Yakumo Hypersound Car Problems
The Yakumo Hypersound Car in-dash audio player is a lemon. Read on for why.
This is an archive of posts from the now-defunct Yakumo forum. Yakumo discontinued the forum for some reason, so I'm archiving these here before the Google cache expires.
Thread: List of Problems with Hypersound Car
Thu, 05 January 2006 15:06 seantellis
I've posted this via the support form, but I thought I'd post it here too, in case it is useful (or familiar) to anyone else.
- - - - -
When listening to OGG files on CD-R (128kbps, 44.1kHz):
- Unit switches to maximum volume occasionally. The only way to stop it is to turn off unit as volume control now does not work. This is actively dangerous, especially if it happens in heavy traffic.
- Unit often "forgets" it has a CD drive. When playing, playback stops at a random point (not the same point every time), and then each subsequent track name is displayed at 2 second intervals until the table of contents of the disc is exhausted. If you then switch to the tuner, you cannot select the CD. You cannot eject the CD. The only way out of this is to do a complete reset, which removes all of your radio stations and EQ settings also. On my unit, this happens approximately once every 10-15 minutes of playback.
When listening to MP3 or Ogg on CD-R or USB:
- Unit does not remember position in track if it is more than about 5 minutes into the track.
When listening to the radio:
- You cannot turn off the TA feature.
- Reception sensitivity is poor compared to pre-installed radio unit.
Apart from the reception sensitivity, these look like software problems to me. If there is a way to upgrade the software in the field, then it would make sense to issue a software patch for download from this website.
- - - - -
Reproducible steps:
For the CD problems:
1. Create a CD-R of Ogg Vorbis files, encoded at 128kbps, 44.1kHz. 2. Play until problems become apparent.
For the memory problem:
1. Create a MP3 file, on CD-R or USB stick. 2. Play for more than 6 minutes. 3. Turn unit off. 4. Turn unit back on.
For the TA feature problem:
1. Reset unit to default state. 2. Tune to any radio station. 3. Press the TA button. Instead of the TA icon turning on and off, as described in the manual, the TP icon on the display switches between being off or flashing. 4. In both states, a traffic announcement still overrides what you are listening to (CD or tuner).
Sean
Tue, 10 January 2006 15:15 seantellis
Additional minor problem:
- Listen to Radio 4 on the tuner (94.2 MHz FM) - Switch to CD/USB/MMC and listen to music - Traffic announcement from local radio station interrupts - Continue listening to music - Switch back to tuner - Tuner is now tuned to local radio station, not Radio 4.
Sean
Wed, 08 February 2006 11:22 seantellis
Additional problem:
USB port does not supply sufficient power to run a Samsung YP-U1 MP3 player as a memory stick. This may be because it attempts to recharge from the USB port and this imposes additional electrical load.
However, USB specs say that a host device must supply at least 100mA of current, which should be adequate for this device.
Sean
Thu, 09 February 2006 19:02 superbabas
don't function with archos gmini xs200 (driver mp3 portable) when we make in the usb port
Fri, 14 July 2006 10:43 seantellis
And here is another one.
- Playback is not gapless. - When playing OGG tracks, the first and last second of the track is truncated.
This is a minor annoyance with music, but when listening to an audiobook or comedy CD, it often means that the first and last couple of words from each track are missing.
Sean
Fri, 27 October 2006 14:33 seantellis
And again:
- Display backlight now faulty. Flashes at irregular rate, which is distracting when driving at night.
Sean
Sun, 03 December 2006 22:41 trepo
Is something new with this radio? I have all the problems in this list. But not problem with flashing display, for now Confused . Is somwhere any firmware or something? I haven't waranty Sad
Pleeease help me...
Trepoemail removed
Tue, 05 December 2006 23:24 seantellis
I will be returning mine under warranty, once I can work up the enthusiasm to negotiate with Yakumo support.
Under the warranty, Yakumo guarantees either (a) a repair or (b) a replacement.
Neither of these is a viable option, as far as I can see.
If a software upgrade existed to fix the problems, then it would have been offered to customers already as a download - this is the cheapest way that Yakumo could address the problem and they would have been stupid to ignore it.
However, if no upgrade exists, then a replacement unit will have the same problems as the original. This is problematic as it can then be returned immediately under the warranty again.
My guess at the best bet for Yakumo - refund.
Sean
Thread: Hypersound Car
Tue, 29 November 2005 13:40 matassini.maurizio:
The CD player on my Hypersound Car has stopped working.
the Cd does not exit more from the car radio.
Tue, 20 December 2005 17:40 abutler
the same has occurred with mine? anyone any ideas?
