[JTori]

I could use some help from the group.

I am driving an Audioengine A2/AS8 sat/sub system from a V-DAC, which is connected to the optical S/PDIF from an X-Fi ExtremeMusic soundcard.

Occasionally -- usually when websurfing -- the speakers will emit a loud, high-pitched, shrill tone that lasts for a few seconds until I can navigate away from the offending page. The tone is continuous and very alarming.

I would appreciate any insight into what is causing the tone and how I can mitigate it.

Thanks.

 

[samspotting]

Play it using an mp3 player and see if it still does it.

Use another computer with the same equiptment, and check if it still does it.

 

[JTori]

Thanks for the suggestion. No issues playing music off the current computer if I'm not websurfing. Also, no issues playing from an ipod or from my laptop.

 

[iriverdude]

Sounds like the X-Fi bug. Try another soundcard.

 

[JTori]

iriverdude, is there a known bug that causes this? What sound cards are recommended that offer a good, clean S/PDIF out? Don't really care much about effects. It will be driving a DAC for music listening and the occasional Skype call.

 

[samspotting]

Turn off wireless and if it still does it its a well known wireless bug with no fixes.

 

[iriverdude]

It's a well known motherboard-Xfi issue, do a google search for X-Fi noise/screaching. Adjusting PCI latency may help. I've had no problems with SPDIF out on M-Audio Revolution soundcard into a Lexicon av pre-amp.

 

[JTori]

Thanks for guiding me in this direction. Alot has been written on this subject. I've updated drivers, increased the sound quality (sampling rate, bit depth) and checked for IRQ conflicts (none). Next I'll play with PCI latency some. In the end, I'll probably opt for a sound card optimized for low-jitter S/PDIF output. Sounds like there are a lot of issues with X-Fi.