Fixing ground loops in your studio
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ส.ค. 2024
- Hear "coil whine" coming out your speakers? Or perhaps the dreaded 60Hz hum? In this video I discuss a few of the ground loop isolation solutions I tried, and how well they worked.
Pyle PHE300: www.amazon.com...
USB isolator: www.amazon.com...
MPOW isolator: www.amazon.com...
Hosa "ground lifter" (incorrectly manufactured): www.amazon.com...
I've had worries about my usb audio interface about specific noise and thanks to Your video found that it is caused by the GPU in the system. Thank You so much!
GPU activity noise is great for a horror movie
Not that I'd want to have noise, but the GPU activity noise sounds really cool, like something slipknot would use around the iowa era
Hahahaha
I have an old dial up modem .wav file saved from like 20+ years ago. Still waiting for a spot to put it lol.
I had a terrible ground loop within my pedal board and mixer in my home studio !
Just couldn't get rid of it so I had to use a gate but it was not a great idea !
Then I remember a friend had told me ages ago to cut the earth at one end of the audio cable so there was only the signal without the ground connected at one end of the cables !
The hum completely vanished !
Cheapest and easiest method by far !
PS
I didnt cut the mains ground cable !
I did it on the audio cables input !
The output audio is still grounded !
DS
Had an issue with the GPU coils being audible in my studio monitors, noticeable with screendraws when moving the mouse, note I do use balanced cables and connection plus that all power cables come from a distributer with isolation, filters and surge protection.
Connecting a Behringer HD400 between my audio interface and the studio monitors solved that issue.
There are probably better units available, but the HD400 worked fine for quite some years now.
The issue in my case doesn’t come from power ground loop, it comes from the internal design of the computer components, which is weird since everything in my PC is high quality parts, so I bet it’s a flaw on Nvidia’s design.
My man was stuck trying to fix this one. I always keep lights and audio gear on separate breakers. Good luck.
Thanks from your video advice I unplugged the monitor from the system, and yes it is in the monitor. Cheers for the advice.
Wow thanks a lot! Since 2018 i searched all over TH-cam a video that digs in the best Ground loop isolators for studio or for a 100% clean audio home receivers or amps and you've done a really great job. Your record via loop back it's the best proof, as since 2018 i wanted an isolator that doesn't mess with audio quality. mPOW Isolator is really filthy and mediocre at best scenario in my in-ears i hear a BIG distortion, Pyle is aceptable, not great but aceptable, the distortion is audible but minuscule.
Using a Quad Capture here. on it's own, the laptop and quad capture make no noise. When I take the unbalanced stereo line from the quad cap to the line in on my desktop, all hell breaks loose and the hum is about -45db. I'm going to try moving the plugs for the laptop and desktop to the same power outlet on the wall to see if that helps. But there is definitely mouse squeal, gphx squeal and earth hum as soon as these two 3 pin powered devices are connected together via 3.5mm jack! It has to be a ground loop, there's no noise from either device on the audio outputs when they are not connected. Great video thanks
This is so complex. I just want to play music.
i’m about to quit because i have a random ring/whine goin on in my vocal recordings that i’ve never had in the many years of me recording myself, stil have yet to find anything online like my problem and everyone says it’s feedback or this and i don’t see how it would be
@@JoshuaMeek-Wicker don’t quit. 90% of ground loops get solved by replacing equipment. It’s not just you. I’ve been on TH-cam for almost 10 years looking for a definitive fix but the symptoms and causes can vary too much I’m afraid the laws of physics won’t allow a universal fix. This video identifies the different types of ground loops the best but most ground loops are still impossible to solve without getting new equipment.
@@ryanjames7684 i’ve replaced so many things man, at this point i jus optimized my pc last night, and ima try a different usb port for my i terface n see if that helps
if not i’m not buying another $400 interface and or mic and or laptop i spent $1000 on
@@ryanjames7684 its randomly started happening on my old setup so i had to get a new mic thinking it was the mic at first, then bought an acer nitro 5 laptop and then it still wasn’t solved so i bought another mic and then that didn’t work so i bought another one😂 so many people i know don’t deal with this me and my homie randomly started having the issue out of no where
Im having the 60 Hz hum
i need to decreased the gain of my guitar to make the hum go away...
And
My guitar cannot be heard in my recording.
Great video mate! Very well presented and interesting findings. I actually laughed out loud at that hosa adapter, strange design indeed.
how the fuck are meant to hear ANY ground loop noise with that music , lol ahahahha
Was looking for this comment
Been grappling with this a few weeks. My Model 24 was getting CPU noise. I bought a Intona USB 3.0 Super Speed Isolator box. Sorted..
