Audio Problems

[dfeist]

I got a problem with the audio on my SL-C750. Recently I noticed that the Zaurus is just playing sound on one of the channels, the other remained silent. This was clearly a new problem since it had worked before. I didn't care too much and thought it might as well be some unaccessible balance control and I might check later. Internal audio still worked fine.

But now, audio doesn't work anymore. I can't hear anything with the internal speaker, and externally, there is just a bit of noise (and still only on one channel). Well, sometimes tiny bits of the sample seem to be played correctly, in longer files it is possible to hear something for parts of a second.

I tried a reboot to make sure it's not a software failure. Didn't chance anything. "dmesg" doesn't say anything relevant to audio, as far as I can see.

Anyone got any idea how to fix it? Seems like a hardware problem to me, but who knows...

And, more importandly - is the audio chip separated or do I have to fear more and more components failing on me? Better get it repaired now? After all, it is not the most important thing on my Zaurus, although I do think it's very nice to be able to listen to some music or play games with sound.

[thseiler]

Hi dfeist,

The audio chip is separated on C-Series Models. See:
http://digit.que.ne.jp/visit/?Linux%A5%B6%...A5%A7%A5%A2#i15

All the chip does is audio. No touchscreen, no voltage monitoring.

Now for the symptoms, very strange... have you ever plugged in something different than a pair of headphones ?

thseiler

[ashikase]

The audio on my C760 also appears to be shot - sound from both the internal speaker and the external jack is garbled/distorted.

I don't really use audio, though, so I haven't really looked into the cause. If it is a hardware problem, I'm out of luck anyway... my warranty has expired.

- ashikase
- anpachi, gifu, japan

[bluedevils]

hmmmm....I'm having the same problem on a 760.

[bluedevils]

BTW the garbled audio occurs only in laptop mode currently.  Whenever I switch to pda/tablet mode, the sound is normal.

[bluedevils]

Ugggh...I now believe this is a hardware problem because I can reproduce this with the sounder option in the service menu.  Sounds are garbled in laptop mode and then clean sounds with tablet/pda mode.  Does anybody know the speaker system or taken the clamshell apart?

[Stubear]

I had a similar experience with my C760.

Audio was fine in pda mode and scratchy in laptop mode. I could get good sound in laptop mode if I slightly swiveled the screen, but it would sound bad if I released the pressure.

I took the unit back to Sharp and the replaced "the unit" and I haven't had sound problems since.

Not really sure what "the unit" was but it looked like they had repalced the hinge

Stu

[bluedevils]

Thanks Stubear,

Yeah that sounds like my fears are confirmed.  My guess is that there is no shielding in the hinge area and it is susceptible to static shock.  I keep my Z in an antistatic bag in the winter and ground myself when I use it, but it is hard to be 100% safe without leaving the thing home (defeats the purpose).

As ashikase mentioned, I too am out of warranty.  Did you pay for the repair, Stubear?

[d.maddock1]

I'm having the same problem with my 760 and am also stuck without a warranty (bought mine off ebay).

After hours of searching through the forums, I have yet to find anything but indirect references to repairs through Sharp.  Is there anyone out there that can give more detailed information about getting a repair when you have no warranty?

[bluedevils]

I haven't found anything definitive, but I found someone in Japan that may be able to proxy (not stubear) a repair for me.  This is kind of disturbing that these audio problems are popping up.

Hehe..maybe someone in japan like stubear, could have a side job proxing repairs.