10/11. It has
>many equalizer presets. My favourite preset is "Telephone", which raises

I doubt if it will have Telephone because it knows it's a radio. PC's
do everything. But I will try the other settings, Jazz, classical...
whatever. Maybe one is like telephone.

>the frequency range of human voices and depresses the high and low. I
>can listen to Tucker Carson and Alex Jones all day.

I'm sure.

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 12:58:26 -0700, Bob F

<bobn...@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 9/22/2023 10:42 AM, micky wrote:
>> I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
>> problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>>
>> Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but for
>> talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through some
>> sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table radios.
>>
>> Is the problem that there is too much bass? If not that, what?
>>
>> It has equalizer settings so I changed from default and various kinds of
>> music to "talk". I didnt' hear any change.
>>
>> So I went to custom, which has 6 frequency ranges, and over time, I've
>> lowered the lowest 4 ranges to the minimum and raised the top one to the
>> max, and the one in between almost to the max. This helped at first,
>> but future changes were smaller and I didn't see addtional help.
>>
>> I can still understand if I make the sound one or two steps louder, but
>> then it's louder than I want.
>>
>> Is there an audio ng that's not dormant that I can post too. alt.audio
>> and alt.audio.pro had gone 3 years without posts.
>
>How big is the speaker in this "radio"? It seems to me that you might
>have bought a piece of cheap junk.

It's as big as in every other table radio I have, all of which are okay.
(FWIW, even without a hearing aid)

I hope it's not cheap junk for $270. One review thinks it's not that
it has too much bass but not enough treble. That seems harder to fix
with my plan to put things in the cabinet.

> But then, the only "radios" I listen
>to are the ones in my car and an old mp3/radio player with headphones.
>Otherwise, I listen to the radio on my home sound system, which has
>really good speakers or the similar one in my bedroom.
>
>Does your car "radio" sound OK to you?

It sounds fine. I have a radio in the car, the office, the kitchen, the
bathroom, the laundry room, and another one in the bedroom, and I've
never had a complaint. I don't expect a table radio to sound like
Carnegie Hall, but it shoudln't be muffled, muddled, or muddy either.

>That would suggest your hearing
>is not going bad.

Glad to hear it. :-)

>
>Could you be listening to wifi sources with low data rates?

The data rate is not obvious. They have a long list of stations/urls,
with names like WBZ or KDKA and I pick some and play one and that's all
I'm told.

FWIW, this is the list of stations they offer, iirc 40,000 entries (but
you can also put in your own). I was able to use this before I spent
any money. Put in any name or partial name and it will give you itesm to
select, which once you buy the radio and register will go into your
online file that the radio can access. Though some did not work at all.
Some other wifi radio I think just play whatever comes over the wifi,
the one that is streaming from his phone or PC. This is more like a PC
that can go looking for the url it wants. For all my shopping, before
and today, I'm still not sure which ones are like this and which ones
aren't, but if they give a url count, I think they can go looking. That
still won't prove you can put in a url you've found, like the latest
msnbc url. On their website, I found the manual for this radio and
read it before buying the radio, but that won't accomplish everything.

She wrote me today to say that "MSNBC changes stream URLs often, so
sometimes we don't catch up until someone lets us know about it", which
is probably why the one they had didn't work. I'll check again, plus at
leas4t for CNN there was a way, by pressing F12 on the webpage where you
can play CNN audio, to see the stream url name. It's not the same as
the webpage url.

https://www.myradiosplus.gracedigital.com/admin/home

>Have you
>tried "stations"?

????

[😎 Mighty Wannabe ✅]

On 9/22/2023 4:35 PM, micky wrote:
> In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 15:19:40 -0400, ? Mighty Wannabe
> ? <@.> wrote:
>
>> On 9/22/2023 1:42 PM, micky wrote:
>>> I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
>>> problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>>>
>>> Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but for
>>> talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through some
>>> sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table radios.
>>>
>>> Is the problem that there is too much bass? If not that, what?
>>>
>>> It has equalizer settings so I changed from default and various kinds of
>>> music to "talk". I didnt' hear any change.
>>>
>>> So I went to custom, which has 6 frequency ranges, and over time, I've
>>> lowered the lowest 4 ranges to the minimum and raised the top one to the
>>> max, and the one in between almost to the max. This helped at first,
>>> but future changes were smaller and I didn't see addtional help.
>>>
>>> I can still understand if I make the sound one or two steps louder, but
>>> then it's louder than I want.
>>>
>>> Is there an audio ng that's not dormant that I can post too. alt.audio
>>> and alt.audio.pro had gone 3 years without posts.
>>
>> You might have "Loudness" on, which raises the low and the high, and
>> makes human voice almost inaudible (muffled). The "Loudness" setting
>> would tire me out quickly when I listen to people talk.
> Thanks. I'll check the settings again but I dont' think it has Loudness.

"Loudness" is a button on many stereo system.

>> I have been playing with Windows since the beginning of time. I found a
>> very good software equalizer (free software) in my Windows 10/11. It has
>> many equalizer presets. My favourite preset is "Telephone", which raises
> I doubt if it will have Telephone because it knows it's a radio. PC's
> do everything. But I will try the other settings, Jazz, classical...
> whatever. Maybe one is like telephone.

That equalizer software has graphical user interface so you can modify
the presets. The only preset that looks like "Telephone" is "Radio".

The "Radio" present raises only the human vocal frequency range, while
"Telephone" preset raises the human vocal frequency range plus tapering
the high end and low end frequencies all the way to  -30 dB.

[Jim Joyce]

On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:42:01 -0400, micky <NONONO...@fmguy.com> wrote:

>I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
>problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>
>Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but for
>talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through some
>sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table radios.

