Poor Sound Quality with iTunes 8

I just installed iTunes 8, and all of the songs in my Library play with poor sound quality regardless of the view I have open. The sound is really muffled, but the voices and higher frequencies sound tinny and shaky. I tried playing with the Equalizer and Sound Enhancer settings, but was not able to fix the problem.
What can I do to get the iTunes 7 sound back?

I, too, am experiencing a significant decline in the sound quality of recordings in my collection. The recordings sound very muffled on the low, bass end of the sound spectrum, and the treble is significantly diminished. This decline in sound quality occurred immediately after I upgraded to iTunes 8. The sound quality in iTunes 7 was fine, and overall better.
It appears that my iTunes 8 attempts to improve the playback sound quality of songs with 128 kbps bit rates, as these songs in my collection do seem to actually sound better. However, most of my collection are recordings imported at the higher sound quality standard of 320 kbps from CDs that I purchased, and these recordings all sound poor since I've installed iTunes 8.

Similar Messages

Poor sound quality with 7g Nano through docking speaker.

Very poor sound quality with 7g Nano through docking speaker. Sound through ear bud is fine. A different 7g Nano sounds fine through the same speakers. There does not seem to be debris in the lightning port. Any suggestions?

Hey Failagain,
Thanks for the question. The following article may help you to isolate this issue further. Based on the information you provided, the next best step may be to restore the iPod nano:
Troubleshooting iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch accessories
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2634
Thanks,
Matt M.

Poor audio quality with iTunes 9

Hi.
This is my first posting and I am hoping members of the iTunes development team look in here.
I recently upgraded to Snow Leopard and I noticed a marked improvement in sound quality using iTunes 8 . Please note I am playing AIFF files through the digi out of my Macbook into a high quality Dac, amp and speaker separates system, in fact the sound was as good as any cd transport I have ever used. I then "upgraded" to iTunes 9 and noticed a deterioration in audio quality, the bass has become woolly and indistinct and small details in songs are harder to hear resulting in a un-involving sound.
I know I am not imagining this as I have done repeated tests using the same file played back via iTunes9, Songbird and Cog and iTunes is clearly the inferior of the three and the poor quality of 9 is being discussed on many hifi forums.
So come on iTunes team either sort out the audio output of 9 or give us audiophiles an easy way to get rid of 9 and go back to 8 without losing our libraries.
ps. love all the bells and whistles but sound quality is paramount.
Cheers
Andy.

I had exactly the same problem on my new, beefed-up laptop and couldn't figure out how an "upgrade" could ruin my music (which I take pretty seriously). I am embarrassed to say what actually fixed the problem. I started by turning off the EQ and it improved somewhat. I kept searching the web without luck until I noticed something by accident. My system volume was low and the iTunes volume was peaked at max. I turned the iTunes volume to 40% and turned up the computer volume to compensate and voila! The bass distortion and indistinct vocal range was immediately fixed. I turned the EQ back on and was able to use it however I liked. I guess it is like turning up the volume on a radio to max. You get sound, but it gets distorted in the upper range. Hope that helps!

Poor sound quality with NAD amplifier

I have tried connecting my airport express to a NAD amplifier and using my ipod touch as a remote. The sound quality is very poor - too much bass. I am using quality cables from the 3.5 jack to phono input on the amp. Any suggestions.

As Bob has eluded to, the key is NOT to use your system's PHONO jack for input from the AirPort Express. (ref: Using AirPort Express with the Phono jack on your stereo)

Is there a solution for poor sound quality with ios7.03?

Hi all,
After waiting for a while and using 7.0.2 on my iPad I decided to upgrade my iPhone today. 7.0.3 was installed and while I am used to the general operation of the new iOS, I found that sound quality is terrible. The audio is extremely compressed. This was not an issue with 7.0.2. Unfortunately I also updated my 7.0.2 iPad to 7.0.3 and have confirmed that the latest iOS is at fault. Somebody really messed up.
Is it possible that I am missing a setting somewhere that was added with the latest update?

Never mind. After testing with my android tablet I found it was the headphones. They are Bose QC 15. The original battery was running down but work great yesterday. I suspected the battery and changed it but the problem persisted which led me to blame the upgrade. I should have known better. My apple devices have been flawless. Sorry for crying wolf...

