[goldnbearbuckeye]

Hi guys, I've read the other hissing and popping threads here, but I dont think they're quite like mine.

I have a pair of M-Audio DX4 Studiophiles. They are running through an EMU 0202 Dac which is connected to my laptop.

They have a tiny bit of hiss, which isn't really the problem.

The problem is when I do things like click on a new webpage, I get this noise sort of like an old harddrive's clicking. It seems to be going in sync with the loading page.

It sounds just like a harddrive, I swear.

The EMU isn't connected to the wall, it's USB powered. The speakers are connected to the same powerplug as a desklamp and the laptop's power supply.

Could it be the cables? (M-Audio's straight out of the box). I dont know what to do; please help!

The setup I have currently, if it helps is this:

The two speakers are about 6 inches away from either side of the laptop. When I am sitting down, my head and the two monitors form an equilateral triangle.

Thanks.

 

[zanash]

your overrunning the working capacity of the lap top ...the signal being seen by the dac is being interupted as the lap top goes about its other business. Playing music is a very hi usage activity ..

 

[stevenkelby]

I've always been able to hear everything my PC does through headphones connected to it in anyway at all except digital.

Thats what drove me to find head-fi in the first place!

I can hear a noise even just from moving the mouse if the volume is high and the music is paused. PC's are incredibly noisy things.

This is true of all equipment I own or have owned (check my profile) apart from the digital optical DAC I had, that was "silent" of course. 5 different PC and laptops too.

Better quality amps and cans make this problem worse as they resolve more detail.

The chaintech AV 710 was my first solution, it helped a lot but didn't make the sounds go away completely. Better soundcards may be silent but AFAIK the only way to get a quiet signal from a PC is vis optical digital.

This may not be your problem, but I bet it is. It's not your cables either hough.

 

[TMM]

The problem is EMI from power circuitry in your computer when you place a load on it. For desktops, shielding the sound card can fix the problem (or at least make it a little less noticeable). I've shielded mine and have absolutely no interference at all.

Try placing your DAC and speakers as far away from your Laptop and Power supply as possible. If it persists, try connecting the DAC to a powered USB hub to rule out fluctuations in the USB voltage from your laptop.

 

[goldnbearbuckeye]

Well, I moved the DAC to the floor (It was previously sitting on top of the left monitor), I spread out the speakers more so there's more space between the two speakers and the laptop.

It seems to have worked pretty well.

Now the only problem is that I need an equalizer because they're not equidistant from me anymore. hahaha. Does EMU provide an equalizer?

Thanks, guys.