Sound on my new radio is muffled.

In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:27:06 -0000 (UTC),
David LaRue <huey.dll@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?

>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

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

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. 

>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.
>
>

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 12:58:26 -0700, Bob F
<bobnospam@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"?

????

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&nbsp; -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.
>>
>>

On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:42:01 -0400, micky <NONONOmisc07@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?

On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:42:01 -0400, micky <NONONOmisc07@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. 

Make and model number.

RL

On 9/22/2023 1:57 PM, micky wrote:
> In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 12:58:26 -0700, Bob F
> <bobnospam@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"?
> 
> ????


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.

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.dll@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.

> 
>> 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

In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 16:42:08 -0500, Jim Joyce
<none@none.invalid> wrote:

>On Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:42:01 -0400, micky <NONONOmisc07@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?

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