The "quality" of mine is fine as well but I do have an issue with low volume. On every call, I have to put the volume on max and its still low. I know there is another thread about that issue. I hope its something that they will fix.

I was using the HTC Diamond 2 before I switched to N900 and have had comments by 3 people as to amazingly better this phone sounds in comparison. Infact the blueooth has the longest range of any other device I have used recently!

I occassionally have the volume fade from quiet to decent when the volume is max... is it cause its bouncing from 2g to 3g?

The quality on my phone is pretty good. The speaker is very nice sounding, if you can say that.

Apparently the mic is extremely sensitive compared to my old phone because now people are always asking if I have company over when the TV is on. I typically kept the TV volume turned up on my old phone because no one heard it and I could hear them fine.

I wonder if there is a way to "bring in" the mic so more distant sounds are excluded from the transmission?

I have found that pretty much every N series phone in the last several years suffers from this problem. They have good call quality. BUT in settings with background noise (even mild background noise), the mic picks up and overampifies the noise to a degree that can be really annoying to callers.

I'm trying out an N86 right now and it suffers terribly from this problem. But I've also seen this on the N73, N79, N80, N82, N95. And I've read elsewhere that the N900 is no different.

Nokia just seems to accept "good enough." Although I see the 6270 Classic and E72 have noise cancellation, so maybe in the future Nokia will doing something about this. But there's no excuse. Noise cancellation is not a new technology. Motorola has put it in their phones (Crystal Talk) for years and even midrange Motorola phones are supposed to perform great in this respect. I don't know what Nokia's problem is.

It's a big disappointment for me, because I'm really interested in the N900, but I need it to work okay as a phone in noisy settings (on the street, in cafes). I'm out in the world a lot and that is afterall the point of cell phones, to be phones when your out and about.

The voice quality was 10/10 for me. My other phone is like 6/10. I can not believe how crystal clear the voice is.....!!

I've had an issue with voice quality

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=37207

Fortunately it seems to be only me!

I'm talking about a very specific thing with voice quality, which is how the phone handles background noise in a noisy setting on outgoing audio.

My experience is that Nokai N series phones have very good voice quality in terms of audio quality in the earpiece and quality of the reproduction of my voice from the microphone.

But in noisy settings Nokia has really bad noise cancellation. Its microphones pick up the background noise and overamplify it, so that my callers hear all kinds of clatter behind my voice.

So I'd say go out and test your phone in a noisy restaurant or cafe and see what your caller says. I've seen people report in other forums that the N900 is just as bad as every other N series phone in this respect. I think when people say voice quality is good for them on the N900, they're not talking about the specific situation that I'm addressing.

I have two N900's ATM and both have the best voice call quality of any "phone" I have used- including G1 and Droid (have or had them too).

My issue with both N900's for phone function is weak reception in low signal areas and slooow reacquisition when signal is lost, on both N900's. Others are having great reception, so great for them

I would gladly trade some of that crystal clear quality for better recption in low 2G areas

Again, I'm only talking about how the N900 handles background noise, in noisy settings. Have you specifically tested the N900 for noise cancellation in those settings?

My experience is that Nokias indeed do have excellent call quality in general. But in noisy settings they do not handle background noise well.

Usually, when I post about this, people write back and say, my call quality is great! But they are just talking in general and not specifically testing the phone in a noisy setting. And they have never bothered to ask their caller how the background noise sounds to them.

I've read reports elsewhere that the N900 has this problem, like every other N series phone of the last several years.

I did go test the Droid compared to a N86 I have right now. My result was that the N86 has very high fidelty audio quality, both in the earpiece and for reproducing my voice to callers. It is distinctly better than the Droid, in this regard. **BUT** in a noisy setting the Droid hands down was night and day better than the N86. The Droid, which has dual microphone noise cancelling technology, totally blocked out background noise. The N86 overamplified this noise and created all kinds of chatter for my caller.

I have personally tested many N series phones and never seen a single one handle background noise well. Since the N900 does not have any special noise cancellation technology built in, I don't see why it should be different than all other N series phones in this regard. And again, from those who have bothered to test the N900 specifically for this background noise issue, what I've read is that it has all the same problems as the N86 and other N series phones.

I really find it hard to believe that those who say the N900 is great for audio quality have specifically tested it in noisy settings, asking their caller how they sound, and compared it in the same place and same way to a phone, like the Droid, that has noise cancellation.