I don't listen to much radio these days, but if they start talking I immediately
hit the 'Next!' button until I find music that I like. Would that work for you?

[legg]

On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:42:01 -0400, micky <NONONO...@fmguy.com>
wrote:

Make and model number.

RL

[Bob F]

There are lots of apps to do this with your phone, and probably plenty
for PC's, as an alternative. Is there a satisfaction warranty for this
"radio" so you can send it back and try alternatives?

I use StreamWriter on my PC to automatically store my favorite FM
programs, like the "Saturday Traditions" and "Thom Hartmann" shows on KBCS.

[Bob F]

On 9/22/2023 1:29 PM, micky wrote:
> In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:27:06 -0000 (UTC),
> David LaRue <huey...@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Start with the equalizer set for normal all the way across. Try
>> listening to talk only at first; AM might be good for this. It may be
>
> I have a radio right above it. I haven't yet, but I plan to play the
> very same station via radio waves on the radio and compare with the wifi
> radio.
>
> Do you think putting wadded paper or rags in the cabinet will change the
> sound the way I want it?

I seriously doubt that would help. If it does, they have a serious
design problem.

Maybe you have a defective one. You could call them up and let them
listen to it over the phone if it is really bad.

[micky]

In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 16:42:08 -0500, Jim Joyce

It would probably sound good, but I'd not be listening to what I want to
listen to. It's a tricky balancing issue.

[micky]

In sci.electronics.repair, on 22 Sep 2023 18:36:58 GMT, rbowman

I took the cord out.

It's brand new. I don't want to scuff it.

[micky]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BG67YH18/



In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:01:01 -0400, legg

[rbowman]

On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 15:10:51 -0400, Retirednoguilt wrote:

> Time for a visit to an audiologist. If you don't use hearing aids, you
> may need them. If you use them, the settings may need to be tweaked. A
> few years ago, I thought something had gone wrong with my stereo
> equipment, either the speakers or the receiver.

Considering two (out of thirteen) of the Amazon reviews complained about
the sound and one said a speaker was DOA I'd lean toward the problem not
being with micky's ears.

[rbowman]

On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 16:26:39 -0400, micky wrote:

> 4.1 on 24 ratings. That's pretty good and I think we've all seen
> reviews, of restaurants too, where one person says it was terrible and
> the other says 5 stars. So i didn't worry too much about reviews,
> mostly because iirc this and one other they themselves sell were the
> only wifi radios with presets. And presets was a deal-breaker,
> especially since wifi radios can't scan

Yeah but 2 out of the 13 written reviews complained about the sound. With
that small a sample I pay more attention to the negative reviews.

[Jan Panteltje]

On a sunny day (Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:42:01 -0400) it happened micky
<NONONO...@fmguy.com> wrote in
<gojrgilsq36fjgt7g...@4ax.com>:

>I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
>problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>
>Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but for
>talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through some
>sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table radios.
>
>Is the problem that there is too much bass? If not that, what?
>
>It has equalizer settings so I changed from default and various kinds of
>music to "talk". I didnt' hear any change.
>
>So I went to custom, which has 6 frequency ranges, and over time, I've
>lowered the lowest 4 ranges to the minimum and raised the top one to the
>max, and the one in between almost to the max. This helped at first,
>but future changes were smaller and I didn't see addtional help.
>
>I can still understand if I make the sound one or two steps louder, but
>then it's louder than I want.

Is there a headphone connector?
If it sounds OK on headphones then the speaker / acoustics of the cabinet is bad.
Use external speaker? or dump it in the garbage, give it away?

[Peeler]

On 22 Sep 2023 23:00:58 GMT, lowbrowwoman, the endlessly driveling,

troll-feeding, senile idiot, blabbered again:

> Considering two (out of thirteen) of the Amazon reviews complained about
> the sound and one said a speaker was DOA I'd lean toward the problem not
> being with micky's ears.

Ah, you looked it up, again, just like everything else (all your several
digit numbers, your endless detailed data, etc.) you keep posting and
bragging about. I understand that you STILL will be claiming you are holding
down a job, right? LOL

--
Another one of the resident senile bigmouth's idiotic "cool" lines:
"If you're an ax murderer don't leave souvenir photos on your phone."
"MID: <k7ssc7...@mid.individual.net>"

[Jasen Betts]

On 2023-09-22, micky <NONONO...@fmguy.com> wrote:
> I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
> problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>
> Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but for
> talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through some
> sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table radios.
>
> Is the problem that there is too much bass? If not that, what?

Perhaps tweeter, or midrange driver missing or defective.
perhaps speaker cone is crooked and hung up. perhaps someone was
smuggling illict substances in the speaker box and for reasons
was unable to retreive them, and you have the result.

Have you tried headphones, does that improve the sound? If it sounds
good with headphones the problem is probably inside the speaker box.

--
Jasen.
🇺🇦 Слава Україні

[Retirednoguilt]

I have a set of ReSound Linx Quatro hearing aids that were recommended
by my audiologist at Walter Reed. I got them about 4 years ago. Yes,
they were custom tuned. Initially set to compensate for my audiogram
and then tweaked by my subjective comments. They retailed at that time
for about $5K so I'm told. Being retired military, I qualify for the
DoD's hearing aids at cost program. My total cost out of pocket was
about $850. The audiologist recommended an annual checkup or anytime
sooner if a problem develops.

Reading some of your other comments in this thread, it seems that you
don't have a complaint of muffled sound when listening to other radios.
If that's the case, and the other radios have a similar audio frequency
response, your problem may not be your hearing. Perhaps it is the
radio. Good luck!

