#30816 - Nessie - Sun Dec 05, 2004 4:57 am
I heard mention of DS audio/speaker distortion in another thread...anyone know what this is all about? Is it related to volume levels? Is it for certain games only, possibly?
..Because..some guy I work with claims Metroid: Zero Mission is particularly bad on his DS, but I tried his cart on my DS and it was ok. Sadly, he didn't have his DS with him so we could do a side-by-side comparison....
#30820 - sfz989 - Sun Dec 05, 2004 6:05 am
Well I have noticed this on my DS while playing Zelda: A link to the past. I had the volume turned about a quarter of the way up. Appears it only effects GBA games.....I'll try some of my other games and see what happens.
#30825 - mymateo - Sun Dec 05, 2004 7:11 am
I've had this problem on all my games: Mario 64 DS, Feel the Magic, Asphalt Urban GT, and Metroid First Hunt. Also on the only GBA demo I have with sound (don't actually own any GBA games).
#30854 - Nessie - Sun Dec 05, 2004 4:17 pm
Cool, getting a better idea if it's related to defective hardware would be handy - I'm sure he wouldn't want to go through the hassle of getting a replacement only to find that the replacement is also 'defective' (assuming the distortion is somewhat 'normal').
Hmmmmm...actually, I wonder. The games I tried only used the digital GBA audio and those titles sounded normal to me.
Any chance it could be something to do with using the 4 GB/GBC sound channels in a GBA title running on the DS? ...The only GBA game I own where I know for sure that the GBC sound channels are used extensively is Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, only it's on loan to a friend right now. :(
#30861 - mymateo - Sun Dec 05, 2004 6:02 pm
I'd put my money on the fact that the DS's audio system has a design flaw. I hate to say it, but we need to acknowledge the truth: The DS has only just launched, and it's very possible that to get it out in time for launch Nintendo had to make some sacrifices. One of those sacrifices may very well be that they didn't have time to track down the problem and fix it before starting mass production.
I'd be willing to bet it's been fixed, and the next batch of DS's they make will be less susceptible to distortion and the Mario 64 DS echo bug.
If this is the case, I wouldn't mind seeing Nintendo issue a total recall of all launch units... and replacing them with a Gold DS! (Okay, that last bit is a little farfetched, but I'd still like a recall if it means I get a better DS)
#30876 - hearhear - Sun Dec 05, 2004 7:37 pm
I'm about 99% sure the problem is with the speakers themselves, not the logic or circuitry inside the machine. If you use earphones, not only does this problem not exist, but it also makes the DS games sound damn-near modern-console quality.
So, having putting the games I have through the "tests," I would almost assuredly say that the problem resides only with the speakers.
#30882 - Abscissa - Sun Dec 05, 2004 8:27 pm
| Nessie wrote: |
| Any chance it could be something to do with using the 4 GB/GBC sound channels in a GBA title running on the DS? ...The only GBA game I own where I know for sure that the GBC sound channels are used extensively is Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, only it's on loan to a friend right now. :( |
If you really wanted to test that and you have a flash cart, the GBA entry I made for the last PDRoms compo exclusively uses the GBC sound channels, and none of the GBA-only channels. IIRC, It uses all four of them, too. But then again, you could also just use BeLogic's sound channel demos at http://www.belogic.com/gba/. That would give you a lot more control for testing out what's going on.
#30891 - abilyk - Sun Dec 05, 2004 9:35 pm
| hearhear wrote: |
I'm about 99% sure the problem is with the speakers themselves, not the logic or circuitry inside the machine. If you use earphones, not only does this problem not exist, but it also makes the DS games sound damn-near modern-console quality.
So, having putting the games I have through the "tests," I would almost assuredly say that the problem resides only with the speakers. |
I beg to differ. I've noticed the issue on both the built-in speakers and on my headphones. The headphones I used, though, weren't standard-jack headphones but ones that plugged directly into the DS's power jack (as was necessary on the GBA SP). Perhaps standard-jack headphones are uneffected by the issue?
#30897 - DiscoStew - Sun Dec 05, 2004 10:05 pm
| abilyk wrote: |
| Perhaps standard-jack headphones are uneffected by the issue? |
I had the Mario64 echo problem even when I had standard-jack headphones hooked in. For that specific problem, it could have been a programming glitch as I have yet to re-create it again after about 1? weeks.
However, I have noticed distortion when playing Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls on my DS, but from what it sounds like, the distortions seem to only be coming from sound channels in PSG mode, as the whole GB/GBC channels have been scaped (I think). I would assume because this PSG mode may not be exactly like the GB/GBC channels, problems like this would occur. I haven't tried the headphones on this yet, but when the audio does become distorted again, I will try.
_________________
DS - It's all about DiscoStew
#30908 - hearhear - Mon Dec 06, 2004 1:44 am
It happens pretty badly when I use the normal speakers, but it doesn't happen at ALL when I use my earphones.
Maybe you guys have defective DS units.