Strange Humming noise ?

H

hiteak86

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 20, 2002
Messages
213
Ok, so I bought a Home Theatre System (Panasonic SC-HT730), and I have it hooked up to my computer.

When I hooked it up initially, it was perfect. But now after a few hours of play, I am hearing a low humming noise coming from the sub, mostly when the sound is muted/low levels. There also seems to be an occasional crackling noise coming from the satillite speakers.


Are there any quick tests or fixes to my problem ? I haven't called Panasonic yet, mostly cause I don't want to have to sit on the phone for God knows how long.

Should I change the speaker wire or configuration ?

Thanks
 
First things first, make sure you have all connections in "all the way". If this means taking each out, and putting it back in fully.... so be it.

Other then that, do you have anything around you that uses wireless like a cell phone, wireless internet or whatnot............. improperly shieled electronics can make some strange sounds when exposed to these EMI forces.

The only other thing I can say is try to "mute" things in the sound control panel that you don't use, such as a microphone.

How do you have it hooked up to your computer? Some receivers have diffrent input settings... some of which will "mute" the speakers when no audio is being played, and will "unmute" when it receives a signal. That might cause a poping noise when the speakers first get power.

~Hope this helps
 
Ok, this is no longer a computer issue, but I hope that you can still help me.

The setup is as follows. All of the speakers plug into the sub, and the sub is plugged into the 'receiver' with a scuzzi looking cord.

I unplugged all of the external speakers, so that the only thing plugged in is the sub and the receiver.

The sub seems to be emitting the low hum still, even though the reciever isn't doing anything (besides being on).

Any ideas ?

Thanks
 
Oh ya, and 2 of the speakers are only putting out about 20% of what they are supposed to do, and they are still doing that light crackling noise too.

Should I just take this back ?
 
ok, unplug everything from the receiver except for the speakers. do you still hear the noise? if yes plug headphones into the receiver... if you still hear it you either have a bad unit, funky power, or some interference from something nearby. move the receiver to a different room and try the steps above... still noise? see if you can take it to a friends house and and see if you still have the problem. also, does the reciever have a 3 prong cable... if so try lifting the ground... don't leave it like this though just do it to see if you have ground issues. if all of this fails you probably have a bad unit.

if you didn't hear noise after the first step plug in your computer. if that starts the humming then you have a noisy computer or a ground loop. are you connecting to the reciever analog or digital, optical or coax? if optical you can eliminate the ground loop theory and there is something in the computer that is causing the noise. if coax or analog, lift the ground on the computer see if the hum goes away... if it does you have a ground loop. If your making an analog connection you can go get a 600ohm transformer at an electronics store and build a ground isolator for your rca cables... if you're going digital through coax, there are converters to optical but it's probably more than you want to pay and there is no guarantee you will eliminate the hum because you might end up getting a ground loop between the computer and the converter... don't try to do a cheap fix and lift the ground perminantly it's dangerous to both you and your equipment.

I should also add that there is a possibility of the amp in the sub being bad... I missed the part about the speakers being powered off the sub. out of curiosity, how did you come to the conclusion that the speakers are only putting out 20% of what they should?
 
I had the same problem with my Sub, In short your sub is more then likely blown. That humming, taking from my experience, is emitted when high volume is ran through it correct?

I've moved it a bunch of times, to different rooms, even brought it to diff. friends houses, so it's not bad power / nor input sensitivity. Just a blown sub. You're gonna have to RMA I'm afraid :(
 
Ok, so I unplugged EVERYTHING except for the connection between the Sub and the reciever. I get the humming noise. I put in a pair of headphones. I get humming. I plugg in the rest of the speakers with new wire. I get humming.

Keep in mind that this humming noise is only audible between the ranges of - 82db through -45 db. After that, the music itself drownds the humming.

And for the 20% thing, what I meant by that is that two of the speakers sound really muffled, and you have to put your ear really close to hear anything. I just said 20% as an approx.


So is the reciever blown? I better get on this soon, because I dont know what Circuit City's return policy is..


Thanks
 
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