KVR Audio

lotus2035 · Post by **lotus2035** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:09 pm

I bought these monitors a couple of months back and I'm very happy with the sound so far.

I haven't been in a hurry to mix on them properly yet as I'm working on some projects which aren't at the mixing stage plus I still need to set up ARC in my room.

They sound great, no problem there. It's just that whenever my computer is on I can hear a constant hi-pitched whirring and other random digital sounds relative to what I do on the screen. I switch off the computer and the noise disappears.

From what I have read on different forums it's a common enough problem with this model and the smaller HS50ms. One solution presented was plugging the monitors into a separate electrical circuit (in another room for example).
I don't have any cables long enough to try that out just yet, I wouldn't really consider it a practical solution anyway.

I just wondered if there was anyone out there with experience of dealing with these kinds of electrical problems who could chime in and give some advice?. Might there be anything I could do with my computer for example? Like switching out a fan or something like that?.

On a side note I have a pair of M-Audio BX5as and they are as quiet as a mouse.

I have to head out to work in about an hour, I'll be around until then and later on tonight.

RunBeerRun · Post by **RunBeerRun** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:14 pm

Sounds like the common ground loop thing. Happens to me when I plug into my keyboard amp, I use a $20 Behringer Hum Destroyer, it has 2 1/4" inputs and outputs.

There are plenty of ground loop reducers out there, some people just get balanced cables.

3ee · Post by **3ee** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:36 pm

A friend of mine has them as well as I.
He uses balanced TRS 3.5 jacks and he doesn't seem to have the noise anymore.
I use an unbalanced pair of them jacks and have what you're describing

So, I guess we should get balanced cables at some point

(My audio interface supports balanced outputs, does yours? )

lotus2035 · Post by **lotus2035** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:37 pm

RunBeerRun wrote:Sounds like the common ground loop thing. Happens to me when I plug into my keyboard amp, I use a $20 Behringer Hum Destroyer, it has 2 1/4" inputs and outputs.

There are plenty of ground loop reducers out there, some people just get balanced cables.

Thanks RunBeerRun, I'll look into it.

lotus2035 · Post by **lotus2035** » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:41 pm

3ee wrote:A friend of mine has them as well as I.
He uses balanced TRS 3.5 jacks and he doesn't seem to have the noise anymore.
I use an unbalanced pair of them jacks and have what you're describing

So, I guess we should get balanced cables at some point (My audio interface supports balanced outputs, does yours? )

I have Native Instrument's Komplete Audio 6, it has balanced outputs and yes I'm using unbalanced cables. I don't have any balanced cables at the moment. It would be great if that was the solution. Thanks.

niculuka · Post by **niculuka** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 2:12 pm

AUTO-ADMIN: Non-MP3, WAV, OGG, SoundCloud, YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter and Facebook links in this post have been protected automatically. Once the member reaches 5 posts the links will function as normal.

I am not a native english speaker but I hope you understand me.

This noise is generated by a PC desktop. If you use a Laptop (or Mac) you can hear the diference. I had the same problem, and this is from the cables. So, there is many types of cables. You need a cable with a resistance grater than the cables on the market. A normal cable has about 1 ohm for 3m of cable, but you need about 5 ohms for the same distance.

1. Connect you monitors through a stereo potentiohmeter by 10 ohms.
or
2. Recomended: Buy a cable with a grater resistance than a normal one (look for cable from TECCUS by Vivanco from Germany - the cables has grey color). Buy 4 of this type of cable and use them 2 by 2. Connect 2 of them between PC and Monitor 1, and 2 of them between PC an Monitor 2. Why you need about 5 m of cable to connect one monitor? It's because you will get about 7 ohms resistance which is neccesary for that noise to disappear. The sound will be the same like any other cable.

Link: http://www.vivanco.de/cgi-bin/vivanco/e ... 4&todo=add (http://www.vivanco.de/cgi-bin/vivanco/en_US/productDetail.html?catId=1143&showItems=1&pageNo=1&pageSize=10&productId=13114&todo=add)

If the link doesnt work: "www.vivanco.de/cgi-bin/vivanco/en_US (http://www.vivanco.de/cgi-bin/vivanco/en_US)" AND CHOOSE: Audio Video Antenna Cable / TECCUS (audio connection)/ T 501-N, and there you are.

maclean · Post by **maclean** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 1:57 pm

hi,

I've been through the headache of this noise you speak of as I have the same yamaha monitors.

I actually thought the electrics in my house where dodgy so actually took my computer and speakers to a friends house but the noise was still there.... Even going from an internal sound card to an external audio interface and the sound was still the same. eventually I learned to mitigate it best i could.

If you can turn the volume knob on the back of the monitors as low as possible and boost the volume via the computer/audio interface that will reduce the noise. Balanced cables made an improvement if memory serves me correctly, however does not get rid of it completely.

