Pandora and other audio streaming apps using the AAC+ codec are not working properly since updating to 2.2 OTA. Consider Pandora basically useless until the next Android OS update, _IF_ Google chooses to fix it. The problem was reported as long ago as May in numerous forums, but apparently that didn't prompt anything to be done about it for the past three months leading up to the official release. Had I known how bad the audio quality would be after Froyo, I absolutely would NOT have updated, even considering biggies like SD app storage and Flash support.
Reply from Pandora tech support:
"Froyo has a problem processing our AAC+ files. We have confirmed that this is an issue in the OS. Hopefully they will have it fix in the next Android release. Thanks for your patience in the meantime."
I feel bad to a point for all the app developers that just got soccer punched with Froyo slaughtering their audio quality, but I also cannot understand how they didn't see this coming if they tested it, unless Google decided to go ahead anyway with the release. The only temporary fix seems to be to root the phone and deactivate the StageFright player in 2.2, but that may introduce other problems.
[FIX] Fix poor AAC streaming performance (Pandora, Slacker, etc) on Froyo - xda-developers
Any Pandora users running Froyo - xda-developers
For the other 99% of users, including myself, who will not be rooting their phone, it could be anybody's guess how long we have to wait for the next OS update... 2.21? 2.3? Weeks? Months?
I already spent half an hour on the phone with Sprint telling them what I really thought of Froyo basically destroying streaming audio on my EVO. This is an embarrassment to all parties involved, nobody is denying it, but there seems to be no known ETA for resolution. Now that 2.2 is officially being unleashed on the public, Google/HTC/Sprint needs to state that resources will be directed to resolving this as soon as possible, with an estimate for how soon 2.x will be available.
For those who updated to 2.2 and have crap sound, _please_ add your comments to the Google Code Android thread #9308 and be sure to star the issue to raise the bug ranking:
Issue 9308 - android - eaac+ and aac+ decoding sound quality problems (Android 2.2) - Project Hosting on Google Code
For those who don't think they have the problem, have you tried with a decent pair of headphones? The issue and cause have been confirmed by Pandora tech support, but they cannot fix it as the bug also affects many other streaming apps (Slacker, Rhapsody, Sirius, etc.) and must be fixed by Google. This is not a figment of anyone's imagination, so given the technical explanation already described of the problem, it seems quite odd that anyone on 2.2 would NOT notice the sound degradation, unless they rooted and applied the temp fix as previously documented at XDA. Either there is another variable not being considered or different people seem to be judging the sound quality differently based on their hearing ability/sensitivity. I can assure you that to my and many other people's ears, it totally *SUCKS* now.
