Highpitched whining noise; how to get rid of it?

E

ErikVerkoyen

New member
There's this problem I keep having whenever I record at my home through microphones. There's this faint, high-pitched noise.

Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's suddenly gone. It seems to depend also on where I place the microphones but I haven't been able to pinpoint what is causing it. I use a Samsung Laptop with Windows 10, a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 and Studio Projects Mics (but I get the same with other condensormics) apart from this noiseproblem it all works pretty well and I get good recordings.

Does anyone recognize this? Does anyone know how to avoid this/get rid of this? View attachment High Pitched Noise sample.mp3
 
pc fan is always first suspect, right?
theres a few fans in the pc...powersupply, video cards and cpu's.....with the headphones and a microphone on this can be greatly magnified.

if you dont hear it going DI , its likely a fan.
 
CoolCat said:
if you dont hear it going DI , its likely a fan.
Click to expand...

I don't really understand this sentence. To be clear: the signalchain is two Studio Projects C4 Mics going into a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 going into the laptop by USB. I do hear the noise through the mics before pressing record.

I suspected something inside the laptop or cable might cause the problem. Any suggestions on how to solve it? Is there maybe a way to switch of the fans during recording?
 
I just meant if you run a guitar or drum machine in direct and dont hear anything, that leaves only the Mic's.

If it only is heard with the mic's then the fan is even more likely.
If you turn the gain up while the mic is plugged in does it get louder? If yes, it might also be leading to the fans.

Theres replacement fans that can be quieter, theres trying to move the pc further away or put a box over it.
I poked holes in my drywall and moved my pc to the other room and it was a huge improvement in sound (pain in the ass to reboot). I moved it back in here recently and have acoustic foam around it and it helps with high freqs like the fan well.'
I dont think theres a way to turn off fans?
 
That's database noise - not picked up by the mic. It's what digital audio sounds like when it leaks where it isn't wanted. It usually gets picked up by noise on the USB cable to the interface, and is often worse on condensers using phantom power - I wonder if the USB voltage drops when the computer cannot supply enough current. The popular 2i2 caused this on a friends computer but it was silent on mine. I'd try an alternate computer first, and if possible a different interface. If you have to use this interface, it's worth trying a powered USB hub to drive it as they can often supply clean DC power, and leave the computer to just process the data.
 
I never listened to the wave file because it asked for download..lol

So with that I wonder, if ferrite chokes on the USB cable could help?
My interface USB has those chokes on both ends.

and dont forget to turn off the smart phones when around the gear, mine makes noise around my system.
 

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rob aylestone said:
That's database noise - not picked up by the mic. It's what digital audio sounds like when it leaks where it isn't wanted. It usually gets picked up by noise on the USB cable to the interface, and is often worse on condensers using phantom power.
Click to expand...

That sounds plausible to me. Thanks!

Getting another laptop or another interface is not much of a solution. So I might concentrate on the USB connection; put a powered USB-hub between the Scarlett 2i4 and the laptop? Any other possible solutions?
 
CoolCat said:
I never listened to the wave file because it asked for download..lol

So with that I wonder, if ferrite chokes on the USB cable could help?
My interface USB has those chokes on both ends.

and dont forget to turn off the smart phones when around the gear, mine makes noise around my system.
Click to expand...

Thanks! That USB-cable seems like a good thing to try first.

I tried turning of the phones (even disconnectiong my Wifi) but that didn't affect it at all.
 
I just type google on a high pitched noise...and another audio forum" one dude mentioned it fixed his, while another posted it wont work.

Its cheap enough to try a cable.

yeah I like the troubleshooting stuff because you never know when it will pop up. it seems stupid now but when someone troubleshot my noise to be my pc fans, it was not a small improvement...lol always seems simple in hindsight though.
 
like rob mentioned another USB port, and I was thinking if its magnified with 48v , do you have a Dynamic mic to try and see if its only worst case with a 48v? that would be interesting if the noise turns on and off with the 48v.

these are free tests.
 
CoolCat said:
like rob mentioned another USB port, and I was thinking if its magnified with 48v , do you have a Dynamic mic to try and see if its only worst case with a 48v? that would be interesting if the noise turns on and off with the 48v.

these are free tests.
Click to expand...

No, the phantom power doesn't change things; I get the same with using two external preamps for the mics and going in without phantom power.
Other USB-ports also make no difference.

I was looking online for that USB 2.0 A/B Cable with Ferrite Chokes but I haven't found any others that I can buy in the Netherlands. I'll shop around some more though. Thanks for the suggestions. I also contacted Focusrite to check what they would recommend.
 
the cables often come with printers too, if I recall. maybe someone has one and doesnt even notice it has the chokes.

wow, this issue isnt going away easily.
 
Sorry for the typo - only just noticed. DataBUS not database!!

The 2i2 I mentioned caused so much grief we returned it and my colleague got a Roland instead, which is silent. I have another interface I use with a portable system, and it too has this problem when used with the laptop I wished to use - moving to a different one solved the problem. I tried all kinds of ready made, and home-made chokes, and they didn't cure the problem. That characteristic buzz is a real pain - and so randomly produced.
 
rob aylestone said:
Sorry for the typo - only just noticed. DataBUS not database!!

The 2i2 I mentioned caused so much grief we returned it and my colleague got a Roland instead, which is silent. I have another interface I use with a portable system, and it too has this problem when used with the laptop I wished to use - moving to a different one solved the problem. I tried all kinds of ready made, and home-made chokes, and they didn't cure the problem. That characteristic buzz is a real pain - and so randomly produced.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification. I still hope to find another solution than just buying a new interface (which I don't really want to do at the moment) I contacted Focusrite but haven't heard back. Hopefully they can offer a solution.
 
Cheapest thing to try that isn't wasted would be a simple USB powered hub - 4 way seems to be the most cost effective with a mains power supply that has a decent current capacity - this would power the interface rather than it try to use the computer's power supply. If you buy from some places, if it doesn't sort it, you can send it back.
 
I have a 2i2 that gets noise when less than about 3 meters from a television(even with TV off digital tv has micro amp draw for memory but mostly if tv is on) and some computer monitors(which also cause noise in some of my microphones). Unfortunately some computers have noise on their USB buses that can be intermittent and unfixable as it is an issue with the motherboard. This is in addition to the above ideas to check-when the noise is occurring try plugging/unplugging power supply. Some laptops have less noise plugged in while some are quieter on battery. Some inexpensive laptop supplies are noisier
 
Update:

I bought another USB Audio Interface with it's own power (Steinberg UR 242) and I still get the same noise. I noticed it's more pronounced in one corner of the room but I couldn't really pinpoint a source. Could the mics maybe be picking up neighbours' Wifi-networks or something?

I made a new recording of the noise:

View attachment digital noise.mp3

I'm hoping someone will recognize it and can explain what it is for sure.
 
Does it matter if the laptop is running on ac power or battery? Is there any noise at all with no mics plugged in, or is the noise only present with mic plugged in?
 
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