[legg]

On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:33:25 -0400, micky <NONONO...@fmguy.com>
wrote:

>In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:01:01 -0400, legg
><le...@nospam.magma.ca> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:42:01 -0400, micky <NONONO...@fmguy.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
>>>problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>>>

<snip>
>>
>>Make and model number.
>>
>
>
>https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BG67YH18/
>
>
>
Suggest you scroll through the various equalizer presets
available, to see if a usable difference is noted.
A factory default is offered.

It's possible that there's harness error/damage off
the production floor.

Return it if not satisfied.

RL

[ohg...@gmail.com]

Others have complained about the sound. From different reviewers:

"I also did not enjoy the way this radio sounded at all! I spent several hours listening to a wide array of stations and musical styles while trying to adjust the EQ settings, but could not find any tolerable balance whatsoever. The equalizer is quite limited and did not seem to make a significant difference in changing the overall sound quality, which was muddled and lacking in detail, while also making my ears really, really tired and sore."

and:

"However, sound quality is very muddy. It has plenty of volume and hood thumping bass, but the high end is just not there, regardless of EQ settings."

Sounds to me like this is the way this radio sounds - again, tuned for the lowest common denominator. I don't think you'll ever be happy with it. I'd return it.

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 23 Sep 2023 09:20:21 -0400, Retirednoguilt

I think it's the radio too, but I do have an interest in hearing aids. I
hear about 80% of the people I meet fine, but some talk so low I can't.
And at meetings, but those are not as common anymore. At home with zoom
I can just turn up the volume. And at movies.

I have a $150 "hearing amplifer" and it works well at my current level
of hearing. Although it has a good design, they seem to have used a
cheap on/off switch and sometimes when I turn it off it stays on and
vice versa. It's just a slide switch, but embedded in hard rubber so I
can't replace it. Maybe I'm getting more used to it, although... I can
understand the voice when it says "Power off" or "Power on" but after
she says On she says something else and I can't come close to
understanding. (In this casee, it is not about my hearing, but about
the device.)

I like the onse with a yoke, so when they fall out of my ears as they
often do, I don't lose them. None of the high quality hearing aids
like yours or the Otikon that Clare mentinoed come in yoke form, do
they?

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 23 Sep 2023 11:27:46 -0000 (UTC), Jasen

Betts <use...@revmaps.no-ip.org> wrote:

>On 2023-09-22, micky <NONONO...@fmguy.com> wrote:
>> I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
>> problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>>
>> Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but for
>> talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through some
>> sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table radios.
>>
>> Is the problem that there is too much bass? If not that, what?
>
>Perhaps tweeter, or midrange driver missing or defective.

The grill cloth is square, 4 or 5". Probably no separate tweeter and
for some reason I think it's probably not coaxial.

>perhaps speaker cone is crooked and hung up.

Hmmm. Maybe. Either way I should open it up and look.

>perhaps someone was
>smuggling illict substances in the speaker box and for reasons
>was unable to retreive them, and you have the result.

I'd have to find a place to sell that stuff, but maybe I coudl get some
of my purchase price back. Radio probably made in China. Opium or
something related.

>
>Have you tried headphones, does that improve the sound? If it sounds

Good idea. i should have thought of that.

>good with headphones the problem is probably inside the speaker box.

Writing my previous post, bluetooth output occurred to me. Going to try
that now.


Well, the Grace had already found and would pair with/connect to my
computer which is more than 40 feet away, farther than I thought normal
bluetooth range was, but it won't find the Sangean radio which is one
foot above it. The Sangean Bluetooth is still working because it paired
with Alexa as soon as I put the radio on Bluetooth. In fact, I
unplugged Alexa to keep it/her from interfering.

So I'm fairly sure I can get this to work, but I need some time to think
about it.

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 23 Sep 2023 06:13:08 GMT, Jan Panteltje

<al...@comet.invalid> wrote:

>On a sunny day (Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:42:01 -0400) it happened micky
><NONONO...@fmguy.com> wrote in
><gojrgilsq36fjgt7g...@4ax.com>:
>
>>I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
>>problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>>
>>Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but for
>>talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through some
>>sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table radios.
>>
>>Is the problem that there is too much bass? If not that, what?
>>
>>It has equalizer settings so I changed from default and various kinds of
>>music to "talk". I didnt' hear any change.
>>
>>So I went to custom, which has 6 frequency ranges, and over time, I've
>>lowered the lowest 4 ranges to the minimum and raised the top one to the
>>max, and the one in between almost to the max. This helped at first,
>>but future changes were smaller and I didn't see addtional help.
>>
>>I can still understand if I make the sound one or two steps louder, but
>>then it's louder than I want.
>
>Is there a headphone connector?

Ah, a great suggestion. I think so, in the back. With a small jack. I
have to find my headset with the small plug. It's cheap too so maybe I
should go straight to***

>If it sounds OK on headphones then the speaker / acoustics of the cabinet is bad.
>Use external speaker? or dump it in the garbage,

I never dump anything in the garbage, but I'll admit, when I offered
some computer speakers with terrible sound, and I said they might be
good for children because they had terrible sound, no one replied.

>give it away?

There still isn't a Wifi radio with everything I want. One or two
others do have presets, but each one has somet hing I don't like.

External speakers sounds good. *** It might have bluetooth output**
and I could send it to the AM/FM radio^^ on the shelf above that does
have bluetooth input. It won't have stereo but I can live without that.
Mostly I listen to talk anyhow. **The manual says "Integrated
bluetooth... transmitter to stream to Bluetooth headsets. ... Bluetooth
audio to every room in your house".

It can work as transmitter or receiver but not both at the same time. --
that's fine.

