[oscaracso]

Does your PC have HDD activity LED? Does the "crackling" noise occur when the LED flashes? That's should indicate the head-seeking motor is creating the electrical noise. If there's no other noise sources, using SSD only should eliminate the noise.

If that does not work, then try the optical output card. That should eliminate all electrical noise generated by the PC.

When I unplug my HDD, my computer does not start as it says that it is the boot device even though my OS is installed on my SSD which isn't very big. The crackling noise does seem to occur when the LED flashes. Will using an optical output get around this because I can't really just get rid of my HDD.

Although the noise may not always be consistent with the led flashing..

 

[purplesun]

When I unplug my HDD, my computer does not start as it says that it is the boot device even though my OS is installed on my SSD which isn't very big. The crackling noise does seem to occur when the LED flashes. Will using an optical output get around this because I can't really just get rid of my HDD.

Do you have another SSD to setup as a standalone boot drive to test/confirm the HDD is the culprit? It might be cheaper (and better drive performance) to buy an bigger SSD instead of a optical sound card.

With the optical connection, make sure there is no other electrical connection/s between the PC and downstream of the DAC. Or else the noise will still pass though.

I hope this sorts out your problem.

 

[CoryGillmore]

Very interesting thread, be sure to come back and let us know how you fixed this problem,, too many people get the help they need and disappear. This thread could be helpful for many people in the future.

 

[Beresford]

I once had a similar buzz, which went after I uninstalled and deleted Adobe AIR (and maybe Acrobat), and also all versions of Java, reinstalling the latest version.

 

[oscaracso]

It's not really a buzz. It's just activity from within my computer. Opening programs, scrolling mouse wheel etc. Will I get this issue with all amps or all tube amps or just this specific LD MK2 tube amp. I'm too busy and too poor to solve this issue. If the issue lies with noise from my hard drive, I can't afford to get a 500gb/1tb ssd.

 

[oscaracso]

Will something like this for optical to my DAC solve the problem:
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/compu...hxePI9T_DpciOCCo1KRoCBdoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[purplesun]

Will something like this for optical to my DAC solve the problem:
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/components-upgrades/sound-cards/asus-xonar-dg-5-1-channel-pci-sound-card-07908212-pdt.html?istCompanyId=bec25c7e-cbcd-460d-81d5-a25372d2e3d7&istItemId=qwiimmq&istBid=tztx&srcid=198&cmpid=ppc~gg~1022 (PLA) PC COMPONENTS - Adaptive~1022 (PLA) PC COMPONENTS - Adaptive ad group~Exact&mctag=gg_goog_7904&kwid=GOOGLE&device=c&ds_kids=92700038991847062&tgtid=1022 (PLA) PC COMPONENTS - Adaptive&&gclid=CjwKCAiA4OvhBRAjEiwAU2FoJRqCGZTIFopr1Mo2gNrq8sXDcQUm86qetophxePI9T_DpciOCCo1KRoCBdoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Should work (in theory) if it does not introduce it's own noise. That's not the most re-assuring answer; but fixing random noises in an audio workstation can be quite elusive, especially with a limited budget.
If it's possible, can you borrow a sound card with digital output to confirm everything works, before buying that same sound card?

Btw, can you describe your rig's hardware and strong EM sources in it's vicinity? Someone here could spot something else that may be causing the problem.

 

[oscaracso]

I've added a sound card and it has reduced the noise a large amount. When I'm not opening a program or scrolling there is no noise and if the amp is on about 60% volume you can hardly hear anything. I keep my tube amp on full volume to get better sound and adjust through my DAC. Because of the reduction of electrical noise I noticed a strange noise in one channel which dissipated when I moved my WiFi booster across the room. The small problem doesn't bother me enough to fully fix it.

 

[purplesun]

I've added a sound card and it has reduced the noise a large amount. When I'm not opening a program or scrolling there is no noise and if the amp is on about 60% volume you can hardly hear anything. I keep my tube amp on full volume to get better sound and adjust through my DAC. Because of the reduction of electrical noise I noticed a strange noise in one channel which dissipated when I moved my WiFi booster across the room. The small problem doesn't bother me enough to fully fix it.

Good to hear everything worked out reasonably well. Most importantly, as you said, "The small problem doesn't bother me enough to fully fix it".

 

[richard51]

Noise is the most challenging and destructive,underestimated enemy of the sound quality on any audio pieces... I solved my problem with my EMI filtration and cleaning methods and I dont even had an isolator now ,and I subscribe to what said PURPLESUN, optical is better for isolating the noise from the computer...

 

[soonkwang]

I had similar issues. I discovered that the pc noise was being picked up by the usb cable. I bought a usb isolator on amazon and that solved the issue.

 

[richard51]

I had similar issues. I discovered that the pc noise was being picked up by the usb cable. I bought a usb isolator on amazon and that solved the issue.

Like you I bought an isolator and that solves the problem at first look... But an isolator is a piece of electronics then a source of noise in itself... Any electronic device that actively filtrates the lines introduces a particular noise coming from itself or an artificial "frame" to the sound... It is a trade-off, each time we introduce active electronic elements to clean the line.... I prefer to use my crystals and stones they are passive filtration elements... Now I dont use my isolator because I realize that the "cleanliness" that this isolator device made was paid by the price of introducing a kind of artificial "frame" to my music, then at the expense of the dynamic and some degradation of the timbre of instruments... This is my experience and I am only a normal guy not a scientist by far...I had no explanations for my experience...and experiments...