Eliminating Buzzing sound from Studio Monitors, buzzing sound only through PC.

[NoNameAvailable]

Hi, I think I am getting a ground loop from my PC. I have a pair of M-Audio BX8 D2's Studio Monitors (I'll refer to these as speakers from now on), and theres a buzzing sound which comes from the speakers when plugged into my PC. Have tried the Speakers with my Phone, Tablet & Laptop and none of these reproduce the same buzzing sound (although I haven't tried with laptop plugged into charger)

From research my guess is that it's a ground loop, I have my speakers plugged into the same powerstrip, which is also a surge protector. I have no Soundcard so my Speaker cable is plugged directly into the jack on the front of my case, I have tried with the Motherboard built in jack but it still makes the same noise.
I think my Cable is balanced but I'm not sure, the exact cable as found on Amazon is "kenable PULSE Shielded 3.5mm Stereo Jack to 2 x 6.35mm 1/4 inch Mono Jack Cable 3m", I have no music stores in my area that would stock balanced cables. (I live in rural Ireland)
Would a Soundcard be likely to stop the buzzing? Internal or external?
The buzzing isn't too bad. When listening to media through them it's not even noticable, but it is slightly irritating if it goes quiet.

 

[anthoven]

Hi there.

There isn't really an easy fix to this kind of buzz. Does the buzz decrease if you try to move the cable away from any other power cables near it? Does the buzz sound like it fluctuates depending on how hard the CPU in the PC is working?

You're cable isn't balanced. Also, a 3.5mm socket on the PC isn't capable of producing a balanced output. It is most likely a ground loop, but could also be something else. Because the cable is unbalanced, you can't eliminate the ground loop by "lifting" (disconnecting) the ground between the PC and the speakers.

Try turning the speakers right down to -∞ (nothing), and then turn the volume in Windows and any programs you are running, to the maximum. Slowly increase the volume of the speakers until it's at a good level. Is the buzz any less?

It's likely that an external sound card, with balanced outputs, connected with balanced cables, connected to the balanced inputs on the speakers would solve the problem. Usually, this would be using XLR cables, one for each speaker.

 

[Samer1970]

https/www.asus.com/Sound-Cards/Xonar_U7/

 

[anthoven]

https/www.asus.com/Sound-Cards/Xonar_U7/

The Xonar U7 doesn't have balanced outputs, so it's not going to eliminate any ground loops.

 

[Samer1970]

https/www.asus.com/Sound-Cards/Xonar_U7/

The Xonar U7 doesn't have balanced outputs, so it's not going to eliminate any ground loops.

It does not generate buzzing sound .

 

[anthoven]

https/www.asus.com/Sound-Cards/Xonar_U7/

The Xonar U7 doesn't have balanced outputs, so it's not going to eliminate any ground loops.

It does not generate buzzing sound .

The buzz is likely being introduced after the audio interface, in the cable between the audio interface and the speakers. Remember, these are studio monitors expecting a balanced signal, but they are receiving an unbalanced signal. This makes them very susceptible to picking up electrical interference from the outside environment (such as AC coupling in the cables, ground loops, etc).

 

[Samer1970]

https/www.asus.com/Sound-Cards/Xonar_U7/

The Xonar U7 doesn't have balanced outputs, so it's not going to eliminate any ground loops.

It does not generate buzzing sound .

The buzz is likely being introduced after the audio interface, in the cable between the audio interface and the speakers. Remember, these are studio monitor expecting a balanced signal, but they are receiving an unbalanced signal. This makes them very susceptible to picking up electrical interference from the outside environment (such as AC coupling in the cables, ground loops, etc).

Thanks for the info.

 

[NoNameAvailable]

Hi,
Apologies for replying to this thread so late.
But the solution was indeed a balanced output

I bought an M-Audio M-Track hub and 2 balanced cables, and it eliminated the problem completely.
The m track hub works perfectly for me, it's just a balanced input output device with a volume control

Thanks everybody who replied to the thread