How did you find out about this solution? Didn't know a USB isolator existed until now.
Can this be used for just plugging a USB hub in to it? My audio converters run via AES in to PCI-E interfaces
@antonisatwork I figured that most of the time, to get rid of earth loops, you need to break the connection. This was something I thought the problem was. Even though it worked. There was another reason I had the noise. I have a DSI Rev2, and the thing is noisy. This was rectified by a box called a de hummer made by Bheringer. I needed two of them. Another way is to have everything on the same power circuit.
I have a similar problem when I play videogames on my pc. It makes a deep hum through my audio interface.
Somehow I found that lowering my pc internal volume(at around 10) and increasing my audio interface volume(turning the volume knob at 3 o'clock) gets rid of that hum.
It might work for somebody else.
I bought a Pyle PHE400 to fix the ground loop coming from my computer to my Yamaha AG06 and it works! Unfortunately it completely ruins the tone of the audio. Maybe a USB isolator could be a better solution.
This video is look a like it was recorded in 2006.
Anyway good luck 👍🏻
I think the easiest fix is using a laptop instead
a ggod way to find out if it is a ground loop or not is to connect the audio interface to a battery powered laptop: if the hum continues then it is not a ground loop
@Sound Speeds 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter connected to headset of phone , then to 3.5mm to 1/4 phono (,mono) then inserted to mixer using aux send and mic input,, ,, dial does not hum but when you try to dial a number, a loud humming comes up,,, how do I fix this ?
A Radial Engineering ProAV2 Stereo Direct Box is what you really need.
I'm experiencing a buzz (higher in pitch than I'd expect) when I connect both my PC and my digital piano to the same pair of speakers while the piano is connected to that PC through USB. My building doesn't have grounding, but I guess that means nothing when I already have a literal USB loop. Will the USB isolator get rid of the buzz in my case?
how do u run the usb one
I have a lav mic plugged into my laptop and when the charger is plugged in, I get the ground loop problem.
hey thanks for the video. i was wondering if you can help and which product you would recommend for me. My right monitor is a couple inches away from my PC, and i can hear the GPU noise and other noises coming from the PC through that speaker. I have the monitors plugged into a scarlet 2i2 using balanced cables, and the 2i2 plugged into the PC using USB. I also have all these components plugged into the same surge protector. thanks!
First, you need to get all connected components on the same circuit breaker... Even putting monitors or computer on another breaker can cause ground loops...
i have the mpow and use studio headphones for gaming... quite often get a bad distortion with music or gaming
Hi. Can you help..... I have a new laptop and have connected it to my audio interface and have been recording some vocals. I am getting a clicking sound at different points every single time i try to record. Is this a ground looping problem also?
usually ground loops occur when two separate powered devices are plugged in and connected via the audio signal path. Is your laptop the only mains powered device in your setup, or is there something else like a second monitor (screen) or another computer that is involved in the signal chain?
What would we do if we are using a passive audio interface to connect our studio monitor speakers (KRK) to our desktop PC? The Pyle PHE300? If so, would we put that between the passive and the speakers? Or the passive and the PC?
I have had or have issues with noise coming out of the motherboard from my pc from the speaker output into my mixer so im sure its the motherboard and i dont know if getting a audio card for my pc can fix this issue.
Have the same issue but only with the guitar tried the most. Usb eliminator. A emi socket. Di box
I am having a problem with a MSDI unit on my new amp that introduces a horrible grounding noise (gets louder when you move the mouse) I've removed the earth from the kettle plug and it's solved it. However I wouldn't mind way of doing it that's safer
Sometimes having powered devices plugged into the same wall socket (using multiway adapter if only a single wall outlet) can completely eliminate ground loop noise. If it is an earth induced noise that is. Apparently power outlets on your wall have different grounding positions, so plugging them closer together minimizes the current gradient in the ground loop which reduces or eliminates the noise issue.
I have a Focusrite setup running through a MacBook Air and found that the computer charging cable was the cause of the noise. I couldn't figure out why the hell I had this sudden noise when trying to edit and record using Adobe Audition. I started unplugging things one and a time. When I removed my charging cable from my computer the noise instantly stopped!
how did you end solving it? I have the exact same problem with the same devices.
@n_key apparently you can replace the 3 pin power supply with a souble insulated 2 pin supply and that can solve the problem. I don't know what that means for the satey of the device though if it was originally shipped with an earth pin power supply O.O. In theory, the power supply is outputting 12 to 20 volts at 5 to 10 amps which makes it so the device has no high voltage running inside it, so the risk is low to the user. But I am not totally sure about that!
