Onboard Audio Question

[boilermaker]

Hi, I just recently completed a build (with a lot of help from PCMech) with an ASUS P5B motherboard with onboard sound. I have installed all of the drivers and I *think* that the hardware is connected correctly. Anyway on to the problem. When watching a movie or whatnot, any time there is a pause in the action or a silence, I can faintly hear my computer processing or whatever through my Bose Triport Headphones. I know it's normal to hear a little bit of a fuzzy sound, but I wasn't prepared for hearing my computer's hard work through my headphones. Is this normal? What do I do to fix it?

Any feedback is appreciated.

[oddessy]

It's possible you have a grounding problem. I have several computers and I also have all my musical instruments and recording devices protected from ground looping.

The computer could be picking up some form of ground through your electrical interferences in your house. Best thing to do is trying to isolate your computer from this. Hopefully you have a surge protector to protect your computer and maybe this will solve your problem if you don't have one now.

Radio Shack has a Ground Loop Isolator that can be used between your headphones and your computer to get rid of the grounding noise but you may need to connect a stereo y-jack for the headphones.

Here is picture of a Ground Loop Isolator from a different company.

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/GLI1-X1.html

Protection is the best prevention when it comes to electronic equipments. If you don't have a surge protector it is worth getting one. It can save time and money. Believe me, I know.

[boilermaker]

Thanks for the recommendation. Would a new sound card change any of the noise if I do have a grounding problem? If it would help, I'd rather spend the money on internal hardware rather than external hardware.

I do plan on purchasing a surge protector very soon as well.

[LeftyAce]

Not sure if I should start a new thread, but I have the same problem with an ASUS A8N deluxe mobo. (Also Bose headphones; will try with someone elses to see if the bose are the problem:-). My computer is connected to a surge protector.

I've done some testing, and found that there's a steady background buzz, with louder crackling when accessing the harddrive. Also, when I drag a window around on the desktop, a louder buzzing accompanies moving the window. I don't think it's looping through external power, it seems to be picking up stray signals from inside the compy, both from the hdd and the vid card. I experience it both when connected through the front panel headphone jack and the speaker jack on the back of the comp.

[boilermaker]

Hmmmm, sounds to be about exactly like my problem. At least I'm not alone. The audio does sound fine in my situation, just not so great when there's nothing playing.

[LeftyAce]

Exactly, it seems that most audio is loud enough to mask the sound. (Which may mean it's not a problem). But in situations such as games, if you're listening intently for enemies it's kind of annoying to have all the white noise in an otherwise silent situation. (I checked, if you turn volume down, you can hear the buzzing behind music or whatever, so it's not just that when the soundcard is idle it starts buzzing.)

[oddessy]

I don't believe changing out the video card will make a different. The computer power supply is what will give the grounding problem through out the computer. It's possible, if something is connected to the computer, could be causing noise.

I had a digital keyboard instrument with my mixing board that was making a faint humming noise everytime I started my audio sequencer, Sonar 5. When I started to record the music the sound was there and was very annoying.

I than disconnected everything and started with the computer being the only thing plugged in the wall socket and started form there. When I listened through the headphones, the grounding noise was gone. I then started to plug in one thing at a time. Come to find out my mixer had to be plugged into another circuit ( wall outlet) as well as my keyboard instrument. I invested in a power surge suppressor that filters out disruptive line noise and that took care of the problem.

Try plugging the computer into a circuit where there isn't a tv, appliances or any other electronic devices and see if the problem goes away. If that doesn't work, maybe invest in a very good power surge protector. When ever you upgrade your system, you'll always have it ready.

[glc]

Keep your cell phone away from the computer - this is a known source of buzzing.

[boilermaker]

I know my cell phone isn't the source of problem because my phone is very rarely next to my computer. I have researched the ground loop isolator but am not too fond of it because it only has a single 1/8" input, whereas I would need three for my 5.1 speakers. I have noticed that it is worse when I'm listening to music, as there are often cracks in the audio every 20-30 seconds. What should I have connected to my motherboard (just to make sure I did it right) for the onboard sound? The only connection should be to the front headphone port on my case. Right?

[glc]

Why don't you try disconnecting the front panel audio completely and see if that helps?

[boilermaker]

Unplugging the front panel didn't work but a cheap external Creative sound card did take away the crackling in the music playback. Now I'm just left with the normal faint humming in the speakers when they're inactive. Much, much better than before though!

[oddessy]

Have you tried plugging in your computer into another outlet where there is no electrical interference?

Here is a web site that might help you better understand the conditions or problems you might have.

http://www.avdeals.com/surgesupp/monstersurgesupp.htm

I think you can find something similar to the items mentioned at the website elsewhere, somewhat cheaper.

The computer is picking up noise from where your power supply is plugged in. Something else, electrical, could be interfering with your audio signal.

[boilermaker]

I found an old surge protector in my basement. It's rated at 1875V and is producing pretty average results so far. Nothing has gone wrong and there is still a very, very faint humming present. Is that adequate or should I go with something like this: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102621&cp=&sr=1&origkw=61-2422&kw=61-2422&parentPage=search

Would the difference be noticeable?

[boilermaker]

If Oddessy or someone else that is knowledgeable could give me a short answer about the surge protector I have now and the one I'm looking at, I'd appreciate it a lot, and finally let this thread die. thanks

[oddessy]

I was wondering how you have everything hooked up to your computer? Before you go and buy a power surge suppressor, I was wondering if you have powered speakers hooked up to your system? Speaker cables that are not shielded can be a problem also.

You could try, if you haven't yet, to check the gain on your speaker icon in the systems tray on the bottom right hand side of your monitor. Make sure main gain isn't all the way up and try to bring up the line input but not all the way up. See if this is helping.

If this isn't solving your problem, it could be dirty power coming into the computer. I also heard that the sound driver can be a problem but I haven't come across a situation like that.

I wonder if you are near a Home Depot or a large hardware store. I see they can have a good assortment of power surge protectors for around $35 and I see that they do more than the one from Radio Shack but if Radio Shack is your best bet than it is worth a try.

If you do get a power suppressor, make sure everything that has something to do with the computer is plugged into that power suppressor. It's good to have everything protected. Try to get one that is over 1000 joule.

If you have any other questions, I'll be glad to help. If you want to, you can send me a private message.

[oddessy]

I was wondering how you have everything hooked up to your computer? Powered speakers can cause a problem especially if they don't have shielded speaker cables.

I would try to see if you have the gain is all the way up on your speaker icon in your systems tray. Double click on the icon and see if the gain is up. If it is, turn down the master volume and move the wave or cd volume down and up to a comfortable level.

I heard that the sound driver can be a problem but I haven't come across this before.

Do you have a large hardware store in your area? They can have a good assortment of power surge protectors. Make sure it has at least 1000 joules.

If you have any more questions, you can send me a private message.

[oddessy]

Sorry

Couldn't see the first one being posted.

[boilermaker]

These are my speakers: http://cooltechzone.com/reviews/audio/251_1.php
They are a few years old. Right now, I have an old laptop, my new pc (500W PSU), an lcd monitor, and the speakers plugged into the old surge protector I described a few posts ago. I hope that helps some. I would prefer to shop at Radioshack because I have a good friend that works there that could get me a considerable discount.

[oddessy]

Altec Lansing are good speakers. I looked a the specs of the power surge protector and it looks very adequate. You could try it and ask your friend if in his opinion this will help clean up the dirty power you are experiencing.

I had this problem once and it cleared everything up, providing you plug everything pertaining to the computer in the power surge protector. Hope this will solve your problem.