Do your headphones sound muffled? Here’s the ultimate guide on the various solutions to help you fix your muffled or distorted headphones audio. Show
Muffled or distorted sounds can easily ruin any listening experience, and can cause you to tirelessly search for the root cause of the problem. These issues become especially problematic when you’re using the headphones for a work meeting and you find yourself missing out on half of the information being discussed because of the terrible sound quality. Today, we’re going to look at a few reasons why you may be experiencing muffled or distorted sounds, and how you can fix them. In This Article
What Causes Muffled or Distorted Sounds in Headphones?Sound distortions in headphones are more common than you might think and can appear in many different forms.Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why your audio might sound muffled or distorted. Damaged wiresFrayed headphone wireThe wires inside the rubber housing are considered to be one of the weakest parts of your headphones. They are also one of the most crucial parts since they’re responsible for carrying the electrical signal from the source to your headphones’ speakers. Over time, these wires can easily become damaged from cable pulling, unnecessary tension, and improper management. Damaged wires can either be seen (through frayed wires) or not (through internal damage). However, both types of damage can cause changes to the performance of your headphones. Overpowered and blown speakersThe speakers inside your headphones house a voice coil. However, this voice coil in your headphones can only handle a certain level of power. Listening to your headphones at maximum volume for extended periods of time can gradually weaken them, causing the speakers to blow out. If you’re worried that your speakers have blown, you can test them using a multimeter. Do this by turning off the speakers and connecting the multimeter to the headphone speaker terminal. Speakers in good condition will read an impedance of one, while blown speakers will read an infinite impedance. Using a multimeter on headphone speakers. (From: YouTube/AThul Ltrk)Check out this video to know how blown speakers sound like. Wired or wireless connection issuesFor wired headphones, muffled audio can be caused by a loose connection to the audio source. If the plug of your headphones isn’t properly plugged in the audio port, sound quality will be inconsistent. For Bluetooth headphones, it can be caused by mismatched codecs. Codecs are responsible for compressing and decompressing the audio into a format that can be transmitted through your headphones. There are different kinds of Bluetooth codecs and each has its own pros and cons. But for some audio devices, codec selection is limited. If the audio device doesn’t have the same codec used by the headphones, it can result in switching to a lower-level codec, which can impact audio quality. Performance may be unpredictable due to the difference in codecs being used For example, Mac devices prefer to use the AAC codec. If a wireless device doesn’t support this codec, they’ll automatically switch to SBC — the oldest, and most unreliable codec. Outside of codec use, it could also just be the result of low battery levels. When your headphones have low battery levels, they won’t have enough power to consistently perform at a tip-top level. This affects how reliable the wireless connection is, and even the sound quality. Moisture damageWet headphonesAs with most electronics, headphones and water do not work well together. Moisture, when it comes into contact with the electrical components of your headphones, can cause irreversible damage.
Headphones can actually be water-resistant, and this feature is becoming increasingly more popular in consumer electronics. However, those that are, come with an IP rating. This rating determines how susceptible the device is to foreign bodies like dust, dirt, and moisture. Although the headphones may be marketed as water-resistant, it’s a good idea to check how much water the headphones can actually resist through the IP rating. Going beyond that limit can destroy your headphones. When shopping for a pair of headphones, always check the IP rating to know exactly how much protection is offered. Accumulated debrisDirty vs clean earbudsForeign bodies like dust, earwax, and lint, can actually cause a build-up within the headphones. Because of this, it’s recommended to clean your headphones every so often to ensure there is no physical build-up of solid materials. Dirt built up inside the connection point and the headphones’ speakers can easily be cleared away using compressed air or a gentle rub around the compartment with a dry cotton swab. Your headphones’ ability to keep physical obstructions out is also based on their IP rating. Headphones with a high IP rating will have a more secure and air-tight construction compared to those with a low IP rating. Audio source issuesIf the above issues aren’t what’s causing the distortion, it’s possible that the issue sits with the audio source instead of the headphones. To be sure, test your headphones with other audio sources like a laptop or smartphone to see if the results are consistent. What to Do When Your Headphones Sound Muffled: Headphone IssuesNow that you’ve found the cause of the problem, you’re ready to start implementing a solution. The below solutions are relevant to the problem, so not all solutions are a guaranteed fix to all problems. For dirty headphones and audio portKeeping your headphone jack clean is important in ensuring the connection between your headphones and audio device is clear. All you need is a paperclip and some sticky tape.
