Audiobox hiss... PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Schecterplayer

New member
Ok im at the end of the line here.... I have an audiobox usb running on a windows xp dell xps 400 which is more than capable of recording. My problem is i have a hissing in all recordings. Even with no inputs plugged in and all preamps on 0!!!!! I sent it out for repair and still hissing... Im lookin into buying the fast track pro for more than one reason. 1 to replace this garbage i have now and 2 to have inserts for my outboard eq. I want to know if i should buy it or if i have another problem....
 
I will bet that the problem is a digital earth loop. What is connected to the Audiobox? on the inputs? outputs?

The audiobox is a good piece of gear, there should be no excessive noise.

Cheers
Alan.
 
O i just read what it is. I can assure its not an electroni. Interference hum. Its a high frequency ( not low like a ground loop hum) hissing. It was totally fine when i first bought it and used it on a dell laptop with no noise but i switched to a desktop. Hiss came so i switched back to the laptop and it was there too!
 
O i just read what it is. I can assure its not an electroni. Interference hum. Its a high frequency ( not low like a ground loop hum) hissing. It was totally fine when i first bought it and used it on a dell laptop with no noise but i switched to a desktop. Hiss came so i switched back to the laptop and it was there too!

Earth loops on digital equipment sound like hiss, white noise or zipping sounds, not the usual hum you get with analog gear. The earth loop is via the usb cable and the earth voltage causes interference with the digital signal.

The reason it was fine with the old computer was that the old computer probably had a different mains earth system, i.e lap tops with double insulated power supplies, 2 pin mains plugs, usually don't have a problem. Laptops with 3 pin mains plugs usually do have a problem. Desk tops sometimes do sometimes don't depending on the internal earthing.

Remember the earth problem is not directly between the Audiobox and the computer, but between what is plugged into the audio box and the computer, this is why the problem is sometimes there and sometimes not. If you have a pair of powered monitors or an external mixer, the problem may be between these devices and the computer. That is why I asked what was plugged in.

A good way to check this out when using a laptop is, does the noise go away when you unplug the laptop power supply and run on the battery?

Cheers
Alan.
 
Ok thanks for the details. I have read about running on the battery of the laptop and no that didnt help. No inputs but i do use monitering headphones to listen for the hissing. The thing that doesnt make sense at all is how it just started when i switched computers.
 
O i forgot to mention i switched back to the first computer and the hiss is there too.

I am wondering if there is something going on with the driver? Can you reinstall the driver using the latest update from the Presonus web site? There may also be a hardware update driver as well.

What software mixer does the audiobox have? Have you tried muting the unused inputs to see if the noise reduces?

Cheers
Alan.
 
I love that ur so helpful but at the same time ur not lol. I have the latest drivers. Reinstalled them even and its just the same. I have tried different usb ports, different cables, different comps even. My friend bought an amazing comp brand new and i installed it on there and same problem.
 
I have plugged guitar amps into but never blasted it. I cant check that because i wont be able to hear anything if its not plugged into a pc.
 
If it was your guitar amp line out that shouldn't fry it - A powered USB hub might help, not really sure about that - but if you are plugged into the computer directly it should work - is there a way to mute an input? so you can see if both channels have hiss. or record the hiss sending each input to a unique track and see of both have the hiss?
 
Thanks for all the help guys but ur only telling me stuff that ive tried long ago. I gave up with that garbage and am buying a tascam us 200 or 600 interface.
 
I think i just got a fluked box. Ive heard good and bad things about it. I have recorded absolutley awesome electric guitar stuff. Couple buckethead remakes. I love the audio quality if the hissing was gone it would be perfect! But o well
 
Hay Schecterplayer,

I'am currently having the same issue. Did you buy the Tascam and did that solve the hiss/noise problem?
 
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