Solving Laptop Noise and Ground Loop Audio Interference

[@helixfilmes]

Just to let you know: You are still saving lives years later.

[@lacabala31]

so true..

[@adamasif9886]

Hey does it work fine with the double insulated laptop charger? or do I have to buy a behringer hd400 hum eliminator?😭

[@dimitris_souloupoglou]

@@adamasif9886 just ordered a hum eliminator im gon tell u if it works

[@laufey8001]

Does it?

[@dimitris_souloupoglou]

@@laufey8001 yeahhh

[@griiseknoen]

1:58 BIRD comes in and chirps along with the high cowbell rhythm IN PERFECT GODDAMN TIME WITH THE BEAT !!! 😄👍 👏👏👏 2:06 Second attempt fails miserably. (Possibly another bird in a nearby tree feeling emboldened, but having no sense of rhythm...)

[@BrunoNeureiter]

The second was was singing in polyrhythms

[@marinhozzz]

first one was givin that brazilian samba vibezzzzzzzzzz

[@msquicc]

I'd recommend 1:56 to make sure you get the best part when it starts. hahaha good catch!

[@jimharrop9818]

I thought it was a specific conflict between my interface and my laptop charger! Thanks for saving me a load of money and explaining what's going on!

[@richardmetzler7909]

I just wanted to say thanks for this video... I had a nasty ground loop going on, saw your video, got a two-pin power supply - problem solved. Awesome work!

[@isettech]

In pro audio, there is a piece of equipment made specifically for this problem. It breaks the ground loop, provides a balanced signal, and has very high common mode noise rejection. This is referred to as the DI box. DI is the direct input interface. A laptop power supply that has high isolation and uses a 2 pin instead of a grounded plug is a good option for many of these issues. A laptop power supply using a grounded 3 pin pug often has a noise filter which places the switching supply noise current into the ground, which is then seen as noise on the ground of the computer audio or USB.

[@emeraldbonsai]

thanks for this noise has been driving me nuts forever and i couldn't find the cause. i always wondered what a dibox did

[@djphinesse]

Wow, I feel really bad knowing but not knowing what a DI box does, lol. Been setting them up for years and never knew they could help me in my home studio.

[@weheritage]

Best explanation and simple fix to a problem that has bugged me for two years. Can't thank you enough for this post. I have a three point power supply and took a spare like cable and removed the ground pin. Works perfectly now.

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

William Heritage Does this mean you have no earth into your computer ?

[@infectionsman]

lol what a mainiac! You cant do that. That isnt a double-insulated Class II power supply! That is a Class I power supply that must be connected to ground. There is a reason it is calle a *SAFETY GROUND*. If the supply suffers a short circuit then his body and computer will both be fried.

[@thapelongozwana]

This video was so helpful. I literally laughed like a delirious human after i disconnected my laptop charger and the noise disappeared. You are a Godsend.

[@PM-yz8fx]

...and then when you gave up, you sorted out the problem in a very tricky way, after asking and reading everywhere, with tons of people that write and suggest about things they don't know anything about on the immense internet, and would be better if they would just shut up and learn something before talking...here it comes a random guy that in less than 5 minutes gives a ridiculously simple and straightforward solution, it worked on my dedicated audio PC too ! I think I slightly fell in love with you for a moment :)...precious!

[@freytoday]

Thnx for showing us this! I can now solve my problem with the buzz I have on my Rokit speakers connected to my Pc through an Audio interface. I had excluded every cause before finding the most likely cause here in your video.

[@sevchyk]

Hello. What exactly did you do to eliminate the problem?

[@DonatoGreco]

Very nice done, straight to the point. It certainly would help people better understand the cause of the problem if they know that the signal out of the RME Babyface USB interface is an UnBalanced Stereo cable which is key in creating the Ground Loop. This is the reason of the HUM eliminator made out of a couple of 1:1 transformers, one for each channel, to isolate the signal source Ground from the Speaker's Ground

[@magic1968]

Thanks for a simple straight forward video which explained it to me perfectly. You sir are a star! A+ from me.

