Michielber

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Hello there,

After days of googling and trying out different solutions I've come to a dead end.
I recently bought 2 JBL 305 monitor speakers that I've connected to my "Omni soundblaster 5.1" external soundcard with an XLR to RCA cable. (Procab CLA701 2x XLR Male - 2X RCA Male 3 Meter)

Now when my graphic card card needs to do heavy stuff, I get a lot of noise coming out of my speakers. I guess that this only happens when I use the RCA output of my "Omni soundblaster 5.1". Because If I connect my headset to it, the sound is crystal clear.

After trying to put my graphic card in a different slot, disabling onboard audio and other audo devices, rewiring my cables inside and outside my computer, trying different USB ports, unplugging devices etc, the problem is still not solved.

Now my last solution was to buy a DAC to hook up on the "Omni soundblaster 5.1" SPIF out and then hook up the JBL 305s on the RCA out of the DAC. This actually worked and the noise is gone.
The only downside I discovered is that my sound quality went worse.. by a lot.

Now I actually want to return the DAC ("OEHLBACH DA CONVERTER") together with the "HQ High end optical cable" because I really don't want to solve the problem and get bad sound quality in return.

Is there any other way to actually solve this? Would a RCA galvanic isolator help? Should I use XLR or 1/4 on my JBL? Or could it be my PC Power supply? (750M Crosshair)

In short; Is there any way to solve this problem and still get the same sound quality that I had while using the "Omni soundblaster 5.1"?

I really hope that I can find an answer here.


Edit; Would a Scarlett 2i4 help? Or will it give the same problem because it is connected to my PC via USB..
Or will be buying an USB Isolator good enough?
EditEdit: Video when not using DAC;
Greetings,
Michiel
 
Last edited:
I lifted the ground from my studio monitors and that got rid of my noise. Others have used a DAC, I believe they went optical from the PC to the DAC.
 
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I lifted the ground from my studio monitors and that got rid of my noise. Others have used a DAC, I believe they went optical from the PC to the DAC.

Thank you for your fast reply!

I actually refuse to just lift the ground of my studio monitors because of obvious reasons.
Like I stated in my post, I'm atm using a little DAC with an optical cable from my omni soundblaster. But my sound quality is now.. well a lot worse..
So I was hoping that someone could suggest me something that could solve my problem while keeping my sound quality.
(I'm using headphones and the speakers on my omni soundblaster btw)
 
All running on the same power feed?

I have very little experience with XLR but isn't it supposed to be balanced typically? Perhaps XLR>RCA is exacerbating noise in this way. Can you not hook straight XLR in?
Another thing might be worth trying is running your GPU off a separate PSU just to minimise this factor.

It took me four years to figure out why I had horrific noise only when using external VGA output. Plugged TV into the PC UPS and it was gone...
 
All running on the same power feed?

I have very little experience with XLR but isn't it supposed to be balanced typically? Perhaps XLR>RCA is exacerbating noise in this way. Can you not hook straight XLR in?
Another thing might be worth trying is running your GPU off a separate PSU just to minimise this factor.

It took me four years to figure out why I had horrific noise only when using external VGA output. Plugged TV into the PC UPS and it was gone...

I tried switching around already with the power feeds. They are all on the same power strip now. Still same problem.

Running my GPU on a seperate PSU? Never heard of that :eek:.
And unfortunaly, my soundblaster only has RCA and SPDIF out..
 
I tried switching around already with the power feeds. They are all on the same power strip now. Still same problem.

Running my GPU on a seperate PSU? Never heard of that :eek:.
And unfortunaly, my soundblaster only has RCA and SPDIF out..

Interesting. I'd at least give the earth lift a try to see if it helps. I am also not a fan of that as a solution and it was no help to me but it will help as a diagnosis step.
If you have a spare GPU also try that. Spare PSU also if not too old, worth a shot. Plenty of articles about dual psu rigs on the cheap. Basically you just need to send to the other PSU the green wire (jam a pin in it (empty ATX plug) and solder/wire off that) and any of the black (ground/-ve) wires. The green is the 'power on' wire. Join from one psu to another (green to green black to black) and it'll trigger when one or the other is turned on (at the same time).
I've run many rigs for years using this trick. Even partially powering GPUs lol..
 
