Static in Headphones (Wires not near power cables)

[jordan1794]

I have static in my headphones when plugged into my Logitech 2.1 speakers.

The audio cables never come near any power cables.

The speakers have no static.
The headphone static isn't very audible when music is playing, but is still annoying during quiet times.

The audio cable comes out of my PC's jack, into the Right speaker, from the right speaker is the same type of cable that a computer monitor hooks to(VGA?), which goes to the subwoofer. From the subwoofer comes out a power cable to the wall outlet, and an RCA wire to the left speaker.

When I go to plug the VGA cable into the subwoofer, with headphones in, there are all sorts of noises/static, which settles into steady static once it is all the way screwed in.

Here comes the weirdest part...

When the speaker volume is clicked off, there is static, and turning the knob on/off doesn't change it...but when the speakers are turned up the static gets quieter, up until its completely gone at exactly 1/2 max volume...turning it past that increases the static until it reaches the same level at max volume, as it is at no volume.

I had the problem previously, and simply jiggling the wires fixed it, but I can't seem to replicate that fix.

Any ideas?

 

[Bezzell]

It's either, power outlet not grounded. Or, most likely EM interference from poorly shielded PC components in the chain. Starting from, headphone cable, jack, speakers, speaker cables, onboard audio, jack, power supply. Even high end PC gear is not known for having very good sound quality or sound floor.

The longer the chain, the more static you'll hear. Try plugging headphones directly into the headphone jack on the back of your PC.

 

[ssddx]

the easiest fix would be to just plug into your case's front audio (headphone) jack and leave the speakers connected to the rear. or in the case of a laptop to just swap cables.

as far as an actual fix is concerned it may be a bad/loose connection inside the speaker with regards to the headphone jack or related connections if you did not always have this noise issue or if you always had the issue from day 1 it may be just a design flaw of the speakers which introduces interference due to unshielded wires.

 

[jordan1794]

To add some info, when i unplug the speakers from the outlet the static remains in the headphones for a few moments before it "pops" and then goes away.

 

[jordan1794]

So I found a "solution".
The Logitech speakers actually have two different headphone ports.

One is labeled with a picture of headphones, the other is simply labeled with a music symbol.

The headphone port gives static, but the music one does not.

Not sure what the difference between the two ports is, maybe the headphone port is designed for self-powered headphones, as the volume is much lower on the headphone port than the music port.

Also the model number is Z323, in case anyone else has this issue.