M-Audio BX8 D2 static noise

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Neutrino

Gawd
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Nov 10, 2005
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I was wondering if you guys can help with a small issue.

I just purchased a pair of M-Audio BX8 D2 studio monitors:

http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.main&ID=d727dd8039249d22237dd18c45cf9c87

They sound really nice especially listening to the piano guys on you tube (really nice music - look them up). Do keep in mind I'm just an amateur in this area so my impressions are very subjective

My issue is that both speakers when turned on (with or without any audio cables plugged in) emit a very low hum.

You can start hearing it from about 10 inches and closer. The tweeter emits a hissing sound closer a static white noise and the woofer emits a low buzz.

The hum is identical on both monitors.

Again it is a very low noise that you have to get close to pick up and impossible to hear once any music is playing. After some Google searches is seems this might be an issue with this particular model and not power supply issue.

I would appreciate any advice: Is this something normal with speakers? Will it damage them in the long run? Should i just ignore it?

I think do have the option of taking them back to the store and getting some KRK, Adam, Fostex or some other studio monitor brand
 
If it happens without any audio cables plugged in, then that's a problem.

I have a pair of KRK Rokit 5's and they will hiss noticeably if hooked up via an unbalanced connection, but they are silent when hooked up properly. You have an audio interface or high end sound card that provides balanced audio, right? If not, you may as well live with the hissing.
 
ksufiji said:
What connections are you using?
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Zinn said:
If it happens without any audio cables plugged in, then that's a problem.

I have a pair of KRK Rokit 5's and they will hiss noticeably if hooked up via an unbalanced connection, but they are silent when hooked up properly. You have an audio interface or high end sound card that provides balanced audio, right? If not, you may as well live with the hissing.
Click to expand...

Not sure if balanced or not...I'll describe it: I'm outputting using the small stereo jack in the back of my Creative x-fi platinum card. The cable splits in two mono TRS jacks that go in the back of the monitors.

However both monitors do hiss the same even without any audio cables plugged in.
 
Neutrino said:
Not sure if balanced or not...I'll describe it: I'm outputting using the small stereo jack in the back of my Creative x-fi platinum card. The cable splits in two mono TRS jacks that go in the back of the monitors.

However both monitors do hiss the same even without any audio cables plugged in.
Click to expand...

Thats not a balanced connection. And the hum may be coming from the power source. You really do not the quality of the filter setup on those integrated amps. So it may very well just be a design issue, or a dirty ac signal that is not getting filtered properly.
 
I tried plugging one speaker in different outlets around the house: same noise

I'm thinking that since they have the same hiss with the audio cables unplugged, the issue is strictly with the speakers/integrated amps.

Maybe i can take it back to store (seemed like a professional place with mixing boards and stuff) maybe they have a clean ac source.

If they still hiss in the store with a clean power source should I demand they be fixed or try to change them for another brand?

I presume the speakers hissing like this is not acceptable right? My understanding was that these are quality monitors, certainly not top level professional level but still quite good.
 
Is it "hissing" or "humming"? If it is hissing then that seems pretty normal to me. Even with high end setups noise from amps is always to be expected. Some amps are quieter than others, but in order to get the lower self noise figures costs more.

I'll say this I have two pairs of monitors, Tannoy 501a's hooked up in an unbalanced fashion and they generate a little more noise than if they are hooked up in a balanced fashion. However, I sit back far enough that I cannot hear the noise from them so at listening position they are completely silent. Even without anything plugged in they generate some self noise as well. The other pair are Neumann KH120A's. Now, I sit really close to these guys (ideally I'd want them about another foot back for proper listening) and I can't hear the noise they generate. They do generate it though because if I put my ear up to the tweeter I can hear the hiss. Even without anything plugged in. Even with headphones I have never heard a pair of silent headphones. The amps generate noise (okay technically whenever gain is introduced is when noise is generated, and most of the time amps are adding gain). There are ways to mitigate it but that costs money.

Now, if they're humming that could mean a few things. It could be that power supply is not properly isolated from the amps or the power to the amps in not filtered properly. It could be a ground loop. It could be dirty AC, it could be capacitive coupling, inductive coupling, etc . . .. The list goes on and on as to what the problem could be if they're humming. It could even be a DC offset within the amp itself. Now, unless your power is dirty humming should not cause any long term issues at all. If the power is dirty then it could be damaging to the power supply.

The quick question to ask is this, is the noise coming from the woofer or the tweeter? Chances are that if it is coming from the woofer than it is humming and if it is coming from the tweeter it is hissing.

That is my $0.02 on the issue.
 
The noise is coming both from the tweeters and the woofers.

The tweeters emit more of a hiss and the woofers make a buzzing sound.
 
All right the tweeter sounds about right, though the amount of hiss that it should have is debatable. However, the woofer buzzing makes me suspect something else. Since I do not own a pair myself (and I have actually heard nothing but good things about M-Audio monitors, actually had a pair of AV30s for awhile and they sounded great despite their size) I did some research and something interesting came up. Apparently M-Audio changed the ground on the BX8 D2 from the BX8. In that it grounds to the heatsink rather than the rear back plate like the older models. That might be causing the hum because the amp is not getting adequate grounding.