[@WANABGUITARIST221375]

Does the hum eliminator change the way my audio is going to come out of my monitors? I don't want to mix a track for it to be slightly off when I bring the track to a studio. This video made my day by the way! I just an interface and was devastated by this sound, but you have fixed it and uploaded a video! THANK YOU!!!

[@RainComputersUK]

WANABGUITARIST221375 No, it simply disconnects the earth.

[@joeh690]

I have a similar problem, I have a 3.5 audio cord plugged in to an LCD TV to a desktop computer and when I play music from my computer to my TV I don't hear the buzz as much but its still there at low volume but when I pause the music then I hear the buzz / hum completely, is this still ground loop interference, how can I get rid of this noise ? Thank you

[@EchoMachineOne]

I just spent the last two hours trying to figure out where the hum came from in my laptop/recording setup. I've been unplugging cables, trying different equipment, pulling my hair out. This video showed me the solution to my problem brilliantly. So, thank you. Thank you very much!

[@sevchyk]

Did you try this solution? Did it work?

[@JohnA...]

Good example of what might be causing ground loop noise. came here looking up ways to eliminate USB noise from inputting audio equipment. I've seen VERY expensive USB hum eliminators, but wasn't sure if that was the only solution (and as someone who has a background in electricity, I'm hesitant to remove the ground from my already expensive computer setup, even using nice MonsterPower strips). I might be a bit late to the party, and not to be too sarcastic about it, but as a constructive criticism, maybe next time consider making a video about background noice in a place that doesn't have a large amount of environmental background noise as well. like in a quiet office. Just a thought.

[@sevchyk]

And now, are you sure that it is the only solution?

[@MusicMikeVlogs]

Uhm you pretty much just saved my entire life today.

[@max_955]

+MusicMikeVlogs i was getting crazy cause i can not charge the phone with pc usb and listen to music simultaneously

[@405line]

AFAIK this is caused by the manufacturer connecting the mains earth to the -ve of the psu's output. You have to lift the earth on the PSU of the laptop somehow to get rid of the problem if you are also using amplifiers etc that use a 3 pin (earthed) connection. A mains floating 1:1 isolation transformer will resolve this issue safely. You can get ground loop isolators that connect via signal phono and they do work effectively, however I'm never sure about the sound quality impact.

[@jordantherubio]

I went cheap, using a 3.5 noise isolator in the laptop audio jack. then to ran a 3.5 jack cable to left and right 1/4 in to mixer and no noise just clear audio. sounds amazing !

[@sevchyk]

Can you tell me, which model of the isolator did you use? Was it the 50hz (or 150 hz) low buzzing hum?

[@405line]

I think that when you have equipment that was intended to be earthed and then the earth connection is removed is that the "Y" capacitors in the common mode filter and any other L-E/N-E component i.e voltage overload protectors become a high "resistance" mains voltage divider i.e you can feel the "leakage" current at 1/2 mains voltage as it is AC you can feel the slight "tingle" at your local mains frequency. The filter is configured to expect an earth connection to do certain filtering duties.

[@Rompa87]

Yay! I get to spend money to fix something which shouldn't have been a problem in the first place! Oh happy day

[@zappandy]

A pity that so many laptops and even audio interfaces aren't built to solve this. It bothers me more coming from laptops and even PCs, it's like manufacturers forget that we're also part of the market.

[@gradium6522]

best video hd400 demo in youtube

[@RainComputersUK]

Not sure what you mean by "vibration" - the power supply doesn't buzz or cause any kind of movement. Some people talk about a sort of tingling on a metal chassis caused by the lack of earth - your fingers becoming the earth I guess, but I've not tried it with a metal chassis so I can't comment. It's supposed to be a universal notebook power supply - there are no proviso's on the box. Hope that helps Robin

[@netrodex]

hello from the future! this problem still happens... in my case, my Asus laptop which it has a 200w DC charger, while connected with my external portable display plus the external speakers, creates this ground loop. after 12... audio still amazes me

[@aldaris38]

I experienced the same shit yesterday. Was using a DJ controller connected to my Asus laptop via USB port. RCA audio from the DJ controller to a pair of self powered Wharfdale speakers and HUM + electrical noise was puking out of it. Noises stopped when unpluging the PSU from the laptop. The laptop PSU is effectively a 3 pin power cord one. Thanks for this very useful video that explain it and solved. ;)

[@sevchyk]

How did you solve the problem, what exactly did you do?

[@RainComputersUK]

A ground loop isolator goes into your signal chain between your interface and the speakers - exactly like i did with the HD400 in the video. The double insulated adapter should have solved the problem - any other inference is probably in your cables or being picked up by the amp circuitry. Try different cables, try moving the position of things - that kind of thing.

[@johngablesmith4671]

Wow - running on battery my laptop had this terrible noise from the external speakers. AS SOON AS I connected the laptop to power, the noise disappeared. This is amazing.

[@RainComputersUK]

The HD400 goes between your interface and your amp. It has clearly labelled inputs and output - go from your interface to the inputs (if you have RCA phono connectors then you'll need some photo-jack adapters) and outputs to your amp. If that doesn't cure it then its probably your amp creating the noise.

[@Vdoman1]

I love that you don't feel like you have to talk to us! I loved your video!! I wonder what would happen if I cut the ground pin off of the laptop power supply plug? I'll let you know. Can I presume the ground loop (that is present when I plug in an HDMI camera to the laptop) will also go away.. Great video!! Ed

[@xboxgs]

Great info for a plague of laptops! Thumbs up! An observation of mine is that the hum goes away when you touch the metallic part of the VGA connector, so the laptop gets way to the ground (if I understand correct). However there must be something not correct in the internals of it because the grounding of the audio board (which is usually collocated with the usb ports in Sony Vaio Laptops), I guess that this is something to be investigated if you can.

[@swedensy]

I have bigger problem. Audio card in new gaming laptop totally shuts off when nothing is played for few seconds. Thus leaving 2.5mm jack virtually unplugged/partially and the speakers are making this noise thats caused when low level input cables are not all properly connected. To avoid that i always play music on another player on mute,

[@bassett1605]

Yeah, I was referring to the tingling thing. My old Macbook Pro's power supply wasn't grounded and sometimes it would feel like that when you touched the aluminium chassis. The trackpad's behaviour would become very erratic while this happened. I've looked at the Powercool power supply and none of the supplied DC tips are small enough to fit my Series 9 without being plugged into possibly two further adaptors to make it fit. Thanks for your help anyway.

[@kouroshkhavari]

Thank you for taking the time to provide the insight.

[@RAGECAGEDAVE]

Thanks for this. The noise is driving me up the wall! Off to buy one of these alternatives now!

[@sevchyk]

What did you buy? Did it work?

[@vindyyt]

I've found simillar problems with flickering external monitors, but my laptop monitor instead has a little horizontal flickering line(the best explanation i could think of). It can be seen especially in games while moving, when i remove the power cable, the line disappears. Any idea how to fix that one?

[@MatthewWilliamsFly]

Might be useful to list the behringer model in the comments description box of the video... You are genuis... I have been having live mixing problems like this for years...!!! Always unplugging the laptop when needed to fix it.

[@guitarristasean]

does the 2-pin power adapter have to be double-shielded? The ones I'm finding do not specifically say (I would have to look at the backs of them for the symbol, which requires going to different stores).

[@mickmicallef2174]

Got my external sound card for laptop, bad humming I tried everything except take out the power cord. So yep I removed the power cord and it works fine. Thank you for your demonstration.

