Buzzing Monitor
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- studio intern
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Buzzing Monitor
I'm getting a faint hum - almost a buzz - out of one of my reference monitors - M-Audio BX5a. Not affected by the volume of what I'm sending to it.
Any ideas? A grounding issue maybe? How can I check? I'm not the handiest person when it comes to electronics, but I'd hate to take it to a shop if it's something I can address easily myself.
I appreciate any thoughts!
Any ideas? A grounding issue maybe? How can I check? I'm not the handiest person when it comes to electronics, but I'd hate to take it to a shop if it's something I can address easily myself.
I appreciate any thoughts!
- Gregg Juke
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There are 3 major possibilities:
1 - the monitor itself has developed a hum.
2 - the device feeding the monitor has developed a hum.
3 - the interface of the two creates hum.
A little bit of triage work should tell us which of these is true.
Disconnect all of the audio signals from the monitor - listen with only the power hooked up.
Does it still hum?
I take it you've got a pair of these speakers, and only one is humming?
1 - the monitor itself has developed a hum.
2 - the device feeding the monitor has developed a hum.
3 - the interface of the two creates hum.
A little bit of triage work should tell us which of these is true.
Disconnect all of the audio signals from the monitor - listen with only the power hooked up.
Does it still hum?
I take it you've got a pair of these speakers, and only one is humming?
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- re-cappin' neve
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It could be the power transformer inside the cabinet. Several years ago, I noticed a faint hum in my studio that didn't seem connected in any way with any signals.
Traced it to a reverb unit I had in the rack. Even with no cables connected to it, it hummed; that is until I unplugged it.
Replaced the power transformer, and the hum stopped.
Traced it to a reverb unit I had in the rack. Even with no cables connected to it, it hummed; that is until I unplugged it.
Replaced the power transformer, and the hum stopped.
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It could also be placement next to a computer monitor or some other electronic device. I have a 30-inch LCD monitor and I had the power amplifier for the speakers on a shelf underneath the LCD monitor. There was a buzzing noise coming out of one speaker. I moved the amplifier to a different shelf and the hum went away.
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- studio intern
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Thanks to everyone for the ideas!
I did quite a bit of troubleshooting, and it does, in fact, seem to be some kind of Electro-Magnetic Field interference thing from a particular external hard drive that I'm using! ...still trying to find a desk-space-management solution that will solve it.
It's amazing how these things can interact on the invisible fields plane, isn't it? I remember FREAKING OUT the first time my cell phone rang when I was playing a vintage Wurlitzer!
I did quite a bit of troubleshooting, and it does, in fact, seem to be some kind of Electro-Magnetic Field interference thing from a particular external hard drive that I'm using! ...still trying to find a desk-space-management solution that will solve it.
It's amazing how these things can interact on the invisible fields plane, isn't it? I remember FREAKING OUT the first time my cell phone rang when I was playing a vintage Wurlitzer!
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- re-cappin' neve
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I once owned a commercial studio we spent $250k building. No matter what we did...we could not isolate this one bathroom fan in the place and ended up removing it. Ground lifts and all be damned...this motor just oozed toxic interference into the control room. Strange, but true...
Working on music with Pete from Porno for Pyros...
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