Why does my phone answering machine messages sound garbled?

Question

I have a new phone answering machine, but the messages sound tinny and like the people have hiccups or are riding in a car on a bumpy road. What could be the problem? Is it more likely my machine or the phones of the callers?

Answer 1

It's probably a little of both.  Your new machine probably digitally records the messages.  Their phones probably digitize their voice before sending it over the cell phone net.  To optimize these digital systems, the recording rate and the highest frequency (tone) are adjusted to get the most performance out of each individual system.

However, sometimes, when just the wrong combination of phones and recorders get together, they don't mesh well and the recorder's sound is terrible.  An analog phone might sound fine or even a different model or phone net might sound better, too.

I've used Consumer Reports ratings and looked at their recording quality over the years.  They usually have a pretty good indication of whether or not the recorder will sound good in real use.  Check yours out and see where it stands against the rest.  I bet it's one of the lower quality ones...