Got my OLED LE yesterday and I’ve noticed with IEMs that I’m getting this steady static noise/feedback sound from the new deck. Did not have this issue on my original deck, but I’ve seen a lot of older posts discussing this kind of issue on the original deck after searching. So…just a heads up, test your audio jack. I am probably just going to use a USB C audio adapter, NO way I’m going through the RMA process for this.
I got my 512GB unit yesterday and immediately noticed the problem. The ground noise is unnacceptably high and varies between menus, in-game, according to the chosen power options, etc.
I just ran a few comparative tests this morning using different headphones to see how bad it is:
- Hyperx Cloud II: the ground noise is very noticeable at all times. It’s even more prevalent in the Steam Library than in-game but it never goes away.
- Moondrop Quarks (IEM): the most noticeable of all, given the higher sensitivity. Unusable for anyone who cares even a little bit about clean audio.
- Sennheiser HD 598SR: my oldest and most-used pair, usually slightly sensitive. The SD’s ground noise is a little less intense VS the previous two but still very noticeable and not acceptable. Once again, menus somehow show it the worst.
- Sennheiser HD 560S: slightly less noticeable than with the 598. During gameplay in Prey (2017) I can almost forget about it, although it’s still there. Becomes noticeable yet again in menus.
- Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro 250ohm: the only pair which completely hides the issue for me. Not noticeable in-game or in menus. It’s a studio pair with higher impedance and lower sensitivity but it is not representative of a typical consumer-oriented product that most people will be using to play portably.
I am somewhat hopeful that this issue can be mitigated through software. Maybe it’s a voltage control issue with the internal DAC or something of the sort. My LG G7 ThinQ smartphone had a dedicated Quad-DAC with purpose-built “audiophile” internals and it read some audio inputs completely wrong, creating lots of distortion with some headphones and none with others.
I need to know if they plan to address the problem. I am not about to keep an almost 600€ portable device which can’t play well with portable headphones and IEMs.
One final consideration is that I suspect they have the pre-amping on the internal DAC/ Amp way too high. The fact that my Beyerdynamic basically run perfectly and without any lack of volume points to the source gain being way too high for regular, sensitive headphones and IEMs. I really, really wouldn’t want to have to send this back.
It’s so common that I’ve heard it on both OLED Decks I’ve tried and I’m going to assume there’s a software fix like you’re suggest. On both of my OLED Decks it was very faint and I had to be in a silent room to catch it, but I notice the frequency changing when moving around the UI.
I’m not going to RMA again because both Decks had this behavior and this current Deck I have is perfect. It’s also not game breaking and distracting for me so I wonder if other people have it worse.
Out of curiosity, what headphones did you use to test this? It ranges from unusable to not there at all depending on the gear people plug in. For now, the pattern seems to be the noise being less noticeable the higher impedance the headphones are.
Yeah, that makes since if it drives those Beyers no problem.
Really hoping this issue can be sorted via software for you guys.
Wow. It’s a big-time dropped ball if Valve somehow gave this a pass as a noise floor, but it’s noticeable on consumer-grade IEMs. They should obviously know that this is what a large proportion of people would be using for 3.5mm audio on a portable video-game device, quite possibly the majority of people who use wired audio.
Exactly. If they wanted to skimp on audio quality, they should not have kept a 3.5mm port. Not if it’s obviously this faulty and cheaply-made. No current device has any excuse to sound this bad, let alone an enthusiast-grade portable PC.
I couldn’t hear any noise with my Sennheiser HD 560S, even in menus. With IEMs it is very noticeable.
My Final A5000 and VR3000 are basically unplayable. Beyerdynamic DT177X, however, has no static at all. It’s only 30ohm impedance.
Yeah, the variation is very weird. It seems extremely picky with the gear that shows the problem. However, both the Sennheiser HD 598 and 560S are over 30ohm and they still have it.
Here’s to hoping it’s a software issue 🤞