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iMac static/noise problem in external speakers (pg. 2)
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View this Thread in Original format
| DJ RANN |
| quote: | Originally posted by alcalaholic
Damn, no luck with this one. It may have reduced the sound a little bit it'd still very noticeable.
I'm gonna drop by guitar center tomorrow and pick up balanced cables then. Thanks a lot for all the input everyone. I really appreciate. It's so annoying when you have like this getting in the way of getting work done. |
Good luck - the balanced cables will solve 99% of the problem. Don't let them sell you $100 cables and stay away from the Hosa. Just get the standard priced mogami or canare. |
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| kitphillips |
| Reccomend power conditioning if you have a lot of outboard gear or are ever planning on getting any. |
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| coroknight |
Wow seriously? He's having a ground loop issue. Just go out and buy a 3-prong to 2-prong converter.
Macbook pro's already come with these and it works amazingly well. In fact before I got my macbook i had a ty hp laptop that had this exact problem. Went out and bought that converter and left it on for over a year straight and it worked great.
Don't get me wrong, i think you should get balanced cables eventually but for this problem all you need is a couple bucks and an electronics store. |
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| kitphillips |
I think he said he already tried that and it didn't work. It was already suggested at any rate.
And it won't fix the issue if its related to noise from a television, wifi, monitor, etc either.
It will also mean that you could get electrocuted if something goes wrong inside the computer (for example, if it starts putting out large voltages to a USB port on which you have connected a metal device). Generally, devices are grounded for a reason, and removing the grounding is a pretty stupid idea. |
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| coroknight |
Sorry OP i didn't see you asked me a question. You should be able to go to radio shack or any electronics store and pick one up for a couple bucks. Basically the setup goes Computer Power Cable -> Converter -> the wall
@Kit
He never said he tried the converter. Also he mentioned that the sound gets louder whenever he uses his mouse or interacts with his computer so i don't think the noise is coming from TV but internally. I had the exact same problem with my ty laptop and the converter worked great and much cheaper than balanced cables. Although I would work towards getting balanced cables in the future.
Also, if removing the ground is so dangerous then why does a 2-prong adapter come as the default for macbook pro's? |
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| alcalaholic |
| quote: | Originally posted by coroknight
Sorry OP i didn't see you asked me a question. You should be able to go to radio shack or any electronics store and pick one up for a couple bucks. Basically the setup goes Computer Power Cable -> Converter -> the wall
@Kit
He never said he tried the converter. Also he mentioned that the sound gets louder whenever he uses his mouse or interacts with his computer so i don't think the noise is coming from TV but internally. I had the exact same problem with my ty laptop and the converter worked great and much cheaper than balanced cables. Although I would work towards getting balanced cables in the future.
Also, if removing the ground is so dangerous then why does a 2-prong adapter come as the default for macbook pro's? |
Corok, you got it! Just came back from the hardware store and bought the 2 prong adaptor. Works perfectly. Plugged it into the speaker and no more static! The other speaker still has it so better go by another one :)
F'n awesome guys!! Thank you so much for your help. I owe you all beers. I think getting balanced cables is something I should do as well but at least I can shop around online and have to get ripped off at Guitar Center.
THANK YOU!! |
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| coroknight |
| quote: | Originally posted by alcalaholic
Corok, you got it! Just came back from the hardware store and bought the 2 prong adaptor. Works perfectly. Plugged it into the speaker and no more static! The other speaker still has it so better go by another one :)
F'n awesome guys!! Thank you so much for your help. I owe you all beers. I think getting balanced cables is something I should do as well but at least I can shop around online and have to get ripped off at Guitar Center.
THANK YOU!! |
Glad I could help :) |
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| 19503 |
| be prepared to get grilled if u bought those 3 to 2 converters, u are no longer grounded! get balanced cables instead! |
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| alcalaholic |
So it's dangerous to have this? I have the 2 plugged into the speakers and everything is on a power strip.
Yeah like I said I should buy balanced cables but it's going to take a week or so when I order them. |
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| DJ RANN |
| quote: | Originally posted by alcalaholic
So it's dangerous to have this? I have the 2 plugged into the speakers and everything is on a power strip.
Yeah like I said I should buy balanced cables but it's going to take a week or so when I order them. |
Not dangerous, but if you got a power surge or spike, kiss goodbye to your kit!
Until you get the proper cables, maybe just unplug your kit if a thunderstorm is predicted. |
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| alcalaholic |
Okay, sorry to resurrect this thread but the problem is still here.
So I bought new Canare balanced cables from customcableconnection. (http://www.customcableconnection.co...?idproduct=4103)
I just hooked everything up and still the same problem (once I removed 2-prong adaptors). It is definitely not as noticeable now though.
So are there any other solutions besides leaving the adaptors on? I'm fine with using them but if there's a chance there could be damage to the speakers or something I'd like to try something else. A friend (and maybe someone here too?) mentioned something to me about getting a power conditioner. Anyone know anything about those?
Thanks again! |
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| kitphillips |
| quote: | Originally posted by coroknight
Sorry OP i didn't see you asked me a question. You should be able to go to radio shack or any electronics store and pick one up for a couple bucks. Basically the setup goes Computer Power Cable -> Converter -> the wall
@Kit
He never said he tried the converter. Also he mentioned that the sound gets louder whenever he uses his mouse or interacts with his computer so i don't think the noise is coming from TV but internally. I had the exact same problem with my ty laptop and the converter worked great and much cheaper than balanced cables. Although I would work towards getting balanced cables in the future.
Also, if removing the ground is so dangerous then why does a 2-prong adapter come as the default for macbook pro's? |
Probably because the current gets stepped down to a lower voltage before actually getting anything near parts that you might touch. Meaning that you can't electrocute yourself. That's not the case for an iMac, which is jacked directly into 240 volts.
@ the OP. I honestly am not sure what would be causing your issue. I'd say get a power conditioner to plug your monitors into. Its always a good idea to have clean power in a studio, but I honestly don't know if it'll solve your problem in this case.
Do you live in an apartment block or a house? Are your monitors on the same circuit as a lot of lights (esp. fluorescent ones?) Thats the sort of thing that usually causes hum to start coming from gear from what I've heard. But its not an issue I've ever had, and I don't use a lot of outboard. Nor am I an electrician.
People building their own studios often put all their music gear and stuff on its own circuit. Power supplies for analogue gear and monitors are usually considered pretty important from what I understand. I'd recommend taking your entire setup to a friend's place and plugging it all in and seeing if the hum still occurs. If it doesn't, then I'd guess that power conditioning will solve your problems;) |
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