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post #856 of 944
1/20/10 at 9:58am
Copied this from my other thread as someone told me to ask here.

When I leave my amp on and idle for a period of time and come back to it, sometimes a staticy crackling sound will be coming through the headphones. Playing music immediately stops this sound, but I'm just wondering what could be causing this?

Is it normal? Is something wrong with my amp? Is it just the fact that my source is a onboard SPDIF out?
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post #857 of 944
1/20/10 at 10:56am
Thread Starter 
Does it do this if you unplug the digital source and leave it on? Is the crackling there all the time or only when you turn the volume knob?
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post #858 of 944
1/20/10 at 7:42pm
Has nothing to do with the volume knob as I don't touch it.

It only happens when the amp is left idle for like, over 10 minutes, and immediately stops when I put a sound through it.

I'll try unplugging my source next time it happens.
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post #859 of 944
1/21/10 at 12:56am
Could be the HDAM needs re-seating in it's DIP8 socket or a cable issue of some kind. Do what Curra suggests and isolate the Compass from your source and see if that noise persists. One other possibility is the 1/4 in jack is making poor contact with the Neutrik jack.

Make sure the Compass is away from wireless gadgets and cell phones. Double check cabling connections. Are you using the USB input by any chance Necrolic ?

Peete.
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post #860 of 944
1/21/10 at 1:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pricklely Peete View Post
Could be the HDAM needs re-seating in it's DIP8 socket or a cable issue of some kind. Do what Curra suggests and isolate the Compass from your source and see if that noise persists. One other possibility is the 1/4 in jack is making poor contact with the Neutrik jack.

Make sure the Compass is away from wireless gadgets and cell phones. Double check cabling connections. Are you using the USB input by any chance Necrolic ?

Peete.
No, the SPDIF out of my onboard. I'll try to isolate it from the source next time it happens, but it is pretty rare from what I can tell so it may be awhile before I can get back to you on that, especially given that any sound kills it so if anything happens while it is idle and the sound is going, I lose the sound.
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post #861 of 944
1/21/10 at 1:05am
Are you using on-board audio (mobo SPDIF from an integrated SB/Audio controller chip) or a separate PCI sound card ?

Peete.
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post #862 of 944
1/21/10 at 1:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Necrolic View Post
No, the SPDIF out of my onboard. I'll try to isolate it from the source next time it happens, but it is pretty rare from what I can tell so it may be awhile before I can get back to you on that, especially given that any sound kills it so if anything happens while it is idle and the sound is going, I lose the sound.
May have to do with Power saving on your computer. You are using a computer as source, correct?
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post #863 of 944
1/21/10 at 3:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pricklely Peete View Post
Are you using on-board audio (mobo SPDIF from an integrated SB/Audio controller chip) or a separate PCI sound card ?

Peete.
Well he said onboard silly Yeah if it's coax S/PDIF he could be picking up noise from the PC.

Necrolic - if you have the option try an optical input, it will electrically isolate the Compass from your PC. Also if possible, do you have any other (coax) S/PDIF sources? If so try that, if you're using coax from your PC and the sound doesn't occur with coax from other sources it would be a good bet that it's PC noise.
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post #864 of 944
1/21/10 at 1:01pm
I just tried isolating it from the source, and it eliminated the sound, so it is picking up noise from the PC.

Looks like I'm going to have to pick up an external soundcard. I was thinking about the M-Audio Audiophile 192.
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post #865 of 944
1/21/10 at 1:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Necrolic View Post
I just tried isolating it from the source, and it eliminated the sound, so it is picking up noise from the PC.

Looks like I'm going to have to pick up an external soundcard. I was thinking about the M-Audio Audiophile 192.
you can try using the existing usb input for the compass
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post #866 of 944
1/21/10 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Necrolic View Post
I just tried isolating it from the source, and it eliminated the sound, so it is picking up noise from the PC.

Looks like I'm going to have to pick up an external soundcard. I was thinking about the M-Audio Audiophile 192.
If the computer is active, that is playing a file through the sound card routing it through your COAX and you stop whatever your media player is, does the static make sound immediately? I'm wondering where you came up with the idle statement?
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post #867 of 944
1/21/10 at 6:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMan007 View Post
Well he said onboard silly Yeah if it's coax S/PDIF he could be picking up noise from the PC.
Well I had to ask to make sure

Peete.
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post #868 of 944
1/21/10 at 9:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by les_garten View Post
If the computer is active, that is playing a file through the sound card routing it through your COAX and you stop whatever your media player is, does the static make sound immediately? I'm wondering where you came up with the idle statement?
What I mean by idle is the amp actually needs to be left untouched but with the power on, no sound playing, for a period of time before the sound actually starts. The couple times I've noticed it have actually been after the PC itself has gone on standby right after I tapped the keyboard to put it back on, and continued until I played any sound.

So no it does not immediately start after music stops playing.
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post #869 of 944
1/21/10 at 11:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Necrolic View Post
What I mean by idle is the amp actually needs to be left untouched but with the power on, no sound playing, for a period of time before the sound actually starts. The couple times I've noticed it have actually been after the PC itself has gone on standby right after I tapped the keyboard to put it back on, and continued until I played any sound.

So no it does not immediately start after music stops playing.
Right, but if you stop the sound from playing the sound does not return, right away, correct? I'm getting at it may be either power saving or the S/PDIF un-syncs after a certain amount of time with no signal.

So if you can pause your music and not have it, it is a non issue. Or turn the volume down on the source and not hear it. It's related to something above and who cares.
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post #870 of 944
1/22/10 at 12:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by les_garten View Post
Right, but if you stop the sound from playing the sound does not return, right away, correct? I'm getting at it may be either power saving or the S/PDIF un-syncs after a certain amount of time with no signal.

So if you can pause your music and not have it, it is a non issue. Or turn the volume down on the source and not hear it. It's related to something above and who cares.
No it doesn't come back if I pause it, hell, a windows sound will stop it.

It's not a big deal, it happened a couple times yesterday so I got worried but hasn't happened today except when I purposely let me PC go to stand by while the amp was on.
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