Read our article for more tips on keeping your headphones cleanfor more cleaning hacks. For poor wired connectionIf the connection is still unstable after the headphone jack has been cleaned, it could be caused by corrosion. To clean away corrosion inside the jack, you will need an interdental toothbrush and some 70% isopropyl alcohol.
For more advanced steps, take a look at our article on how to fix a loose headphone jack. For poor wireless connectionResetting Bose headphonesUnfortunately, if your sound issues are caused by codec incompatibility, there is no way to bypass it. However, you can try resetting your headphones first to see if that helps with fixing the issue. To reset your headphones, you generally just need to hold down the power button until the light indicator on your headphones starts to flash. For instructions on resetting your headphones based on the brand, check out our article on resetting Bluetooth headphones. For damaged wiresYou can repair damaged/fraying wires using Sugru Mouldable Glue. It’s an adhesive putty made from silicone rubber that can be used for electrical repairs, and much more. Because it’s moldable, flexible, durable, and waterproof, it serves as a simple but effective fix for repairing headphone cables. To repair frayed headphone wires, follow the steps below:
For blown speakersIf your headphone speakers are blown, the only option to fix them is to replace them with new ones. Speaker replacement can be more difficult based on the type of headphones you have. If unsure, consult with an expert before attempting to implement a fix.
For moisture damageMoisture damage can easily cause a wide range of problems to the electronics inside your headphones. Luckily, there is something you can try and save them. To do this, you will need 91% isopropyl alcohol and some silica gel.
How to Fix Muffled Headphones Sound When Connected to Windows PCThe below solutions are for when your audio sounds fine on all devices aside from computers that are running Windows. Review the computer’s audio enhancement settingsWindows, by default, allows you to adjust the sound of your computer using audio enhancements. This is often a valuable feature but these audio enhancements can alter various traits of your computer’s audio. It can sometimes do more harm than good. Audio enhancements, like surround sound and equalizers, can cause distortions because they alter how loud the audio is and the intensity of the frequencies. Because of this, they may not work the same with all platforms and headphone speakers. Follow these steps to disable any unwanted audio enhancements:
Check if there’s any issue with the audio driverIf the audio drivers on your computer are out-of-date, you may be missing out on important compatibility patches and bug fixes. Use Windows Update to check for any updates needed.
Set the audio to 24-bit formatIn some instances, changing the Default Format in which Windows processes audio can resolve issues relating to audio. Switching to the 24-bit format allows for more processing room when delivering audio, and is better suited for handling modern audio formats.
Run the troubleshooterIf the above-mentioned steps didn’t work, you can leave the problem detection to Windows itself. Here’s how to access that:
How to Fix Muffled Bluetooth Headphones Sound When Connected to MacSimilar to Windows, you may find that your headphones work fine on all devices aside from Mac computers. In this case, check out these tips: Make sure you’re connected properlyIf you’re using Bluetooth headphones, make sure they’re connected properly to your Mac.
Check out our full guide on connecting your Bluetooth wireless headphones to a Mac. Check and stop any apps that may be using your microphoneMac, by default, tries to use the AAC audio codec with connected audio devices. In some instances, Bluetooth devices will revert to using the SCO or SBC codecs, which are both lesser in quality compared to that of AAC. This generally happens when the Mac assumes the built-in mic of your headphones is being used. To prevent your Mac from doing this, you can stop apps that are making use of the microphone. To do this, follow the below steps:
Try using Tooth FairyTooth Fairy is an app that helps you switch between Apple devices with your headphones. It also has a feature that forces your Mac to use the preferred codec, AAC, over either of the two codecs it might fall back to.
ConclusionNobody likes a poor listening experience. Hopefully one of these solutions has solved the audio pains you were facing so you can listen to your music without any issues. Did one of the solutions in this article work for you? If you found another way to solve these problems, how did you go about it? Let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear about it! Why is my audio muffled?Many things could influence the sound quality of your headphones. Damaged wires, frayed headphone wires, earwax in the speaker, and water damage could all affect how you hear sound through your headphones.
How do you edit a muffled sound?Look for a high pass filter, set the decibel level to 12 dB, and turn on the “Amplify” effect. Then, adjust the low pass filter settings to set the Roll-off to 6 dB. Again, you need to make it sound amplified. The final step is to open the low pass filter settings and change the decibel level to 12 dB.
How do you make sound clearer?10 steps to make your voice sound better. Step 1: Record yourself and evaluate.. Step 2: Listen to good speakers.. Step 3: Improve your breathing.. Step 4: Slow down your speech.. Step 5: Mind your pitch.. Step 6: Practice your timing.. Step 7: Change your body language.. Step 8: Stay hydrated.. |