Interference/static noise

Nevakonaza · 4 Feb 2013 at 00:17

Hey guys,

I'm getting interference/static noise..i can hear it through my headphones like a slight buzz..and when doing something graphic intensive like gaming or watching YouTube vids in High definition it gets louder...but just at the desktop i don't hear it.

Also,When playing with my clan guys over on Teamspeak they also said they can hear it when i press my button to speak.

Which is obviously not good!

My setup consists of..

Plantronics Gamecom 380
Little Dot 1+ Headphone Amp
Asus Xonar D1 Soundcard.

What can i do to deal with this..rough guess is my Graphics card is causing the interference,But is there anything i can do about it?

Nevakonaza · 4 Feb 2013 at 15:19

Its done it for as long as i can remember..Ive had the D1 for quite a while now...used it in a previous system,I cant recall it even making any noise before.

Then i bought the headset & amp.

Nevakonaza · 5 Feb 2013 at 07:09

Il try everything mentioned.

When running 3D Mark 2013 earlier though my system was making a right noise...squeeling noise like coil whine..and got loud when graphics tests were going...im going to take off the side panel while running 3D mark again and pinpoint where its comming from exactly.

Nevakonaza · 9 Feb 2013 at 00:35

Yup,The interference seems to be coming from the GPU...Theres not a lot i can do about it though,Ive moved my sound card to the very bottom PCI slot,Instead of been in the second slot closer to the GPU which may help.

Do you guys think i should invest in a new sound card,But one with those covers over it to stop EMI?

Or what about getting a USB headset?

What would be the best option?

Nevakonaza · 9 Feb 2013 at 14:01

SO again going USB would be useless. :/

What can i do to stop this EMI!

If i remove the GTX 670 and just use onboard HD4000 the problem is gone,But obviously this isnt A good solution.

Nevakonaza · 20 Apr 2013 at 00:15

Still having this issue its a major PITA.

Playing WarZ today it was affecting game play..like a buzz,lag spike..frame drop of about 2-5fps..then same same...OVER AND OVER.

Not sure whats going on,I might put back on the stock cooler on my card,Im sure that's the cause of the noise,But that doesn't explain the lag.

I'm running dual monitors now,So i guess this does not help either with extra load on the card.

Nevakonaza · 20 Apr 2013 at 02:57

Do you guys think it could be my motherboard is just very sensitive to EMI?..
I think my graphics cards causing the noise...then its going through the mobo through into my sound..it happens on both Integrated audio (Realtec HD) AND my Xonar D1.

Nevakonaza · 20 Apr 2013 at 21:40

Marsman said:
Are you getting any microphone interference, or is it just audio output only?

Well the once i was on Teamspeak with the clan they told me it sounded like i had a vibrator going on in the background,However they have not mentioned this again so im not sure if it still does it now,I have heard myself played back in a twitch stream and i couldn't hear any interference then so it might have just been a one off thing with the Mic.

melmac said:
This may sound a bit drastic, but take your whole computer apart. Take out the graphics card, sound card, motherboard(you don't have to take the CPU or cooler off the motherboard). Clean everything with some compressed air. When you have everything clean put them back into the case. Really pay attention to cable management. Try to keep it as neat as possible using as few cables as you need.

This might sound like a lot of work. But my brother was having the same problem as you, static noise, and it was driving him nuts.We tried everything to get rid of it, but eventually I said to try a complete rebuild and it worked. No static or interference at all.

Might be something worth considering. But of course the problem is that I can't promise it will work for you

Interesting,Well my my system is due for a good clean as its quite dusty in there so might as well give it a try.

Nevakonaza · 22 Apr 2013 at 07:17

Dacs are expensive though,Doesn't my current Headphone Amp have features to stop the interference?

Little Dot I+

I have contacted Asrock (my mobo manufac) to see what their suggestion is about this,because i have removed pretty much everything that doesn't need to be in there (Gpu,Sound card etc)run off onboard and still get the interference.

Nevakonaza · 26 Apr 2013 at 16:40

Well ive just tried running my Amp off a completely separate plug in another room (with extension lead) and still getting interference.

Noticed just now too,I ran furmark..i could hear interference but only when i turned the audio volume up,where as if im playing games i can hear the interference even at low audio volume.

Now also after running and quitting furmark every time i move my mouse i get a beep that sounds like morse code.

Its so annoying.

Nevakonaza · 27 Apr 2013 at 20:10

Seems not !

Why would my amp be causing this?

Nevakonaza · 27 Apr 2013 at 21:29

wazza300 said:
its your gpu/psu/motherboard either one of those or a combo

I get none of that noise with an asus z68 v pro and a gigabyte z77x up4 th board,its silent,psu is an xfx xxx 750w and a generic cheapish brand 600w,gpu's are a 7970 and 7850

But its not doing it when i take the amp out of the setup..if i connect my headphones directly to the back of my pc..the sound card OR the intergrated sound on the motherboard it doesn't do it.

Kei said:
You probably have a ground loop between the sound card and the little dot amp. You need a ground loop isolator. (Aka an isolation transformer which gives you galvanic isolation)

Ah,Thats interesting..so something like this right?

They're quite cheap too.

Nevakonaza · 27 Apr 2013 at 23:20

Kei said:
Yes, like one of those. You can get high end ones from companies like jensen to retain the highest signal quality. A dirt cheap one may affect quality slightly but it'd quickly show you if the problem is a ground loop.

Not really that fussed if i slightly loose quality,I mean i dont have exactly high end Headphones anway (Plantronics Gamecom 380),So im probably not getting the most out of my amp anyway...all i want is for that interference to stop.

Thanks for suggesting this though,Il be getting one of those and see if it fixes the problem.

Nevakonaza · 5 May 2013 at 23:40

Kei said:
You probably have a ground loop between the sound card and the little dot amp. You need a ground loop isolator. (Aka an isolation transformer which gives you galvanic isolation)

That fixed the problem straight away,Got one of those isolation transformer for under a £5 and now i don't hear one bit of Hiss or static at all while gaming,I can also turn the amp right up to full volume with my headphones on (not playing anything of course) and still hear no interference or hiss...absolutely brill now and ive not noticed any difference in sound quality or anything.

Thanks so much!

dowcow said:
How annoying! I used to have a mic plugged into a Razer keyboards mic slot, and that caused a few complaints in TS 'Do you have a vibrator running, dow?!' they used to say to me too. Anyway, a few ideas... even though you have found that removing the headphone amp cures it, there might be a way to still use that amp and get rid of the noise.

Could be caused by poor quality cable between the amp and the soundcard perhaps? The ones from my Xonar D2 and later D2X haven't picked up any interference mind. Try to keep some distance between the analogue cable from the sound card to the amp, and any digital cables round the back of the computer. Ie, don't have them all cable tidied together and running parallel.

Also, how far is the amp positioned from the rest of the system? Try to see if putting it as far away as you can manage makes the noise any lower. This also means keep it away from things like the monitor and any USB devices/hubs, routers, etc.

There could also be a poor earth in the chassis of the computer. The soundcard is screwed into the metal of the chassis with contact between the metals? If the chassis is painted, the threads of the screws will be providing an earth, but if you've moved the card slot recently this should be okay.

Good luck.

Thanks for your suggestions too,But its sorted now..