USB Speakers making static sound

[fangerz]

My speakers make this static/interference type sound when nothing is happening; it's faint but definitely annoying. I have two sets of them and both do the same thing. I plugged them into my laptop and the noise goes away, so the speakers themselves don't seem to be the problem. I tried different audio jacks and no difference. I tried installing new realtek driver – no difference. The sound is still there even when I mute my pc's sound.

This is really annoying me and I don't know what to do; is it my sound card? I am using on-board sound on my P8Z68-V PRO.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[flyordie]

same problem with G930 couldn't find any help on logitech's page

 

[Herr_Koos]

Same problem here; Using AOpen USB speakers. I've yet to find a solution.

 

[alyoshka]

You need to check the PC for earth leaks.
Other things that have been know to cause this sort of hiss or crackling from time to time have been faulty or cheap case/gpu/cpu fans. The carbon deposits with dust causing a blowback in current at very low rates in the whole case which is mostly heard through the speakers. Faulty or loose contacts also cause this.
Isolating the main leak is one of the big problem.

 

[fangerz]

I tried:

- Running my comp with a different PSU.
- Taking out my GPU and running from on-board graphics.
- disconnecting case fans.
- Plugging my psu straight into the wall socket instead of my belkin board.

No change...

My cpu fan is Cooler Master hyper 212+, do you really think it could be causing it? haven't had any problems with it. I guess I could connect the stock fan and see what happens? Case is fractal design r3.

How do I test for earth leaks? I did some google searches and it sounds like I need equipment?

Thanks.

 

[pjmelect]

The most common causes of noise from speakers is caused by noise from the CD audio input, microphone input and line input. Try turning off all inputs to your sound card and see if this solves your problem. Another thing people have the do is to have the output of the sound card turned down low and the gain of the speakers turned up high. Adjust the mix outputs to maximum and turn down the speaker volume.

 

[fangerz]

I couldn't find any options in Realtek HD audio manager and windows 7 sound to turn off inputs. It was interesting though, I went to device advanced settings in audio manager and changed a setting, after clicking OK, the sound would go away while the manager said it was reloading audio devices; when it had finished the sound came back. I tested to see if it was just turning off all sound during the reload by playing music during a setting change but it did not - the music kept playing.

It seems like we are onto something here. What happens when Realtek HD audio manager reloads audio devices?

Also, how do I turn off all inputs exactly? This is what I did with no change:

It's so peaceful when the sound goes away - even for a few seconds - while audio manager reloads; maybe I will just sit here changing settings and reloading it over and over

 

[fangerz]

I don't know if this is of any use but I noticed that the sound starts happening if I touch the end of the audio jack anywhere on the plate covering my motherboard inputs - not plugged in, just touchnig the outside.

 

[alyoshka]

That's why we call it a leak in current at some place and not being properly Earthed...

 

[fangerz]

Is this something I need to call an electrician about or what else can I do considering I have swapped out most components already?

 

[alyoshka]

You need to check your system for leaking current. Got a tester?
Is your PC connected to a 3Pin wall socket with all three pins?
Sometimes they remove the third pin from the wire that comes along for universal compatibility, I need you to check that.

 

[fangerz]

I don't have a tester; I had never heard of this type of problem until tonight :S

Everything in my system is connected with 3 pins other than my router. I tried disconnecting it and tried a different power cable just then and no change.

 

[fangerz]

What will I be testing if I was to get one? am I testing for faulty cables in my case or faulty components?

I tried connecting the computer to different outlets around the apartment and had no change...

 

[alyoshka]

You'd be checking for leaking dangerous current. Electricity that is leaking and not being correctly grounded.

 

[fangerz]

Out of curiosity, why does the earth leak sound go away when my system is stressed. I noticed that when it is processing something the static sound goes away and then comes back when the system is idlign again, e.g., when I run prime95 the sound is gone. It seems counter-intuitive - I would have thought that the sound would be louder if the system was using more power processing etc.

 

[pjmelect]

Earth leakage sounds like a low hum not a static sound.

 

[fangerz]

This is high pitched beeping sound with scratchy static in the background. I have everything muted for the speakers in device manager now and no difference.

 

[alyoshka]

Low hum sound as far as i can recollect comes from High Current Coils mainly located in the PSU. Earth leakage also sounds like a sudden peak in a chocolate wrapper crackling and then dying down with a sound like a television without a transmission. it also feels like a leaky capacitance building up and dying down. but it's usually not, it's current gathering in the case and then dying out.

 

[fangerz]

Could it just be that the onboard soundcard is faulty/piece of junk? Why would there be a difference when my cpu load is high?

 

[djjones]

It's a problem with alot of USB equipment mics mics +headsets speakers.. all using usb.. so the problem is most likely the usb conenction if you jiggle the ubs and it fixes it for a second, try a different usb cord or port obviously. you can try a connect it to a wall adapter for usbs, that has worked for me before
obviously old post, but just for googlers