G1W-H Audio

[Vio]

So I recently bought a G1W-H. I'm loving it thus far in most aspects, but have one complaint. The audio is very 'flat' - in that mid-range stuff like speech/music vocals are picked up fine, but as soon as some bass kicks in (as happens frequently with my aftermarket sound system) everything suddenly quietens down.

Video of the problem using Katy Perry as a guinea pig:

Is this a global thing across the cameras, or is there a way to fix it?

 

[Sunny]

Bass sounds are hard for any microphone.
It either distorts or software controls it.
Also, camera may not like Katy as much as you do.

 

[Vio]

I find it odd though, because my last dash cam was a cheap, fake copy of a GS8000 and it wasn't as bad with audio. The G1W is certainly clearer sound-wise, but the old one had a much better balance. One of my older compilation videos for comparison:

Given that I paid twice as much for the G1W, I'm a bit surprised

 

[petepete]

If capturing all sound is important...

it is an easy job to remove the microphone and replace it with one from an old headset or some other better quality device....

The result is rather good and also extends the distance the camera can capture audio...

 

[Module 79L]

So I recently bought a G1W-H. I'm loving it thus far in most aspects, but have one complaint. The audio is very 'flat' - in that mid-range stuff like speech/music vocals are picked up fine, but as soon as some bass kicks in (as happens frequently with my aftermarket sound system) everything suddenly quietens down.

Video of the problem using Katy Perry as a guinea pig:

Is this a global thing across the cameras, or is there a way to fix it?

It seems you got one of the "bad" ones. Mine also had that problem and I solved it this way https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/g1w-hs-audio-quality-issues.11619/, but I had a "spare" camera with good audio quality to take the mic from.

 

[Sunny]

My $10 c600 had better audio than some of the ones costing $100 so price doesn't mean it's better in every way, should be though.
Video was way better on the expensive ones.

 

[Module 79L]

My $10 c600 had better audio than some of the ones costing $100 so price doesn't mean it's better in every way, should be though.
Video was way better on the expensive ones.

From my experience, the audio quality in these cameras is as good as the mic is. Nothing to do with firmwares or some type of circuit processing.
Both my cameras have the same PCB build but, for some reason, the G1W-H's audio was just sh*t compared with the "cheaper" G1W's. The mics look alike on the outside but that's about it. Maybe some bad batch or, who knows, a "fake" G1W mic?
We all know how the quality control... Let me put it in a different way: is there any quality control?

 

[jokiin]

From my experience, the audio quality in these cameras is as good as the mic is. Nothing to do with firmwares or some type of circuit processing.

the chipset has onboard audio, circuit design will have an influence on how much background hiss or noise you might get, some are more apparent than others but that aside you are right, mic quality has the most impact on the end result on this platform

Let me put it in a different way: is there any quality control?

there's a lot that has nothing other than the basic checks done during production and there are those that will knowingly ship faulty goods, most typically in the really low cost stuff as it's all about price