Also, it turns out that this is not an isolated issue. It would appear that this is normal for the speaker. People running with very clean power report the exact same issue. So, I'm suspect to believe that this is more of a design flaw that M-Audio doesn't want to admit.
 
Thanks for looking into this issue.

This is what I'm afraid also. A design issue.

And yes the reason for going with m-audio was their good reputation.

I was going to buy initially the av40 model then decided to upgrade to the bx8 d2. I figured to get even better sound and build quality.

I might've made a mistake.
 
The AV40's QC has been dodgy at times, so you might just wanna look in another direction.
 
what kind of cable are you using ?

if you are using an unbalanced cable try to not go greater than 6 feet

this hiss is most likely due to the audio cable your using.
 
Impulse said:
The AV40's QC has been dodgy at times, so you might just wanna look in another direction.
Click to expand...

I was hoping that by going upmarket with the BX8 models i would get better sound and better QC. they cost more than double the price of the av40s....one would expect significant better quality

123Lanoix said:
what kind of cable are you using ?

if you are using an unbalanced cable try to not go greater than 6 feet

this hiss is most likely due to the audio cable your using.
Click to expand...


The hiss/buzz sounds are present with or without audio cables plugged in. So i don't think it's the unbalanced cable to blame.
 
Unless I'm looking at the wrong picture, there is a volume knob on the back. Do you have it at full blast?
i.e. speakers at max and trying to control the volume via the computer?
 
doctah said:
Unless I'm looking at the wrong picture, there is a volume knob on the back. Do you have it at full blast?
i.e. speakers at max and trying to control the volume via the computer?
Click to expand...

The volume knobs are set halfway on both monitors. Taking it from low to max seems to make very little difference in the static noise.

When I move the volume knob the hiss coming from the tweeters seems to very slightly change, the buzz from the woofers stays absolutely the same
 
power supply, 60 Hz hum

you using the supply that came with these or did you buy them used and don't know?
 
jojo69 said:
power supply, 60 Hz hum

you using the supply that came with these or did you buy them used and don't know?
Click to expand...

I just bought them a few days ago from the store brand new sealed and everything. Never opened the enclosures.

Also, not sure if it matters, I'm residing currently in Europe so I'm using 220V. Of course before anyone asks ;) the power-supply switches in the back are set appropriately.

PS. Each monitor has its own power supply, they plug separately in the outlets. But both have the exact same static noise.
 
sounds to me like they cut corners on power filtering, really unfortunate

your choices are hack in more capacitance or return them and try something else

I have a delta 44 setup here I have been reasonably pleased with...at least the hardware, the software has never lived up to the hype...but this sounds like Delta stuffing their pockets at our expense.
 
jojo69 said:
sounds to me like they cut corners on power filtering, really unfortunate

your choices are hack in more capacitance or return them and try something else

I have a delta 44 setup here I have been reasonably pleased with...at least the hardware, the software has never lived up to the hype...but this sounds like Delta stuffing their pockets at our expense.
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Yeah not cool if the issue is caused by some penny saved in cheap amp components.

If i would've bought them cheap and used then yes...it would've been fun to start messing with them and see if i could fix them.

But in this case I might try to go with the warranty. Just not sure if they can fix them if there is a design defect rather than a manufacturing one.

I'm really bummed because i really like the way they sound. :(

PS. As Xolos mentioned It seems there are other people with this issue:
http://forums.m-audio.com/showthread.php?35861-M-Audio-BX8-D2-monitors-humming-sound
 
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I bought these speakers 2 days ago and I noticed the hiss was REALLY bad when the speakers were turned up really high. In fact, I was getting some kind of radio frequency in the hiss, which was quite distracting in whatever I was listening to/producing. I was on the verge of returning these speakers after reading all of these forums stating the same thing about the hissing/humming.

My solution (and I'm using a MacBook Pro and M-Audio MobilePre Fast Track) was I noticed that when the power cable on the Mac was disconnected, the hiss changed to a lesser frequency. So I realized I had to get that cable away from the power cord, so I changed USB ports on my audio interface and connected it to the farthest USB port away on the other side from the Mac power cable (this helped some). Then I reduced the volume knobs on the BX8 monitors to about halfway (instead of 3/4), and turned up the volume on my computer (because I assumed the gain in the speakers was causing the radio frequency hiss). It's still plenty of volume overall for me, and it reduced the hiss considerably. It's still there if I try to hear for it and get up close, but it's very minimal now and not interfering anymore with my mixes to such a degree that I can't work anymore. I wish it didn't exist whatsoever, but I guess that's what I get for paying $350 and expecting $1000 quality. Nonetheless, I'm disappointed that M-Audio denies this hissing exists, even with all of these forums of people saying the same things! But now that it's a minimal hiss, I'm happy with my purchase now. :)
 
I have a similar issue with my AV40 also :(. but not loud enough to bother me, I can only hear it when I get really close to it.
 