Interesting. I'd at least give the earth lift a try to see if it helps. I am also not a fan of that as a solution and it was no help to me but it will help as a diagnosis step.
If you have a spare GPU also try that. Spare PSU also if not too old, worth a shot. Plenty of articles about dual psu rigs on the cheap. Basically you just need to send to the other PSU the green wire (jam a pin in it (empty ATX plug) and solder/wire off that) and any of the black (ground/-ve) wires. The green is the 'power on' wire. Join from one psu to another (green to green black to black) and it'll trigger when one or the other is turned on (at the same time).
I've run many rigs for years using this trick. Even partially powering GPUs lol..

But what I don't understand is that when I plug headphones in my Omni Soundblaster, I don't hear any noise. But when I put the RCA cables into the omni soundblaster, the noise pops up. How is it wired inside? Is it because of the internal DAC?

And if it is a ground loop issue in my USB ports/motherboard/.. Will a seperate PSU for my GPU solve the problem?

Those are a few things I don't understand.. yet..
 
But what I don't understand is that when I plug headphones in my Omni Soundblaster, I don't hear any noise. But when I put the RCA cables into the omni soundblaster, the noise pops up. How is it wired inside? Is it because of the internal DAC?

And if it is a ground loop issue in my USB ports/motherboard/.. Will a seperate PSU for my GPU solve the problem?

Those are a few things I don't understand.. yet..

It's more just something to try I wouldn't go shelling out on a new PSU as it's unlikely to fix, but worth investigating if you have the spare laying around.
Maybe try 3.5/headphones to back of your JBLs then? However I doubt it will solve issue. Reason is that you usually listen to headfphones at relatively low volume, vs 100% volume to a amp/preamp etc.
Wondering if it's some sort of interference from sending unbalanced signal to a balanced input.. both your inputs are balanced (XLR+TRS).

Someone with more experience in this balanced field would be best to chip in.

Paging B00nie....

edit: I would rename your title to something like 'Help w/Audio interference from Graphics card'
 
There is a firmware update for the Omni (probably won't do anything).
http://support.creative.com/downloads/welcome.aspx?nDriverType=4#type_4

Tried that, nothing changed :(

It's more just something to try I wouldn't go shelling out on a new PSU as it's unlikely to fix, but worth investigating if you have the spare laying around.
Maybe try 3.5/headphones to back of your JBLs then? However I doubt it will solve issue. Reason is that you usually listen to headfphones at relatively low volume, vs 100% volume to a amp/preamp etc.
Wondering if it's some sort of interference from sending unbalanced signal to a balanced input.. both your inputs are balanced (XLR+TRS).

Someone with more experience in this balanced field would be best to chip in.

Paging B00nie....

edit: I would rename your title to something like 'Help w/Audio interference from Graphics card'

I tried to use the 1/4 input on one of the speakers and then to RCA but it gives the same problem.. (Well, since I guess its the omni soundblaster RCA Output :s).

I also added a video where you can see the problem. When I use the DAC (The little brown box in the back) the noise is gone. But the sound quality is also gone..
Oh and I also turned overclocking off because I thought it may be taking too much of the PSU..
 
Update: Just tried to connect the Omni sound blaster via USB to my Laptop (that is connected with AC to the same power strip as my pc, monitors etc) and I had NO noise..
So it pretty much comes from? Bad PSU? or Badly grounded USB ports?
 
Would a Scarlett 2i4 help? Or will it give the same problem because it is connected to my PC via USB

It will absolutely help. Onboard audio can be riddled with the noise you're talking about. Bypassing motherboard sound with a sound card, external USB interface, or even USB headphones will eliminate most of the issues you're experiencing.

Another thing to note is that your speakers, as monitors, may not be shielded. They can be prone to picking up all kinds of digital interference. Moving them just a tiny bit farther from certain kinds of devices like cell phones and PC's might help.
 
It will absolutely help. Onboard audio can be riddled with the noise you're talking about. Bypassing motherboard sound with a sound card, external USB interface, or even USB headphones will eliminate most of the issues you're experiencing.

