Coil whine from 2i2

[ricecrispies]

My Scarlett 2i2 has developed fairly bad coil whine. Sometimes a quick tap on the top of the case will make it quieten down quite a bit. And I usually find that pressing my finger hard on a certain point on the back of the case reduces the noise, and occasionally that effect lasts for quite some time after I remove the finger. But eventually the whine comes back. What can I do to reduce the whine permanently (beyond just cluelessly taking it apart and putting it back together again to see what happens)?

 

[gecko zzed]

My Scarlett 2i2 has developed fairly bad coil whine. Sometimes a quick tap on the top of the case will make it quieten down quite a bit. And I usually find that pressing my finger hard on a certain point on the back of the case reduces the noise, and occasionally that effect lasts for quite some time after I remove the finger. But eventually the whine comes back. What can I do to reduce the whine permanently (beyond just cluelessly taking it apart and putting it back together again to see what happens)?

There are a variety of ways of fixing things that aren't working.

One method is percussive maintenance. i.e. banging it until it starts working.

Another method is reconstructive maintenance, i.e. taking it apart and putting it back together.

So "cluelessly taking it apart and putting it back together again to see what happens" is not a bad option if you have run out of others.

 

[Gtoboy]

This type of noise can often be traced to filter capacitors failing but if you don't have a lot of experience in electronics diagnosis and repair you may want to take it to a pro or replace it altogether

 

[Steenamaroo]

Another method is reconstructive maintenance, i.e. taking it apart and putting it back together.

So "cluelessly taking it apart and putting it back together again to see what happens" is not a bad option if you have run out of others.

+1 to that. If tapping it is fixing it then there's a decent chance it could be a loose screw that's serving as a ground point, or something like that.
Don't discount cables and sockets, though. If one of the tips or rings on a balanced output was intermittent, that could result in interference.