Xonar DG Problems

Jonnyk

Jonnyk

Jonnyk

Associate
Joined
7 Dec 2009
Posts
18
I bought a Xonar DG sound card about 2 weeks ago, and in the last few days I have noticed an electrical "buzzing" coming from it. The strange bit is that it is only coming form the back panel ports.

I have tried a few things to try and see what the problem is. all possible combinations of graphics card and sound card in the PCI-E/PCI slots, no change. Plugging my speakers into the front panel results in no buzzing, and plugging my headphones into the back panel does have buzzing, so it defiantly seems to be only a problem with the back panel.

I think i have narrowed down the problem to the graphics card, as when running graphics intensive tasks the buzzing get's louder. But also anything that results in the picture changing, moving a mouse, typing etc.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what might be causing this, as it's kinda annoying to say the least :p

Thanks.
 
It is the graphics card and one of the issues that plague some sound cards. I can't really recommend any fixes as I now use an external DAC, but I'm sure someone else here might have some advice.
 
I've heard that the DX and D2X don't suffer from this, I'm guessing due to using their own power source rather than direct from the mobo. Not sure how true this is but it might be worth looking into, although that would make your DG defunct and leave you without an amp... :(
 
The bane of sound cards unfortunately, the dreaded EMI issue. EMI shielding on the sound card can be completely useless, as I have seen this happen to people with D2's and Essence's. Could have been an ST, meaning PCI, although I'm not sure. Although the ST does use direct PSU power, it still might be drawing from the PCI slot in the same way a D2 or D1 would, meaning Auraomega might be on to something there with his theory. :)
 
Last edited:
Yeah, I did read about the 'dirty power' idea, I just found it strange that it only happens when using the back panel, because surely the same power is used for both the back and front panels?
 
It could be interference outside the computer, as in the cables surrounding the audio cables? It seems highly unlikely but if it only happens via the back panel then it's the only thing I can think of, I know it's possible but I'd expect almost all headphone and speaker cables to be shielded.
 
Having thought about it a bit today, it did seem to start the noise only a few days ago, about the time I updated my gfx card drivers to 11.1. This seems too coincidental to not be worth a look. I'll roll back to 10.12 when I get home tonight and see if anything changes, although it seems like a strange thing to happen.
 
Strange as I used to get the opposite, i.e. buzzing from front panel and flawless from the back. Have now diconnected USB earths from front panel and noise has gone.
 
Last edited:
roadie said:
Antec case? I too get a buzzing and need to investigate the same thing I believe.
Click to expand...

No, Lian-Li PC7+.

However whilst trying to find a solution for my case, I read about the Antec case problems. Apparently there's a wire earthing the front panel to the chassis somewhere...removing this seemingly cures the buzzing, as it's causing a ground loop between the chassis earth and the front panel ground on the motherboard.

In my case, I had to remove the screws going through the front panel (i glued it on) as well as plug in only the data plugs of the front panel's USB connection into the motherboard's USB header (i.e. unplug the earth cables).

What I get now, is no noise through front or back UNTIL a usb device is plugged into the front. When there's a USB device plugged in, there's a terrible buzzing through the headphones if they're plugged into the front panel.

This is as good as I'm going to get it I think, unless Lian-Li decide to reply to my technical query and send me a new front panel :p. It's fine really anyway, as any USB devices I need plugged in permanently are connected round the back.
 
Yep, I have an Antec case, and there is a ground wire that connects from the audio sockets to the USB. Removing that will solve the buzzing noise problem. Antec have screwed a black wire to the case for grounding. Removing that cable will do nothing to solve the problem, as the audio sockets are still linked to the USB.
 
Instead of changing my gfx card drivers again, i just bought a new card, £200 gtx 480 was hard to pass by. I'm still having the same problems, i'm not sure what to do, at the moment I'm only using the front panel.

Any more ideas on what it could be?
 
Which Antec case do you have?

I don't know if they use the same front panel design for the majority of their cases, or if they differ slightly.
 
Jonnyk said:
Instead of changing my gfx card drivers again, i just bought a new card, £200 gtx 480 was hard to pass by. I'm still having the same problems, i'm not sure what to do, at the moment I'm only using the front panel.

Any more ideas on what it could be?
Click to expand...

What card were you using before?

Also what motherboard do you have?
 
card before was a saphire 5770, and the motherboard is a asus m4a785td, can't remember exactly which one but i think it might be a 'v-evo'.
 
Hmm, well going to a completely different model and brand, I doubt it would be the GFX card causing the issue. One can get problems with a sound card in one system, but put that card in another system, and it's fine. Not always the case, but for a completely different GFX card to cause the same problem is fairly unlikely I'd say.

There have been comments that Nvidia based motherboards can cause issues with sound cards. I don't know if the same might apply with AMD boards.

There is also the possibility that the DG is faulty. I don't know how likely that is, considering the front panel audio header does not produce the same issues that are present by connecting headphones/speakers to the rear of the card. Can't be ruled out though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom