I have discovered that my PC has very noisy USB ports.
I recently installed JBL 305P self-powered monitor speakers for nearfield use. I can hear a low level buzz and hiss. It's not the typical ground loop hum. The noise is worse when I hook up directly to the motherboard, and a bit less when I use the USB ports on my computer case. The noise is apparent only when there's no music playing or the music level is very low. Of course I would prefer a black background.
PC is a ryzen 7 2700 with 16 GB RAM, no soundcard. I use Foobar2000 as my media player.
Connections are as follows: Computer case USB port --> Audioquest Dragonfly 3.5mm out via balalnced XLR cable --> JBL LSR310S active subwoofer then balanced XLR cables to --> JBL 310P MkII active monitors.
Would some sort of USB filtering device work? I'm interested in getting a different outboard DAC but AFAIK, most of the less expensive ones don't advertise any type of USB filtering. There use to be a Schiit Wyrd but that has been discontinued.
This device would seem to work but it is not rated for USB 2.0 speeds, but the spec reading "upport USB 1.5 Mbps at low speed and full speed 12 Mbps and does not support pure high-speed equipment". Would this thing be fast enough when using high resolution files?Amazon.com: Nobsound USB to USB Isolator Module Audio Noise Eliminator Industrial Isolator Protection: Home Audio & Theater
Another filter is this dongle, which I just ordered to try. Amazon.com: iSilencer3.0 USB Audio Noise Eliminator/Suppressor - Remove Unwanted Noise from Audio - System Upgrade: Home Audio & Theater
Otherwise any of the more robust USB filters that are rated for USB 3.0 speeds are in the $350 range.
Has anyone had this type of problem and come up with a solution that works without spending a ton of money of an outboard box?
I recently installed JBL 305P self-powered monitor speakers for nearfield use. I can hear a low level buzz and hiss. It's not the typical ground loop hum. The noise is worse when I hook up directly to the motherboard, and a bit less when I use the USB ports on my computer case. The noise is apparent only when there's no music playing or the music level is very low. Of course I would prefer a black background.
PC is a ryzen 7 2700 with 16 GB RAM, no soundcard. I use Foobar2000 as my media player.
Connections are as follows: Computer case USB port --> Audioquest Dragonfly 3.5mm out via balalnced XLR cable --> JBL LSR310S active subwoofer then balanced XLR cables to --> JBL 310P MkII active monitors.
Would some sort of USB filtering device work? I'm interested in getting a different outboard DAC but AFAIK, most of the less expensive ones don't advertise any type of USB filtering. There use to be a Schiit Wyrd but that has been discontinued.
This device would seem to work but it is not rated for USB 2.0 speeds, but the spec reading "upport USB 1.5 Mbps at low speed and full speed 12 Mbps and does not support pure high-speed equipment". Would this thing be fast enough when using high resolution files?Amazon.com: Nobsound USB to USB Isolator Module Audio Noise Eliminator Industrial Isolator Protection: Home Audio & Theater
Another filter is this dongle, which I just ordered to try. Amazon.com: iSilencer3.0 USB Audio Noise Eliminator/Suppressor - Remove Unwanted Noise from Audio - System Upgrade: Home Audio & Theater
Otherwise any of the more robust USB filters that are rated for USB 3.0 speeds are in the $350 range.
Has anyone had this type of problem and come up with a solution that works without spending a ton of money of an outboard box?
For a quick test remove the ground from the computer PSU. Use a 3 to 2 prong cheater plug.
Buzz away ? Congratulations, You have a ground loop. Try inserting a soundcard on one of the slots, since motherboard audio is usually ****.
I didn't try an USB isolator yet, since DJ consoles usually don't work with hubs. We use non grounded PSU's with the laptops (2 prong after market), but newer laptops come with them already.
Buzz away ? Congratulations, You have a ground loop. Try inserting a soundcard on one of the slots, since motherboard audio is usually ****.
I didn't try an USB isolator yet, since DJ consoles usually don't work with hubs. We use non grounded PSU's with the laptops (2 prong after market), but newer laptops come with them already.
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Hello,
What if the Laptop or the NAS (with USB outputt) with no Earth plug have a noisy ground on their pcb due to the numerous smps chips inside and their main wall dart (with no Earth)?
Could we assume such isolator are usefull then putted near the feeded source (near the dac more than the streamer device) for a even shorter ground loop ?