[@MukminunTV]

THIS ANSWERS MY PROBLEM WITH BOYA MIC & DELL LAPTOP GROUND LOOP NOISE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU

[@gordenfraxby84]

Great video thanks for sharing the knowledge. What was the music that you were playing? It was pretty funky, reminds me of some music I always hear mr scruff playing at the beatherder festivals.

[@chabap]

im pretty sure it is the standart mr scruff sample every Windows come with. i think the song's name is "kalimba"

[@aleeshbaniya5315]

Out of all othrr shitty videos this is actually useful.. you deserve like also bonus for no talking

[@Morgenmaane]

So what about on a standard computer? My Audiointerface is Porpellerhead Balance. I get noise coming both from my studiomonitors and guitar/instrument cables. However no noise when just listening to music from the headphones-output on the interface.

[@RainComputersUK]

Many people use balanced cabling or already have power conditioners and earth isolators in place so it would be an unnecessary added expense. At Rain UK we offer a double insulated power supply as an option. Sorry that you've had a bad experience with your Livebook - that's certainly not what we hope to offer.

[@kirilv777]

I have this same problem. I found solution somehow... I have my laptop without battery plugged in wall ( it is buzzing) , but when insert my HDMI cable connected to my TV , the buzzing is over...

[@xboxgs]

The same happens with the VGA cable, this is probably because your Monitor uses a 3 pin power input that provides proper grounding. See my comment above, if you touch the metallic part of the vga -which is protruding usually it will stop -because the machine gets properly grounded by you!)

[@jasongrisafi7828]

Well I gotta admit. It never crossed my mind to try unplugging the Power Cord from the back of the Laptop until I saw you do it. As soon as I did that the Buzzing Stopped. So that will be my Quick Fix Temporarily until I order myself a Ground Loop Isolator. I'll just plug in the Power Cord Overnight so the Laptop can Charge then Unplug it during the day while I use it. :) Thanks !!

[@sevchyk]

Did you try this isolator? Did it eliminate this noise?

[@EddieMcCoven]

I still get the hum when my laptop isn't plugged in to the charger. My setup: audio line into camera, camera HDMI to interface, interface to USB 3 into laptop. Tried a different computer, no hum.

[@sevchyk]

How did you solve the problem?

[@RainComputersUK]

Yes and yes - probably - sounds like it to me but you won't know until you try. Is the same on batteries? If it is then it's going to be electrical interference, which, if it's with the internal speakers you can't do anything about. Do you get it on headphones? If you are using external speakers then try better cable and better speakers.

[@bnee4313]

I experience this buzzing noise on inverter supply not on mains power. It stops when I touch motherboard screw using metal. How do I resolve this issue?

[@blacksunaccounts]

i have the same issue but it is only when my gtx680m is utilized. the sound is exactly the same and only happens when im using my 680m and its plugged in. could this be the same problem?

[@michaeltownsend7311]

It was the power tip that sorted it for me. I'm using a Macbook Pro and was getting hum over my speakers. The problem it turns out was the power supply. I was using an aftermarket charger and getting the hum, as soon as I swapped it over to the original apple charger the hum went away.

[@R2ROrancid]

I have a less aggressive but yet annoying issue. I just discovered that my brand new laptop sorta turns off the audio signal after no sound is being produced for 6 seconds approx. Like, I can have it plugged in to the electricity and connected via audio output to the speakers, and listen to any sound without any problem, but, when the sound stops, the hum will come in and it will sound unless another sound is played on it. Kinda annoying. I also saw that when I use a DAW this doesn't happen, even if there's nothing playing. And of course, only happens when it's plugged into the electricity. Any help?

[@christopherreed6809]

I was having this same issue and I fixed it by replacing my unbalanced speaker cables with balanced ones.

[@KampervanemPrzezAmerykę]

I'm using my laptop in my truck. I have 12V charger, which produces AC output (120 Vac/60Hz) connected to two pins, "square in square" logo laptop power supply. When I connect laptop's headphone outlet to my truck's stereo AUX I have terrible audio interfaces. The way I deal with it is quite strange. I have Y audio extension cable. First line goes to AUX in my radio and second line is connected to my cellphone, which is charged all the time via usb cable from another 12V outlet. This eliminates the noise, but it has to be a better way, right? Please, help!