Another thing to note is that your speakers, as monitors, may not be shielded. They can be prone to picking up all kinds of digital interference. Moving them just a tiny bit farther from certain kinds of devices like cell phones and PC's might help.

Thank your time and response!

My omni soundblaster is already an external usb soundcard which doesnt eliminate the problem. I bought it a long time ago because I had the same problem with normal pc speakers. And it fixed it.
Now with the studio monitors I have the same problem again..

But I guess a scarlet 2i2 or 2i4 (Dont know which one to buy yet..) and XLR to XLR (balanced to balanced this time) will help?
Even if the scarlet is also connected to my pc?

I guess using an unbalanced XLR to RCA wasn't a good idea.

Edit; To answer on your suggestion, I tried moving them around. Didn't help :(.
 
Thank your time and response!

My omni soundblaster is already an external usb soundcard which doesnt eliminate the problem. I bought it a long time ago because I had the same problem with normal pc speakers. And it fixed it.
Now with the studio monitors I have the same problem again..

But I guess a scarlet 2i2 or 2i4 (Dont know which one to buy yet..) and XLR to XLR (balanced to balanced this time) will help?
Even if the scarlet is also connected to my pc?

I guess using an unbalanced XLR to RCA wasn't a good idea.

Edit; To answer on your suggestion, I tried moving them around. Didn't help :(.

Yours is a curious problem. Typically, unbalanced cables are only an issue with really long cable runs -- a generally accepted rule of thumb is unbalanced cables should not exceed 10 feet in length. As the length of the cable increases, the more prone it becomes to outside interference. Some people say it can even be an issue with cables longer than 3 feet. I'd hate for you to throw money at a problem which can be solved otherwise. Have you tried different RCA cables? If the cable itself is not the issue and it's in your means, I think you can try swapping the interface and the balanced cables option. I would think it would have to be cabling issue, barring an issue with that specific output on your Omni.
 
Yours is a curious problem. Typically, unbalanced cables are only an issue with really long cable runs -- a generally accepted rule of thumb is unbalanced cables should not exceed 10 feet in length. As the length of the cable increases, the more prone it becomes to outside interference. Some people say it can even be an issue with cables longer than 3 feet. I'd hate for you to throw money at a problem which can be solved otherwise. Have you tried different RCA cables? If the cable itself is not the issue and it's in your means, I think you can try swapping the interface and the balanced cables option. I would think it would have to be cabling issue, barring an issue with that specific output on your Omni.

I just tried the following;

From my RCA Output with a RCA to 3.5mm cable. Then from that 3.5mm cable to one JBL 305 speaker (with an adapter to go to 6.3mm).
Then the sound doesn't seem affected anymore by the GPU. Which is very weird.

Is this because I use one RCA to XLR cable for each speaker?
I don't get it because the RCA isn't balanced anyway..
 
I just tried the following;

From my RCA Output with a RCA to 3.5mm cable. Then from that 3.5mm cable to one JBL 305 speaker (with an adapter to go to 6.3mm).
Then the sound doesn't seem affected anymore by the GPU. Which is very weird.

Is this because I use one RCA to XLR cable for each speaker?
I don't get it because the RCA isn't balanced anyway..

That is weird. True, when either one of two connectors in a cable is unbalanced (in this case RCA), the entire cable is unbalanced.
 
That is weird. True, when either one of two connectors in a cable is unbalanced (in this case RCA), the entire cable is unbalanced.

Well, then it comes to pretty much a dead end.
I guess I just get a scarlett 2i2 and XLR to XLR so I can get a balanced connection and keep my omni soundblaster for my headset.

Will keep you guys up to date! Thanks for all the effort!
 
Well, then it comes to pretty much a dead end.
I guess I just get a scarlett 2i2 and XLR to XLR so I can get a balanced connection and keep my omni soundblaster for my headset.

Will keep you guys up to date! Thanks for all the effort!

Yeah, that'd be great. Would definitely like to know how this turns up for you. Just make sure the interface has balanced out.
 
Got the scarlett 2i2, hooked it up. Got some 3.5mm cables and 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapters.
Clean noise now, everything fine!

Love it :)
 
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