weird static from source? Help please
Nov 10, 2011 at 11:24 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 2

yjt93

CAUTION: Incomplete trades.
Joined
May 1, 2011
Posts
86
Likes
12
So today all of the sudden i hear static on some high notes from my iPod nano and thought my westone 4 is acting up however when I use my phone to listen to the same song(same file as well) it doesn't have the static. the static happens at the same place every time for a few songs. so I thought it's 100% the source, but when I get home I plugged my westone 4s on my macbook air and played the songs from iTunes the statics are there again. Tried my monster turbines on nano and macbook air with same results and no static from phone. Either this just happened today or I just didn't notice it until today... 
 
so is this a source problem??? seems so weird thanks for any help.
 
EDIT: to make everything more clear.
 
 
- When listening normally without EQ sound is fine, no static or clipping.
- When listening with EQ boosting mid or high frequency. some songs have static or clipping but it's at the certain time, not the whole song.
- When listening with EQ and lowing the preamp, no static
- When listening at higher volume than normal still not static or clipping.
- The problem is not just one ear, it's both, which is really weird.
 
- all of those are true in all my sources, Ipod, laptop, and desktop (I play the same audio files). I also used it on my phone which has no EQ and it has no static.
 
Nov 11, 2011 at 11:53 AM Post #2 of 2
It could be how the song / tack was compressed.  Say on your phone you have compressed the mp3 down to 128kbps.  Compression is known to take away the high frequencies so any issues that were in the original track in the treble would be hidden.
 
It may be you have some EQ settings in your nano that are distorting the treble.
 
It may be that the listening levels, when you hear the problem, are too high and when hear the "static" it is distortion caused by high volume levels.
 
It may be the DAC process.  Each device you describe has its own DAC, but I know that the DAC inside apple devices are actually pretty good.
 
If it is a matter of compression the tracks may have some distortion in them and because you are using less compressed files on some devices vs others, you are hearing the actual song as it is for the first time.
 
Try a pair of headphones in each case and report back.  Also please list the tracks you are listening to especially the ones you hear the static on.
 
Cheers
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top