Feedback Noise - Resolution Recommendations
Dec 24, 2014 at 8:09 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 5

Cadriel

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Hi all,
 
I've recently purchased myself a pair of JBL LSR305's. Love them. I simply run them through a 3.5mm jack split to two TRS connectors. If I run the speakers through my Macbook Pro - the sound is awesome.
 
However - I also plug these into my gaming PC on occasion - and in this case, I get a terrible background hiss / noise. The noise changes as the PC encounters different workloads. Simply moving the mouse can cause slight differences in the hiss. As soon as I start a game, the noise is louder and more pronounced - and as the action changes on screen, so does the noise. At the moment I'm mostly blaming my incredibly power hungry graphics card (GTX 580) and the motherboards onboard sound card.
 
Initially I thought grabbing a AudioEngine D1 or something similar would resolve my issues - but I'm wondering if a decent internal sound card - something like the SoundBlaster Zx would also fix my issues? I assume these are suitably shielded to avoid the issue?
 
I want to keep costs low if at all possible - and the Zx looked like a good option.
 
Any thoughts?
 
Cheers!
 
Dec 24, 2014 at 9:39 PM Post #2 of 5
This issue is often a ground loop on the AC power - it's pretty common. Try this: On each of the power plugs for the speakers, use a 3 prong to 2 prong power adapter (they are about $5 at Home Depot). This will lift (break) the ground loop because only the hot & neutral pins will be connected, not the ground pin.
 
Dec 24, 2014 at 10:23 PM Post #3 of 5
Would this still be an appropriate solution knowing that the Macbook Pro works fine with exactly the same setup? The macbook is connected to the same power outlet as the PC. The only thing changing is the 3.5mm plug moving from the macbook to the PC which sits beside it.
 
Macbook is good. PC is not.
 
Dec 26, 2014 at 6:21 PM Post #4 of 5
@billybob_jcv Got around to picking up these adapters today and tested them, and what do you know - the issue is gone! Thank you a bunch!
 
So - what ill effects does removing the ground do? Should I be attempting to resolve the issue at the source or is this solution good to go?
 
Dec 26, 2014 at 11:50 PM Post #5 of 5
BTW, the MacBook probably works because the laptop battery isolates the audio signal from the AC power.

The only issue with removing the ground is that you shouldn't stand in a bucket of water while you are plugging the speakers in... :p
 

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