Poor sound quality of iTunes downloads

The huge fault with songs downloaded in AAC format from iTunes is the "buzz" or "interference" that surrounds the clean sounds of a piano or a voice, especially when the original passage is loud. I don't think there is a work-around for this.
To demonstrate: Listen to the iTunes sample of Vienna Teng's recording of "Gravity" on the album "Waking Hour". Compare this to the mp3 version of the same tune on Vienna teng's own site http://audio.viennateng.com/waking/viennateng-gravity.mp3. The latter is infinitely superior.
If you buy the album from iTunes, the quality is just as dismal as the sample - a complete waste of money as the "buzz" ruins all the tracks.
As an avid Mac fan I find this very disappointing. Does anybody have any suggestions or should we just look for good quality recordings from sources other than iTunes. If so where?
Also how can we voice this disappointment to the iTunes managers? The "Report a Problem" link in "Purchase History" does not work.

Hi Martin,
Use the form at the bottom of this page?
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/store/download/
Regards,
Colin R.

Why the extremely poor sound quality in playback with itunes?

I am having problems with the sound quality of itunes music. this applies to both downloads and cd's. This problem is new, I believe, and affects bluetooth speaker, earphones, and macbook pro internal speaker. All have extremely poor playback with itunes. This Problem does not happen with playback of youtube videos.
Thanks for any advice you can give.

I would be worth playing some tracks with Quicktime so see what the quality is like there.
iTunes uses Quicktime to play music.
Also check this Apple help on audio playback problems:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1362

Poor sound quality on some iTunes songs

Downloaded some songs from iTunes and realized a really poor sound quality on some files.
The worst example is "Precious" from "Depeche Mode" (Album version). It seems to me that the AAC file is encoded at a much too high level, so its overdriven and distorted.
If i burn the song to CD and than analyze the track in WaveLab it is obvious that the song was encoded with a level more than 6dB over the usual level and i can see a lot of clippings.
Downloaded another song of another band that i allready have on CD, just to compare... and this song was much better. Even this was 3dB over the original CD level (and the song on CD had a peak level reserve of only 0.1dB), but while listening that song i heared no negative effects...
So from my point of view iTunes is not really an acceptable offer if i can't rely on a minimum sound quality of the songs that i pay for!
So, the question is:
Is this normal or is the "Depeche Mode" album only one rare bad example???

Yes, of cause, tried all.
EQ off, or EQ with all sliders a little below 0dB.
With my tests i saw no effect of the EQ to the CD burning quality.
Only if i change the CD burning options (in german "Lautstärke anpassen", something like "adapt volume" or so), than i get a CD that has the same bad quality, only at a lower volume.
The same distorted and overdriven sound with clippings at a lower level (peak -12dB).
What if it's really a bad file?
Do they fix such files?
Will i have a chance to download it again? (without paying another time?)
PC Windows XP Pro

Poor sound quality on ipod and G4

The last three albums i have downloaded from itunes music store have poor sound quality. On both my G4 and my ipod the songs have a lot of noise. They sound as though the speakers are blown, or the eq is maxed. All my songs prior to these last three downloads sound fine on the same speakers and headphones.
Am i nuts?
Marc Cohn and St John's Childrens Choir are the last two albums i have downloaded.

? well idk what theyre talking about but i just got a new 160 GB classic 3 days ago and ive been perfectly happy with it and my music is only encoded at around 160, some down to 92 VBR! (saves disk space) and i work with music everyday as a listener, player, and engineer.

Extremely poor sound quality on all apps after using Real Player!

Hi there
On my Leopard iMac (Core2Duo) I am experiencing extremely poor 'lo-fi-like' quality on all audio from all applications including iTunes, Quicktime and Safari as a result of using Real Player to play a file online.
I very rarely use Real Player and this was the first time I'd used it in months to even a year. The file was a simple RAM file from a store website allowing me to listen to a sample of a music file. When played, the quality was low but I expected this from a music sample, and from Real Player. However, after closing Real Player, I noticed the sound quality had dramatically dropped to an almost un-listenable quality.
I have restarted and uninstalled Real Player with no luck. The poor sound quality still comes through my internal speakers, as well as external speakers, so it seems like a software issue.
Not sure what to do, please can anyone help as the audio is used all day every day on this iMac!
Thank you

Just tried it as I did get iLife with my Mac. GarageBand froze for the first few times I loaded it up, then I managed to get it to work. Played with the on-screen keyboard which produced perfect sound.
Closed GarageBand, restarted iTunes, tested, working perfectly! Crystal clear sound back again!
Thanks so much for that, really appreciated!
=]

Having a poor sound quality

Recently I am having trouble with poor sound quality. I am using software
OS X 10.8.5 (12F45). when i turn on the macbook pro i can hear normal sound before log in my account. When hearphone is connected it gives the normal sound as before but built in speaker gives poor one. Guys any suggestions how to fix the problem????????

hi Sylph!
just checking ... was this the KB doc you looked at?
iTunes and QuickTime for Windows: Songs and other audio don't play correctly
if so, did you try the other possibilities listed there?
(since you've got itunes 6.0.x, you'll need to try the QT 7 version of the waveout fix.)
love, b

New Ipod Touch 5g, poor sound quality?

