Spoken word in retrofitted Qantas A330 IFE garbled through Bose QC 3 headphones

[fbilki]

Hi All,

I am wondering if anyone else has had the same problem I encountered on a recent Qantas flight from PER to BNE.

I use Bose QC3's when I fly. On this particular flight, a retrofitted A 330 with seat-back IFEs, I discovered that any spoken word sounded garbled and *very* faint in my headphones, but music and other sounds came through strongly and without distortion. Thinking my headphones had developed a problem I played a spoken-word track from my iPod, which sounded perfect. I then mentioned this to the cabin crew who, after a brief discussion that I couldn't hear, told me to use a set of Qantas headphones. They seemed to be familiar with the issue.

The Qantas units worked perfectly. That kinda defeats the purpose of having the QC 3's though.

Has anyone else encountered this? Was it a problem with the IFE on that particular aircraft or should we expect on all retrofitted Qantas planes? Does anyone have a solution?

I'm still on the road and haven't contacted Bose in Perth yet, but I will definitely do so when I get back. Meanwhile I'd love to hear from others who might have had the same problem.

Cheers,

Frank

 

[fbilki]

Decided there was no time like the present so gave Bose a call. It's apparently a known issue that only affects certain aircraft. The guy said it can affect anything from specific seats to entire aircraft, and seems to be most common on Qantas and Jestar planes.

There is no solution.

Anyway, I'd still like to hear from any others who may have had the same problem with different aircraft or different headphones.

 

[markis10]

Thats the problem with noise cancelling, because the noise is outside the headphones in the form of the cabin announcement and inside the headphones as the same announcement gets piped through the IFE, the circuitry thinks its ambient and tries to cut it out!

 

[fbilki]

because the noise is outside the headphones in the form of the cabin announcement and inside the headphones as the same announcement gets piped through the IFE, the circuitry thinks its ambient and tries to cut it out!

Thanks markis10. I was actually referring to spoken word in a documentary, not an in-flight announcement. So, no, there was no "outside" source (I was trying to watch a doco on statistics, so I very much doubt anyone around me was watching the same thing (!), by which I mean there was no chance of sound leakage from a nearby passenger confusing the NC).

 

[mannej]

Retrofitted 330's?

 

[markis10]

Thanks markis10. I was actually referring to spoken word in a documentary, not an in-flight announcement. So, no, there was no "outside" source (I was trying to watch a doco on statistics, so I very much doubt anyone around me was watching the same thing (!), by which I mean there was no chance of sound leakage from a nearby passenger confusing the NC).

No worries, there have been issues with the announcements before. I have also experienced the garbling like that, just have to access some dusty corner of my brain to remember the circumstances and what fixed it!

 

[fbilki]

mannej,

Uh ... as in new interior with new seats and IFEs. No more TVs hanging from the ceilings....

Pretty sure it was an A330-300 but didn't make a specific note. Definitely an airbus, definitely not a new aircraft, but definitely a new interior. At least to me -- I fly every month or so and have never flown Qantas domestic with personal IFEs until now.

 

[oz_mark]

mannej,

Uh ... as in new interior with new seats and IFEs. No more TVs hanging from the ceilings....

I think all the A330s with TVs hanging from the roof are flying around with big orange stars on their tails at the moment. I am pretty sure all the A330s with Personal IFE were delivered that way.

 

[moa999]

Dual pin adapter or single stereo plug.
I wonder whether the spoken audio is on one channel and background music on the other, and the spoken audio has a bad/loose connection??

 

[mannej]

What was the date of the flight and the flight number. That may help pinpoint exactly what type of 330 that it was.

All the domestic 330's had IFE installed prior to entering the QF fleet.

 

[Willie]

-Hi There...

I had the same trouble in whY on JQ 3 and 4 on a recent trip to HNL...

I gave up and used the standard issue ear buds that were bearable but not much chop. I had them replaced a number of times on both flights as they connections to the sockets just seem to give up the ghost.

The JQ crew were very aware of both the Bose and the standard issue faults... Seems like things won't change!

OOh Roo

Willie

 

[fbilki]

What was the date of the flight and the flight number. That may help pinpoint exactly what type of 330 that it was.

QF 650, PER to BNE, Sunday August 5th.

I haven't flown to BNE for a couple of months and this was my first trip with seat backs, so perhaps I just never jagged a 330 before now?

 

[serfty]

QF 650, PER to BNE, Sunday August 5th.

I haven't flown to BNE for a couple of months and this was my first trip with seat backs, so perhaps I just never jagged a 330 before now?

That would be VH-EBO ...

 

[mannej]

It was VH-EBO, a domestic 330-200 delivered within the last 18 months or so from memory.

From what I can recall, the 330's have been used on the PER-BNE routes occasionally, but are making more of an appearance now. The majority of widebody flights used to be operated by the 767's

*Too quick for me ​Serfty!

 

[serfty]

It was VH-EBO, a domestic 330-200 delivered within the last 18 months or so form memory.

From what I can recall, the 330's have been used on the PER-BNE routes occasionally, but are making more of an appearance now. The majority of widebody flights used to be operated by the 767's ...

FWIW, EBO has operated that flight for 12 of the last 13 days.