Modular Sound Quality

[@APE-performance-electronics]

I had a hiss in my Intellijel 7U when using my ES-9 in it to connect to the outside world. That all went away when I moved the ES-9 to a DIY case with a Konstant Lab PSU. I know many people who call me crazy paying more for a PSU, but I'm also of the opinion that an expensive modular systems deserve a good power solution.

[@DeSzeReB]

Sound like grounding issue solved

[@geminidefect]

i learned to embrace the hum

[@GreenMod1]

just add an envelope or some modulation to the hum.....

[@CinematicLaboratory]

The hum is indeed a VCO :)

[@DeSzeReB]

Signal to noise ratio??

[@LYFoulidis]

The main benefit of these pro outputs is that they use balanced TRS (or XLR) outputs instead of unbalanced. These avoid interference on longer cables between the output and your audio interface or mixer. They don't solve any issues that existed before the output, like a ground hum in the power supply. In most home studio situations you won't be running a 10m cable from your synth to your interface, so it won't make a massive difference. If you're running cables from one room to another it's wise to go balanced.

[@modularsynthesizersnl-xd6vf]

When you have two cases (two psu's) connected, always use at least two patchcables to avoid ground (humm) problems.

[@ChainsawCoffee]

I had a noise issue with power supplies. The Intellijel spring reverbs are great antennas, and pick up all noise. I had to use an Intellijel case, and found out they use a "Mean Well GSM60A15-P1JR Medical Adaptor" power brick. No more noise!

[@CinematicLaboratory]

That's the one :). I also use it on all my Shared System cases.

[@dammills]

I had a patchbay that I used to run into a couple of Strymon pedals before it hit the audio interface. I found that to be the culprit for my grounding issues (along with certain lights). I now try to keep as little in the signal path. I don’t necessarily need to keep things connected out of convenience to sacrifice sound quality.

[@HansiModular]

From my ≈ 1,000 HP modular I send 5 stereo and 4 mono outs to the line inputs of my PreSonus StudioLive 24R digital mixer/soundcard using cheap 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm adapter cables. Never had any issues . My cases are LC series Doepfer cases and two Behringer Eurorack Racks (99 € each), so nothing special. From the StudioLive 24R I record the signals from the modular (together with 5 stereo signals from different synths) into Logic pro in one take. From time to time I mistakenly record a "silent" channel and Logic tells me it has a noise floor of -80 dB (maybe less) - that's fine.

[@xrkalitza38]

Sounds like a nice saturated bass I was always looking for

[@valdir7426]

For any kind of usb related noise you can try those little power/data splitter that arturia provises with the keystep (dreadbox makes one too, but overall there are not many options). Having my microfreak powered from the wall and using this to plug usb midi to the computer solved a horrible hum when cv is plugged into the modular. I don't have any out module otherwise, I take the direct out from the doepfer mixer/vca or the stereo effect.

[@RootKaissar]

yes , same as Beatstep pro , you ll need to use the Splitter to not have that tzzzzzz

[@desnou]

The more common alternative that does exactly the same is using powered USB hub. I got rid of all hum in my setup by connecting everything USB to the same hub, which then goes into the same outlet as everything non-USB.

[@RootKaissar]

@@desnou thats also a life changer for noise !

[@LucianThorr]

@@desnou I was going to say the same thing. The culprit for all the random noise in my setup for the last few months turned out to be an unpowered USB hub.

[@DeSzeReB]

My Yamaha CS6x hums a hiss, makes me think it's an analog board. Checks the cables used

[@truthness6874]

Yeah, power and especially its distribution inside the rack (impedance coupling through high resistances on the 0V common) is very important to reduce noise. And the same is true for balanced connections to an audio interface / amplifier etc. Been there, done that, and (at least in my case) it was a night-and-day difference. Before i had noise and hum, now everything is dead silent. Totally worth the effort but more often than not overlooked by many. Instead of using dedicated output modules one could also make pseudo balanced cables (unbalanced to balanced) to connect for example directly from a vca (matching the impedance via a resistor). It is very easy to do and effective. Instructions can be found online (modwiggler etc). Some of my outputs are wired this way and are even better than for example a befaco out i have because they do not attenuate the gain to line level (if your interface can handle Eurorack gain of course). Plus they don't eat up rack space and cost only a fraction of an output module.

[@redlester]

I run balanced XLR's from the Joranalogue TX 2 into my UAD Apollo 8, along with eight ADAT outputs via the Expert Sleepers ES-6&7. Have never experienced any noise or hum problems.

