Razer Kraken headset - static noise

Blackhawk47

Blackhawk47

Blackhawk47

Soldato
Joined
17 Sep 2007
Posts
11,112
Location
West Yorkshire / Market Bosworth
I bought the Razer kraken usb headset and it's great but I have a problem.

I seem to get a background hissing noise which I don't notice in game so much, only when playing some music or hear a sound which is quiet. It seems to stop hissing on its own if there is no audio for 30 seconds or so.

I've tried all the usual stuff, reinstall drivers, different USB ports etc but no luck.

However I have tried plugging them in to my Apple iMac which sits directly next to my PC and I don't get a hissing noise at all. Which makes me think it's a setting on my PC or something causing the problem.

Can anyone help? I've tried googling the issue and it seems I'm not alone but haven't seen any solutions.

EDIT: hissing noise adjusts when i increase/decrease the volume as well.
 
Last edited:
EMI (electromagnetic interference) being transmitted through the USB ports, sounds like the problem. Can be a fairly common problem, as PCs are electrically noisy environments for audio. Onboard audio, sound cards and USB ports can be affected. Other than using a USB ground loop isolator, I'm not sure what else can be tried to solve the problem for a USB headset.

The analogue variant for analogue devices are cheap, so can be tried and if no difference is found, it doesn't matter too much. The USB ones though are £28, so if it doesn't help it's a lot to lose when the headset only cost £50 or so.

Unless anyone can suggest anything you can try, then might be best to return the headset and get an analogue one. Admittedly, EMI could be affecting the onboard audio too, but it's a bit easier to get round the problem when using an analogue device compared to USB.
 
Had no such issues on my old analogue headset so that could be it. Just noticed there are some new usb drivers for my motherboard so going to try that now. Might try some sort of USB hub as I was reading that because the headset is USB powered then that can be a problem...I dunno.

I'm really happy with the headset apart from this issue. Really good in game now that I'm used to it so I'd rather not return it.

Cheers for the help.
 
I'd be very surprised if a USB hub makes any difference in this instance, because it's still has to be connected via USB to the PC for audio data, so any interference will be transmitted to that from the PC.

The only way using a USB hub makes any sense, is if the headset uses USB only for power, but 3.5mm for audio. With such headsets you can use USB sockets separate from the PC to power the headset. In the case of headsets that use USB for power and audio, it has to be connected to the PC, and thus that connection allows the interference to carry.

Certainly worth trying all you can with driver and BIOS updates first. Returning the headset is something you probably only want to do once all other possible remedies have been exhausted.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom