We'll you def can't have your cell phone in you particular room. As far as the fridge goes you might have to unplug your fridge when your using your gear. Or try a ground lift plug the 3 prong to 2 prong adapter, but careful cuz your equipment wouldn't be protect by the ground in this case. Studios generally have mupltiple circuits, generally some dedicated to "dirty" power like fridges, lights, microwaves ect. The they have some for "clean" power which would be audio related gear. Also special grounding measures are taken as well.

My unqualified first guess would be the fridge and studio plugs are on the same circuit. Try a different plug, sometime even in the same room they're room, the plugs are on different circuits. Unfortunately there's not a whole lot I can think of to fix this w out electrical work, and proper professional planning.

Is the 1/4inch balanced on your 1/4 inch outs to balanced XLR cable ?
There's 2 ways noise can happen, from the power outlet or form a bad isolation in the audio signal path.
It's bad too hear it but quality audio cables do make a difference. When ever a unit offer balanced connection, we should always use cables accordingly. As for the AC of your house, you need too be sure there's no inversion in the cabling of the outlet. Most hardware store have those outlet checker for less than 10$. if the ground, positive and negative are wired correctly, you may think of trying a power conditionner (many are available but furman is one of the mostly trusted)
Then, you can also try to plug things on diffenrent lines. (put that fridge on another outlet if possible)
When I constructed my home studio, I added a breaker just for the studio, that was one of my good choice.

kmetal, post: 411101, member: 37533 wrote: We'll you def can't have your cell phone in you particular room. As far as the fridge goes you might have to unplug your fridge when your using your gear. Or try a ground lift plug the 3 prong to 2 prong adapter, but careful cuz your equipment wouldn't be protect by the ground in this case. Studios generally have mupltiple circuits, generally some dedicated to "dirty" power like fridges, lights, microwaves ect. The they have some for "clean" power which would be audio related gear. Also special grounding measures are taken as well.

My unqualified first guess would be the fridge and studio plugs are on the same circuit. Try a different plug, sometime even in the same room they're room, the plugs are on different circuits. Unfortunately there's not a whole lot I can think of to fix this w out electrical work, and proper professional planning.

Thanks for the response kmetal,

First job of today will be to switch plugs and see if this helps. Sounds like it may not be a bad idea to get that equipment off that line, even if that isn't the problem in the end. Appreciate the advice Cheers !!

pcrecord, post: 411109, member: 46460 wrote: Is the 1/4inch balanced on your 1/4 inch outs to balanced XLR cable ?
There's 2 ways noise can happen, from the power outlet or form a bad isolation in the audio signal path.
It's bad too hear it but quality audio cables do make a difference. When ever a unit offer balanced connection, we should always use cables accordingly. As for the AC of your house, you need too be sure there's no inversion in the cabling of the outlet. Most hardware store have those outlet checker for less than 10$. if the ground, positive and negative are wired correctly, you may think of trying a power conditionner (many are available but furman is one of the mostly trusted)
Then, you can also try to plug things on diffenrent lines. (put that fridge on another outlet if possible)
When I constructed my home studio, I added a breaker just for the studio, that was one of my good choice.

Thanks pcrecord,

Will start with the easy stuff like switching power line outlets and cables (if necessary) then move on to your other suggestions. I also wonder if it could be the overuse of a not so good sound card in my lap top that may be giving out. Either way - I will have to look into some proper shielding - Thanks again for the advice friend. Cheers !!

Post Note - Even with everything turned off but the monitor plugged into (a new wall socket) I just heard a crackle. For the first time, I also noticed that the lights in this room will flicker from time to time. I think we narrowed it down to the AC in the wall.

And it comes with more of a "Crackling Sound" then a hum or a buzz type sound.

Any suggestions for that my friends?

You might want to check into a power conditioner that is designed for pro audio. Be careful, some of the cheaper "conditioners" designed for computers aren't actually conditioners at all, and are nothing more than surge/spike protectors, and while that's a good thing to have too, an actual conditioner, if it's well designed and built, will not only give you that surge protection, but will also provide constant, clean power to your rig. But...they aren't cheap. ;)
And as PC mentioned, the wiring in your residence has to be wired correctly to start with.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PRO1000/

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PL8C/

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PRO2500/

Keep in mind that laptop power supplies are very often the part of the system that lets noise in. Next time you hear the noise or interference, pull out the cable from the computer, leaving it on batteries - if the noises go away, it's almost certainly the PSU - and probably it will be a Dell, which are notorious for power supply induced interference - hums, buzzes crackles and everything!

paulears, post: 411151, member: 47782 wrote: Keep in mind that laptop power supplies are very often the part of the system that lets noise in. Next time you hear the noise or interference, pull out the cable from the computer, leaving it on batteries - if the noises go away, it's almost certainly the PSU - and probably it will be a Dell, which are notorious for power supply induced interference - hums, buzzes crackles and everything!

