My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
adam_mc
Posts: 168
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:33 pm
Location: Folkestone, Kent

My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by adam_mc » Thu Apr 28, 2011 6:14 pm

Will I ever return to a stable, usable setup?

I recently bought and returned an Ultranova following issues with the device that could not be resolved. Before then I had an X Station and as my setup rarely requires input from instruments etc. the audio card that was incorporated in it worked fine for my needs, as was the idea with the Ultranova. However, this didn't quite pan out and as I said, I sent it back.

NOW

I have bought a Focusrite Saffire 6 USB interface and have it connected to my Toshiba Satellite A500 laptop with Machine attached and my Event TR5 monitors. All things work as they should, However . . .

There is now loads of interference through my monitors. When I start up Ableton or Machine their is a whining noise in the back ground. When the internal disc drive starts I/O the sound transmits through the monitors. If I just turn the monitors on along with the laptop and don't even load any music production software the monitors return the sounds of the fan of the laptop, disc I/O and have a low sounding hum too.

Prior to the Saffire 6 the Ultranova and X Station onboard Audio Cards never produced this interference and I have been without a clean and stable music produvtion environment for about 5 months now (first caused by the Ultranova and now this interference).

I am going mad and am losing patience. What the hell should I be looking at to resolve it? Should I be contacting Focusrite about the audio interface? Is this because the interface is "better" than the internal ones in the Ultranova/x station and therfore picking up interference that has always been there?

If you still have the will to live after reading this and are not too distracted by the Royal Wedding could you please give me some advice on how to sort this out otherwise my laptop may soon be making an exit from my room via the window.

Thanks,

Adam
APM/BPM Folkestone Kent UK

Macbook Pro 2.2Ghz Quad Core i7 8gb Ram, Live 9, Push and other bits and pieces

Tamar UK
Posts: 102
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 6:06 pm
Location: UK

Re: My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by Tamar UK » Thu Apr 28, 2011 6:31 pm

My Native Instrument sound card came with a usb lead that seems to have some kind of rf suppression doobreything in the lead. Maybe that may help.

adam_mc
Posts: 168
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:33 pm
Location: Folkestone, Kent

Re: My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by adam_mc » Thu Apr 28, 2011 6:44 pm

Hmmm, maybe I should look around for one to try.

Something I didn't mention - this interference does not exist in my headphones that are plugged into the Saffire USB.

Adam
APM/BPM Folkestone Kent UK

Macbook Pro 2.2Ghz Quad Core i7 8gb Ram, Live 9, Push and other bits and pieces

Tamar UK
Posts: 102
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 6:06 pm
Location: UK

Re: My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by Tamar UK » Thu Apr 28, 2011 6:49 pm

hmmm ok so sounds like monitors are picking up interference from saffire. I mean as opposed to something causing interference to saffire.

perplex
Posts: 357
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2011 4:47 pm

Re: My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by perplex » Thu Apr 28, 2011 6:51 pm

ground lift the usb cables and audio cables

got rid of all my hum and interference

for usb cables (splice open the wire, and cut the black wire, then tape it back with electrical tape)
for audio cables (specifically XLR, unscrew the end cap part, and just cut the "1" wire from the prong")

dont worry, as long as the electrical wire is grounded, the usb/audio cables are fine. that's how my setup has been for a couple months now. all i have is regular noise floor when the volume is too high

adam_mc
Posts: 168
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:33 pm
Location: Folkestone, Kent

Re: My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by adam_mc » Thu Apr 28, 2011 7:00 pm

Have just spliced a usb cable and removed the black wire and taped it back up. Have used it for the audio interface but there is still interference. Do I need to do this for all usb cable to my PC? The APC40 cable? Mouse? Keyboard? External HD?
APM/BPM Folkestone Kent UK

Macbook Pro 2.2Ghz Quad Core i7 8gb Ram, Live 9, Push and other bits and pieces

adam_mc
Posts: 168
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:33 pm
Location: Folkestone, Kent

Re: My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by adam_mc » Thu Apr 28, 2011 7:03 pm

Why am I not experiencing this when using my headphones?

