Question How Noisy Are Your Desktop Speakers?

[accesscpu_]

I've been dealing with some signal noise and frying in my desktop audio lately. So I decided to track it down. I started by disconnecting my speakers, and plugin my headphones and earbuds directly into the rear audio audio and front audio jack of my tower. Both were pretty much silent. When I reintroduced my desktop speakers again, the frying noise returns.

I've been using Creative Labs speakers, but two different version I tried were both doing the same thing. Then I bought a budget pair of Logitech 10W Z200s for about $40. That got rid of most the noise, but there is still about 20% left if you stick your ear right up to it.

So I'm wondering, if this unavoidable? Or can I find a good pair of speakers that is totally silent and noise free? Not looking to break the bank, but will spend a little more than $40 if needed.

 

[hotaru.hino]

The first thing to do regarding audio set ups is to make sure that everything, from the source to the output, is on the same circuit, otherwise something called a ground loop may happen. Though I'm sure you're plugging both the computer and the speakers into say a surge protector or similar so that would take care of that.

Otherwise, it's likely just how the speakers are built. Powered speakers have amplifiers built into them, which may have some noise to them. Also couple this with any noise the speaker picks up from the environment that'll get amplified as well.

 

[accesscpu_]

The first thing to do regarding audio set ups is to make sure that everything, from the source to the output, is on the same circuit, otherwise something called a ground loop may happen. Though I'm sure you're plugging both the computer and the speakers into say a surge protector or similar so that would take care of that.

Otherwise, it's likely just how the speakers are built. Powered speakers have amplifiers built into them, which may have some noise to them. Also couple this with any noise the speaker picks up from the environment that'll get amplified as well.

Yup, always run everything surged protected.

They have a better version of the called the 207, which are about $75. But would only want to spend that if I knew it would help.

Also, is a dedicated audio card another option? But again, if I can't get that last 20% of noise out of the speakers, I'm not sure it would be work it to me.

 

[punkncat]

Did the speakers happen to come with a choke?
Small magnet cylinder that snaps around the wire to help eliminate noises such as this.

 

[accesscpu_]

Did the speakers happen to come with a choke?
Small magnet cylinder that snaps around the wire to help eliminate noises such as this.

I don't think so, but I really doubt it. At only $40, they were pretty limited. But I'm interested in knowing more.

 

[punkncat]

Amazon.com : magnetic choke


May or may not work according to what the source of EMI is, but they are cheap to try.

 

[hotaru.hino]

If you're going to use a choke, you need to get an RF EMI choke. Otherwise you'll block out the audio signals. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choke_(electronics)

However, an RF EMI choke is likely not necessary anyway since it's possible the speakers on the input filter out that stuff before sending it to the amplifier. Otherwise you'd be hearing one of these noises all the time:

As a simple test, don't connect the speakers into anything and while I don't think it's necessary, you could wrap the cables with aluminum foil to block out EMI. Then crank up the speakers. If you still hear noise, that's simply from the speakers themselves and you can't do anything about it.

EDIT: Also this Electronics Exchange post and a comment to it may also put a damper on using an RF EMI choke anyway.

 

[accesscpu_]

Thanks all! As a side note, when I turned the volume on the speakers up or down, they don't really increase the level of the frying sound. So it does seem like some kind of signal thing, and not just noise in the hardware.

 

[Rokinamerica]

I am using Creative speakers on my pc and no noise other than the sound from my source. Same with my Bose speakers. I think the answer is above.

 

[accesscpu_]

Update:

So I figured I'd spend a little extra cash to upgrade the speakers to see if that helps. I went out and bought a pair of Creative T100s for $100. Not the best, but still, a significant upgrade and more than the average user probably spends on speakers.

The verdict? The exact same level of signal noise.

And, since I've confirmed that my motherboard audio jack is silent (when connecting directly with a pair of headphones or earbuds), I have to assume this is just the nature of desktop speakers that are powered. They all seem to have some faint, low-level signal noise, no matter what. It's not bad, and to hear it I have to press my ear right up against my speaker. But it's there. I guess forever lol.

 

[kerberos_20]

Update:

So I figured I'd spend a little extra cash to upgrade the speakers to see if that helps. I went out and bought a pair of Creative T100s for $100. Not the best, but still, a significant upgrade and more than the average user probably spends on speakers.

