Why does Android 7 and 8 stutter at mp3 playback?

[Android Central Question]

What I am experiencing is that when playing back some mp3 files on my phone (Galaxy a3 2017 android 8) it stutters at playback, very similar to this post:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s8-and-s8-plus/879399-s8-audio-stuttering-when-using-wired-earbuds.html#post_6231855

What I have tryed so far to no avail:
- remove music app from battery management
- disable UHD
- use another music app
- brought it back to Samsung service as I still have warranty, but all they did is (supposedly) reverting the updates, needless to say it didnt help either

Strangely enough, it also stutters on an Huawei P9 lite Android 7, but it does NOT on a lenovo tab 3 8.0 Android 8.

Can you please suggest further settings I could try to solve this issue?

 

[mustang7757]

Hi, welcome to Android Forums

I'd like to recommend creating a account so me or other members can assist you, as guest have limitations in replying here and if we need further Information to communicate with you.

I'll provide a link to register, please come back to your post so we can further assist you . Thank you

https://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=409154

 

[Rukbat]

First, that's very strange, since the A3 has slightly better specs than the Lenovo tab 3 8.0, so if anything, it should be the other way around.

Second, are you sure the Lenovo is running 8.0? It came with 6.0.

Third, are you running the same app to play the same video on both devices? (You can't compare apples and orange balloons.)

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Where did you get these mp3 files? Are they ripped from a CD, or downloaded from some random "free" mp3 site?

It's worth testing in Safe Mode as well.

 

[Boris An]

Hello,

I am OP, I found my post via google again. Sorry for not registering, I expected a register form after submitting my question...
@Rukbat
Now I tried Safe mode, and playing mp3 with stock google play music, but stuttering is still there. I even made a complete factory reset (obviously no update reset, unfortunately, because it is very complicated for me to do it for now), but nothing helps!
Lenovo tab is Android 8 for sure. They recently dispatched a new update, which ruined the playback of m4v files, but that is a story for another day.
@B. Diddy
I had these mp3 files for years, they are maybe even 10 years old now. But does it really matter where they are from? They even worked on this very device, appx. 2 months ago. I think I have a 3rd world problem, because nobody in the West plays MP3 anymore, and they are the target audience of Android.

Any more suggestions are highly appreciated!

 

[Boris An]

Hello,

I found the solution!
The problem was: I was using a crappy chinese noname micro sd card, that ruined the mp3 file structure.
I was expecting it to be slow, so when I tested the Samsung playback, I copied some files from sd card to internal storage, but the stuttering remained.
Now I copied original files from computer to internal storage, and they work fine!
So basically the sd card destroyed the mp3 file structure (I was think if such a thing were to happen, then the phone would not open the file at all, because the internal checksum would not match - but somehow mp3 doesnt work like this).
Conclusion: cheap chinese sd cards are a hit or miss, and can even ruin music playback in unexpected ways.
Thank you all for the help!