[mono17]

Hi everyone, I'm new here so please forgive me if I'm posting my thread here.

I have a problem, I  would often surf the net with my laptop, while listening to music, but whenever I increase or decrease the volume I can hear some kind of scratching sound. I use a Jays four btw. Please help, are my earbuds broken? or is it the audio plug of my laptop? tnx

 

[billybob_jcv]

When you say you "increase or decrease the volume" - how are you changing the volume? Are you using the software volume slider in Windows? Or are you using an actual mechanical volume control of some sort on your laptop? If you wiggle the headphone plug, do you hear the scratching? If you plug your headphones into a different source (like your phone), do they sound OK? Does it happen no matter what you are listening to, or only on certain music files?

I would try different combinations to eliminate or duplicate the problem. Try some different headphones on your laptop, and try your headphones on a different source. If you are using an extra cable extension, try removing it.

 

[mono17]

First of all, thank you so much for replying

I'm changing the volume via the volume+, volume- found in the built-in keyboard of a laptop not by a volume slider found in the taskbar.  Yes I can hear a scratching sound, every time I wiggle my headphone plug. (btw is this normal?) I tried plugging in our Ipad and the music sounds amazing, and yes I always hear a scratching sound no matter what kind of music i play (rock, punk, senti, instrumentals, etc...)

 

[billybob_jcv]

If it's happening on the laptop and not happening on the ipad, then it's probably the jack on your laptop. One way around that is to use a USB DAC/Amp - that way you are no longer using the laptop mini jack. Something like this might work, and there are also many other options. This is a lot cheaper than a new laptop:

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA202-Audio-Interface/dp/B000KW2YEI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401433262&sr=8-1&keywords=USB+DAC

Or, just use your ipad from now on...

 

[mono17]

Oh, I see for a moment there I thought my earbuds were the ones that are broken , thank you so much. 

 

[Mad Max]

If it's happening on the laptop and not happening on the ipad, then it's probably the jack on your laptop. One way around that is to use a USB DAC/Amp - that way you are no longer using the laptop mini jack. Something like this might work, and there are also many other options. This is a lot cheaper than a new laptop:

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA202-Audio-Interface/dp/B000KW2YEI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401433262&sr=8-1&keywords=USB+DAC

Or, just use your ipad from now on...

 
Even a cheap MP3 player sounds better than that particular unit.  One would be better off with one of those HM-101 things or a FiiO D3 or D5.

 

[billybob_jcv]

Even a cheap MP3 player sounds better than that particular unit.  One would be better off with one of those HM-101 things or a FiiO D3 or D5.

We can agree to disagree. The UCA202 is a run-of-the-mill 16/44K USB DAC. It is well-suited for this application - no better or worse than the soundcard inside the typical laptop. The Fiio D3 doesn't have a USB input or a headphone output, so it is completely useless for this application. The D5 would work fine and is a better unit than the UCA202. My link was an example, which is why I said "...there are also many other options."