[SOLVED] Audio Mixer causing "hiss" ?

[Zak32]

Hi all,

Sorry if this isn't the right category, wasn't too sure

I'm using an AT2020 XLR mic and a Behringer Xenyx 1204USB, with Voicemeeter Banana
Great mixer and mic, but I've been getting a hiss sound in my mic for as long as I can remember. It's never really been a huge issue because I've used software to eliminate most of it, but ideally I'd like to get rid of it on a hardware level

I doubt it's Voicemeeter, because I've tested it with Voicemeeter off and it still happens. If I "listen" to my mic through Voicemeeter or Windows, I can hear the hiss
If I unplug my mic the hiss is still there. If I turn off phantom power and main power on the mixer, the hiss reduces a small amount but is still there. I've tried plugging it into a different USB port on my PC as well (one was USB 2, other was USB 3)
I'm no audio expert but I'm pretty sure all the knobs on the mixer are set correctly. There's no additional gain or compression or anything like that

This makes me think it could be the USB cable but I'm not too sure

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

I would try researching a proper audio interface instead of using a mixer.

 

[Zak32]

I would try researching a proper audio interface instead of using a mixer.

Well I got a mixer so I'd also be able to plug in my electric drum kit and record to my PC, otherwise I probably would have just got a normal audio interface
I don't really want to go buying more stuff, I'm sure there's some kind of fix for this

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

You can try getting usb cables with shielding to see if it helps reducing the hiss.

 

[Zak32]

You can try getting usb cables with shielding to see if it helps reducing the hiss.

Good idea actually, I'll see if I can find some!

Any other ideas from anyone else will be appreciated as well

 

[Zak32]

You can try getting usb cables with shielding to see if it helps reducing the hiss.

So I bought a cable on Amazon Prime and it arrived already, changed the cable over and it does actually help a lot, but the hiss was still there

I had the idea of turning down the level of the volume in Windows to 90 from 100 since that seems to get rid of the hiss entirely. To counteract that I just turned up my mic volume on the mixer itself by the same amount and it's perfect now, no loss of quality either

Thanks!

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

So I bought a cable on Amazon Prime and it arrived already, changed the cable over and it does actually help a lot, but the hiss was still there

I had the idea of turning down the level of the volume in Windows to 90 from 100 since that seems to get rid of the hiss entirely. To counteract that I just turned up my mic volume on the mixer itself by the same amount and it's perfect now, no loss of quality either

Thanks!

Glad to "hear" that your hiss is gone😉