V1U Headphone Monitor Level
 

I've tried three different headphones including high quality Sony MDR series and I can't seem to get much volume even with the audio monitor volume turned all the way up. Without phones I can barely hear anything from the internal speaker. Anybody else noticed this? Am I doing something wrong? All three headphones provide great monitoring on my DSR DVCam and Betacam units.

Absolutely - the speaker output is too low. I haven't tried headphones yet, but from what you're reporting, the won't help much. Yet another bug!

V1U Headpohones
 

I used the Sony MDR and had no problem - in fact had to turn the volume down(on the camera) since I had the XLR set up to "8" on manual. The sound was phenomenal - was picking up a conversation from another room that I could barely hear (without the heaphones). Are you hooking the headphone to the right output from the camera?

Oh yes. The headphone jack on the bottom left below the flip out LCD.

Lee I would agree with you, the output level of the headphones is not as loud as with other Sony pro cameras. The speaker might as well not exist, I agree the external speaker is a flaw.

Thanks Jerry,
I'm thinking that I'll have to get some type of battery powered headphone amp for critical situations. Here an option I found:
http://www.boostaroo.com/
Although I'm not thrilled about another gadget added to the mix (no pun intended).

This is baffling to me. I have no issues with levels whatsoever. In this thread we have one person saying their headphone output is too quiet, someone else that says it's just fine, then someone who says their speaker is too quiet, and I have no problems with either on 2 different V1U's, and had no problem with at least 3 different pre-production models.
Since there are input level controls, it causes me to wonder about the levels being recorded.
Test your camcorder by printing a -3dB 1KHz test tone to tape and playing it back. This will tell you if you really do have problems or not. I'd be surprised if anyone truly is; nowhere else has this been heard other than these two posts (that I'm aware of).

Douglas,
It's not the recording levels. Using the supplied microphone and setting the recording levels to auto I see plenty of deflection on the meters, but hear nothing out of the built in speaker and very little out of the headphone out. The monitor volume is at the max. Playback of recorded audio on my DSR-1500 deck is fine. I also recorded tone and bars which also played as expected. This sounds like a possible bad IC in the monitor circuit.

When you bring up bars and tone, can you hear the tone on the monitor speaker? I hear nothing out of the speaker and I should have plenty volume in the headphones without having to turn it up all the way.

I'm on travel at the moment, and don't have my V1 at hand. However, I have printed and/or played back a couple hundred tapes on the V1 during both real-world use, and beta testing the cam. This issue has never appeared.
I'm assuming you're disconnecting the headphone when trying to hear monitor?

Yes, I did disconnect the headphone. Thanks anyway.

If anybody can verify that tone comes out of the speaker loud and clear then the absence of it on my unit gives me good reason to contact warranty repair. Thanks.

I just checked on mine and the speaker does play back fine when the tape is played. No speaker output in CAM mode

Headphone audio is present in CAM and VRT mode.

The headphones I have are an old set of RadioShack 50MX and are plenty loud. They cover a good bit of the ear so ambient sound rejection is fair which I'm sure helps. Your mileage may vary. ;)

The internal speaker I would say is medium to soft. Usable in a quiet area only.

I just checked on mine and the speaker does play back fine when the tape is played. No speaker output in CAM mode

Headphone audio is present in CAM and VRT mode.

The headphones I have are an old set of RadioShack 50MX and are plenty loud. They cover a good bit of the ear so ambient sound rejection is fair which I'm sure helps. Your mileage may vary. ;)

The internal speaker I would say is medium to soft. Usable in a quiet area only.

Chris you are correct. I just discovered that the speaker only works on VTR playback. Put your ear close to it and you can hear the playback. That makes sense in this model. It's not like shoulder mounted camcorders where your ear is next to the speaker for no phones monitoring while you shoot. Still I find the headphone output disappointing.

I've yet to find a camera with enough headphone output, folks buy expensive cans like 7506s and they're just useless in the field with any of the cameras.
We've solved this problem by buying cheapo headphones off eBay, sold under the Takstar name. They're at least 10dB louder than the 7506s. Some of the cheap Behringer ones are equally sensitive but are open backed and don't fold up like the Takstars.
Alternatively buy yourself a Rolls headphone amp, they really pump out a decent sound level.

You know I never thought Sony would intentually mute the external speaker when recording. This is unusual for pro gear but common for consumer.

I am a demanding consumer. I admit the volume level is fine if you are using closed over the ear headphones but I like to use lightweight open eared headphones, my favorites are the ones with that backband. I can wear those all day with no complaints but I have a huge issue with closed ear. I work in hot climates and they just don't feel good after a 10 hour day. Bottom line is I would like to make the choice how loud I want to listen to the output, I have had the choice in the past.

My reply made reference to pro sony cameras like the shouldermount Dv and Beta Sp. Even the panasonic DVC-pro camera had a higher output. I would say max level on the v1u is at a 75-80% compared to a pro shouldermount camera. It is probally done on purpose and intentual to cut down on the confusion of the user and head off a class action lawsuit by the post walkman generations. JMO