[chrisssj2]

onkyo tx-nr616 receiver
GeForce 570
Panasonic TX-P42S20 TV
Asrock P 67 extreme 6

mini usb go vibe dac I got with my new hippo vb

I connected the mini dac to my pc + a gold plated 3.5mm to RCA cable to my receiver 1.2 Meter.

Sound works everything cool except for, especially when u turn the audio up a bleep or high pitched noise which almost sound like something is "writing" like some kind of old machine, like something writing for earthquakes or something, sonagraph lol!

No but seriously it sounds like a Printer, printing.

During music I don't hear it,  I think? not sure must test more.
Also with my headphones I don't hear it. Though i do hear something else.  as everything is on max volume and when no music is on, i hear a ****load of background static.

Tried front usb + back usb. Both seem to have it.

What is the cause?
Mini go vibe dac?
Motherboard usb ports/ drivers?
Receiver?
The newly bought gold plated cable?

How can I eliminate this noise?

 

[chrisssj2]

Bump- high priority

 

[fluidz]

  onkyo tx-nr616 receiver
GeForce 570
Panasonic TX-P42S20 TV
Asrock P 67 extreme 6

mini usb go vibe dac I got with my new hippo vb

I connected the mini dac to my pc + a gold plated 3.5mm to RCA cable to my receiver 1.2 Meter.

Sound works everything cool except for, especially when u turn the audio up a bleep or high pitched noise which almost sound like something is "writing" like some kind of old machine, like something writing for earthquakes or something, sonagraph lol!

No but seriously it sounds like a Printer, printing.

During music I don't hear it,  I think? not sure must test more.
Also with my headphones I don't hear it. Though i do hear something else.  as everything is on max volume and when no music is on, i hear a ****load of background static.

Tried front usb + back usb. Both seem to have it.

What is the cause?
Mini go vibe dac?
Motherboard usb ports/ drivers?
Receiver?
The newly bought gold plated cable?

How can I eliminate this noise?

 
By the sound of it, your chain is suffering from ground loop.  Buying something similar to this should eliminate the noise - http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/ground-loop-isolator-vw43w although some will argue it may affect the dynamics.  
 
I used this isolator for quite a while, which sat in between the speakers and USB Dac, and it worked well to remove all noise - in your case it would be connected in between the speakers and receiver.  
 
I did A/B tests with and without the Isolator and found the highs were slightly crushed with it connected and being dissatisfied I binned the isolator and looked for an alternative method.   Reading around the web I found that pin1 can be safely lifted on each Xlr cable (receiver/dac end) to eliminate ground loop noise - I tried this and it worked.  
 
Receiver/Dac <XLR - Pin 1 lifted> ---------- <XLR> Speaker L/R
 
That did the trick, no more noise and dynamics were untouched.  
 
You may want to have a read of this - http://www.avsforum.com/forum/91-audio-theory-setup-chat/1224685-eliminating-ground-loop-help-better-challenge-than-usual.html#post18093616

 

[jiiteepee]

Try if lowering the mouse pointer speed helps anything. This can be done through system control panel -> hardware and sound -> devices and printers -> moue -> pointer optons -tab.
Sometimes enablin hardware acceleration (graphics option) can cause this type issue aswell.

 

[chrisssj2]

It also there when I don't move the mouse, but screeches when I move the mouse.
Receiver/Dac <XLR - Pin 1 lifted> ---------- <XLR> Speaker L/R
What do you mean with this? Im a noob with this, so u'd have to explain it like u would to you mom probably *(unless she's tech savy lol)

If it is a ground loop what is the cause of it in the first place?
The usb dac works great in a laptop of a friend
Xlr cable (receiver/dac end) cable?  What does this mean, the 3.5mm to rca gold plated cable you mean?
 
Btw my speakers are 5.1 ultima 40 mk2.. from Teufel.
I also have razor abyssus mouse with the 3500 dpi mode switch on, and drivers/app from razor for it.


EDIT:
Ahh I fixed the printer problem when moving my mouse. I had to pull the 1000hz it was on to 125 hz. Spotless clean when moving mouse now!!

Now one last problem remains, which is, the constant high frequency pitch I hear.... with some small crackling
Would this still be ground loop?!? I only hear it slightly at receiver volume 75 (which is very loud), and very noticeable at volume 90 + (which I don't use ever, but as a reference for now to measure).