Good advice my friend but already tried that route, still got the evil crackling after about anywhere from a half hour to 45 minutes no matter whether I use just an mp3player into the mixer to the monitors. Mic into the mixer into the monitors.

It's almost like something is slowly heating up in the monitors until they finally "over load" for lack of a better word. I have already had a few sound men look and no one seems to have the answer. Tried different plugs through the apartment as well. I am wondering if I need a ground loop isolation unit between the mixer and monitors? Either that or Donny's suggestion above?

Any other ideas? Could the monitors be some how overheating at a certain point causing an overload? I am almost at a loss now after three days of trouble shooting - (Face Palm)

The only real answer here is to try different monitors or take yours to so,embody else and see if they have the same issues. They could be faulty of course. If the problem of crackling gets worse, the the most common cause is capacitors. Are the speakers old? We're assuming they're powered speakers and not using an amplifier somewhere else. Lots of capacitor problems are directly linked to heat build up. They get noisier as they get hotter.

I've never found power conditioners to reduce ground loop hums, noise reduction pedals have helped mildly, but it really sounds like you have an electrical problem. I've done contractor type work in many apartments and they are notorious for shoddy work all around. So "clean power" and "proper" grounding schemes would be the last thing I expect to be done right, because as long as it doesn't cause a problem, nobody besides audio people care about this. Hopefully you have a friend who knows about electrical stuff, and can take a look at it.
I dunno the laws around your parts but in my area it is legal to do your own electrical work, you do not have to be licensed, strangely, it is not legal to do your own plumbing.
I don't really know now to test for grounding issues, but I know them when I hear them, yours doesn't sound like grounding, more like you have heavy machinery like a boiler, or fridge, or stove or something that causes incidental, but not steady interference.

Here in Ohio, or at least Summit County, technically, you need a permit for pretty much anything you want to do, be it electrical, plumbing, construction... although very few people ever bother with it unless they are working outside or doing something obvious like putting on an addition or building a deck or garage.

Other than diagnosis, I wouldn't be messing with the electrical system if your knowledge is limited. Plumbing is one thing... if you don't connect a water pipe correctly or have a joint fail on a CPVC water line, things will get wet... but no one will be seriously hurt. But, if you don't know what you are doing with electric, then that can be dangerous. If you really do suspect that it's the wiring, call in a certified electrician.

But ...don't do any of that, or put money into an expensive conditioner, until you've tried a different set of monitors/power amp first. The problem could be isolated to just that.
However, if you are also hearing clicks and pops and static through headphones too, then it could be electrical.

paulears, post: 411171, member: 47782 wrote: The only real answer here is to try different monitors or take yours to so,embody else and see if they have the same issues. They could be faulty of course. If the problem of crackling gets worse, the the most common cause is capacitors. Are the speakers old? We're assuming they're powered speakers and not using an amplifier somewhere else. Lots of capacitor problems are directly linked to heat build up. They get noisier as they get hotter.

Yes, paulears,

Monitors are actively powered and I did just buy them used after listening to them for about a half hour with an I pod running through them, in my apartment no less. Switching them will be next on the agenda after I can get another set brought over here. Will keep you informed, Thanks.

kmetal, post: 411172, member: 37533 wrote: but it really sounds like you have an electrical problem. I've done contractor type work in many apartments and they are notorious for shoddy work all around. So "clean power" and "proper" grounding schemes would be the last thing I expect to be done right, because as long as it doesn't cause a problem, nobody besides audio people care about this. Hopefully you have a friend who knows about electrical stuff, and can take a look at it.

kmetal,

I fear in the end you may be right about the electrical problems in this block however I never notice any flickering of lights, or problems with computers, lap tops or other equipment in the living room area, so cross your fingers for me as I will now try to run the electricity from the monitors to a separate room in a last ditch effort before giving up and just using my lap top monitors (Sigh)

DonnyThompson, post: 411179, member: 46114 wrote:

But ...don't do any of that, or put money into an expensive conditioner, until you've tried a different set of monitors/power amp first. The problem could be isolated to just that.
However, if you are also hearing clicks and pops and static through headphones too, then it could be electrical.

We will know soon Donny, cross your fingers for me and thanks for the reply. One more test running the "Monitor" electrical to the living room and a long headphone test. If this solve s nothing, will have to get another set of monitors over here. Thanks for the reply.

Almost Fixed Gents:

- Got it down to one of Three causes:)

I know I shouldn't have tried three things at once but was losing it after trouble shooting for almost four days straight, I:

- Cleaned out the female ends of the mixer as well as the male ends of the 1/4 inch Jacks going into the mixer (should have thought of this before as she was a older used mixer)
- Ran a brand new 15 foot extension cord from the dining room into a wall line in the living room that I believe was a different A/C line and
- Turned off the overhead dining room lights above the studio as I was grasping at straws lol.