[@RainComputersUK]

truckerhiob get a hum eliminator

[@anarchist]

Two years later but... If the hum disappears when the laptop is running on battery power the AC in your set-up is causing the hum (it's likely). As you know your truck battery will output 12v DC so if you can get a DC-to-DC converter which is suitable for your laptop and use it in place of the AC adapter the hum should disappear.

[@RainComputersUK]

It's the double shielding that protects you from death if a power problem occurs. I would imagine any laptop power adapter with two pins should be double shielded.

[@simonheath8701]

Great Demo. I've spent quite a few quid on a new camera rig which includes a Tascam D40 audio recorder and a Rode wireless radio Mike. When both are hooked up to t large USB power supply I get atrocious HF humming just like in your demo. I can power one or the other but connecting both introduces the ground loop. Now I just need to find something a bit smaller than the Behringer unit you showed.

[@qwadratix]

I had this same issue with a set of USB-powered Speakers. The USB power cord and the actual audio cord between them create a built-in loop that picked up everything in the vicinity. Even the mouse movements could be heard. Powering the speaker off it's own supply (via a dedicated USB hub) killed the problem. Bloody annoying though. I may open the thing up and cut the ground connection physically if it will let me. You often get this sort of trouble with screened leads...

[@olihuckstepp]

A blissfully concise video. Good work sir, thank you very much.

[@goosainbenjamin2983]

very useful

[@malikamer4385]

Thanks i will try to buy 1 but does this work on noisy guitar pickups? i want to make sure before buying

[@keitaroofc966]

thanks!! I tried the second method. In my 3 pin power supply, I isolated the ground pin. the noise disappeared immediately. how did that happen? even though the job of grounding is to remove dirty electricity that causes noise. but the ground pin actually causes noise.

[@peterbrynildsen1485]

I am suffering from another type of noise. It’s only there when I sit in front of my Acer laptop with my guitar. When I move away I stops. My pickups pick up a lot of noise from the electronics inside the laptop. It makes no difference if it is powered or runs on battery. The only fix is to use external monitor/mouse/keyboard and move the laptop as far away as possible. And this kind of makes it pointless to have a laptop in the first place because I now have to carry around all this extra stuff. But if I don’t it’s impossible to get any work done and make decent sounding recordings without noise/hissing.. :’( I have another 10 year old Lenovo laptop that doesn’t generate this much noise at all. So my advice is to test out the laptop before buying it, or return immediately if it generates too much noise. There can be a huge difference in the materials and internal shielding used in production of laptops. Some brands just suck badly for music production involving guitars.

[@Goth108]

I sometimes run into this issue when using battery powered devices without using an external power supply, in setups usually not causing any issues as there is no ground loop possible, yet sometimes causing a ground loop hum a di box fails to remove. When I touch some jack in the signal chain the hum goes away. What should I do?

[@RainComputersUK]

+Goth108 well.... it's still a ground loop - you touch the jack, you earth it, noise goes away. Resolving ground loops can be difficult - you just have to follow your cables around and try different things.

[@TheMisphit]

I'm experiencing this sound with a double insulated Genuine Sony VAIO 2-pin adapter. Will the only way to solve this be to use the hum filter?

[@OrlandoArmas]

+Rick DX Same Here! don't know if the the hum filter could work

[@elirozen]

+Rick DX Did you buy the hum filter? (sorry for that daley...)