Well, the Grace had already found and would pair with/connect to my
computer which is more than 40 feet away, farther than I thought normal
bluetooth range was, but it won't find the Sangean radio which is one
foot above it. The Sangean Bluetooth is still working because it paired
with Alexa as soon as I put the radio on Bluetooth. In fact, I
unplugged Alexa to keep it/her from interfering.

So I'm fairly sure I can get this to work, but I need some time to think
about it.

^^The Sangean WR-22 AM/FM radio on the shelf above has good sound even
though it sells even 3.8 years later for $149.

I bought a cheap early version of Alexa, the one that's shaped like a
cylinder of Quaker, and it only has 10 levels of volume and usually none
were the right one, so I send it to this radio that has 30 levels of
volume. That works okay but I'd rather just push a button than have to
yell, Alexa play CNN for two hours

[micky]

In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 15:08:54 -0700, Bob F

The PC is at the far end of the hall, and when in bed, I don't want to
go there to change stations. With the regular radio, I change stations
a lot. Sometimes back and forth and back and forth.

The phone could be by my bed, but in practice the phone is off unless
I'm going somewhere. And then off again when I get home. I've used
the phone for this sort of thing while travelling and in the car, and
it's just not as easy as pushing a button

>as an alternative. Is there a satisfaction warranty for this
>"radio" so you can send it back and try alternatives?

I may have let too much time go by. I'm over the month that Amazon
gives, but I did it pretty much knowing there was nothing else I wanted.
BTW, when I sent in my last suggestion for firmware improvement, I
mentioned in passing that I haven't found CNN or MSNBC yet. She still
volunteered that I could find CNN among the IHeart entries, by typing
in, on the radio, CNN, and it worked. (I already quoted that she said
MSNBC change their stream name frequently!)

I've sent in two suggestions, to delink the Sleep function from most of
the other controls, and to add a Seek function.

I'm saving complaining about the sound for last, I'm not sure why. Maybe
they'll like me because I've been so helpful (although why they didnt'
think of Seek I do not know. Maybe they have.) I guess the worst would
be moving it to the kitchen, where I don't mind if the sound is louder.

>I use StreamWriter on my PC to automatically store my favorite FM
>programs, like the "Saturday Traditions" and "Thom Hartmann" shows on KBCS.

I'm looking at its webpage now. Very good, and free. Thanks.

[micky]

In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:42:01 -0400, micky

<NONONO...@fmguy.com> wrote:

>I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
>problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>
>Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but for
>talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through some
>sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table radios.
>
>Is the problem that there is too much bass? If not that, what?
>
>It has equalizer settings so I changed from default and various kinds of
>music to "talk". I didnt' hear any change.
>
>So I went to custom, which has 6 frequency ranges, and over time, I've
>lowered the lowest 4 ranges to the minimum and raised the top one to the
>max, and the one in between almost to the max. This helped at first,
>but future changes were smaller and I didn't see addtional help.
>
>I can still understand if I make the sound one or two steps louder, but
>then it's louder than I want.
>

Is there an audio ng that's not dormant that I can post too. alt.audio
and alt.audio.pro had gone 3 years without posts.

I'm trying to connect my wifi radio to a regular radio with bluetooth.
The Grace wifi radio doesn't find the Sangrean wr-22, even though it has
found my laptop, even though the laptop has never been on and closer
than 40+ feet from the Wifi radio. And it later found something called
[LG]webOSnnnnnnn which must be in my neighbor's house.

But not the Sangrean which only 12 inches above the Wifi.

Is there any chance Grace wifi radio knows how to find headphones, but
not another wifi radio????

The owners manual only mentions headphones but I took that to be becuase
that's the standard device and my problem was not foreseen. The
Sangrean works fine when receiving audio from Alexa. Connects very
easily and quickly.

[micky]

In sci.electronics.repair, on Sat, 23 Sep 2023 23:43:05 -0400, micky

I let it try for hours, but the Grace wifi never found the Sangrean.

>Is there any chance Grace wifi radio knows how to find headphones, but
>not another wifi radio????
>
>The owners manual only mentions headphones but I took that to be becuase
>that's the standard device and my problem was not foreseen. The
>Sangrean works fine when receiving audio from Alexa. Connects very
>easily and quickly.

If I can't connect by bluetooth, there is a Line Out on the Grace and a
Aux In on the Sangrean. Both Stereo**. Are those of the same
amplitude? Will that work? The Aux In says connect, for example, an
iPod, MP3 or CD player. Are their outputs like Line Out would be?

There also a 3.5mm mini headphone jack on the sending radio. Would that
be better than Line Out.

**Even though the Sangrean has only one speaker, it has a stereo Aux In
jack. Do you think that means L and R are merged in the radio?

Or can I merge the left and right channels just by buying the right
Y-cable? Is there a name for that?

[Retirednoguilt]

I don't know. Mine have never fallen out.

[Bob F]

Line out outputs tend to be a fixed output level, not affected by the
volume control. The volume resulting at the receiving device may be at a
different level than the receiving device default, but the volume
control should adjust for that unless the receiving device expects a
significantly different level. The headphone output would allow the
outputting device volume to be adjusted if the line outs are not
compatible for some reason. If the output is too high for the inputting
device, distortion will result.

I would use the line out as my first choice.

You really should talk to the seller of your device about replacing it
with one that actually works or refunding your money..

>
> There also a 3.5mm mini headphone jack on the sending radio. Would that
> be better than Line Out.
>
> **Even though the Sangrean has only one speaker, it has a stereo Aux In
> jack. Do you think that means L and R are merged in the radio?

Probably.

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 24 Sep 2023 07:44:48 -0700, Bob F

OKay. I like that better because the jacks are in the back.

