# Speakers make very loud buzz/squeal consistently.



## RayMatara

Hi everybody.

Not too recently but for a while now I've been hearing a high pitched squeal/buzz going on from my speakers. It doesn't matter what I have connected, it used to be my old speakers which were some nice logitech desktop speakers with a subwoofer, it happens in either of my headphones which are particularly nice (audiotechnica ath m50 or klipsch s4 IEMs.) and it is still happening with my new speakers which are KRK Rokit 8 studio monitors.

All of these devices sound perfectly fine when connected to my ipod and I can play them at full volume with no issues, so I know it isn't anything to do with the wiring to any of these devices or the actual speakers/headphones themselves. 

So having my new rokit 8s connected it is most noticeable most likely because they are the loudest of the 4 things I've had connected. Turning the volume up and down on the computer does nothing, even when the sound is all the way down and muted on my computer the buzzing/squealing is exactly the same and isn't affected by muting the computer sound at all.

So I'm guessing this is a sound card issue? Do i Just need to try and update the drivers of the sound card or do I need to go and replace the sound card all together?

Hope somebody has the answer because I'd like to be able to use these properly! Thanks.


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## tosh9i

Well, drivers don't need to be reinstalled just because you installed some new speakers. However, updating them still might help.


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## RayMatara

....
It's been happening for quite a while with every speaker system or headphones I've had connected. The new speakers have nothing to do with it it's just most noticeable because these new speakers are way louder than the last set there were connected but it has nothing to do with the actual speakers themselves.


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## tosh9i

Well, you seem to know more about "sound" than me, so let me ask you this, is it possible that "one of the volumes" could be set really high? There's more than one "volume." One time, I couldn't get any sound from my speakers. I tried adjusting it on the speakers themselves, the volume in control panel, the volume in program that came with the sound card, and none of those worked. Then I coincidentally came across a video that I couldn't open, and I ended up opening with another video player that had the volume all the way down, when I adjusted that volume, things were back to normal.

By the way, do you have a spare sound card that you can test it on?


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## RayMatara

I've tried at least tweaking the volume controls on the speakers themselves, I have tried all the volume controls in the advanced section of the windows sound control. I will look around for some more things I can mess with but I'm not at home now so I will have to try that later but I doubt that is the problem. And no I don't have another sound card.


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## JimE

Sound card, drivers, the PC itself (ie: power supply), or another form of interference.


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## RayMatara

@Dogg

So how can I remove these interferences? All of these items are needed to run a computer.


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## JimE

Interference can be the result of poor house wiring and having the PC and speakers/amp plugged into different wall outlets. Having the wires/wiring all jumbled and criss crossing under the desk can sometimes have an affect. I've also seen instances where items such as cordless phone signals are picked up via the cabling speakers. Or having other power hungry devices on the same circuit (hair dryers, space heaters, etc.).

In any case, as it doesn't occur with the headphones, these causes are not likely, but they are possible.


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## WereBo

Hi RayMatara and welcome to TSF :wave:

Have you tried plugging the speakers into the front audio-jack, on the PC?

Also, check that the speaker's signal-plug is fully seated into the socket, some moulded plugs are 'fatter' than others (the moulded plastic part) and can't always sit home fully.


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## RayMatara

@Dogg the speakers and computer and both plugged into the same power strip (IDK if having them into a power strip and not directly into the wall would affect it but that doesn't seem probable.) There is quite mess of wire under the desk, usb cords for keyboard and mouse, power cord for computer, ethernet cable, but I have tried unplugging all of these things (except for the computers power of course) to see if they were interfering and unplugging them caused no change. And as far as power hungry things go, there are 4 things connected to the power strip: each speaker, the PC, and the printer.

@Werebo: The front audio jack is worse, the computer casing itself is pretty old and that jack has been plugged and unplugged zillions of times so while plugged into the front not only is there the regular noise but theres an added static/white noise probably because of poor metal contact or I should get a compressed air can and clean it out... (I was just as best buy and forgot to buy one /facepalm) and yes the signal plug is fully connected I've check to make sure everything is secure.)

Also I'd like to say thanks in advance to the guys helping me, you all see very knowledgeable and hopefully we will get this figured out soon .


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## WereBo

Although giving the sockets a blast of canned-air won't do any harm, I don't think it will make much difference to the sound quality, pushing the plug in usually dislodges any dust-bunnies that happen to be sitting there.

What sound-card do you have? I'm beginning to suspect it might be a sound-card problem, which will need replacing.


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## RayMatara

I can't seem to find my soundcard on belarc information but I think it's some sort of Realtek soundcard. Sorry I can't be more specific.


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## WereBo

An easy way to tell is to look where the speaker-socket is, if it's on the same panel as all t'other sockets, modem, network, rear-USB's etc., then the audio is an 'onboard' sound-chip. 

If the socket is separate from the rest, on it's own panel amongst the blanking plates on the 'back-plane', then it's a 3rd-party sound-card :wink:

If it's a 3rd-party card, then opening the case and examining it should reveal a sticker with the info on it or, in some instances, the manufacturer prints the name and model onto the PCB.


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## RayMatara

Hmm It isn't this exact picture but mine looks similar so I'm assuming it's an onboard sound chip then.


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## WereBo

Yep, a lot of the onboard soundchips are Realtech. Have you tried going to the audio mixer-panel and muting all the unused channels (Both inputs and outputs)? I can't exactly remember how to get to the mixer-panel, it's been some years since I used Win-XP


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## tosh9i

by the way, have you tried using some "generic" headphones, just the ones that you get at the dollar store, and not those fancy ones.


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## jaythorpe522

Is this interference, noise, hum/whine, or feedback?
-interference will usually be of varying intensity, either random or cyclic, combined to a tight enough frequency range to contain (a) recognizable pitch(es), and not particularly loud compared to your source -- generally not loud enough to obscure. The familiar "zit-zuh-zit zut zit" of cellphone interference in an audio signal is a good example.

-what I would call 'noise' would be more constant both in intensity and ocurrence, tho' possibly still cyclic. It would be broadband (no identifiable pitch) and again not loud enough to obscure.

-hum or whine would be one constant pitch and fairly constant intensity. A bad hum or whine would maybe be enough to obscure your audio source.

-feedback is, well, feedback. One constant pitch, not always the same exact one each time, intensity quickly escalates until it mostly (or completely) drowns everything out. I mention it because one of my Lenovo laptops, for no reason I can figure out (and I know more than your average bear about audio circuitry), from time-to-time develops a feedback loop if nothing is plugged into both the I and O jacks on the front. It started one time when I was working with a couple of Sony gold-plated 'prosumer' cables (their plugs tend to run microns to the large side) -- one was my 7506 headphones, the other an XLR-F/miniplug mic cable. Was moving fast, plugged one in where the other belonged, yanked it back out perhaps more harshly than necessary, and poof -- feedback. Muting BOTH the line-in and mic-in in windows XP control panel is the only way to stop it. Once stopped, sometimes it stays away and sometimes it doesn't. Some reboots it comes back. Never yet has happened in safe mode. Anyway, enough about me, let's talk about you.

Is your problem one of the above, or a new animal?

Stupid question in 3-2-1 does it happen without speakers/phones at all? 'cause if so you've got a fan about to blow up...

Can you post a screenshot of your sound control panel?

How do you like your Rokkits? For desk editing at home I have an old pair of Tannoy 6" amped by a good studio amp, but rather than recone them yet again I'm thinking of something small & powered.

jw


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## RayMatara

@Werebo, I have tried all of the outputs and it remains the same in each one.
@tosh9i, I have found that now it is only happening with the rokit 8s, not my auditechnicas or klipsch in ears.
@jaythorpe, answering from least to most important i think: no it doesnt happen without anything plugged in, as noted above it isn't happening with any of my headphones, only the rokit 8s now. yes I do ABSOFUCKINLUTELY love the rokit 8s, no joke when I have em just to my ipod without the interference my computer is grabbing they are so fantastic, the bass is sooooo deeep but the mids and highs are so crisp and clear even through all the sub. I love them so much. 

So my dad brought his friend over yesterday who is an audiophile/computer wiz to take a look, we tried everything he knew with little success, we installed a new soundcard which made the noises much less. He says it sounds like RF interference or something like it, I agree it sounds like some sort of frequency interfering with them, I can plug the speakers into the new soundcard and If I turn the music up to a decent volume it shuts out the interference noise, the problem is that I'm using these for production and I don't always have constant noise going on, I really need NO noise at all for production purposes. So how can I get no interference.

Since the speakers themselves aren't grabbing the interference because I don't get it though my ipod, it has something to do with my actual computer getting it right?


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## WereBo

> Since the speakers themselves aren't grabbing the interference because I don't get it though my ipod, it has something to do with my actual computer getting it right?


I'd have thought so, but the fact that you're not getting the noise with the headphones/ear-buds make me suspect either the speaker-plug or sound-card socket is minutely the 'wrong-size' for each other. 

Is the speaker-plug sitting fully in the card-socket (i.e. not catching on the case etc.)? Is there any 'play in the plug when it's in the socket (side-to-side or up-down movement)?


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## jaythorpe522

How clean is the power? Can you slap a line cleaner on there and see if it goes away? It's not a bad idea to have a good power conditioner to protect amped speakers anyway; if you have somewhat dirty power that could be a source of noise, and the better the speaker the more noticeable it'd be.

Werebo, is there a way dirty power could 'get through' the PSU and be noticeable through the sound card?

jw


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## WereBo

@ jaythorpe - If the power drops or spikes enough for a short period of time it could, the smoothing circuits would 'drain' before charging again, especially if it's a low-quality PSU; I suspect it would cause PC-freezing and/or crashing though - Then again, all sorts of weird problems can arise from a failing PSU.


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