Been Googling a while on this and have not found a good source to answer this question…
My PC is co-located near where I practice and record, and thus, depending on the bass, etc will get USB noise coming through my amp etc through the pickups. Even with well grounded basses etc.
So, is there a surefire way to eliminate totally?
My guess is no.
It’s so noisy in general even via PC speakers etc.
Are sheilded, noiseless USB cables a thing?
My guess again is no.
Tagging @DaveT to see if he has any experience too.
There are usb ground loop eliminators you can pick up on Amazon. I use a laptop, so as long as I am running off battery power, I don’t get that background noise from the ground loop.
The following is a link to an example but I have never used it.
Nobsound USB Isolator Module Audio Noise Eliminator Industrial Isolator Protection
I’m sure Sweetwater or Amazon.com have many more options.
Noise can be tricky to track down. Unbalanced connections and things with two prong AC plugs are always high on the suspicious list.
A good way to find noise is to turn gain knobs up and down at various places in the signal flow. If the noise goes up and down with the knob it is upstream. Otherwise, it’s downstream. That can really help to zoom in on where the problem is happening.
Similarly for plugging and unplugging cables. For a system with a lot of connections, it can be helpful to get a basic simple system working quietly first and then start adding the rest and noticing when it goes bad. Disconnect everything except the core signal flow you want to focus on.
yes. look into Chroma Cables. I use these on nearly all my USB devices (and I have a lot… I think I’m up to 13? ). They have ferrite isolators on each end, shielded cabling, and resistors to help minimize current draw. They’re pretty fancy and come in many colors. Nearly everything has its own color so I can tell at a glance which connector goes to what.
Also, are you sure it’s USB-related?
I also have pretty much everything going through a Furman power conditioner and/or UPS, and at the computer exclusively use TRS/balanced cables.
BTW, I have the same problem right now. It’s not the Octa Capture because I had it on the USB Pre also. My first suspicion is the USB MIDI to the keyboard as it also has unbalanced audio connections and a floating power supply. I’ve been too lazy to care, but I’ll pay attention now and let you know what I find.
I’m definitely getting digital USB serial data noise. I can make it happen by moving the mouse.
that reminded me that all my peripherals (mouse, keyboard, other keyboard) are gaming peripherals, so their quality is a bit above basic stuff as well, so they are perhaps quieter as a result.
Place bass in front of PC (where my desk neck support is, loads of noise, move away, less).
I have more USB connections than I can count. I’d love to color code them @Koldunya !! One day I’ll draw this up as it’s insane.
I know for a fact that when I hook up USB Cables to my pedals to interact with them I get loads more noise (B7K / C4 Synth for example).
I also have a PC speaker cable noise issue as well. I have my speakers running through a switch that lets me port the sound to them from either my PC or the headphone out on the Octa Capture. This is noisy as well in general without bass and need to solve. The pc speakers also go through a computer switch that lets me A/B all my peripherals between home PC and work laptop. This brings in lots of PC noise. Maybe this is what’s getting carried over coke to think of it.
The main source for noise in my setup is an external monitor, connected to my laptop by a USB-C cable. I routinely disconnect it when I’m playing through my Zoom B1 Four or amp. It’s not a problem when I’m playing through my DAI, so the other connections (such as the AUX cable running from my laptop into my Zoom/amp) apparently are contributing factors as well.
Are these just your average PC speakers? If so, I can’t imagine they have anything but basic braided speaker cables to/fro and are likely highly susceptible to picking up noise
Fair. I have no idea if they work or not. I just know I have a completely silent setup and that’s how they are advertised as they target DJs and live performers.
But I bet my splitter cables are pure crap.
So, what are the best noiseless mini-to-mini jack cables out there?
When I do plug in the splitter to the DAI headphone jack, the noise goes up for sure. But I still think the noise I here through there is USB noise. Or maybe it is PC noise
John are sure you are not hearing Quantization Noise caused by the analog to digital conversion and the conversion back to analog. Depending on the sampling ratio used and compression of the digital signal the quantization noise can be audible. For those that might not know what quantization noise is here is a definition. This is one type of error that can be introduced into an analog signal when it is being encoded into a digital form. Quantization noise is typically caused by small differences (mainly rounding errors) between the actual analog input voltage of the audio being sampled and the specific bit resolution of the analog-to-digital converter being used. This noise is nonlinear and signal dependent.
I hear it when not using my DAI at all.
It is inteference my pickups are, well, picking up.
If you all remember, I also have a fast paced, high pitch, ticking in all my active basses in this room, esp if you turn up the treble knob, and gets minimized when turning treble knob down. This is constant though and have not finished troubleshooting but think its unrelated as it is different, the lead candidate is the wireless router extension in the room. Need to move my rig elsewhere to see if it goes away, haven’t done that yet.
All my bass gear runs through a Furman Power brick btw too.
@John_E Have you tried eliminating all the wireless gear? In your diagram you have both a wireless mouse and keyboard. Is that the 2.4Ghz kind or bluetooth? You can get wired KVMs for pretty cheap these days if you had too. In addition to wired devices run a ethernet cable for internet connectivity. I have used ethernet over power connectors before. That may introduce some noise depending on their make.
Both my Focusrite 2i2 and Boss GT-1B would introduce some noise but as soon as I unplugged the laptop it went silent. I also us an AXE I/O DAI with another laptop, both plugged in for power and fortunately I have not had a problem with noise. I only use bluetooth keyboards and mice but I am not sure if that would have been a problem other wise. I can tell you that both the Logitech bluetooth devices I use has multiple device control allowing me to bypass the need for a switch (KVM).
I will look into the keyboard mouse thing. Thanks!
Internet is hard wired to PC but I also have Sonos in the room and phone iPad etc wireless.
I needed a repeater in the basement for the wireless and thought it was the best idea to stick it in my room for best signal but that might have been a mistake. Out in the playroom might have been better. My music room has a concrete wall (house foundation) as it’s inside wall so thought it better to be in the room.
). They have ferrite isolators on each end, shielded cabling, and resistors to help minimize current draw. They’re pretty fancy and come in many colors. Nearly everything has its own color so I can tell at a glance which connector goes to what.