I have recently put together a new PC and the noise is pretty much gone. So I cant help but think the layout of the motherboard, the quality of the PC Case and other electronic stuff I dont know about that goes on inside the PC has an effect on it.

niculuka seems to know his stuff so it will be intresting to try this!!

P.S. If you happen to be a gamer, playing games on PC will sound even worse - make sure VSYNC is enabled in games to mitigate it.

tapper mike · Post by **tapper mike** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:12 pm

Were you using CRT monitors? Those wreaked havoc with my harddisk recorder.

niculuka · Post by **niculuka** » Sun Jan 08, 2012 7:34 pm

[quote="maclean"]hi,

I've been through the headache of this noise too. I couldnt work for about three month because that noise.
I ve tried everything, to put the pc component one by one and reassembling my pc but the noise was still there.

TRUST ME! I ve tried so hard to get a solution and this is why I posted here; to help other people who has the same problem.

LISTEN TO ME! My solution isnt an expansive one. Try it.

If you cannot get that type of cable you can try a normal screened cable but with length by 20 m at list to get the same resistance.

Now, I already work at my project and finally, Yamaha HS80M sounds cool to me.

Good luck!

Windsurfer25x · Post by **Windsurfer25x** » Sun Jan 08, 2012 11:52 pm

I had a noise in my Yamaha monitors when I had a laptop, and I was pretty sure it was the power supply.

When I switched to a desktop the noise was gone ( I spent $160 on the powersupply)

I knew it was the powersupply on the laptop because if I put my ear next to it I could hear the same noises I was hearing in the monitors

3ee · Post by **3ee** » Sun Jan 08, 2012 11:58 pm

Windsurfer25x wrote:I knew it was the powersupply on the laptop because if I put my ear next to it I could hear the same noises I was hearing in the monitors

Well.. I'm sure there are some other stuff introducing noise into the chain but my bet is on the cables...

BTW.. still didn't get a pair of balance cables... got used to the noise instead.

niculuka · Post by **niculuka** » Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:43 pm

It s obvious that noise comes from somewhere, but the big problem is how could we decrease that noise the best we can. For exemple, my laptop (hp g61) doesnt make any weird noise. It s working properly but it s not good enough for my needs. That noise comes from compatibility between power supply, motherboard and cpu. I havent got so much money to check out which is the best combination for my pc, but I have found a key to make that noise to disappear permanently.
If there is someone who has resolved this problem, please, post here.

IT S SO ANNOYING TO SPENT 500 EURO TO BUY THIS MONITORS AND GET SO BIG PROBLEMS BECAUSE OF ITS SENSIBILITIES (ALMOST YOU CANT USE THEM)

lotus2035 · Post by **lotus2035** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:20 am

Hi guys and thanks for the input. I haven't been around KVR for a while, so just saw this now.

At the end of this month I will buy some balanced cables and see how it goes, as I already mentioned the noise is being caused by my PC. I wish I knew exactly what was causing it.

It is very frustrating because these were the first really good monitors I have bought and I thought this would be the end of my search. Right now I am using my M-Audio BX5as, not a peep out of them.

@maclean, yes I tried turning them down as much as possible but the noise is still a distraction. I tend to monitor at low levels so it is very noticeable.

@niculuka, thank you for the tips. To be honest I would prefer not to have to deal with workarounds, I just want to plug and play, if the balanced cables don't work maybe I will just sell them but I know I won't get as good a monitor in the same price range..
Thanks for the dilemma Yamaha!

keyman_sam · Post by **keyman_sam** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:05 am

I have the SAME EXACT problem on my DSM3's. Weird zippering and other noises in the speakers.

Get this - I tried DIGITAL input to the speakers. i.e. coaxial digital output from soundcard -> M-Audio DSM3 input and the noise is still there.

How is this possible with a digital system?

InstantUsername · Post by **InstantUsername** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:13 pm

I registered today just so I could reply to this thread.

I believe I have had the same high pitched noise from my HS80M monitors, but the problem in my case was solved.

The problem with the noise came about when playing a video file on my computer screen. The solution here was to simply unplug the power cable for the computer screen and then move it over to a separate extention cord.

I have since moved all my computer stuff onto this separate extention chord, leaving the monitors and a DAC plugged onto the first extention cord.

Other noise I have experienced for a variety of reasons:
• Hiss, seem to be a minor issue with every monitor, solution was to move the monitor approx. 70-100 cm away from the listeners ears.
• High pitched noise, seem to be caused by old/improper winamp plugin, solution was to uninstall the offending plugin.

I am today using end to end XLR cables, but suspect that there is really no benefit for me with this over using the unbalanced RCA cables that I initially used.

Yamaha HS80m Monitors: Problem with computer noise.