The verdict? The exact same level of signal noise.

And, since I've confirmed that my motherboard audio jack is silent (when connecting directly with a pair of headphones or earbuds), I have to assume this is just the nature of desktop speakers that are powered. They all seem to have some faint, low-level signal noise, no matter what. It's not bad, and to hear it I have to press my ear right up against my speaker. But it's there. I guess forever lol.

thats an emi or rfi noise
as mentioned above, ferrite filter should help you with that

i dont hear anything from my pc, zero noise, running unbalanced analog copper cables (unshielded), no ferrites...the only noise i get (ground loop) is when i power off PC, but even then its buzzing just when amp is set on too high volume (150watt classs-b amp), which i could probably solve with ground loop isolator
so i guess my amp is doing emi/rfi filtering

btw proper audio filters costs like 1USD per wire..kinda odd that you got two speakers without any filtering

 

[hotaru.hino]

Update:

So I figured I'd spend a little extra cash to upgrade the speakers to see if that helps. I went out and bought a pair of Creative T100s for $100. Not the best, but still, a significant upgrade and more than the average user probably spends on speakers.

The verdict? The exact same level of signal noise.

And, since I've confirmed that my motherboard audio jack is silent (when connecting directly with a pair of headphones or earbuds), I have to assume this is just the nature of desktop speakers that are powered. They all seem to have some faint, low-level signal noise, no matter what. It's not bad, and to hear it I have to press my ear right up against my speaker. But it's there. I guess forever lol.

Assuming this noise isn't audible until like 75% on the knob, one thing that's helped me with my setup is to make sure Windows' volume level is at 100. At least for my speakers, I still have plenty of play between "just right" and "too loud"

 

[Zerk2012]

Thanks all! As a side note, when I turned the volume on the speakers up or down, they don't really increase the level of the frying sound. So it does seem like some kind of signal thing, and not just noise in the hardware.

Not sure if you tried this.
I had all my cables roughted together and was getting noise, separated the speaker cables from all the others stopped it.

 

[Rokinamerica]

Not sure if you tried this.
I had all my cables roughted together and was getting noise, separated the speaker cables from all the others stopped it.

I also have my speaker wires separate from my other cabling. As stated above, neither my replaced Bose nor my Current Creative SBS E2900 have ever had noise issues.

"I have to assume this is just the nature of desktop speakers that are powered."

Not correct.

 

[accesscpu_]

"I have to assume this is just the nature of desktop speakers that are powered."

Not correct.

OK, but at some point, the average user is not going to have much knowledge or ability to trouble shoot this stuff. I can tell you that I've been through three different pairs of speakers (all new, all right out of the box), and all have the same problem. And granted I don't have any special filters on the wires, and the cables are a normal length apart and separated best they can be. So I feel on average, this can't be a me thing. This has to be the nature of the beast.

Again, it's not a huge problem. It's so faint that you can't hear it unless you press your ear against it. And I'd say it's as low as 5%-10% right now. Turning the volume up or down doesn't really affect it either, so it's not an issue with hardware being pushed too hard. It's just always there. Like a little pebble in your shoe you can ignore and would even forget about after a while. But still...there.

 

[drivinfast247]

Are you connecting to "line_out" or "headphones"?

 

[harisrehman]

It sounds like you have already done a good job troubleshooting and have narrowed down the issue to the speakers themselves. Some speakers may produce more noise or interference than others, so it's possible that finding a pair of speakers that are completely silent may be difficult.
However, there are a few things you can try to minimize the noise:

1. Move the speakers farther away from any sources of interference, such as other electronics or power sources.
2. Make sure the speakers are plugged into a grounded outlet or power strip.
3. Try using shielded audio cables to connect the speakers to your computer.
4. Consider purchasing speakers with built-in noise reduction technology, such as those marketed as "studio monitors."
5. If none of these solutions work, you may want to consider purchasing an external audio interface or DAC (digital-to-analog converter) to connect your speakers to your computer. These devices can help isolate and reduce interference.

Ultimately, it may be difficult to completely eliminate all noise and interference, but trying these solutions should help minimize it as much as possible.