Mbox 2 whine or high pitched noise
Mbox or Mbox 2 experiences whine or high pitched noise while in use. The problem is likely related to the computer itself, to ground loops induced by plugging gear into multiple outlets, or poor grounding. The Mbox is generally not the culprit. The following steps can help solve the issue: Plug all gear into the same outlet and/or make sure your outlets have a good ground Use TRS (balanced) cables from the outputs of the Mbox Get a Monster 'Ultimate Performance' USB Cable If you are on a PowerMac G5 and the above recommendations don't help, you can install the Apple Developer Tool called CHUD which helps remove noise cause by the processor. More information on installing CHUD: 60 Hz hum / noise in the audio, ground loop troubleshooting. I have a 60Hz hum in my audio and/or hear noise that seems to be dependent on my CPU or Hard disk activity. Why is that, and what can I do about it? What you are experiencing is commonly called "ground loop". All devices in your studio should be connected to the same ground. If this is not the case and if one or more of the devices are getting their ground from somewhere else, (e.g. from a different power outlet that is running on a different electrical circuit) and devices with different ground are connected to each other (e.g mounted to the same rack rail), this type of noise might occur. Be aware that just plugging your gear into a 3 prong AC outlet does not mean the house is actually grounded. Some older homes or buildings are sometimes not grounded at all! Depending on the amount of devices in your studio, it might be hard to find the device that is causing the problem. You want to disconnect and power down as much gear as possible and build the system back up to determine where the noise is coming from. Also, having a professional inspect your electrical wiring is highly recommended if you can't determine where the noise is coming from. GROUND LOOP TROUBLESHOOTING: First, unplug and turn off all unnecessary gear and run only the computer, the audio interface and monitors. Make sure you're not running through a hub or other port replicating device such as some Apple displays for example. Listen through headphones to see if the noise is also playing back in headphones. You can also plug the headphones into one MON output to test if the noise is playing out the MON output or not. If NOT, then the noise is most likely caused by the monitor cables or some where post the audio interface in the signal chain. Try a different USB/1394 ports to see if the noise lessens. Power supplies inside computers are likely culprits and sometime use low-quality components. Try upgrading the PSU to a higher quality PSU that uses more than 1 voltage rail. Try installing and running on another computer (or if you're using a laptop, unplug the power supply and run off of batteries to see if noise goes away). Make sure you're using balanced cables on all balanced inputs and outputs. Try using a high quality power conditioner for all your electronic gear (Furman, Monster) Some Universal Power Supplies or Power Conditioners provide "True Sine-wave" output which is very good for audio gear stability and protection and can be a sign of a high quality device. 9) Run your outputs directly to shielded monitors and not through a mixer to see if the noise goes away. Try a different AC outlet that has good grounding. Trace your cable path for long cable runs, and isolate your cables from possible interference (other gear, fluorescent lighting, CRT monitors, etc). Make sure you don't have audio cables and power cables running in parallel. If they must cross try to cross them at a 90, so interference or noise won't be induced into the audio cables. http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=209541 http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=209547 https://twitter.com #!/RAYGproductions https://plus.google.com/u/0/106221884752831011618/posts mbox noise problem mbox noise problem mbox noise problem mbox noise problem mbox noise problem mbox noise problem mbox noise problem
Mbox or Mbox 2 experiences whine or high pitched noise while in use. The problem is likely related to the computer itself, to ground loops induced by plugging gear into multiple outlets, or poor grounding. The Mbox is generally not the culprit. The following steps can help solve the issue: Plug all gear into the same outlet and/or make sure your outlets have a good ground Use TRS (balanced) cables from the outputs of the Mbox Get a Monster 'Ultimate Performance' USB Cable If you are on a PowerMac G5 and the above recommendations don't help, you can install the Apple Developer Tool called CHUD which helps remove noise cause by the processor. More information on installing CHUD: 60 Hz hum / noise in the audio, ground loop troubleshooting. I have a 60Hz hum in my audio and/or hear noise that seems to be dependent on my CPU or Hard disk activity. Why is that, and what can I do about it? What you are experiencing is commonly called "ground loop". All devices in your studio should be connected to the same ground. If this is not the case and if one or more of the devices are getting their ground from somewhere else, (e.g. from a different power outlet that is running on a different electrical circuit) and devices with different ground are connected to each other (e.g mounted to the same rack rail), this type of noise might occur. Be aware that just plugging your gear into a 3 prong AC outlet does not mean the house is actually grounded. Some older homes or buildings are sometimes not grounded at all! Depending on the amount of devices in your studio, it might be hard to find the device that is causing the problem. You want to disconnect and power down as much gear as possible and build the system back up to determine where the noise is coming from. Also, having a professional inspect your electrical wiring is highly recommended if you can't determine where the noise is coming from. GROUND LOOP TROUBLESHOOTING: First, unplug and turn off all unnecessary gear and run only the computer, the audio interface and monitors. Make sure you're not running through a hub or other port replicating device such as some Apple displays for example. Listen through headphones to see if the noise is also playing back in headphones. You can also plug the headphones into one MON output to test if the noise is playing out the MON output or not. If NOT, then the noise is most likely caused by the monitor cables or some where post the audio interface in the signal chain. Try a different USB/1394 ports to see if the noise lessens. Power supplies inside computers are likely culprits and sometime use low-quality components. Try upgrading the PSU to a higher quality PSU that uses more than 1 voltage rail. Try installing and running on another computer (or if you're using a laptop, unplug the power supply and run off of batteries to see if noise goes away). Make sure you're using balanced cables on all balanced inputs and outputs. Try using a high quality power conditioner for all your electronic gear (Furman, Monster) Some Universal Power Supplies or Power Conditioners provide "True Sine-wave" output which is very good for audio gear stability and protection and can be a sign of a high quality device. 9) Run your outputs directly to shielded monitors and not through a mixer to see if the noise goes away. Try a different AC outlet that has good grounding. Trace your cable path for long cable runs, and isolate your cables from possible interference (other gear, fluorescent lighting, CRT monitors, etc). Make sure you don't have audio cables and power cables running in parallel. If they must cross try to cross them at a 90, so interference or noise won't be induced into the audio cables. http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=209541 http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=209547 https://twitter.com #!/RAYGproductions https://plus.google.com/u/0/106221884752831011618/posts mbox noise problem mbox noise problem mbox noise problem mbox noise problem mbox noise problem mbox noise problem mbox noise problem