It is now one and a half hours in without a crackle or peep from the monitors :) Any guesses as to which of the three above fixes solved the problem before I trace it down gents? Oh happy Morning it is my friends.

Is your dining room light by chance on a rheostat?

I turn the lights back on, and plug back into the outlets in the room, and see if it was just dirty connections. My best guess is still the AC power, just because it happens at random times, not just tight away, as it likely would w a bad connection.

paulears, post: 411151, member: 47782 wrote: Keep in mind that laptop power supplies are very often the part of the system that lets noise in. Next time you hear the noise or interference, pull out the cable from the computer, leaving it on batteries - if the noises go away, it's almost certainly the PSU - and probably it will be a Dell, which are notorious for power supply induced interference - hums, buzzes crackles and everything!

This is one of the most useful tips of the year!
I just had this issue tracking choirs and was going bonkers trying to find out where the crackling was coming from. I won't know until next time I'm there but I'm pretty certain this is exactly the problem I had. Thanks you for sharing this Paul.

Re: power conditioners/ back-ups, I swear by them. I won't track in my studio without them. They stabilize and filter building noise out of my path. I notice the biggest improvement when my converters are plugged into the back-ups.

I use a main conditioner for the entire studio and then plug APC Backups into that. From there, all the gear, especially the converters are connected. The back-ups are priceless for converters. I use the 1300 and 1500 watt ones you get at Costco for $140. Its the single most important part of my studio.

happy converters > dead lock ultra smooth clocking and stability = great power supply. Its another reason why I invested in 8 channel ADDA over 16 and 32. Better flow of power. However, after going MADI, my theory on that is moot. The Orion32 seems to manage 32 channels on its single PSU.

Highly recommend back-ups.

My first session at the studio I'm at had one that burnt out, it smelled like burning rubber, or an electric motor running that needs oil. Haven't used one since, but maybe it's time, we sure do have a lot plugged into the monster voltage regulator.

Never thought of a battery backups effects on conversion. Interesting.

If you get interference AND odd noises then it could be worth adding an extra ground from something you are sure is earthed properly - if your existing earth conductor is fine, then the extra one could increase the noise - particularly 50Hz mains hum because it will create a ground loop, but if it makes it better, problem solved. You can also experiment with lifting the audio ground at one end and seeing of this is good or not good. I'd still suggest trying a different pair of monitors or maybe a small hi-fi to see if you can tie the problem to the speakers for certain.

audiokid, post: 411403, member: 1 wrote: This is one of the most useful tips of the year!
I just had this issue tracking choirs and was going bonkers trying to find out where the crackling was coming from. I won't know until next time I'm there but I'm pretty certain this is exactly the problem I had. Thanks you for sharing this Paul.

This is a great tip. Although my computer is a HP, I am still going to run it on batteries for the next session - Thanks for this Tip Gents !!

I do lots of sound in theatres, and PC laptops are pretty terrible for all sorts of nasty noise that vanish on batteries. Oddly, Apple products can just be connected via the headphone socket, and very rarely cause any grief!

First off, all computer power supplies are problematic. There is no isolation from a power transformer. They are switching on and off very fast. And when the power supply is grounded and your ground on the audio cables are grounded, it's the Grand Central Station of noise, until you lift the ground on the computer/laptop power supply. It's already grounded through the audio cables. Just don't be doing any karaoke with it while you are in the bathtub taking a shower. Not wise.

Some of that popping and crackling are your tweeters melting down. You can't hear the ultrasonics but your tweeters sure can. " Turn it up Joe, I can't hear anything?" And they're gone. And it's probably an oscillation around 50 kHz? Maybe 100 kHz? It's from a ground loop.

Then there is another obnoxious cellular telephone interference and sounds like old-fashioned, cassette tape saved program data via FSK... now with a rhythmic beat. That's cellular. You hear the noise first then you hear their phone ring. It's nasty.

Most affordable computer UPS, battery backup systems are using a " Modified Sine wave ", inverter off of the battery. Modified sine wave... it ain't. It's a square wave. It's only modified looking if you are on LSD. And that inverter is on and in standby making its noise, the entire time.

Now the FCC was to provide even less space for wireless microphone systems. Everybody needs more wireless! Think you're having fun now?

Lifetime, First Class, Federal Communications Commission, licensed.
Mx. Remy Ann David
(breaker breaker good buddies)

paulears, post: 412483, member: 47782 wrote: I do lots of sound in theatres, and PC laptops are pretty terrible for all sorts of nasty noise that vanish on batteries. Oddly, Apple products can just be connected via the headphone socket, and very rarely cause any grief!