Even though the fidelity of $8 earbuds can't be that good, I tried them
last night in the headphone jack, but they have a 2.5mm plug to fit a
cell phone and it's a 3.5 mm jack. Plus it's TRRR instead of TRR,
because of the mike it has. Iirc that is still supposed to work if the
plug fit.

>
>You really should talk to the seller of your device about replacing it
>with one that actually works or refunding your money..

I guess I'm afraid they'll send me another one that's no better than
this.

After I've gone to the work of shipping the first one back and putting
the new one in its place, both of which would have been pretty easy 2
years ago but now seem like tiring acts.

Also I think it would be easier to get them to send a new one after I
tell them how much effort I put in to get this one to work. This stuff
doesn't seem tiring because it fulfills my curiosity too.

>> There also a 3.5mm mini headphone jack on the sending radio. Would that
>> be better than Line Out.
>>
>> **Even though the Sangrean has only one speaker, it has a stereo Aux In
>> jack. Do you think that means L and R are merged in the radio?
>
>Probably.

I hope so.

BTW, I remembered last night that I have another bluetooth radio, also
by Sangean, in the bathroom, and I tried to pair it with the Grace radio
this morning and it was easy. So I don't know why I can't pair the
bedroom Sangean, especially since I can easily with Alexa, and I
unplugged Alexa. It's not just that I can't pair it, the bedroom
Sangrean doesn't even show up on the Grace wifi list of bluetooth
sources.

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 24 Sep 2023 06:40:44 -0400, Retirednoguilt

<Hapily...@fakeaddress.com> wrote:

>
>> I like the onse with a yoke, so when they fall out of my ears as they
>> often do, I don't lose them. None of the high quality hearing aids
>> like yours or the Otikon that Clare mentinoed come in yoke form, do
>> they?
>I don't know. Mine have never fallen out.

That's great!

[micky]

One of the questions I posed elswhere in this thread is whether, if I
connected the stereo line in (or headphone jack) to the Aux input pf my
Sangean wr-22, which only has one speaker, would the radio merge the L
and R channels. Then I thought to ask on Amazon, on the page that
sells that radio. And I already got two answers that both say Yes.

"Yes, it will. If you later add external powered stereo speakers, the
output will be in stereo."

I only mention this in such detail because that answer was from Bob F.
!!!!


In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 15:08:54 -0700, Bob F

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 23 Sep 2023 12:22:46 -0400, legg

<le...@nospam.magma.ca> wrote:

>On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:33:25 -0400, micky <NONONO...@fmguy.com>
>wrote:
>
>
>>In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:01:01 -0400, legg
>><le...@nospam.magma.ca> wrote:
>>
>>>On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:42:01 -0400, micky <NONONO...@fmguy.com>
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>>I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
>>>>problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>>>>
><snip>
>>>
>>>Make and model number.
>>>
>>
>>
>>https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BG67YH18/
>>

For another subthread, I foudn the right cable and connected the
headphone jack of the radio in question to the AUX in of the other
radio. The sound stopped from the speakers but didnt' show up in the
other radio. I'm sure I tested if I could play my phone that way and it
worked for that.. Just checked again and it still does, the phone plays
through AUX, but the radio headphone jack does not. Unlike the
bluetooth thing which is inconsistent, this could be a clear problem
with the headphone jack. (I'll try to find some headphones just to make
sure. They're in a suitcase somewhere.)

[answer to your post below]

>>
>Suggest you scroll through the various equalizer presets
>available, to see if a usable difference is noted.

Good idea.

>A factory default is offered.

Yes, it comes set that way, and I've tried "talk" and I've tried various
settings for custom. Since hearing people talk is the problem, I looked
up what frequency we talk at and it is for the most part 80 - 250 Hz.
That was the bass range that I had lessened. But when I turned it up it
made it worse.

>It's possible that there's harness error/damage off
>the production floor.

Harness error? What is that? Something that could be fixed?

>Return it if not satisfied.

I assumed I only had the month Amazon gives but your post and others
inspired me to check and it has a 1 year Warranty. And I saved the box
it was shipped in.

Still, I want to ask them if they have a solution, and before that, I
still haven't gotten around to directly comparing the same station on
both radios. Won't take that much time, just play C-span radio or WAMU
on the PC which has an FM transmitter to the FM radio on the shelf above
the radio in question. So I can go back and forth several times. Maybe
I'll even come up with better words to describe the problem.

I'll write them about it this week but if I have a year, I can take
another month.


And also, the bluetooth and ambient hearing amplifer by Malhear
Technology I bought just under 2 months ago broke 3 days ago too. It
has left and right microphones and the right stopped working. I've
always been genlte with it, there's no apparent damage, and tapping on
the little thing (that looks like in inline log) doesn't help. But
their warranty is also one year.

Still, I'd have been happier to return something to Amazon, which last
time credited me without looking at what I returned an hour after I
dropped it in a bin at Whole Foods, than Malhear that I've never heard
of. OTOH for the radio that is the theme of this thread, by Grace, they
seem like a big, reliable company that makes a variety of fancy
products, some of which wikip says without footnote got CES Innovations
Awards. Goes bacfk to 2007 and actually based in San Diego.

I hate doing returns, even when it's easy, but if I must, maybe I must.

>RL

[Bob F]

If you keep interacting with them, and don't bother to say they sound
like crap so they can actually help you with the problem, then that
would probably be an appropriate response.

[Paul Babiak]

On 09/22/2023 01:42 PM, micky wrote:

> Is there an audio ng that's not dormant that I can post too. alt.audio
> and alt.audio.pro had gone 3 years without posts.
>

rec.audio.tech and rec.audio.pro still exist, but the traffic is pretty low.

