Buzzing in Headphones

phil-k

phil-k

phil-k

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1 Jul 2011
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1,761
just bought these headphones http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-015-RA and at first I couldnt get them to work with my onboard sound card, realising that my o/b sound card wasnt working I went back and bought this sound card http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-004-AS&tool=3.
With this combination I am getting a constant low buzzing through the headphones which varies when I move my usb mouse and is still there if I mute the headphones with the inline switch.
The headphones have a usb connection as well so I wonder if its anything to do with that, although the noise seem to go when a game is loading but can just be heard when the game sound is quiet
Any ideas
Thanks
 
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I'm assuming they don't work at all without the USB plugged in? Do you have any other headphones you can try with your sound card, to rule that out?
 
no they don't work if not plugged into the usb port, I will have to try my other basic headphones in each of the sockets when I get a minute to discount the sound card
 
what plug did you use for your front panel audio to your motherboard? the hdaudio or ac97?

whatever you used make sure its selected the same in the bios/onboard devices/sound

it should enable front panel headphones then

for buzzing try plugging the usb into the back of the pc not the front,front panel usb ports are always causing buzzing with headphone socket,unplugg the usb/front panel headers from the motherboard and see if buzzing can still be heard
 
wazza300 said:
what plug did you use for your front panel audio to your motherboard? the hdaudio or ac97?

whatever you used make sure its selected the same in the bios/onboard devices/sound

it should enable front panel headphones then

for buzzing try plugging the usb into the back of the pc not the front,front panel usb ports are always causing buzzing with headphone socket,unplugg the usb/front panel headers from the motherboard and see if buzzing can still be heard
Click to expand...
i am not using the onboard sound card as it stopped working, so I bought the sound card I have listed in my first post.
I have checked each socket in the sound card with an older pair of headphone and do not get any interference at all.
I plugged in my Tiamat headphones and the background noise is there again
I tried unplugging every other usb device including my keyboard and mouse and the background noise is still there.
when I plug in my RAT3 mouse I get higher pitched noises as I move the mouse around.
I have tried plugging the Tiamat usb in all the other usb sockets but its still the same even when I press the mute button on the Tiamat controller
 
ps
I have disabled the onboard sound in the BIOS and when I said I tried all the other usb sockets with the headphones, thats includes the front panel as well
 
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ohh i see,i can only guess that the noise your hearing is the usb power,because the headphones are usb powered and the other set isnt? hence no noise on the other headphones

aint you tried to get onboard working?? i have same board and onboard works fine,if your using realtek sound drivers you need to click disable jack detection in the settings or no sound will be heard from front headphone socket
 
wazza300 said:
ohh i see,i can only guess that the noise your hearing is the usb power,because the headphones are usb powered and the other set isnt? hence no noise on the other headphones

aint you tried to get onboard working?? i have same board and onboard works fine,if your using realtek sound drivers you need to click disable jack detection in the settings or no sound will be heard from front headphone socket
Click to expand...

the trouble is if I did get the onboard working and the interference is caused by the usb connection it would still be there, it will be interesting to see if other users get the same problem or if I have a faulty set, the problem is if I return them to Overclockers and they dont find an actual fault they charge £10
 
have now tried unplugging all the sound jack feeds but leaving the usb connected and still get interference through the headphones
Tried another pc still get interference with just the usb plugged in, but then tried it on my laptop and there was no interference either on the battery or plugged in into the mains.
So it seems there is a problem with the USBs on the PCs but not my laptop, very odd
 
I too have this problem with my main PC. On-board sound has been disabled in bios. Actually bought a new mouse by coincidence but happens with both.
Also unplugged every usb except the tiamat.

SoundCard is the D2X

Will go an try them with the lappy and report back.

So disappointed, after waiting for so long for these. :( They are amazing except for the buzzing.

@rjk - have you had a chance to test these yet? would be interested if it happens to you as well.
 
Update:

Done a couple of quick tests

  • Main PC with Tiamat with D2X (USB for power) - Buzzing / interference
  • Main PC Tiamat with on-board sound (USB for power) - buzzing / interference
  • Laptop with Tiamat (only front & mic plugged in), with on-board (USB for power) - NO buzzing / interference
  • Main PC with old Sennheiser headphones whether plugged into on-board or D2X - NO buzzing / interference
Not sure what this exactly points to as I cannot find a common thing that works / doesn't work between the different setups, including phil's.

I even unplugged all the surround cables just leaving them as 2ch (green plug) with the same results.

Anybody else?
Sorry for the hijack Phil.
 
From the razer website FAQ on tiamats:

"I can hear a slight buzzing or hissing sound through my Razer Tiamat 7.1 when not playing any audio, how can I solve this?

The buzzing sound you are hearing is caused by the USB connection within computer systems that have a grounding issue and not due to the Razer Tiamat headset. Some USB ports will cause this so we recommend switching the USB cable to a different USB port on your rig. If all your USB ports show the same buzzing sound, you may need to purchase an AC to USB converter (sold separately). On laptops the buzzing sound may be slightly louder because of the way the USB ports are connected internally.

Please note, If you turn up the volume of the Razer Tiamat 7.1 to higher levels and have no audio playing you may still hear some hissing. Unless it is abnormally loud and still audible when audio is played through the headset, this would be considered normal and you will notice this sound when using any high quality analog headset that is capable of reproducing these higher frequencies."

You just need some sort of external power for them. I had this and have since plugged them into a usb power adapter and the noise is a lot better. Not completely gone yet though. Its hard trying to find out what others are using or how best to solve it due to how few have this headset at the moment.
 
That ok just want to get it sorted, lol
Do your old Sennheiser headphones have a USB connection, if not it must be something that is in PC USB circutry and not in a laptop and the Tiamats are sensitive to it.
So does that mean there is a fault with these headphone or not?
Another thought I had was that if all else failed would it be possible to get an external USB power supply to plug the Tiamats into and then they shouldnt get any interference from the PC, I wonder if it would be ok to try this out by having my laptop beside my pc and plugging the Tiamat USB into that, theoretically there shouldnt be any interference then if it worked and we could get an external USB power supply

Edit : Just seen the post above and that answers my question, its a pity that they knew this could happen and didnt put some sort of filter in the headphones

So can anyone recommend a good cheap USB power supply
 
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it picks up the power travelling through the usb port it leaks into the heaphone socket thats why you can hear buzzing,non usb powered headphones are fine on my board

same thing when i charge my phone on front usb port i can hear the noise in my headphone speakers,not on this mb but could hear it on my older x58 board
 
The mains charger for my kindle solves the problem perfectly.

Should have looked at the Razer website earlier.

Thanks again palaw
 
The Dirts said:
The mains charger for my kindle solves the problem perfectly.

Should have looked at the Razer website earlier.

Thanks again palaw
Click to expand...

Np, I have mine plugged in with my iPad charger for now lol. Not a great solution, but its a lot better than it was. Hopefully I can find something better suited for it, maybe I should look for a kindle charger :P
 
is there such a thing as an in-line filter for the USB cable rather than having to plug in a seperate mains adaptor
just been doing a search would ferrite rings put on the USB cable make it quieter
 
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Have done some research and there are inline filters but are quite expensive, the mains adaptors for ipods etc which people recommend are a lot cheaper, one I saw which just looked like a 3 pin plug said it had an automatic cutout when it detected the item plugged was charged, would there be any problem using this for the headphones, I wouldnt have thought so but am just asking
 
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