:roll:
APM/BPM Folkestone Kent UK

Macbook Pro 2.2Ghz Quad Core i7 8gb Ram, Live 9, Push and other bits and pieces

perplex
Posts: 357
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2011 4:47 pm

Re: My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by perplex » Thu Apr 28, 2011 7:06 pm

what kind of cables are connected from your audio interface to your monitors? you might want to ground lift those too.

adam_mc
Posts: 168
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:33 pm
Location: Folkestone, Kent

Re: My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by adam_mc » Thu Apr 28, 2011 7:12 pm

1/4" cables. Not really up on the cabling side of things (may be why this mess is happening?) but they are 1/4" connectors like headphone plugs. Does that help?

This makes me sound like a tit. Software wise I'm pretty much on it. Hardware. Hmmmmm. Not so sure.

Adam
APM/BPM Folkestone Kent UK

Macbook Pro 2.2Ghz Quad Core i7 8gb Ram, Live 9, Push and other bits and pieces

siliconarc
Posts: 2836
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 12:27 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by siliconarc » Thu Apr 28, 2011 8:21 pm

make sure the 1/4" cables are balanced/TRS.
you could get busy with soldering your own heads onto cable, but buying a pair is cheap enough and less hassle.






not sure what the usb cable butchery info was all about :?

kb420
Posts: 2772
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2006 3:35 am
Location: Cydonia on the 4th Planet

Re: My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by kb420 » Thu Apr 28, 2011 8:31 pm

Image
"That which does not kill us makes us stronger..........."
-Friedrich Nietzsche-

crofter
Posts: 1058
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:35 pm
Location: The foot of our stairs

Re: My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by crofter » Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:18 pm

This is a common problem caused by the laptop power supply you either need a power supply that is double insulated or use a ground loop isolator or DI box between the audio interface and your monitors.
Core2 quad q660, 4gig ram, Win 7 home premium SP1.
P4 2.8 ghz, Gigabyte GA- 81E2004P, 1.5 gig ram,XP Home, SP3.
dual core pentium laptop 2 gig ram Win 8.
MOTU 8Pre,Tascam FW-1804,Zoom R16, Ableton live 8.4
Cubase 7

adam_mc
Posts: 168
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2007 3:33 pm
Location: Folkestone, Kent

Re: My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by adam_mc » Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:53 pm

Okay,
A mixture of things to be considering here. The goofy picture of the kid is probably my favourite so far, cheers.

A ground loop isolator or a DI box.

Do I buy these things? Make them? Expensive?

BTW - Stealing is not an option.
APM/BPM Folkestone Kent UK

Macbook Pro 2.2Ghz Quad Core i7 8gb Ram, Live 9, Push and other bits and pieces

The Philosopher King
Posts: 190
Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2008 7:56 pm

Re: My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by The Philosopher King » Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:56 pm

I think it depends on the USB Card situation.

I had a Line-6 Card working fine (apart from the crappy drivers).
Now I have a Stealth Pedal (competition prize) which causes a continuious hum on my Monitors but (like you) not on my headphones.

IK Multimedia have been ever so unhelpful as usual but I may try swapping the USB Cable after reading your Post, since it does seem to include RF Supression 'nodes' (or whatever they're called) near both ends. I'll also swop out my cables to speakers, just as soon as I get the chance.

I understand the 'going mad' bit ... :lol:

arafel
Posts: 506
Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:19 am
Location: Calgary, Canada

Re: My God - I am going to go mad . . .

Post by arafel » Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:37 pm

Had a similar issue (whining/ interference buzz) with my FA-66 soundcard and my monitors (had mackie hr624, now these samson 65a - both same issue)

Whole issue solved by buying a set of: BALANCED 1/4" audio cables (soundcard to monitors).
cost about $12 for 6'.
Problem... Gone immediately.

Try that... Balanced cables available at any pro-audio shop.
2.8ghz Quad Mac, Live 9.77, Remote25, Maschine 1, Fa-66 optical link, Samson 65a. Dog hair.. lots.

Post Reply