Hey Paul,

My Orpheus has serious issues staying clean above 44.1 with 100ft run and 48v. I've never had an issue with my Lavry Blacks going that distance right up to 96k / phantom.
The Orpheus is supposed to be the Cadillac for HD remote but, that it isn't. I'm wondering if the power supply on my PC is the issue here, not the Orpheus. I use the Orpheus in the studio and it is one stable ADC.

I've been thinking of parking my i7/ PC laptop and migrating the remote work over to older ADK PC rack instead. Its on XP and not very speedy but it may have to work if I don't get this sorted. Damn, packing around that and a screen, not my idea of fun. Laptops are convenient but I'm starting to hate this thing now.

Very often we have to faff around with different DI boxes, and cables with lifted grounds, and I have a friend who swears that the huge magnet core he has the power supply to his Dell wired through removes the problem. Nobody really seems to have got to grips with the actual problem - and why it happens so often.

RemyRAD, post: 412484, member: 26269 wrote: First off, all computer power supplies are problematic. There is no isolation from a power transformer. They are switching on and off very fast. And when the power supply is grounded and your ground on the audio cables are grounded, it's the Grand Central Station of noise, until you lift the ground on the computer/laptop power supply. It's already grounded through the audio cables. Just don't be doing any karaoke with it while you are in the bathtub taking a shower. Not wise.

Some of that popping and crackling are your tweeters melting down. You can't hear the ultrasonics but your tweeters sure can. " Turn it up Joe, I can't hear anything?" And they're gone. And it's probably an oscillation around 50 kHz? Maybe 100 kHz? It's from a ground loop.

Remy, how do you "lift the ground" on the computer/lap top supply? Sorry if that sounds like a dumb question but this is new to me and the only other thing I have not tried is hooking up a Ground Loop Isolation Adapter. After this, I am at a loss for an explanation here.

kmetal, post: 411270, member: 37533 wrote: I turn the lights back on, and plug back into the outlets in the room, and see if it was just dirty connections. My best guess is still the AC power, just because it happens at random times, not just tight away, as it likely would w a bad connection.

I am almost positive of it now kmetal.

Because our UK voltage at 230V is nastier than the US power voltage, pro audio circles have pretty well started to shoot down anyone who considers removal of the safety ground (even though in many cases it does cure ground loops) and as most equipment racks have at least one item that has a 3 core ground to the chassis, most of us have ground lifting audio cables in our get out of trouble box. Obviously DI boxes have them too, but a few XLR M/F barrels with no Pin 1 connection can also be handy. Obviously the audio connection then makes use of the common ground through the other items of equipment, so it's not foolproof, as if no 'real' ground path exists, there's no audio! A few swear by transformer isolation, but the switch mode PSUs most computers use do seem to put noise into the systems - and most are not grounded at all - being double insulated devices.

There was a standard contract rider term that always asked for a clean power source for sound in venues, but with lighting spreading across all three phases, most of these venues just had a dedicated audio power outlet, but nothing very special.

I've lost count of the number of minor electric shocks I've had over the years, but now equipment testing is very common, and lifted ground wires get spotted. However, the number of hum and noise problems seems to be going up. Wall wart type power supplies, with plastic ground pins don't seem to help - but it really is computer PSUs that seem to be rubbish - and over here, Dell are singled out over and over again for being the computer NOT to buy for audio use.

Laptops are convenient but I'm starting to hate this thing now.

if they made some high end interfaces for the ipad, i think it would met a lot of peoples needs as a recorder, who would otherwise have a single laptop or rack cpu. i wonder if its power supply adds noise as well.

DonnyThompson, post: 411140, member: 46114 wrote: You might want to check into a power conditioner that is designed for pro audio. Be careful, some of the cheaper "conditioners" designed for computers aren't actually conditioners at all, and are nothing more than surge/spike protectors, and while that's a good thing to have too, an actual conditioner, if it's well designed and built, will not only give you that surge protection, but will also provide constant, clean power to your rig. But...they aren't cheap. ;)
And as PC mentioned, the wiring in your residence has to be wired correctly to start with.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PRO1000/

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PL8C/

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PRO2500/

Donny, if I never thanked you for this advice - THANK YOU - Unit finally came today [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.sweetwat…"]http://www.sweetwat… (y) [/]="http://www.sweetwat…"]http://www.sweetwat… (y) [/]

Interestingly took my A/C voltage down from the 124-126 to the 118 -122 range hovering 120 for the most part. The drop in voltage was strange as I thought only Voltage Regulators did this ? Any ways it cleared up over 90% of the crackle - I am going to assume those extra volts were "dirty power" but I can't be sure. All I know is the problem I once thought was fixed is now over 90 % better at minimum - Huge Thanks !!

Have one minor problem with the surge protector but posted that in another forum already. Thanks again !!