Speaker Hum/Hiss/Fuzz?

A

Amnesia180

New member
Hi All,

I have a set of Yamaha MSP5s and notice there is a hum coming from them.

I've done some reading on the internet and they suggest a Ground Loop Isolator, or a "Cheat Plug" - Would this do the trick? http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx...t330&doy=search&MenuName=GROUND LOOP ISOLATOR


Here are some tests I have run...

If I disconnect all equipment hooked up to the MSP5s (my monitor speakers), there is no hum, they are silent.

If I plug my piano directly into the MSP5s, there is slight noise (slightly higher more crackly than just an electrical hum, but not crackly enough for it to sound like there is dust in the cables/connectors).
If I plug my headphones into my piano, there is no noise through the headphones.

If I plug my HD8 into the MSP5s (with the piano plugged into the HD8), there is also noise (the same as if the piano was directly plugged into the MSP5s).
I have not tried my MSP5s directly into the HD8 with no piano plugged in yet.

If I plug my rack mounted sound module into the HD8, and connect to the MSP5s, again, it's the same noise.
I have not tried my MSP5s directly into the HD8 with no piano or sound module plugged in yet.

This is going to get really irritating. I have also replaced them with brand new leads etc, and that has not made a difference.

Any ideas will be really helpful

Thanks!
Amnesia
 
I wonder how loud this hum is in relation to a signal going through. Is it possible that the hum is sitting there because the MSP5s are at full volume, but there is nothing else going through?

What did you usew before, and did it have a hum as well?
 
Hi,

The speakers are not on full volume. They are around 1/3 (under half).

I have used only headphones before, and there is no noise coming through on those.
 
Have you tried:

1 A test with an audio signal going through? And if so, how much does the noise interfere with the audio signal?

2 A different set of leads between the HD8 and the MSP5s?

3 Can you confirm that you are using shielded cables and not speaker leads?

4 Have you tried (and indeed, can you) use XLR cables?
 
Hi Zedd,

Thanks for the response.

1. I have tried playing music through the speakers, and the the noise does not interfere with this very much (if at all). I will have to re-do the test, but I have never heard the "noise" coming through whilst listening to music through the speakers.

2. Yes, I have tried many leads. The main ones I use are Venom Gold-Plated Mamba jack leads.

3. What are the difference between shielded cables and speaker leads?

4. Yes, I can use XLR cables. However, they will have to be phono to XLR cables. No, I have not tried them (as I don't have any).
 
Hi,

Just an update. I have gone home and some new things.

I'm assuming that it's normal for there to be very, very faint electrical noise right? And I'm talking noise (not like deadly silence), but barely noticeable?

Anyway, I have turned the volume right down on my MSP5s and i'm using the master control on my HD8 to adjust volume.

I've noticed that the noise only starts getting strong when I turn the "record" level right up on the HD8 itself... if this is down, there is no noise (apart from that normal noise I mentioned above... which like I sad, is barely noticeable).
 
if you hook it All back up and pull thel evels down and there is no noise then you likely have a gain staging problem...
 
If you're running a Mac laptop, the power adapter cord when plugged in makes your monitors hum. Try unplugging and go to battery power. Just a possible simple solution.
 
all electronics have abit of noise... refered to as the noise floor... and as we turn things up the noise gets lost in the signal... gain staging basiclly is trying to use the cleaner portion of the particular stage to pass the signal on without increasing the noise inherent to that stage... hope that made sense... i seem to be having a brain fart this afternoon....

examples may work better...

if you take say a synth output and run it at a lower level the noise will stay the same so it too gets amplified by the preamp...

on the otherhand if you run it hotter (without distorting of course) the noise stays the same but is much lower than the signal so the overall sound is cleaner because we are not amplifing the noise as much... make sense????

so for a general rule of thumb.... it's better to run the output hotter and pad down the input of the next stage... than to run the output low and amplify it more in the next stage.... assuming your not distorting the output of stage one or the input of stage two...

as your signal chain becomes more involved you need to try to apply this to the overall stage by stage... good luck... hope this helps...
 
Thanks ever so much for your help!

So, you are saying that I should have my stage piano "Hotter" (turned up louder) and then adjust the input on the hard disc recorder.

So...:
Stage Piano - Turned up.

Hard Disc Recorder - "Record Volume" is on 3/4.
Input is around the 0.
And Master is aronud the 0.

Monitors are are on a 1/4.

That seems to have reduced the noise a little.


However, as a test, I ran the following...:

Stage Piano - Middle.

Hard Disc Recorder - "Record Volume" is on Full.
Input is around the 0
Master is -5

Monitors are on just over half.

I can hear the noise quite predominantly now. Is this normally how it works?

As soon as I "dis-arm" the recording channels, the noise minimises slightly (apart from the warm sound coming from the speakers where I have turned them up slightly).



I think my problem comes from where I have spent quite a bit of money, and I find it hard that something that I am supposed to 'monitor' my music qith produces noise...
 
Could it be that you are routing the recording channels into the main mix so you're getting both instead of one or the other, and thus doubling up on gain and noise? or maybe that the "Record Volume" is on Full", giving you too much at one point?
 
isfahani said:
Could it be that you are routing the recording channels into the main mix so you're getting both instead of one or the other, and thus doubling up on gain and noise? or maybe that the "Record Volume" is on Full", giving you too much at one point?
Click to expand...

I'm not quite following what you mean when you say "routing the recording channels into the main mix so you're getting both instead of one"?
 
Have you tried turning EVERYTHING off except the speakers?
Even lights count, cut em.

Turn the speakers on and see how noisy they are, if they're still super noisy, then either ditch them (ebay) or get used to it.
 
If you really want to know about gain structure and how to set it, read the articles on gain structure, especially the 13 page one about half way down.
 
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