[David LaRue]

micky <NONONO...@fmguy.com> wrote in
news:8durgihoqkktuof85...@4ax.com:

> In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 15:10:51 -0400, Retirednoguilt
> <Hapily...@fakeaddress.com> wrote:
>

>>On 9/22/2023 1:42 PM, micky wrote:
>>> I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
>>> problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>>>
>>> Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but
>>> for talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through
>>> some sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table
>>> radios.
>>>
>>> Is the problem that there is too much bass? If not that, what?
>>>
>>> It has equalizer settings so I changed from default and various
>>> kinds of music to "talk". I didnt' hear any change.
>>>
>>> So I went to custom, which has 6 frequency ranges, and over time,
>>> I've lowered the lowest 4 ranges to the minimum and raised the top
>>> one to the max, and the one in between almost to the max. This
>>> helped at first, but future changes were smaller and I didn't see
>>> addtional help.
>>>
>>> I can still understand if I make the sound one or two steps louder,
>>> but then it's louder than I want.
>>>

>>> Is there an audio ng that's not dormant that I can post too.
>>> alt.audio and alt.audio.pro had gone 3 years without posts.
>>

>>Time for a visit to an audiologist. If you don't use hearing aids,
>>you may need them. If you use them, the settings may need to be
>>tweaked. A few years ago, I thought something had gone wrong with my
>>stereo equipment, either the speakers or the receiver. I also noticed
>>I was having problems understanding dialog on the TV and in face to
>>face conversations. Turns out I have typical "mild-moderate"
>>age-related hearing loss. Hearing aids made a big difference in what
>>I hear and almost completely "repaired" my stereo system. If you will
>>be getting your first set, make sure they come with a 100% money-back
>>guarantee if not satisfied, for at least 45-60 days as it takes a
>>little while for your brain to adjust. Much longer than it takes to
>>adjust to a new eyeglasses prescription.
>

> What brand did you get and about how much were they?
>
> Do you have to have them "tuned" by the audiologist? Just once or
> every year or something?
>

> Do you sleep with them?
>

I've used hearig aids for years. The central bands where human speach is
are not coming through. Definitely visit an audiologist to verify what
needs to be fixed. They will have a variety of brands. I've used aids
that were covered by insurance. Very litte out of pocket. You will
initially visit the audiologist every few weeks as you report what works
for you and what does not. They can tune them to correct most problems.
I have four channels, but moslty prefer my 'music' setting as I prefer to
hear background noise. I don't sleep with mine but some people can. My
audiologist checks out my aids every 6 months or so for the full
warranty. It is well worth it if your hearing changes or you find
situations where you cannot hear right and need adjustments.

Good luck,

David

[Jan Panteltje]

On a sunny day (Sun, 24 Sep 2023 14:54:41 -0400) it happened micky
<NONONO...@fmguy.com> wrote in
<2mv0hil62uis9o8g6...@4ax.com>:

>Yes, it comes set that way, and I've tried "talk" and I've tried various
>settings for custom. Since hearing people talk is the problem, I looked
>up what frequency we talk at and it is for the most part 80 - 250 Hz.

Speech is between about 300 to 3400 Hz (old telephone).

[Bob F]

On 9/24/2023 11:54 AM, micky wrote:
> In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 23 Sep 2023 12:22:46 -0400, legg
> <le...@nospam.magma.ca> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:33:25 -0400, micky <NONONO...@fmguy.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:01:01 -0400, legg
>>> <le...@nospam.magma.ca> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:42:01 -0400, micky <NONONO...@fmguy.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
>>>>> problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>>>>>
>> <snip>
>>>>
>>>> Make and model number.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BG67YH18/
>>>
>
> For another subthread, I foudn the right cable and connected the
> headphone jack of the radio in question to the AUX in of the other
> radio. The sound stopped from the speakers but didnt' show up in the
> other radio. I'm sure I tested if I could play my phone that way and it
> worked for that.. Just checked again and it still does, the phone plays
> through AUX, but the radio headphone jack does not. Unlike the
> bluetooth thing which is inconsistent, this could be a clear problem
> with the headphone jack. (I'll try to find some headphones just to make
> sure. They're in a suitcase somewhere.)
>

Headphone jack outputs on a lot of audio equipment physically breaks the
internal connection to the internal speakers when you plug in
headphones. The aux output will not do that.

[Martin Brown]

On 22/09/2023 18:42, micky wrote:
> I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
> problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>

> Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but for
> talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through some
> sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table radios.
>
> Is the problem that there is too much bass? If not that, what?

Possibly. Is there a reflex port on it somewhere?
Stuffing that with foam might improve things a bit. Somehow
extra/excessive bass seems to be a selling point for radios in that
sort of price range. It does nothing for intelligibility.

> It has equalizer settings so I changed from default and various kinds of
> music to "talk". I didnt' hear any change.

Depending on how badly their equalizer mangles the sound you might be on
a no win battle with this thing.

>
> So I went to custom, which has 6 frequency ranges, and over time, I've
> lowered the lowest 4 ranges to the minimum and raised the top one to the
> max, and the one in between almost to the max. This helped at first,
> but future changes were smaller and I didn't see addtional help.
>
> I can still understand if I make the sound one or two steps louder, but
> then it's louder than I want.
>
> Is there an audio ng that's not dormant that I can post too. alt.audio
> and alt.audio.pro had gone 3 years without posts.

--
Martin Brown

[Retirednoguilt]

On the web, I see that a little attachment, Resound calls a "sports
lock", can be attached which is supposed to keep the hearing aid in
place during physical activity. They appear to be only about $13 (US)
per pair. Can't vouch for their comfort, ease of use, or effectiveness.

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Mon, 25 Sep 2023 09:44:23 -0400, Retirednoguilt

https://www.hearingaidaccessories.co.uk/shop/hooks-clips-retentions/hearing-aid-sports-locks/

Only £9.99 for a pack of 10! But I'd have to get some Pounds somewhere.

