Sennheiser Game One: Static Stereo

starshield10 · May 30, 2018

I have an issue with my headset after a certain amount of time. This issue is, my audio starts making a static like sound after a while (seemingly, for no reason). If I log out and log back in the static sound goes away, but then comes back after a certain period of time. Another strange thing is, when I go to my Realtek audio manager and change the setup to 7.1 or 5.1 the static goes away, however if I switch back to stereo the static comes back. It is unfortunate because I enjoy stereo mode the best as it offers the best sound and loudness, whereas 7.1 and 5.1 seemingly offer no advantage. If I change the volume the static's volume changes accordingly.

Headset: Sennheiser Game One
Motherboard: ASUS z170-a
Sound Card: None

Any help would be appreciated, thanks guys!

justin.m.beauvais · May 31, 2018

I think what you have here is a simple case of EMI or electromagnetic interference. The sound chip on the motherboard sits really close to a lot of other circuitry and that circuitry is introducing noise into your audio. The noise is always there, but on restart it takes a little time for the charge causing your noise to build up. When you switch to 5.1 or 7.1 you are effectively splitting the noise between channels and it seems like it goes away, but it is still there. It changes when you change your volume because the noise is happening before the amplifier and it amplifies the noise accordingly.

Now, there is only one sure way to get rid of this issue, but it involves buying either an external DAC or a sound card. The DAC is the better option as it gets the digital to analog decoding out of the PC, where the noise is generated. An external sound card would work much the same, but an internal one might still have a little noise as it is inside the PC. Most internal sound cards have filters and shielded components to mitigate the interference, and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.

Hope that helps.

starshield10 · May 31, 2018

justin.m.beauvais :

I really appreciate the response Justin! I spoke to some other friends of mine and they also suggested that it might be because I am not using a sound card. I actually purchased this last night on amazon "Creative Sound Blaster Audigy FX PCIe 5.1 Sound Card with High Performance Headphone Amp" for $40. It isn't external, but perhaps it will be enough? Anyways, are you able to suggest a good external DAC for the Sennheiser Game Ones? Thanks very much!

justin.m.beauvais · May 31, 2018

starshield10 :

That Sound Blaster should be great for what you want. You won't need an external DAC with it. It might not be perfect, but it will be WORLDS better than the onboard sound that you are currently using. In fact quite a few of the DACs I've seen actually have worse signal to noise ratios than this Sound Blaster. Just be sure to slot it into a PCI-E slot as far from the power supply and video card as you can for best results. If is has to go between them, then set it as close to exactly in the middle as you can get it. You should be pretty happy with it.

starshield10 · Jun 1, 2018

justin.m.beauvais :

starshield10 :

That Sound Blaster should be great for what you want. You won't need an external DAC with it. It might not be perfect, but it will be WORLDS better than the onboard sound that you are currently using. In fact quite a few of the DACs I've seen actually have worse signal to noise ratios than this Sound Blaster. Just be sure to slot it into a PCI-E slot as far from the power supply and video card as you can for best results. If is has to go between them, then set it as close to exactly in the middle as you can get it. You should be pretty happy with it.

Awesome, thanks for the help!

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Sennheiser Game One: Static Stereo

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