Heyy I need your help, nice vid btw I enjoyed it. Recently I bought a pair of Presonus Eris 3.5 and a Behringer Umc22 to start my music production journey. Problem is when I connect my audio interface to my laptop, my speakers start to produce a static annoying sound but when I unplug the audio interface from my laptop the noise disappears and my speakers have crystal clear sound. What should I do? Get a hum eliminator?
It's very possible it's a ground loop. Might be worth giving the Pyle ground loop isolator a shot since it's not too expensive.
@@manak1n I ordered a Behringer hd400 ground loop isolator
@@dimitris_souloupoglou I would've tried trs cables first
I have eris 4.5 and a ssl2... Connected the trs cables from the interface to the speakers and absolutely no noise
@@primee5730 i have trs cables
I am experiencing 60hz hum and mouse movement whine in my audio recording ( condenser microphone), I recorded for online teaching purpose, can I use spike/surge protector with my pc to eliminate them?!?!?! Thanx in advance.
The ground loop is from a ghost, punishing you for making that music. Might try calling the ghostbus… No fr, thanks for making this video.
Hi! what can you classify as noise? Is it something loud enough audible to audience or even tiny noise that only audio man can hear from HP while monitoring?
My laptop is plugged in audio interface and I can hear a faint white noise when I come really close to my PA, is that bad?
That might just be stereo hiss. Try headphones into the power amp, or from the previous signal stage (mixing desk? audio card?) to see if you are hearing the same white noise in an enclosed audio environment (confirms if it is in the signal, or just amplifier or speaker hiss)
hello, when I use my access virus snow device from usb from daw, and when I enter my sound card from audio outputs at the same time. I'm getting a bad ground loop sound. This sound does not exist when I select the usb outputs. even when the virus is connected only through the audio outputs to the sound card. If I disconnect the usb cable from the computer, the sound disappears. so i think i have a grounding problem and it seems to be related to usbs in particular. I wonder if I should buy one or 2 of these usb insulators. If I use two or one of them one by one on my sound card and virus, will it solve my problem? sorry for my broken English
Did you find the solution?
My Scarlett Solo 2nd Gen was a factor in my speaker and headphone noise. One the USB cable was noisy and second it didn't have balanced outputs but RCA outputs. My Scarlett actually died the other day so I am looking for a replacement for it. Looking at the 3rd gen but if someone has a better suggestion then I would like to hear it. I also got the IDefender which is USB 3.0. i paid $53.00 on Amazon.
Motu M2 is my #1 recommendation. A little more expensive than other 2 in/2 out interfaces, but it's impressively clean and has super convenient meters. I've heard good things about the Audient Evo 4 as well, but I haven't tried that one myself yet.
@@manak1n audient wins. I have a scarlett 6 in, and the base model of evo stiil
wins.
that USB ISOLATOR, is not working for FOCUSRITE
Can I contact you directly by email?
nice suit
my interface makes a noise even without a microphone plugged in, is this a ground loop issue?
Microphones are not a factor in ground loops unless they are USB powered, in which case they might be.
The source of your problem is most likely the connection between the interface and your computer.
So basically your computer is most likely leaking static to the interface through the data connection (USB).
@@steinarjonsson_ so how could you fix that?
@@xsalsita7082 You should be able to fix it by using a USB ground loop isolator (if it's a USB interface).
@PANCHITO13 hey man, hope you are ok. I'm not the guy you where asking but I'll answer anyways haha. It seems that you have some kind of monitor or speaker that you are using to amplify your guitar with your laptop am I right?
If that's the case, I'm sure that the problem is that your laptop and your speakers are making a ground loop.
I was having the same problem with my guitar, using a cheap USB sound card.
I didn't know much about this kinda things but after months and months of investigation I was able to fix my problem and learn a lot about ground loops.
I fixed the problem with a Gruond Loop Isolator, that you can use if you are using a USB device to connect your guitar to the pc. In case you are not using one, you can find a ground isolator for a 3.5mm jack input, both of them worked for me. You can find both of them in aliexpress for 6 bucks or so.
does anybody know how to deal with it when the ground loop issue is your own body.. so my setup will get hum whenever i use headphones and then touch wall/floor.. so i need to touch the same ground as my peripherals (metal side, screw, usb, jack, etc) and it'll be gone.. using sock/carpet only reduce it but won't eliminate it completely
my temporary solution was wearing anti static bracelet that you use for building a pc.. but i'm still looking for better alternative
Does any these items support TRRS?
I don't think any of them do.