Hello M-Audio users,

Last week I bought the M-Audio monitor set and indeed, a lot of noise and set the volume pot to 2 o clock and still enough power (best is to remove the pot so there is component less in the signal chain but then it is at full volume so hiss)

And yes the humm. Tested all the grounding cables, noticed that the powersupply is not de-coupled from the backplate, the screws are attached to the backplate and the powersupply. removed the ground cable from the heatsink, no luck

I removed the PCB from the backplate, no luck.

But then when I moved the PCB away from the powesupply, the humm was gone.

In other words it is an ordinary problem, the powersupply is interfering (EMI) to the PCB. That's it.

Common problem when everything is so close to eachother in a cabinet.

Iam still thinking how to solve this problem and will get back to it..

Any suggestions and ideas are welcome ;-)

Cheers
 
and without the slightest intention of sounding like a d*ck

my suggestion with two different buyers reporting design flaw performance issue with these (that would be a deal breaker for me).....I'd suggest returning them and trying something else :D
 
That's really disappointing to hear... (no pun intended). Have you tried using a cheater plug? Can you mod it so that the PCB is permanently mounted away from the power supply? Is there anything that can serve as a shield from EMI? But I would assume the best shield is to prevent anything from emitting EM radiation at all.

Otherwise, maybe give Emotiva's monitors a shot? I'm a separates kind of guy, though.
 
Not sure why everyone is so eager just to throw in the towel with anything to do with M-Audio speakers. I have used the M-Audio AV-40's for years, and moved to M-Audio BX8-D2 Monitors same speakers for the price you pay they are the BEST sounding speakers money can buy period. I found and use product called Ebtech Hum X Voltage Hum Filter or this Tripp Lite IS250 Isolation Transformer 250W Surge 120V will work well. If I were you I would try the Hum X first it should stop it 100% and when you finally dial your speakers in they will sound like they are $2k speakers I promise and ignore the trollers that do not like M-Audio products. :p
 
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Glowingfish said:
Hello M-Audio users,

Last week I bought the M-Audio monitor set and indeed, a lot of noise and set the volume pot to 2 o clock and still enough power (best is to remove the pot so there is component less in the signal chain but then it is at full volume so hiss)

And yes the humm. Tested all the grounding cables, noticed that the powersupply is not de-coupled from the backplate, the screws are attached to the backplate and the powersupply. removed the ground cable from the heatsink, no luck

I removed the PCB from the backplate, no luck.

But then when I moved the PCB away from the powesupply, the humm was gone.

In other words it is an ordinary problem, the powersupply is interfering (EMI) to the PCB. That's it.

Common problem when everything is so close to eachother in a cabinet.

Iam still thinking how to solve this problem and will get back to it..

Any suggestions and ideas are welcome ;-)

Cheers
Click to expand...

Insert a grounded sheet of thin metal between / around the transformer and your problem is most likely gone.
 
Lu(ky said:
Not sure why everyone is so eager just to throw in the towel with anything to do with M-Audio speakers. I have used the M-Audio AV-40's for years, and moved to M-Audio BX8-D2 Monitors same speakers for the price you pay they are the BEST sounding speakers money can buy period. I found and use product called Ebtech Hum X Voltage Hum Filter or this Tripp Lite IS250 Isolation Transformer 250W Surge 120V will work well. If I were you I would try the Hum X first it should stop it 100% and when you finally dial your speakers in they will sound like they are $2k speakers I promise and ignore the trollers that do not like M-Audio products. :p
Click to expand...

LOL I guess you've never heard $2k speakers if you think so :D
 
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B00nie said:
LOL I guess you've never heard $2k speakers if you think so :D
Click to expand...

I have heard 10K speakers but the point is buying something that sound like high end 2K speaker sound in return at a $500 budget is a no brainier.
 
Lu(ky said:
I have heard 10K speakers but the point is buying something that sound like high end 2K speaker sound in return at a $500 budget is a no brainier.
Click to expand...

Yeah just like buying a Bugatti Veyron for $10k. Nice idea but ain't gonna happen!
 
Neutrino said:
I just bought them a few days ago from the store brand new sealed and everything. Never opened the enclosures.

Also, not sure if it matters, I'm residing currently in Europe so I'm using 220V. Of course before anyone asks ;) the power-supply switches in the back are set appropriately.

PS. Each monitor has its own power supply, they plug separately in the outlets. But both have the exact same static noise.
Click to expand...

Send them back while you still can... If you open them up and start tinkering you won't be able to send them back.

I assume these are powered monitors since they are MAudio? The power supply is right next to the speaker, they're obviously picking up noise from the supply. This is why audiophiles insist on separating everything.

You're better off getting passive bookshelves, a T-amp if you have no room and getting your money back while it's still under warranty.
 
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