Hi,
I recently got given a silver ipod touch for christmas, after having had a 5G nano ipod for a few years. i had always had no problem with sound quality with that ipod. However, I have noticed that even with my Bose headphones and on my Bose dock, certain songs heavy in bass (seems to be a lot of hip hop), such as my Jay-Z and Drake albums, the bass is very bad and fuzzy and messy. It sounds terrible. I have listened to the very same songs through my Macbook Pro through headphones and there is no problem. All my music is from itunes/amazonmp3/CDs so I don't understand whether my ipod is faulty or whether this is just how the new Ipod Touch is? If so I am returning it pronto! I need my bass!

Try:
- Reset the iPod. Nothing will be lost
Reset iPod touch: Hold down the On/Off button and the Home button at the same time for at
least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.
- Power off and then back on the router
- Reset network settings: Settings>GeneralReset>Reset Network Settings
- iOS: Troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks and connections
- iOS: Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points
- Restore from backup
- Restore to factory settings/new iPod.
- Make an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store.
Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar

Why such sorry sound quality on iTunes? On some of my purchases the sound level is suppressed on the audio. On others the volume is so low that if I have it set for another song and a new one starts I have to increase the volume to hear it.

Why such sorry sound quality on iTunes? On some of my purchases the sound level is suppressed on the audio. On others the volume is so low that if I have it set for another song and a new one starts I have to increase the volume to hear it.
There is so much distortion on some of the music I have to play it with QuickTime to get a "clean" track.
What can be done to get a consistent volume level or is this another typical Apple product that you have to take what you get and be happy because it's not a Microsoft product?

If that's the best you can do why don't you get on another forum?

Poor sound quality on airtunes and airport express

I recently configured a new Airport Extreme base station and two airport expresses. I used the airport expresses to extend my network but the sound quality is very poor when I run itunes no my stero. can anyone tell me why and how to fix it. The sound is very scratchy and there is no volume.
Rich

Dear All,
I'd like to follow up because I think that the answer to why I am getting poor sound quality my be in how I set up my wireless network. I'd like to get some feedback about this and some help about how to correct it.
My wireless network has three components.
1. "Base Station" which is a new Airport Extreme.
2. Unit "Number 1" which is an Airport Express located in my living room and connected to my stereo. it is 30 feet away from the "Base Station."
3. Unit "Number 2", also an Airport Express that is upstairs in a bedroom and connected to a ruby imac. via its ethernet port.
Wireless strength is excellent in all locations and all other services are working well from a laptop, the ruby mac or the imac. My problem only seems readily apparent when playing itunes through the stereo's speakers.
My wireless system is configured as follows:
Base Station: Wireless mode is set to participate in wireless network and to allow this network to be extended. The WDS mode is main and is set to allow wireless clients. The two airport expresses are identified by ID number as remotes.
Unit 1 and 2 are configured as WDS remotes and to allow wireless clients and identify the base station as WDS main.
I recently configured a new Airport Extreme base
station and two airport expresses. I used the
airport expresses to extend my network but the sound
quality is very poor when I run itunes no my stero.
can anyone tell me why and how to fix it. The sound
is very scratchy and there is no volume.
Rich

Poor sound quality, Airport Express

Hi,
I have this 2 yrs old airport express but it has all of the sudden a really poor sound quality.
When I connect it to my home stereo and play through airplay and if I connect headphones the sound is very poor and scratchy
I've used 3 diffferent cables to connect it to my home stereo and i've tried 2 different set of headphnoes.
When i connect directly to my home stereo with RCA cable the sound is fine.
Is the only solution to buy a new airport?
Thank you.

Based on your description, it appears that the base station's internal DAC is the issue and may be failing. Unfortunately these are not user replaceable parts and a complete base station replacement may be the only option at this point in time.
One other option to try, if your stereo supports digital optical input, is to use a mini-jack Toslink cable connected between the base station's audio port and the stereo to see if you can get "clean" sound this way.

Poor Sound Quality with iTunes 8

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for