I surmise it's usefull either you have no Earth connected dac or streamer ? In other words : groundloops ; the sorter the better ! Is it proof ?
What if the Laptop or the NAS (with USB outputt) with no Earth plug have a noisy ground on their pcb due to the numerous smps chips inside and their main wall dart (with no Earth)?
Could we assume such isolator are usefull then putted near the feeded source (near the dac more than the streamer device) for a even shorter ground loop ?
I surmise it's usefull either you have no Earth connected dac or streamer ? In other words : groundloops ; the sorter the better ! Is it proof ?
It's a 3.5MM plug exiting the Dragonfly into the L & R inputs of the subwoofer. The Sub has L & R XLR out into the L & R XLR in of the desktop monitors.
Cable looks like this:
I saw the Olimex and also the Nobsound version. My concern and question was described as "Support USB 1.5 Mbps at low speed and full speed 12 Mbps and does not support pure high-speed equipment".
Will these devices work with the highest resolution files such as DSD?
Here's the Nobsound version:
Amazon.com: Nobsound USB to USB Isolator Module Audio Noise Eliminator Industrial Isolator Protection: Home Audio & Theater
Interesting....
I'm using Foobar2000 and WASAPI to try and bypass the motherboard audio. That's why I'm going through the USB port and not the audio line out on the MB.
I would have said that too.
I have a USB DAC and it is dead silent.
The PC is earthed so earthing the sound equipment too could cause noise problems.
The trick with earth connections is to just have one.
Zero earth connections = hum and noise.
One earth connection = good.
Two or more earth connections = noise and hum.
That was a huge issue for me. Since my audio "server" is a laptop, I bought a 2 prong class II supply and swapped that in for my grounded brick, and it went dead silent. I was able to retire the Olimex.
Reason I didn't suggest this was that the OP seemed to infer he was using a tower. I wouldn't recommend cheater plugs due to safety concerns.
Here's a thought - What if I were to use an optical SPDIF to XLR converter? Optical out on my motherboard wouldn't have any sort of electrical interference. A clean signal would get converted to XLR into my sub, and then on out to the monitors right?
Hosa ODL312 S/PDIF Optical to AES/EBU Link
Hosa ODL312 S/PDIF Optical to AES/EBU Link
Correct. However then you have to deal with all the Internet experts informing you that optical SPDIF (TOSLINK) is jittery shite.
UGH! How can I win at this lol!!??
Well right now I'm getting dropouts on my USB connection. SPIDF couldn't be that bad could it? I've used it in the past for 5.1 surround and never had an issue there.
That linked device converts optical digital to balanced digital, using XLR connectors.
You can get dropouts when generating the SPDIF signal as well. USB is data output from a computer, SPDIF is output from a soundcard (USB or PCI).
Yes, this is a pretty common occurrence.
The Dragonfly is using the USB bus ground as its audio ground. The balanced cable is not doing anything for you int his case, since the Dragonfly does not have a balanced output. There is probably insufficient internal filtering, but even with filtering the JBL will have some hiss (I have the 308P, so I know this problem). In a speaker with a high sensitivity CD+horn for a tweeter the level of hiss can create a major hiss problem.
The solution is to get a DAC that has its own power supply and does not use the USB bus for power, and that has a very low noise floor. There are many, many good options in this regard and you can find many excellent reviews and comparisons on Wirecutter and other consumer-audio-specific websites.
With an usb isolator plug that has a power input for a clean power, it could be interesting to try a 3.3 LiPo cell. The bus is 5v but sometimes such a little dac may play with less.
Having sometimes 3.3v low noise smps reg chip, the cell could just bypass such reg. Lipo cells are silent and have a low impedance. All is about dac chip voltage needed. If 5v is needed by the little dac chip, the Dragon fly shematic can say if it can endure 6.6 (two Lipo cells fully charged in serie but the cells fastly drop to 3.2 then keeping this level for a long time).
A little hassle but no groundloop with the power supply after the isolator.
Having sometimes 3.3v low noise smps reg chip, the cell could just bypass such reg. Lipo cells are silent and have a low impedance. All is about dac chip voltage needed. If 5v is needed by the little dac chip, the Dragon fly shematic can say if it can endure 6.6 (two Lipo cells fully charged in serie but the cells fastly drop to 3.2 then keeping this level for a long time).
A little hassle but no groundloop with the power supply after the isolator.
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