"They rest in your concha bowl...." I'm not even sure I have a concha
bowl. My mother had all that stuff, finger bowls, punch bowl, soup
bowls. When she moved to an apartment, she got rid of a lot of stuff.
I'll check if she left me one or two.

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Mon, 25 Sep 2023 00:58:55 -0000 (UTC), David

Very valuable info here. Thanks. I talked to a guy at a meeting on
Sunday who had Jabra. I know there are better than this, and I think I
have good insurance, but what impressed me is that the "behind the ear"
was much better than what I used to see pictures of in 1964. Surprise!
Only 50 years later and they're better. The behind part was smaller,
the tube into the ear was smaller, and probbably longer, and the thing
in the ear was probably small enough that it wouldn't bother me and you
can still hear the actual sound.


Despite my joking with you, Retirednoguilt, I am serious. Your post was
very encouraging. (I think I had in mind the ones that looked like
little acorns and the whole things was stuffed in ones ear, like an iPod
or earbud.)

Th

[Retirednoguilt]

This is what I was referring to when I wrote:

https://www.hearingaidaccessory.com/shop/hooks-clips-retentions/gn-resound-one-hearing-aid-sports-locks-for-surefit-3-receiver/

However, I don't know if or how well they would fit on other brands. By
the way, if you have the part of the ear that extends out from your
skull, that structure (the external ear) unless misshapen, has a concha
as one of its parts. See:

https://www.shutterstock.com/search/cymba-conchae

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Tue, 26 Sep 2023 09:47:16 -0400, Retirednoguilt

I'll let my mother know. BTW, I don't have the thing that Cindy's
husband has, the Ventura? notch, so maybe I don't have this.

See:
>
>https://www.shutterstock.com/search/cymba-conchae

I take it back, I do have that. Thank you for your patience.

[The Real Bev]

Absolutely incomprehensible. I suppose it would have been too expensive
for them to post a picture of the things ACTUALLY IN USE WITH A HUMAN EAR...

>>However, I don't know if or how well they would fit on other brands. By
>>the way, if you have the part of the ear that extends out from your
>>skull, that structure (the external ear) unless misshapen, has a concha
>>as one of its parts.
>
> I'll let my mother know. BTW, I don't have the thing that Cindy's
> husband has, the Ventura? notch, so maybe I don't have this.
>
> See:
>>
>>https://www.shutterstock.com/search/cymba-conchae
>
> I take it back, I do have that. Thank you for your patience.
>

--
Cheers, Bev
"A friend is someone who puts the needs of others above their own.
Find one of those people and take advantage of him." --Rat

[micky]

In sci.electronics.repair, on Mon, 25 Sep 2023 10:38:13 +0100, Martin

Brown <'''newspam'''@nonad.co.uk> wrote:

>On 22/09/2023 18:42, micky wrote:
>> I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
>> problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>>
>> Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but for
>> talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through some
>> sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table radios.
>>
>> Is the problem that there is too much bass? If not that, what?
>
>Possibly. Is there a reflex port on it somewhere?

No. I don't think so.

>Stuffing that with foam might improve things a bit. Somehow
>extra/excessive bass seems to be a selling point for radios in that
>sort of price range. It does nothing for intelligibility.

Interesting.

>> It has equalizer settings so I changed from default and various kinds of
>> music to "talk". I didnt' hear any change.
>
>Depending on how badly their equalizer mangles the sound you might be on
>a no win battle with this thing.

Well, here is the end of the first chapter:

I'm still going to talk to the manufacturer about what equalizer
settings work best, or any physical improvement like changing the
speakers, or stuffing with foam,

but two nights ago I bought a patch cable for the L & R Line OUts that
plugs into the AUX on the rdio above it, and now the sound is pretty
good, certainly good enough for me (who has a tin ear which is why it's
surprising this radio wasn't good enough for me.) The cable merges L &
R so even though I paid extra for stereo speakers, it's monaural.

In addition, this means I can leave the internet radio on all night,
with the sound turned down to zero, and use the Sleep function of the
second radio, so it will turn off after an hour or two. On the
internet radio, the Sleep function** disables almost all the controls
and doesn't let me watch the name of the songs being played or see the
graphic that comes with each station or each song. That's just
entertaining enough to keep my attention but not enough to keep me
awake. **It just displays the time, which is boring.

The second radio, the Sangean WR-22, has very little tone control, but I
pressed a button my mistake and found that 3 years ago when I got it, I
had set the bass to -3 and the treble to +1. Simple, small changes, and
I've been happy with that.


Back to the internet radio using its own speakers, I've only played a
few songs. The music is probably okay, but the lyrics are muffled,
muddled, or muddy. So even they are better through the other radio.

I know I'm not following the advice of people who said to send it back
but I didn't find a better replacement, also with presets. Maybe there
is one but I'm tired of looking.

Thanks all. I couldn't have done it withou' you.

[micky]

In sci.electronics.repair, on Sun, 24 Sep 2023 18:38:30 -0400, Paul

At least there is some. :-) I may have a second thread coming and
I'll include them.

[Andy Burns]

micky wrote:

> I bought a patch cable for the L & R Line OUts that plugs into the
> AUX on the rdio above it, and now the sound is pretty good, certainly
> good enough for me (who has a tin ear which is why it's surprising
> this radio wasn't good enough for me.) The cable merges L & R so even
> though I paid extra for stereo speakers, it's monaural.

Wonder if polarity is reversed on one channel of your original source?

[Bob F]

It still sounds like the "radio" is seriously defective or a piece of
junk, that you are kludging to make it "usable". I would send it back in
a moment.

