HyperX Cloud II static noise

[EpicRazzy]

Good day, community. I've just bought today a Cloud II headset and I'm totally in love with it. There is only 1 thing that kills the joy: I keep hearing static noise in my headphones. It either comes out randomly or before/while/after literally any sound comes up, like the sound of a Youtube video for example. I've tried different methods like updating the firmware to 005, even though the default version was already 005. If you have anything that could sort this out, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

The static could be interference from your PC.

I would start by testing your headset on a cleaner source such as a piece of AV equipment.

Ultimately, if the computer is the source of the static, your options usually boil down to switching to a higher quality audio card for the computer, one which will better shield the analog output, or use digital out from the computer, to a decent headphone amp, where you won't be subject to the computer's interference.

 

[EpicRazzy]

The static could be interference from your PC.

I would start by testing your headset on a cleaner source such as a piece of AV equipment.

Ultimately, if the computer is the source of the static, your options usually boil down to switching to a higher quality audio card for the computer, one which will better shield the analog output, or use digital out from the computer, to a decent headphone amp, where you won't be subject to the computer's interference.

I've tested the headset on another PC and it was still buzzing. Could it the be headset's fault? Note: the other PC was built in 2009, so it doesn't have a fancy audio card either.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

PCs have inherently noisy analog audio output, especially if you're using audio circuitry built into the motherboard. Some newer boards have better isolation, but that doesn't sound like anything you have available to you.

Like I said, test your headset on a cleaner source of audio, not another PC.

Heck, even a portable CD player should be cleaner than most PCs. Do you have a TV with a headphone output on it? May not be the best sound, but you should be able to see if there is a lack of the interference noise present.

 

[EpicRazzy]

PCs have inherently noisy analog audio output, especially if you're using audio circuitry built into the motherboard. Some newer boards have better isolation, but that doesn't sound like anything you have available to you.

Like I said, test your headset on a cleaner source of audio, not another PC.

Heck, even a portable CD player should be cleaner than most PCs. Do you have a TV with a headphone output on it? May not be the best sound, but you should be able to see if there is a lack of the interference noise present.

I tested it on my Xperia Z1 smartphone and I could still hear the noise. Should I look for more audio devices in my house, since a 3 year old smartphone might not be the best device to test it on, or should I come to the conclusion that the headset is broken?

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Hi, I was busy for the weekend.

It's starting to sound as though the headset may be defective, as you suspect, or just as likely, just not as high quality as the price suggests.

Do you have another pair of headphones you could test the same audio sources, with a similar frequency response range, that you could plug into them to see if you hear the same interference?

Since you don't seem to have a decent AV receiver to test with, or a CD player, it's hard to say that any of the sources are clean, but it's just as impossible to say that they aren't. You would need to pick up the same noise with a different headset or with actual test equipment to make that decision.

Finally, are you playing the same audio on all devices? Not all source audio is clean. You could be using a song or sound effect that is low bitrate, and inherently problematic to start with. I'm going to go back to my recommendation to use a CD. The noise floor on CDs is better than most studios ever achieved, and a decent CD playback stream from the disc, not from a rip of a disc, should give you a good baseline for clean audio. Heck, some PC CD drives used to had a headphone jack on them, which would further remove the PC from the noise equation.