Hi,
I already mentioned in another thread that one of my speaker has a little bit of hum/noise. I'm not sure what kind of noise it is, but there's a low frequency playing (50 or 60, it has to be one of these right?) and some bit of noise. The other monitor is totally fine (there's only some static noise if I really get close to it, like with my ear next to the cone, but that's standard I guess).

• The monitors are not connected to an audio interface, they are directly plugged in the PC, using this kind of cable (not the same one). Already tried different cables, the noise persists on that one monitor only. Also tried switching left and right.
• I already plugged my power-strip to another electrical outlet; did the same with monitors and PC. Noise kept going.

I'm afraid of doing other things because I'm really not into electronics and hardware, and I'm also scared that one of these things could blow up from an unwanted noise or if I unplug some cables abruptly
(like already happened time ago )

What do you suggest? I'm reading it might be a ground loop problem and they say to change outlets and stuff but I already did. Could it be the monitor is damaged, or what? What kind of other tests should I do? Keep in mind I can't do complex stuff like wiring this and that and going over there to loop those, I'm afraid I'm gonna get fried

Monitors are RESOLV SE 8

Thanks for the patience

 

You say that you are not connected to an audio interface but it sounds as though you are. The sound output on a PC will be an onboard audio interface. It will be part of the motherboard. Onboard audio interfaces are notoriously noisy. They have little protection from the the electromagnetic radiation coming from all that processing going on on your powerful computer.

The short answer to this is get an outboard audio interface. Even an inexpensive USB audio interface will do.

(Although you might want to consider using the balanced connectors too. So getting an interface with proper balanced outputs would also be a good idea!)

 

Last edited: Oct 7, 2016

Did the noise switch left-to-right or stay on the same side?

 

Yes, sorry, I meant to say an external audio interface. I am indeed using the on-board PC sound-card.
The problem with buying a new interface is: how do I know for sure that the problem will go away? Shouldn't the hum be on both monitors anyway?

Stayed on the same monitor, that's why I thought it could be something inside it

 

Have you tried swapping the power cords over on the monitors?

Also have you tried the dodgy monitor with out any connection to the pc and do that in another room, on another ring main.

 

I have the same problem with my on-board sound card but on both speakers, i can totally confirm what @mageye said, anyway your case it my be just the on-board card itself with weird behavior, or one of the speaker is eliminating it, not sure how to explain, but sometimes monitors, when they come paired, there is the left one (in my case) that have the power, and the inputs, and stuff, while the other (right) just receive the signal from the left one, maybe yours are built the same way, an because of that the hum is only on one side.

anyway, get an external sound card, or try with different computers...

good luck mate!

 

You mean just putting the bad monitor on another room, giving it power and turning it on without connecting it to audio?
Not yet, I will try it this evening.

@Mr Lyann: hi; both the monitors receive power + audio signal. I can try buying a cheap Behringer UCA202, but before doing that I really wanna make sure that the soundcard is the problem, and not some wiring/other issues that may be involved.

Oh, I don't know if this matters, but the onboard card sounds perfectly fine on desktop speakers and headphones

 

Check inside the plug on the mains lead to the faulty speaker that the Earth connection is good.

 

If only I knew what that meant, I'd do it immediately. I opened both of them months ago (with a friend, because as I said I'm really scared of these things and don't want to mess up anything), I could try again but not sure what's the "mains lead". Maybe you meant the power cable itself and not the monitor?

 

Yeah. It's the Green or Green/Yellow wire.

 

Probably a capacitor problem.

 

buy a external soundcard. call in a investment in yourself if you like. just go buy it today.

even a Behringer UCA202 will be a big leap in quality over a onboard soundcard. i know this to be true because thats what i did myself years ago.

enjoy your new sound

 

I just got home, will check if the monitor has still the problem when turned on without audio
Also, if I'm gonna buy a Behringer UCA202 I'd need some sort of cables I guess, because all the ones I got end with a normal common jack (the one for the PC). Are these ones good? They are suggested on the Amazon thing
www.amazon.com/Hosa-CPR-202-Stereo-Interconnect-Cable/dp/B000068O17/ref=pd_bxgy_267_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=B5ACT5SRSS62PJWTD55S
it should be 1 cable per monitor, and plug them into the output of the UCA202. dont really care about the input because I'm not gonna record anything

 

The bad monitor DID NOT make any sound when plugged in without audio source... time to buy a Behringer? lol
It might still be some ground loops/interference maybe?

 

hi. if you are not using your pc as a studio, there is no point of buying and audio interface,you'd better off buying an audio card like this :
ASUS Xonar DG PCI 5.1 Audio Card

 

I just tried both of the speakers without audio. Other than the usual pops/noises when turned on and off, nothing happens, so the problem must be somewhere else.
If I plug in the cables into the pc jack, the bad one gets the "hum". Other one is fine.
Maybe I should try without the audio connected but still with the cable; or connected to another pc (no laptop, that's why I still haven't tried).

Also, should I be worried about the pops when plugging them? I guess there's not really much I can do about that.

 

You could try lifting the ground using a ground lift adapter. It fits on the end of your power cord, the end that plugs into the wall. Cost about two dollars. Try it on the speaker first if that don't work try it on the computer.

This will cure the ground loop if you have one.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=968589&gclid=CNGrsq-gyc8CFYNKXgodWMQNzw&Q=&ap=y&m=Y&c3api=1876,92051678402,&is=REG&A=details

 

The noise appears when I connect the speaker to the PC and I raise the volume (in fact it raises with the volume knob).
Just for fun I tried using the smartphone as well instead of PC: same issue.

So here's my legitimate question: if it was a ground loop, why there's no noise when I unplug the audio cables?

 

If you have the same issue with a mobile phone that is not plugged into a charger, it is probably not a ground loop. Good trouble shooting test.

With the audio unplugged there is only one path to terminate to ground (grounded ac cord) making it impossible to loop.

Lots of ground loop info on Google, more than I could explain here. Diagrams and such.

 

Last edited: Oct 7, 2016

EVERYBODY STOP
So here's what I did: I just brought the bad speaker upstairs, and I tried the usual cable on a mobile phone. NO HUM.
What's going on here? I think I'm gonna test a bit more, BRB I'll keep you updated
We gonna fix these fuckers, even if it will be the last thing we do