Flashback 9 Gold - Sound Issue

[AtariLeaf]

 

Bill, do you know if AtGames made any progress with this at all? The emulation sound is so bad that I can't use it for more than 5 minutes.

 

He said he passed the info on. He didn't say they'd do a damn thing about it

[atarifan88]

Most likely a bad unit or compatibility problem with the TV. Others have reported no sound issues at all playing the same games as mentioned here.

[Atari Nut]

Most likely a bad unit or compatibility problem with the TV. Others have reported no sound issues at all playing the same games as mentioned here.

 

It's not a bad unit. If you look up in the thread, you will see that I returned the original unit and bought a different unit from a different retailer. It's a compatibility with certain TVs as the problem occurs on the two TVs I have here.

[KevinMos3]

Ive been loving my FB 9 Gold, but Id forgotten that sound doesnt work at all on my main TV unless I unplug/replug the hdmi cable every time I load a game (whether included on the console, or from the SD card) and every time I return to menu. Id forgotten about the issue since I had been playing on the bedroom TV, but was frustratingly reminded when I took it to the living room over the weekend.

 

Yesterday, for the first time, I ran into an issue where the sound dropped out mid-game (with the TV that the console hadnt had issues with). When I exited the game, sound came back in the menu, but when loading a game again, would either drop out or get really scratchy sounding.

 

I still love this FB9 Gold, but this makes 2 things I really want to see updated in firmware: (1) sound fix, (2) ability to add boxarts for sd card games.

Edited December 27, 2018 by KevinMos3

[radiohead]

I got my FB9 Gold recently, updated the firmware (via Atariage) using a SanDisk SDHC 8Gb Memory Card. I played it for a few days with no trouble.

 

Then I swapped out the original 8Gb SD for a smaller one (figuring why waste all that space on only 4 Mb of games). I replaced it with an older SanDisk 1Gb card I had (non SDHC). Formatted it, put the same rom set on it and that's when I experienced all the sound issues. I really noticed the sound issues after playing the SD roms. Going back to the main menu with that background music loop sometimes fixed it, but the sound was mostly bad after I played the games from the SD card.

 

I switched HDTVs, same thing with the sound problems (loss of effects, bad sampling, static). I swapped back to the original SanDisk SDHC 8Gb Memory card, and now everything is fine on both HDTVs (Philips and Insignia). Even through my living room soundbar so far.

 

Agreed, the FB9 is very finicky, but could it be something about the unit reading the SD card which is corrupting the rom and setting off a chain reaction to all other problems. That seemed to be the case with me.

[Atari Nut]

In my case it's not the card. I tried it immediately after removing it from the box before putting in an SD card and it still sounded awful.

[atarifan88]

Ive been loving my FB 9 Gold, but Id forgotten that sound doesnt work at all on my main TV unless I unplug/replug the hdmi cable every time I load a game (whether included on the console, or from the SD card) and every time I return to menu. Id forgotten about the issue since I had been playing on the bedroom TV, but was frustratingly reminded when I took it to the living room over the weekend.

 

Yesterday, for the first time, I ran into an issue where the sound dropped out mid-game (with the TV that the console hadnt had issues with). When I exited the game, sound came back in the menu, but when loading a game again, would either drop out or get really scratchy sounding.

 

I still love this FB9 Gold, but this makes 2 things I really want to see updated in firmware: (1) sound fix, (2) ability to add boxarts for sd card games.

 

I wonder if this is a TV compatibility issue? I've not had any sound issues on my Samsung TV. Still, it shouldn't be an issue and there should be a firmware fix to address it.

 

EDIT: After reading the other posts, it never occurred to me the SD card could be an issue. I wonder if it could also be an issue with the HDMI cable?

Edited December 28, 2018 by atarifan88

[radiohead]

 

I wonder if this is a TV compatibility issue? I've not had any sound issues on my Samsung TV. Still, it shouldn't be an issue and there should be a firmware fix to address it.

 

EDIT: After reading the other posts, it never occurred to me the SD card could be an issue. I wonder if it could also be an issue with the HDMI cable?

 

I have the FB9 "Gold" which came with its own HDMI cable, and I have had no major problems with the unit as a result. The "Boom" version does not come with an HDMI cable. Maybe the problem lies with the unit being picky with user-supplied HDMI cables as it is with user-supplied SD cards? They are the big variables that are different among all the users of this product.

Edited December 28, 2018 by radiohead

[KevinMos3]

I have the FB9 "Gold" which came with its own HDMI cable, and I have had no major problems with the unit as a result. The "Boom" version does not come with an HDMI cable. Maybe the problem lies with the unit being picky with user-supplied HDMI cables as it is with user-supplied SD cards? They are the big variables that are different among all the users of this product.

I have both the Boom! Version and the Gold version. I first experienced the issue with the Boom one, since I bought it first. I tried several hdmi cables (all of which work fine with other equipment). I mentioned this in a post back in November. Later, (this month), I also bought the Gold version and forgot about the hdmi/sound issue because I had only been playing it on the bedroom TV. However, when I brought it to the living room the other day, thats when the Gold exhibited the same behavior as the Boom version and I remembered it was an issue.

 

Both TVs are of the same brand, and both of the same year, but different models, as one is a 24 and the other a 32 smart tv. I need to contact at games about it, but havent yet.

 

Also, this does NOT happen with the 2018 Genesis FB, only the Atari FB 9s.

[Atari Nut]

I also tried other known working HDMI cables without success.

[atvcom]

Hiya fellow Atarists,

 

I too am having an issue with the sound. I have the Flashback 9. Its is plugged into mu Elgato HD60s via a HDMI switch. 

 

It has the latest firmware and my own games on the SD. But what happens is, I have menu audio then when I start any game (my own or built in), the sound stops.

 

Every now and then it works but only 1% of the time. I've messed with all kinds of settings, chaged cables and I cant figure it out...

 

Any thoughts please

 

Austin

[KevinMos3]

On 5/15/2020 at 4:45 AM, atvcom said:

...I too am having an issue with the sound...

...Any thoughts please

Yes, this is exactly as with my TV and what's been discussed in the thread.  The only solution I know is what I posted above: either switch the source to something else and back again, or unplug and replug the hdmi cable.

[Greg2600]

So I just got the Flashback X and have the same issue others have reported.  Menu music and sounds work, in-game sounds do not work.  However, I quickly realized the sounds were not being picked up by my BOSE Sound Bar, although they worked coming out of my Sony TV's speakers.  The speakers are normally set to off and the BOSE does the sound.  Obviously I'm glad I still get sound from the TV, but man this is really strange.  Never had this happen with any other device, and FWIW my old AV modded light sixer the sound worked.  Fiddling with the HDMI does nothing, and I've tried multiple cables.