is it just my telly or is there something wrong with the sound - the band are far too loud or the mic for the contestants is too low

really getting on my wick

Yeah same here. Either the music is way too loud or their mics need turning up majorly.

I've been having the same thing. In week 1 of the live shows it was fine, last week it was really bad I found. In particular the sound in Jacob's performance was really bad. When the band really kicked in and he was doing those high notes everything just sound kinda distorted. This week it wasn't too bad, but still it was hard to hear over the band, they just keep drowning out the contestants.

Hope it doesn't carry on as it ruins the show.

I've been complaining about it throughout the show.

I watched it on a live stream last night, and the band and backing singers were really that overpowering. Having said that, I still had to whack up the volume on my TV tonight for the show, as the general sound quality was very low and quieter than usual.

This week the music was far too loud, making the vocals seem very quiet. But weirdly other weeks I felt the vocals sounded too raw, like they hadn't been mixed properly with the band (might have been just crap performances I suppose).

Did anyone else notice that it sounded a lot better in the recap segment at the end, with the phone numbers? Like they had edited it or something.

Those are edited versions of the dress rehearsal performances.

o I didn't realise, thanks.

Last night the mix was the worst I've seen on TV. Does anyone know whether it foes out like this in the States? I was wondering whether it was a problem with the different way programmes are broadcast there and here.

Casey in particular was impossible to hear some of the time. Combine this with 6 minute ad. breaks and the show is becoming unwatchable for me. Which is a shame, as it's a really good year for contestants!

Apparently it was similar for the US viewers, as I'd read some comments saying that the band and singers were far too loud at times, and the Idols couldn't be heard properly. I noticed it more when Jacob was singing, that he was getting overpowered by the backing singers.

It's so cute how people refer to the contestants as the Idols. I never have but will now! It's funny

I always think it sounds odd calling them 'contestants', as though they should be on a game show. Actually, I don't think I've ever even called anyone on a game show a 'contestant'.

Other references I've seen to the Idols are: hamsters and kids.

I always listen with headphones, but the sound seemed so low that I had to check the TV output settings, which are normally left at the same level.

I listen on my headphones when watching it on livestream on my laptop, and it does sound better. But, the band and singers were still too loud at times.

The TV output last night was definitely not right, not when I'm cranking up my volume by 15 notches to hear it! And then having to turn it down again when the ads come on.

To be honest, I only really noticed when I got my new TV last week. I upgraded from a 32" to a 42" Plasma and last week and this week struggled to hear the vocals. I put my 'V Surround Sound' option to 'off' yesterday and it seemed to help some. It's really weird though, we shouldn't have to struggle to hear the vocals

We've been saying for weeks how bad the sound is, thought it was our telly settings that were wrong.

You'd think that in America, with all the money they throw at productions, they would manage to get the sound levels right, wouldn't you?

I've noticed it in past series too, so it's nothing new. you'd have thought they'd have got it right by now

I totally agree, I really struggle to hear the singers over the music. It is totally overpowering them. Whoever is in charge of the sound, should sort it out.
I find a lot of the arrangements are very old fashioned as well, and this isn't helping.

The sound mix wasn't quite so bad last year for some reason. I don't know, maybe it's all part of the "Look what big voices the contestants have this year" pantomime.

One thing that has improved though is the picture quality. Prior to the digital switchover it looked like someone in America had made a VHS recording on a cheap branded mall tape and then sent it on a long-haul cargo plane to ITV2.