Monitors have humming/static sound, but are grounded?

Yeeeessssss

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Alesis elevate 3 monitors and im running them through the headphone out of my laptop. They are grounded and so is my laptop

they all get power from the same unit

having the 3.5mm cord plugged or unplugged doesnt change anything, nor does changing where that plugs into, laptop, other speakers, phone, etc.

It's not very loud, and increasing the volume doesnt change how loud it is, but it is noticeable

Any advice on how to fix this? thanks
 
Try using them on a different circuit but don't expect perfect silence when they're switched on, If its a case that it only happens with something pluged in swap to balanced cables and buy a quality audio interface.
 
3.5mm stereo connector?
That means the signals to your speakers are unbalanced.

You could just be picking up unwanted noise from neighbouring equipment.
Try turning stuff off just to see. Lights, A/C, any nearby transformers etc.
 
I tried turning the overhead light in my room off and it completely cut the static surprisingly.
So how do i get rid of the static now with my lights turned on- or do i just work in the dark haha

Anyways would putting a cable from my computer to a direct box- then from the output of the direct box to an adapter to connect my monitors, solve the problem? because its unbalanced? or is it something else? Thanks again
 
Ok. The unbalanced cables are allowing noise into the signal.
Your best bet is to get a usb interface/mixer with balanced line outputs.


Have a think about how many simultaneous mic/line/direct inputs you're going to need in future.
Thinking it through now saves you from having to upgrade the interface down the line. ;)
 
Alesis elevate 3 monitors and im running them through the headphone out of my laptop. They are grounded and so is my laptop

they all get power from the same unit

having the 3.5mm cord plugged or unplugged doesnt change anything, nor does changing where that plugs into, laptop, other speakers, phone, etc.

It's not very loud, and increasing the volume doesnt change how loud it is, but it is noticeable

Any advice on how to fix this? thanks


Laptop power supplies are notorious for being grounded badly by design, resulting in massive noise floating on the signal ground. When you plug it into your speakers, the hum flows from the computer's signal ground to the nearest usable ground—the one on your speakers—through the shield on your audio cable, producing noise in the signal wire itself, typically through induction.

To fix it, start by finding an exposed piece of metal on the case of the computer (e.g. a screw) and shorting to an exposed piece of metal on the case of the speakers and see if the hum goes away. If so, take steps to make that ground strap more permanent (usually by choosing some unused port on both devices and making a custom cable with just a ground).

I would add that as others have mentioned, getting an external interface is a good idea, though there's no guarantee that you won't have the same problem for the same reason.
 
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