Interference/static noise

joeyjojo · 22 Apr 2013 at 16:24

Marsman said:
I can't remember if this has been discussed before; but does this interference occur when you have headphones connected to the sound card itself? Wondering if there is a ground loop between card and amp.

This. Running everything (tower and amp) off a single power strip is good practice.

Isolating the PC from the audio system is even better (e.g. I have the PC, monitor, etc. on one strip, the DAC and audio stuff on another, isolated from one another by a TOSLINK cable).

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.

Marsman · 26 Apr 2013 at 19:57

Is the interference still present with the headphones connected directly to the sound card?

Nevakonaza · 27 Apr 2013 at 20:10

Seems not !

Why would my amp be causing this?

wazza300 · 27 Apr 2013 at 20:21

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

Kei · 27 Apr 2013 at 20:45

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)

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.

Kei · 27 Apr 2013 at 21:47

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.

wazza300 · 27 Apr 2013 at 22:02

ahh ok,i havnt caught up on the thread,if its only doing it with the amp connected then yh seemsliek you need one of the above

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.

dowcow · 29 Apr 2013 at 21:14

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.

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..