Wed, 21 December 2005 17:43 abutler
same happening to mine anyone any ideas? t
Wed, 04 January 2006 13:12 Erwin
My car radio is 2 days old, and its freeze after 2 minutes of playing. No volume change, no change in SD or CD. Nothing!!! De car radio hands its self... Mad Mad Mad
I thaught that only pc's does that but my radio have the same desise...
Anybody a clou???
Firmware update???
Warranty???
Greetz.
Thu, 05 January 2006 15:01 seantellis
You can recover your disk by pressing the little "reset" button on the front. But all your EQ settings and radio stations will be lost.
I'm currently getting this on average after 10-15 minutes of CD play.
Sean
Sun, 08 January 2006 11:09 Erwin
Thnx Sean,
its working. I press the reset button and until now everything works fine. If i only read the f*** manual about the reset button.
Greetz, Erwin.
Tue, 10 January 2006 10:10 seantellis
No problem.
Well, yes, actually there [b]is[/b] a problem. You should not be expected to reset your car radio every 15 minutes. This is a serious problem and I hope that one of us will get some response from Yakumo support about it.
For the time being, I have a couple of albums on my USB keyring - that seems to be a lot more reliable.
Sean
Tue, 17 January 2006 16:17 humlae
Hi,
Thanks for compiling that list, Sean.
I'm also having these problems with mine, and judging by the reviews on Amazon, so is everyone else! I've had mine around 2 months now, and it's driving me insane Sad
By far the most annoying thing is the CD freezing/requiring a full reset. Like you, I'm currently getting approx 10-15 mins of music before it crashes Sad In fact, I've almost crashed my car several times trying to reset it whilst driving... not advised!
I wonder what can be done? It's such a shame, as this was a birthday present, which I paid to get professionaly installed & everything. I don't have the heart to tell my parents it's gone faulty already Sad
Has anyone tried ringing the helpline listed in the back of the manual? (0800 92 58 66 00). Or anyone had any email response from Yakumo yet?
Feel free to message me anytime about this issue. I really want to get it sorted & help others too, if possible.
Cheers, Andy
Thu, 19 January 2006 11:03 seantellis
> Thanks for compiling that list, Sean.
No problem. I work for a software company, and it annoys me when I hear our users complain about bugs that they haven't actually told *us* about.
> In fact, I've almost crashed my car several times trying to reset it whilst driving...
Definitely not advised! At least you have a choice for that one. The one that nearly had me off the road is the "sudden max volume" defect.
I've completely given up on the CD - I now play files only from the USB. If I can find another 1U in-dash unit that will play OGGs, I'll be returning this under warranty.
In the meantime, Yakumo have a little breathing space in which to issue a firmware upgrade.
> I wonder what can be done?
If I was designing a unit like this, I'd ensure that it was field-upgradable, so that you could download a new firmware file, burn it onto a CD, pop it into the unit and it would reprogram the innards (stop me if I'm getting too technical...)
I hope that Yakumo have taken this approach, as it will allow them to simply publish new firmware on their website instead of having to recall and reprogram the units themselves.
Of course, there may not be enough of us to make it economically viable to update the firmware.
> Or anyone had any email response from Yakumo yet?
Not a peep. No sign of anyone on the forums, either.
Sean
Mon, 23 January 2006 14:43 seantellis
Finally got an e-mail reply from Yakumo. Here it is:
- - - - - - - -
We apologise for the late answer.
It seems to be defective. All Yakumo - ... come with a 2 Year Warranty. Please contact our Service Hotline +49 (0) 18 05 / 92 58 66 for your reclamation.
EU customers: Please contact our international Service Hotline 00 800 / 92 58 66 00
Non - EU customers: Should your product require repair, please contact only the specialist dealer from whom you purchased the product.
Please note that the original invoice is required to claim warranty service.
Please enclose your previous correspondence with following mails. This makes the processing of your request easier for us. In case of further questions you can of course contact us again.
Yours sincerely [name] - - - - - - - - Yakumo Service Team - - - - - - - -
Now, I am not sure what they mean by "reclamation", but I'm not interested in a refund - I want a unit that does what it says in the first place. I'll post any followup here (assuming it gets through the moderation).
Sean
Tue, 31 January 2006 12:13 abutler
hey sean thanks for the list i have all the same problems poor reception being the most annoying!! did anyone ring the helpline and where they helpfull at all?? cheers tony
Wed, 01 February 2006 10:33 seantellis
Sorry, folks. I haven't gotten around to it yet (busy at work, and then sick for a couple of days).
Sean
Wed, 12 April 2006 12:37 skyrise
hello
I was wondering if there was a update with this product and the need to reset every 15 mins?
thanks