[parahx]

I have an ATH-A500 and when I connect it to my computer, it makes a very audible hissing noise. And it's not a constant hiss, it jumps up in volume at intervals, it's quite annoying. When I connect it to my mp3 player, though, there is no hiss.

I just got the headphones about an hour ago, so I was thinking that the newness may have something to do with it, and I also do not have a sound card installed in my computer; I just have whatever sound chip came with my e-machines. Are there any other factors I should be taking into consideration? I think that the soundcard might be the problem for this one but I want to make sure before buying anything.

 

[Fitz]

The headphones are fine, you're just hearing how bad your onboard sound is. For a cheap solution, you may want to try out a Chaintech AV-710, they cost around $30, and they have an optical output if you ever get sucked into the hobby enough to add an external DAC to the system.

 

[Underground]

Its 99% likely it's just interference from your computer. A PCI soundcard will make a difference in this regard. Also go into volume control and mute everything except master and wave, that might make a difference.

Cheers

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by parahx I have an ATH-A500 and when I connect it to my computer, it makes a very audible hissing noise. And it's not a constant hiss, it jumps up in volume at intervals, it's quite annoying. I just got the headphones about an hour ago, so I was thinking that the newness may have something to do with it, and I also do not have a sound card installed in my computer; I just have whatever sound chip came with my e-machines. Are there any other factors I should be taking into consideration? I think that the soundcard might be the problem for this one but I want to make sure before buying anything.

99.9% sure it's a poorly-engineered sound solution on your PC motherboard, picking up electrical noise from the rest of the system. The A900, at least, is fairly sensitive, and I imagine the A500 is too, so it'll pick up the noise from the motherboard quite clearly. The hissing you describe is not typically something induced by headphones, but it's very typical of lousy onboard soundchips.

 

[parahx]

okay, muting everything except master and wave helped a little bit. Now there's only a soft hiss which isn't that bad. Can a sound card improve this? If it can what kind of sound card should I get, like a Soundblaster? I don't want to spend over $30-$40 for a sound card

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by parahx okay, muting everything except master and wave helped a little bit. Now there's only a soft hiss which isn't that bad. Can a sound card improve this? If it can what kind of sound card should I get, like a Soundblaster? I don't want to spend over $30-$40 for a sound card

The Chaintech AV-710 runs about $30 or less.

 

[sgrossklass]

Yeah, but the AV-710, at least the much preferred alt out, is unsuited for driving cans, particularly low-impedance ones. Maybe a "Santa" then (Turtle Beach Santa Cruz), or a Live! 24-Bit (SB0410) / Audigy SE/Value (SB0570), which can be improved by quite a bit if you know where the hot end of a soldering iron is.