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Creative SB X-Fi Titanium Hiss

T

tonspike

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 24, 2008
Messages
255
I've installed an X-Fi Titanium, and it has been running beautifully so far apart from a very faint hiss coming from the speakers at all volumes. It disappears when any audio is played, and it is faint enough to have become white noise to me at this point.

I have turned down the gain on every other input/output, disabled onboard audio, the drivers are clean, etc., but I believe that the issue is with the layout of my mobo. Due to the location of the PCI-E x1 slot, it is very very close to my HD 7970 and I believe the distance is causing EM interference.

My question to you is:

I managed to grab the X-Fi Titanium for $60 on sale; would you "downgrade" to a $30 PCI soundcard, like the Xonar DG, in an effort to solve the hiss? I am honestly being a bit OCD about it, but I think that a $60 soundcard should produce no hiss when my onboard did not cause any hissing to speak of.

I am also a bit worried about PCI's life--I'm planning to upgrade my mobo when Ivy Bridge comes out, and don't want to have to worry about it potentially not supporting PCI.

On the flipside, I've come to ignore the very faint hiss and I think I got a pretty good deal on the card--would you just live with it and keep it?
 
Turned out I had a bad MIC cable connected to my X-Fi, as soon as I took the cable out it was fine.
 
Here is what could cause it.

1. speakers
2. bad ground - computer or house
3. something else on the same circuit as the computer.. probably due to #2.
4. power supply
 
cyclone3d said:
Here is what could cause it.

1. speakers
2. bad ground - computer or house
3. something else on the same circuit as the computer.. probably due to #2.
4. power supply
Click to expand...

It's not my speakers because they didn't hiss with the integrated mobo sound. That also rules out the grounding issue... And it's not my PS pretty much for the same reasons.

I have a feeling that the soundcard isn't seated all the way it can go because I had a hell of a time putting it in (Asus P5Q-PRO in a CM Cosmos), and I don't think it can go down all the way. Could this most likely be the issue?
 
Control Panel -> Sound -> Playback -> Speakers -(properties)-> Levels tab

Check if everything there is muted except for Play Control.

This is assuming you are on Win7.
 
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