White noise with all gain at 0

  • Thread starter Thread starter Yukihide
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Yukihide

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So I've recently gotten myself a new pair of headphones and everything is so crystal clear that the white noise that didn't bother me as much before is a lot louder.
This white noise is persistent even though every knob is a 0, no matter what I try:

- Different audio interfaces (Presonus audiobox USB, Behringer 302USB)
- Different adapters and cables
- Different power source (PC USB port, external battery USB port, USB to wall adapter)
- Different headphones

What could cause this...?
I've looked up the interfaces and although some people have noise issues, doesn't seem to be the same.
I'm beginning to think it's my home studio that's the problem...
 
This is often the noise the computer generates on the usb hub or interference on cable runs. Post a sample if you can and maybe we can better help
 
Hang on - plugging your headphones into multiple output devices, as in the different interfaces, all produce identical hiss (not really white noise I think, just common old hiss?

You appear to have no common denominator, not even headphones as you say you tried others so let me get this clear. Every single input and output device have a hissy result? The only solution seems to be Gtoboy's above - your computer is generating noise that somehow is carried on the USB. I've heard buzzes, whines and whistles using this route, but never hiss. We're assuming you are using the interface audio outs, and not the outs on the computer? I suspect you may be omitting something critical?
 
rob aylestone said:
Hang on - plugging your headphones into multiple output devices, as in the different interfaces, all produce identical hiss (not really white noise I think, just common old hiss?

You appear to have no common denominator, not even headphones as you say you tried others so let me get this clear. Every single input and output device have a hissy result? The only solution seems to be Gtoboy's above - your computer is generating noise that somehow is carried on the USB. I've heard buzzes, whines and whistles using this route, but never hiss. We're assuming you are using the interface audio outs, and not the outs on the computer? I suspect you may be omitting something critical?
Click to expand...

Hmmm hiss? Not sure, kinda like old TVs or radio kind of constant annoying noise
I've tried connecting each of my interfaces to a portable battery and plugging some headphones in, no computer, no input involved.
White noise is present. They each have their own cables so that shouldn't be it... one does sound louder than the other if anything.
I did that in my backyard too, so it's probably not proximity interference... I'm all out of ideas.
One thing I can mention is that I had one pair of headphones where the noise was barely noticeable (1MORE Triple Driver). The 3 working pairs I have now more or less have the same noise.
 
You're really going to have to get us a sample. Audio people rarely EVER experience white noise, our lives revolve around reducing hiss, which is usually an HF wide band noise. We use filtered pink noise to ring out rooms with flat mics to analyse the resultant sound, but white noise is the unfiltered sound you hear between FM radio stations. Similar, but spectrally different from pink noise which is filtered to more closely relate to our hearing.

All devices produce noise - even a resistor, and this noise is usually imprecise in it's makeup and just wideband randomly produced noise - originally 'white' but the electronics after it tends to remove stuff above our hearing limits, and sometimes below it too. It's hiss. If you are plugging your amps, headphones and stuff into a battery powered device and they hiss, this could actually be perfectly normal. The key feature is the signal to noise. There will always be noise, the critical thing is how sensitive you are too it. I'm guessing that if you turn the headphone volume down, the hiss goes down too? Assuming this is the case, your problem could simply be you are turning the headphone level up too much, but at the same time have very low audio levels. There will be a noise floor to every system, and hopefully when you have a signal approaching full scale on the meters, the hiss is so low in the background that you don't hear it. Could this be the problem? Your average levels of the wanted audio are so low that turning the volume up reveals the hiss? Generate a tone at full scale - 0dB That's loud. Any hiss? I suspect not. Do it again recording the tone at -10dB, and try again, WITHOUT ADJUSTING YOUR VOLUME CONTROL FEEDING THE HEADPHONES. Report back the recorded tone level at the point you can detect the hiss. It will be quite low. Next step - repeat the same test but with gaps. full scale for two seconds, then two seconds of no tone and see if you can hear the hiss in the gaps. Reduce the level and try again. At some point in your levels, the tone will be the same level as the noise and hearing the gaps difficult. If you plot this all out on the graph you will be able to see your system's noise floor limits - and I bet there's no problem, just a poor signal to noise in your recording process that is preventing you exploiting the entire range. If you can give us an example, we'll have a listen.
 
Have you tried unplugging the headphones? If the noise is still there with the phones unplugged, maybe you have a bit of tinnitus. Not uncommon for those of us who listen to loud music.

If not, you can at least scratch that noise source off of your list.
 
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