[@TonyThomas10000]

Sounds like a classic ground loop.

[@isaacc7]

I have seen some wild constructions for studios using copper bus bars and whatnot to get a good, common ground. 4U Serge does pretty well with external banana ground jacks though I understand there are limits to that. The more boats you connect the worse it performs. If USB is a problem you could use a powered hub. That should give you a common ground for all of the USB cables. If you are still having problems you could use one of those fancy optical USB cables. Galvanic isolation can be a magic bullet for some problems.

[@kaszaniarz]

Lots of modular patch cables are not shielded (for example Doepfer, Befaco) and LFO/VCO is like +-10V it can easily cause problem with unshielded cables running close to audio low level signals. I use only shielded cables and all outputs from my modular are balanced XLR and I have absolutely no noise/hum issues.

[@bobbfett.musiclab]

In my experience, it’s when I mix cases with different psus I can get the hum problems, so my solution if I need more space is to get bigger case with one power, not more cases. I also have the soundcard (es-9) in the same case. If I connect keystep, I have it powered from phone charger, not computer. Mixed ground from differed power sources is always a risk.

[@ModulatorMusicSwiss]

I also got some weird noises in my modular outputs and i solved it using oversized power supplies for the racks and good quality USB 5V power supplies for my controllers... i had to test with à lot of these 5V USB to achieve noise free operation...

[@walrtbstudios5430]

Maybe I’m lucky, but the only hum I’ve ever experienced was with the Dreadbox Typhon- and that’s a famously well-known issue that’s easily resolved by running it off a power brick. My studio is in a purpose-built outbuilding with a dedicated supply run in from the main house junction box by an (expensive!) electrician- and with the exception of a heater in the winter the gear is the only thing that ever draws power, via four TipTop uZeus modules in the case of the modular. Perhaps it’s luck, but perhaps I had a damned good ‘sparks’…

[@vidret]

euro output modules definitely matter - some of them can get distorted by the signal from other modules.

[@corticallarvae]

Regardless of building the case or buying it I use eskatonic modular modular power… also I would recommend troglodyte.. the amperage on both are insanely wonderous… noise was my arguement against skiffs(as well as depth which seems to have been fixed).. I don’t trust many power systems.. I use the same Thurman on comp p23 and 8 hurricane blocks from Ekatonic modular bricks the ones with the highest amperage… and can still use hdmi case to case signal carriers that aren’t tremendous and I have no noise… dirty power has several solutions depending on where you live.

I had the probelm whan I was using a big case with many modules inside, now I'm only using 4ms pods with max 6 modules / pod and I have no more issue ( that wasn't the goal, the goal was flexibility first) . as for audio I switched to numeric ADAT ( Boredbrain optx connected to Audiofuse 1rig) ) sound is way better ( mainly clearer high end) than any output modules I tried out.... And I can run 8 ins on a 20m cable whichis just 1mm thick... But now I discovered click problems ( from adat clock ) fortunately very rare and just need to restart audio interface to get rid of it.

[@HareChristna]

dodgy modular cables sometimes give me noise and lights off nightmares.

[@BlackMan614]

I don't like those switching power supplies w/ the wall warts. I use a linear power supply and never exceed 90% of its rated amperage. 1200mA. I come from 5U where the power supplies are linear and BIG. Never had a power issue and definitely no hum.

[@oskarorarngrimsson2812]

I have been using Rx alot 👽

[@quiddam]

have you tried the Vermona TwinOut or Joranalogue Transmit 2?

[@CinematicLaboratory]

No. I think this video kind of proved the output is usually not a problem and I recently added the Serge. Most of my videos use the Shared System out.

[@KenSwanson-p4i]

Hey man, .. frustrating problem. I'm going to have a listen, to my system, in this light .. the next time. I've got 3 TipTop Zeus's, all running .. and Strymon AA1, which is an amplifier .. that may do things, like a bad power supply could do .. but, I haven't noticed anything obvious. It sounds like the ol 60 Hz amplifier hum, .. (or in your case, where you're at it could 50), right? There has been speak of NOT using separate circuits, in a system .. but, since you feel that your "grounded" circuits alleviate, or cancels that .. there also is speak of some device, close-by throwing of a 60/50 signal .. like a neon light, etc. You've probably studied that, though ..

[@lbGkifoo1bj12e9plhjfWA]

free drone synth!

[@loksync]

Clearly a ground loop. Unplug everything and then plug things in until the buzz starts. I avoid usb like the plague for audio.