Sound interference issues with imac

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Jackdix06
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Sound interference issues with imac

Post by Jackdix06 »

I am experiencing some interference with my imac. I have a komplete audio 6 plugged into the imac via usb then the rokit 6's are plugged into the audio 6 using balanced TRS cables. I tried using RCA cables to see how it sounded and it was a lot worse so i reverted back to the balanced cables, but there is still a slight bit of interference and its quite annoying when no music is playing. Has anyone else experienced the same issue and how did you solve it? I am told this is down to the ground loop on the imac and over in america they have an adaptor that solves the issue but with me living in the UK this isn't a solution for me. I have tried plugging the monitors into a different power source to the imacs power source and it made it worse. i have also noticed when the imac is thinking or when i use the scroll on the mouse it gets worse. Would be really grateful if anyone could help me

cheers

Jack

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Re: Sound interference issues with imac

Post by Esh »

I have a very similar problem with my Alesis Monitors and an iO2 soundcard. But i have ultimately decided that my problem is that I bought shit equipment which after 12-18 months of fairly sensible use has resulted into 3 pieces of turd finding themselves plugged into my computer.

DO NOT buy the iO2 worse bit of cash i have ever spent. Crappy build quality, horrible design, shit quality sound, interference and adds a shit load of distortion if you use the headphone socket. worse of all it actually makes next to no difference to the overall performance.

Back to the issue, I didn't notice this problem when I was using a desktop PC rather than a laptop. I had it down to some sort of hardware issue (fans being so close to the power unit or something). But to be fair, if their is no music playing you could always turn them off like I do now?

Jackdix06
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Re: Sound interference issues with imac

Post by Jackdix06 »

I wont be changing the audio interface its working fine. I have just noticed that when i got myself some higher quality monitors that i could hear interference when the computer was thinking. after a lot of reading about on the internet i have put it down to the ground loop , as i said before the americans have a great little plug socked to resolve the issue but with me living in the UK its out of the question, there is a link below to there adaptor. i was just thinking there must surely be someone out there who lives in the UK who is running an imac with a soundcard and external speakers who has eliminated the problem. its not a massive deal but the more you take notice of it the more annoying it becomes haha. Maybe i am just being fussy.


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Re: Sound interference issues with imac

Post by Mslwte »

I have a ground loop thingy for audio cables. Only posting to say that it was a waste of money incase you are thinking of going down that route. The only thing that I could work out what it did was it made the overall volume less and didn't eliminate the noise. That's my experience anyway.
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Jackdix06
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Re: Sound interference issues with imac

Post by Jackdix06 »

Yeah i was considering that but now i think i will give it a miss. I guess i will just have to live with it, not a major issue once the music is playing i cant hear it at all. I might get onto apple and see what they... If they have anything to say about the matter.

Thanks a lot for the replies guys :)

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Re: Sound interference issues with imac

Post by Críoch »

I had a mic plugged into my soundcard for like a year.. with its channel slightly turned up on the mixer pane of the soundcard itself. Drove me fucking mad cos there was a constant subtle hiss. Likewise - I couldnt hear it when the music played.. but it bugged the shit out of me. Duh.

So I definitely understand Jack! haha

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Re: Sound interference issues with imac

Post by chrisso »

I have an iMac in a home studio I put together myself.
One of the key fixes with ground hums is to power EVERYTHING off one wall socket.
An old studio maintenance guy taught me this and I've followed his advice ever since.
I have a custom made enormo plug board coming off my wall socket. Other standard plug boards feed off that.
Even if I plug one synth or a monitor amp into a second wall socket a hum immediately appears.
So if you are splitting your power around the room, try and repower all your devices off a single plug.
His second trick was to separate power cords from audio cords.
It's hard to do with a rack full of equipment.
But basically, people often have a spaghetti-like mess of cables of all types on the floor of their studio.
I try to tie all audio cables to one side, and all power cables away from the audio.
Whenever I get a hum in my studio, I often track it down to a power cable sitting on top of an audio one.

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Re: Sound interference issues with imac

Post by sam »

my brothers got a little i5 notebook which makes lots of noise when the power cable is plugged in, but running it from the battery is fine. i'll try it powered by the same socket as everything else tonight and see if there's a difference.

i get all kinds of background and interference noises out of my stuff and i swear i've had interference caused by different sized windows on my desktop before. it's crazy..

but generally things sound fine when proper audio is running.

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Re: Sound interference issues with imac

Post by Mslwte »

I have a little bit of hiss cOming through the speakers and tbh I don't mind it as I can tell if the monitors are turned up really loud before I play any music through them. Very useful when the kids are in bed ;)
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Re: Sound interference issues with imac

Post by Patriek »

A harddisk can also cause interference. Used to have that on my old laptop. Pretty annoying :)
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Jackdix06
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Re: Sound interference issues with imac

Post by Jackdix06 »

yeah i have everything running from one socket but i will get my cables sorted out and see what happens. Its at a constant volume regardless of what the volume on the interface. i am starting to get used to it now. @ICN thanks man, its a top forum! really pleased i discovered it, i think it was purely by chance as well! will have to start posting more often.


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