Audio distortion

[buscon]

Hi,

I've just noticed some audio distortion in VLC 2.0.5 on OSX 10.8
Cannot tell if it was there before.

Some premise:
- I am a music producer, so I know what audio distortion is
- The volume of vlc is at 50%
- I tried to play the same track with different players and It was not distorcing

Is it a bug? Does anyone experience the same problem?
Try to play some well recorded classic music and you will notice it.

Should I report it as a bug?

Best

[fkuehne]

Are you using an external audio device or a 2011 iMac? Is this limited to certain file formats like Apple Lossless?

If none of this applies, could you try the latest 2.1 nightly build? Nightly Build of VLC

[buscon]

I'm using a macbook pro 13 with an external sound card, motu ultralite
The files are in flac format.

I'll try the nightly build and let u know.

Thanks

[buscon]

Yes, with nightly build it works

thanks.

[fkuehne]

Cool, thanks a lot for testing!

FYI: VLC 2.1 is set for release some time this spring, probably April.

[buscon]

you're welcome, thanks for the development, Vlc is great

And thank you for the information, I'll keep on using the nightly build until the actual release.

Best

[buscon]

I've just got some new speakers and noticed that the problem still there, even with the nightly build.

[buscon]

I have just updated VLC to the version 2.0.9 and I still have this noise problem, both with wav and flac files.

Am I the only one?

I am running it on OSX 10.8.5

[buscon]

Little update: with vlc 2.1.0 the problem is not present!
thanks!

The thread can be closed/solved

[fkuehne]

Thanks for testing and your feedback!

[buscon]

I did a more careful test again, and yes, vlc still distorting some flac format file.

In order to do the test i converted the flac file to wav: the wav does not distort.

If you are interested i can send you both files and you can check yourself

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

distortion is a bit vague...

[buscon]

it is like the audio sounds distorted, as if the volume would be too loud. It is just in loudest passages of the track. I have tried with different volume settings and it still there.
I can also record the problem if you want.

[sarukichi]

Similar problem here, a modulating, hissing kind of distortion, like a record player needle that has really built up a lot of fluff and is about to lift off the record. It's not present in other players. In some very rough tests it seems to be prevalent in .flacs and in parts of music with sustained harmonic content ie pad sounds.

currrently on vlc 2.1.4
osx 10.9.3
built-in audio

[rooff]

Hi, same problem here
I have a late 2008 iMac running os x.6.8 snow leopard, and I use an external soundcard: digidesign mbox2 pro.
I noticed VLC introduces distortion in FLAC files. Volume set at 100%, sometimes 50%. Distortion occurs only in the loudest parts of the audiofile (I can record what's happening and what I mean by "distortion"). Sometimes it disappears, sometimes it comes back when I read the file again, it's really strange. I tried different versions of VLC, same problem every-time. No distortion when I play the same files in XLD (great software btw)
Any idea about how to solve this?

[sarukichi]

OK, so 2 examples here, with and without noise

https://soundcloud.com/bruceleeperry

[v_lestat]

I have the same issue.
2012 mac mini - analog or spdif output.

VLC audio volume up to 50% on the VLC volume slider seems to be fine but anything above that distorts it.
"Distorts it" = sounds like the volume is way too loud on a crappy old stereo or something.
the hissing people talk about is a result of the distortion.

this is any movie file i play, any format.

this is really a problem as i have to really turn up the speakers to compensate for the loss in volume gain from VLC.

quicktime doesnt do this when playing the same files.

[pdsouza]

First off, thanks VLC for putting out a Mac client!

However, I can confirm I am experiencing the same distortion for FLAC files with VLC. The distortion is more noticeable as the volume slider is increased keeping overall "at-eat" volume constant using my external Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 output level knob to compensate.

Just to confirm that this in fact an issue with VLC and not my hardware I played the same track through MPlayer and am not experiencing any distortion.

OSX 10.6.8
VLC 2.2.1

[sarukichi]

If someone is still reporting this problem I won't bother re-testing for now. I did notice it is more present on more sustained notes and sounds. Very surprised this hasn't been addressed yet...

[sarukichi]

VLC 2.2.2
Mac OSX 10.9.5
16Gb RAM

Still getting noise when playing flacs. Playing 320kbps mp3 ripped from the same flac doesn't impart noise.

back to VLC 0.9.10

Not being a whiny brat, VLC is an amazing application and free too, but as one of the only flac players for Mac I'd very much hope this would be given some priority after all this time.

Cheers

[buscon]

I also still have the issue with the latest vlc 2.2.3, that's a real pity as i mainly listen to flac format files..

[ajmas]

Could you see if any of the settings in Window (menu) -> Audio Effect... are set?

[songsongsong]

just wanted to chime in. im running VLC 2.2.4 (the latest stable version) on the latest Apple Macbook Pro model. OSX 10.11.5 El Capitan, 2.7GHz i5, 16GB. Output Device: Focusrite Clarett 4pre thunderbolt interface.

i am also experiencing the distortion issue. i think an earlier post described it best - it sort of sounds like a needle on a turntable has built up too much dust. the distortion doesn't start right away, it usually comes in after 5-10seconds of playback or so. So far, I can only confirm this is happening with 16bit, 44.1khz WAV files, as I haven't tried with much else yet. This issue definitely does not happen when using iTunes.

Just wanted to share my experience too, if it helps figuring out what the problem could be. Thanks guys!

Edit: I also wanted to add that none of the Audio Effects are enabled, so that is not a factor.

[sarukichi]

back to VLC 0.9.10

Try going back to VLC 0.9.10 and test the same files.
Also try converting the flac or wav files to mp3 and see if it still does it. In my case mp3 plays OK but lossless (ie flac, wav) do not.

[ssbmaccom]

Are you using Audio Pass-Through, internally "--spdif" option? This sends the Audio-Stream unhandled to the device. Of course the devicen has to decode the stream. Just asking, as I have seen (heard) issues with Audio Pass-Through, when other sound (like Button Clicks) shall get mixed... doesnt work well...