I noticed with the dac between the receiver and pc, I have to put the volume up some to reach the same volume.
With the laptop of my friend, if I put it in, im getting WAY louder sound with the dac then the onboard laptop headphone jack. It would damage your hearing, that loud.


Also found something on my receiver about ground loops. It says:
 
WRAT (Wide Range Amplifier Technology): WRAT is based around a low negative-feedback circuit topology that works to reduce signal noise and distortion across the frequency range. A "closed ground-loop circuit" design is employed, in which each circuit has a separate link to the power supply. This helps to cancel individual circuit noise and keep the ground potential free of distortion. High Instantaneous Current Capability (HICC) enables WRAT amplifiers to immediately cancel the speakers' reflex energy and instantaneously send out the next signal. The same high current better manages speaker impedance fluctuations, which can negatively affect performance.
 

 

[jiiteepee]

 Ahh I fixed the printer problem when moving my mouse. I had to pull the 1000hz it was on to 125 hz. Spotless clean when moving mouse now!!
 

 
Yes, looking mouse position 1000 times/second is too much. You should be able to drop it to 50Hz as well.
 

 Now one last problem remains, which is, the constant high frequency pitch I hear.... with some small crackling

 
Does this happen too when you set your software to use ASIO or WASAPI Exclusive Mode (not all software supports these API)?

 

[chrisssj2]

How would I drop it to 50 hz? I doubt it would make much difference but I would try if I would know how.

ASIO drivers? Which one should I use? Do I need to uninstall anything?
Could you please link me.

I just use default windows WASAPI I think? From what I googled about it..

 

[RonaldDumsfeld]

It's impossible to be 100% certain over this distance and from the information given but the probability is you have a ground loop between your PC and the receiver via the GoVibe.
 
The GoVibe appears to be a USB headphone amp so they may have saved money on the design by not bothering to isolate the power supply USB ground from the phono plug shared ground and return. If you were only feeding headphones it wouldn't matter. Send it back if you can.
 
You can get little dongles which claim to isolate ground on USB cables.  Although you might not need one in this case. Have you tried connecting your PC to your receiver directly using a USB cable? Do you still get ground loop symptoms?
 
The only 100% guaranteed method of eliminating a ground loop is to use a transformer based ground loop isolator. Really high end ones used by professionals (Radial, Coleman, Jensen etc) contain transformers comparable to those found in MC phono pre amps costing $2000 and up. So they are expensive at around $400. However you get get perfectly good results with much expensive models and really every experienced audiophile ought to have a DI box hanging around even if you only use it for emergencies and troubleshooting. I can recommend these from personal experience.
 
http://artproaudio.com/artcessories/audio_solutions/product/dti/ - a passive design.
http://artproaudio.com/artcessories/audio_solutions/product/cleanbox_pro/ - active design.
 
The cool thing about the ARTs is that they come with every possible input and output type (balanced XLR, balanced TRS, unbalanced TS, unbalanced RCA phono and 1/8" minijack). So it doubles up as  universal adaptor. So you only need to use it once to get your moneys worth.

 

[jiiteepee]

  How would I drop it to 50 hz? I doubt it would make much difference but I would try if I would know how.

ASIO drivers? Which one should I use? Do I need to uninstall anything?
Could you please link me.

I just use default windows WASAPI I think? From what I googled about it..

 
It's best to keep the rate above the refresh rate of your monitor so 125Hz is OK. In Vista or newer OS you can't adjust the rate as you could in Xp (maybe possible through a registry tweak?).
 
Just install Foobar2000, Asio4all and WASAPI or ASIO output plug-in (see instructions for installing foobar2k plugins).
- http://www.foobar2000.org/
- http://www.asio4all.com
- http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_out_wasapi or http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_out_asio

 

[mich41]

You can temporarily eliminate the ground loop by disconnecting either the computer or the receiver from the ground - just use cable with a two pole AC plug instead of a three pole one.

This way you can find out how much of your troubles is caused by the loop and how much isn't.

If you are satisfied with the result, connect the ground back and put a USB optoisolator between the computer and DAC (unlike analog cable isolators, this shouldn't affect the signal).