Surface 2 Speaker/Sound Problems

Greetings all,

Regarding the audio distortion, Surface 2 was designed to deliver a great quality audio experience.  For best results, use the Surface 2 speakers at a volume of 80 or less -- playing at higher volumes can result in distortion depending upon the audio content type. If you want louder sound, we recommend using external speakers or headphones.   Leaving audio enhancements “on” (default) optimizes your audio experience across all content types.

Guys,

Steven_b may be a forum moderator, but please do not take his reply as an official statement from Microsoft on this issue.

I assume he's just trying to be helpful and at least show that someone is watching this thread, unfortunately that help is clearly offered without fully understanding the issue affecting us all.

Matt

Duh, I think I turn the button up to make the sound go up! Is there real people In that thing making music fore to hear?  I think it's magic and if I just hold it right who knows what just might happen? It might work like expected!!! BUT dats only if it's perfectly set on "80" I'm not an IT guy but also we are not idiots! I've used a computer since early DOS! Yet I really feel like that's how Microsoft is treating us! I'm glad your noticing this too! It's either the spokesman does not care, realty thinks we are volume control idiots or a great way of avoiding the issue of "They have a major glitch and don't want to confess to the reality of it being true" I'm glad you see this too !

Stephen you sound as you represent Microsoft!? No my sound is consistent whether it's at. 10,50,80,100  now the sound elevates but it's lousy! I described it early on my original post on 10/25? as similar to the sound of an old transistor radio that only received AM back in the 60s. No Bass, Mid, all treble! Like listening out of a tin can! I have my music on Rhapsody and play it on my IPhone and now on my S2. The IPhones sound is 10-1 better quality! It crackles some! I went and bought a nice Blue tooth speaker by Beat Box. Sounded great bought it kept losing the signal over and over again. I'm away from home for a month so I don't know if that is a problem from the WiFi or the audio! BUT listen to how many complaints there are on the audio in this first few days of being on the market! Way too many to think we just have a wrong setting on the volume? No this is either a lousy audio or there is a major problem! If the speakers that you put in this S2 are like the sound of a child's $3.99 child's toy! Then you got it right! BUT if your plans were to make it at least as good as any smart phone sounds or old generation computer speakers On a $329 laptop then your way below even that quality! I just don't know how to explain it!  On a quality of 1-10 it's at a "2" compared to my new IPhone sound as a "5" my Bose iPhone Dock a "7-8". Maybe that's a better way to describe it? It's that bad! No exaggeration!

Regarding the audio distortion, Surface 2 was designed to deliver a great quality audio experience.  For best results, use the Surface 2 speakers at a volume of 80 or less --

Steven,

The distortion is not simply a matter of people turning their volume all the way up. It is either a problem in itself or a by product of whatever is causing such incredibly low volume on the devices.

As an example I am currently playing some music through the Music app as I type this. I have the Surface 2 at 80 volume and the music app also at 80. The music is barely audible. If it weren't for the fact that my house is very quiet today I would struggle to hear the sound at all over any background ambient sounds. At 80 volume the music should sound similar to any similar portable device (obviously we don't expect very full, loud sound from a tablet), but it sounds like someone has plugged headphones in and you're hearing the sound from those headphones from several feet away.

The sound is 'empty', with no bass at all. This goes for ALL sound, not just music, including game sound effects, Windows sounds, notifications, etc. At this volume, as I type on my Surface 2 I can't even make out the singer's lyrics. This also happens to be music I'm very familiar with, so I can tell exactly what it should sound like.,

I always used my Surface  RT at around 20-30 volume. On my Surface 2 the volume needs to be around 70 or 80 *just to be audible*.

On a side note, I have very sensitive hearing, and generally like all volume to be low, yet I can barely hear my new tablet.

I was hoping that this issue was to be fixed this coming patch Tuesday, and I hope your dismissive response isn't a sign that Microsoft doesn't acknowledge that there is an issue here.

As my device currently is, it's not even suitable for its purpose. Listening to music or watching video is essentially pointless without earphones.

Steven, that's an unacceptable answer. The noise can be noticed at lower volume too.

Having the S2 at a constant volume I can hear the noise in one site or Apps and there is not any noise when listening to other sites. You have a noise when streaming a video from youtube and have not noise at all when you download the video and play it locally.

BTW, I was talking about Steve Jobs when I said that 'at least nobody came to say that users didn't know how to use their devices', something that happened when one of the iphone was released with a faulty antenna.

Well, you just have done that here. Bravo!