[micky]

In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 17:11:54 -0400, ? Mighty
Wannabe ? <@.> wrote:

>On 9/22/2023 4:35 PM, micky wrote:
>> In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 15:19:40 -0400, ? Mighty Wannabe
>> ? <@.> wrote:

>>
>>> On 9/22/2023 1:42 PM, micky wrote:
>>>> I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
>>>> problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>>>>
>>>> Maybe it's okay for music. I haven't listened to much music, but for
>>>> talk it sounds muffled. Like literally they are talking through some
>>>> sort of muffle. I don't have this problem with 5 other table radios.
>>>>
>>>> Is the problem that there is too much bass? If not that, what?
>>>>

>>>> It has equalizer settings so I changed from default and various kinds of
>>>> music to "talk". I didnt' hear any change.
>>>>

>>>> So I went to custom, which has 6 frequency ranges, and over time, I've
>>>> lowered the lowest 4 ranges to the minimum and raised the top one to the
>>>> max, and the one in between almost to the max. This helped at first,
>>>> but future changes were smaller and I didn't see addtional help.
>>>>
>>>> I can still understand if I make the sound one or two steps louder, but
>>>> then it's louder than I want.
>>>>

>>>> Is there an audio ng that's not dormant that I can post too. alt.audio
>>>> and alt.audio.pro had gone 3 years without posts.
>>>

>>> You might have "Loudness" on, which raises the low and the high, and
>>> makes human voice almost inaudible (muffled). The "Loudness" setting
>>> would tire me out quickly when I listen to people talk.
>> Thanks. I'll check the settings again but I dont' think it has Loudness.
>
>"Loudness" is a button on many stereo system.

I know but I checked and I was right. This one doesn't have it.
>
>
>>> I have been playing with Windows since the beginning of time. I found a
>>> very good software equalizer (free software) in my Windows 10/11. It has
>>> many equalizer presets. My favourite preset is "Telephone", which raises
>> I doubt if it will have Telephone because it knows it's a radio. PC's
>> do everything. But I will try the other settings, Jazz, classical...
>> whatever. Maybe one is like telephone.
>
>That equalizer software has graphical user interface so you can modify
>the presets. The only preset that looks like "Telephone" is "Radio".
>
>The "Radio" present raises only the human vocal frequency range, while
>"Telephone" preset raises the human vocal frequency range plus tapering
>the high end and low end frequencies all the way to  -30 dB.
>
>>> the frequency range of human voices and depresses the high and low. I
>>> can listen to Tucker Carson and Alex Jones all day.
>> I'm sure.
>>
>>> Without that software equalizer, the high and low in the frequency
>>> spectrum would tire me out quickly. Interesting enough, even with the
>>> "Telephone" preset when I listen to music, I can hear the lyrics very
>>> clearly, and the music still remains enjoyable.
>>>
>>>

[😎 Mighty Wannabe ✅]

If you have "Radio" preset, then use it. It is close to "Telephone", but
"Telephone" cuts out both the high and low frequencies. It's perfect for
listening to human voice.

These are the screen grabs of the equalizer in my computer. I have
posted them to a free image hosting site:

"Telephone" preset:

https://ibb.co/SmhMdWh


"Radio" preset:

https://ibb.co/f8r8qNv

[three_jeeps]

Exactly!!! Send it back and get a new one. With all this dancing around with various connection configurations (some of which raise more questions than answers), you could have been enjoying another radio or found a better alternative.
If you send it back, the supplier will never tell you what 'problems' the device had. Their easy soln is to send you a new one. I suggest making some sort of mark on the original unit (in a very inconspicuous place) so you can determine if they sent the original radio back to you or a different unit. (I've personally experienced this).

IMHO, trying to connect the audio to an external speaker via BT is a crap shoot. A lot of BT devices have lousy implementations....won't pair with some devices, spins forever when attempting to make a connection, dropped connections, the reconnect feature doesn't work, lossy audio, etc.
If I am troubleshooting an audio problem, nothing beats a hardwired connection.

[Peter W.]

I am watching this conversation with increasing sadness, consternation and amazement. As a collector of things-radio for a very long time, I have examples from 1919 through 2007, including coffin-box home-brews to $5.99 WalMart hand-held portables (by the washer/dryer for my wife to use). Gems include a Zenith shutter/robot dial, a Grundig Satellit 700, & YB-500, GE super-radio and others. Countries-of-origin include Czechoslovakia, Turkey (!), Russia, Portugal, France, England, Russia, Germany, US, China, Japan and others.

Given that I have sufficient grounds for comparison - anything that sounded "muffled", especially purchased new, would be unceremoniously returned to the seller without delay. Life is simply too short for that noise.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

[Hiram T Schwantz]

On 22 Sep 2023 18:36:58 GMT, rbowman posted for all of us to digest...

>
> On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:42:01 -0400, micky wrote:
>
> > I bought a $230 wifi radio that is impressive in many ways, but the
> > problem I have is that the sound sounds muffled
>

> Did you take it out of the Amazon box first?

+1 Good one!

--
Hiram

[Hiram T Schwantz]

On 22 Sep 2023 23:00:58 GMT, rbowman posted for all of us to digest...

>
> On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 15:10:51 -0400, Retirednoguilt wrote:
>
> > Time for a visit to an audiologist. If you don't use hearing aids, you
> > may need them. If you use them, the settings may need to be tweaked. A
> > few years ago, I thought something had gone wrong with my stereo
> > equipment, either the speakers or the receiver.
>

> Considering two (out of thirteen) of the Amazon reviews complained about
> the sound and one said a speaker was DOA I'd lean toward the problem not
> being with micky's ears.

It's what between them?

--
Hiram