[@Zero1Zero1]

Can't thank you enough! Just added a PA speaker and mixer to my live stream setup and was getting a mad buzz and nothing made it go away. It made absolutely no sense but I traced it back to my capture card. Just being in contact with a metal part on the laptop would cause it, it didn't even need to be connected! I was super fortunate enough to have a replacement laptop psu that was 2 pin. Can't believe that's all it took to fix it! I also had this issue some years ago with a USB dac. Found it did it when on AC but not on battery. Couldn't make any sense of it. Usb is digital, so how does my sound card have buzz?! I was able to fix that by using optical out, but no doubt that was the same issue

[@MJMRevealed]

Ok, this is REALLY cool that you are showing this. I had a similar issue and I purchased the double isolated power adapter and it eliminated most of the interference. Here is my current scenario... PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN: I have a Dell M1530 XPS Laptop. When I plug my M-Audio via USB up to my laptop to run Reason (A Music Software), and then run that sound into my behringer amp, it still gives a slight interference. So I recently purchased a ground loop isolator. How do I use it? What do I do?

[@WTHFX]

That was the solution I was looking for. I will setup a two prong, double-insulated adapter for my home studio connection thoroughly protected behind two layers of surge protection and power conditioning and use the stock grounded 3-prang for travel purposes. Thank you, Sir. ====================================================================== UPDATE (later 12/30/2015): I picked up a two prong, double insulated adapter for my ASUS - the same Power Cool model used in the video. It works great as an adapter, but despite the lack of a ground, it still hums like a radio...ZERO improvement, in fact, in an A/B test, the Power Cool is considerably noisier. It only hums when I introduce the current from the power supply. I tried different outlets, connected to power conditioners, surge protectors, and straight into the wall. It's ugly no matter what. Running straight off the battery it's absolutely black-silent. I've used a ground lift before but considering we're running groundless already with the replacement power supply I doubt that'll make any difference. Any other ideas of what I can do besides using a noise/sound suppressor or EQing the sound out - both of these ideas are unacceptable, frankly.

[@RainComputersUK]

+WTHFX Earth loops are hard to solve if it's not obvious. You could be picking up interference from all sorts of places. I have no ideas other than what i demonstrated - you'll have to go through every cable, swapping and checking i'm afraid.

[@WTHFX]

+RainComputersUK I ended up seeking out a different power supply for the soundcard (an RME Babyface), one which was not a universal adapter but specifically 12VDC/2.1A. The buzz was gone. I even plugged my laptop power supply and it remained silent. I'm guessing that the the laptop's "grounded" power supply is only grounded between the wall and the transformer and ungrounded at the pins. So any circuit connecting to the laptop is doomed to buzz (USB in this case). The universal I tried on both the laptop and the card was ungrounded and probably not especially well constructed. The second dedicated power supply for the card was properly grounded and insulated. Once connected to the card the card either no longer needed to draw current from the laptop this breaking the noisy circuit or the proper ground on the card absorbed the noisey voltage from the laptop. Perhaps someone with more of a background electrical circuits could weigh in on what happended here.

[@holidaymaker2982]

Everything works until I plug in the guitar then I get the buzz unless I take out the charger but the same guitar sounds perfect thru an amp. Would the Behringer HD 400 work in this similar situation except the music and mics don't buzz only the guitar does?

[@sevchyk]

How did you solve the problem?

[@JJtoob]

This would happen to me with an HP laptop and the power adapter it came with, but that one broke, and I bought a universal adapter from a third party (can't remember, I think it was Targus) and the noise was pretty much eliminated, maybe it was still there, but it wasn't noticeable. The rest of the equipment was connected the same way.

[@RainComputersUK]

xMCL0VINx your replacement PSU probably has just two pins rather than the usual three - this means it's double insulated, doesnt have an earth pin and therefore no earth loop noise!

[@j0eb0t0]

does DI box fixes the 'noise when guitar is close to the pc' issue? im having that issue and cannot move far from pc. and since its a pc, i cannot use the double insulated power supply thing.

[@RainComputersUK]

joe boto Might do - try it and see

[@lowtier7432]

Hi sir. Can it be done on microphone to laptop also ? just with the hum eliminator (without the usb shield) I have 3.5mm to 3.5mm both male from mic to laptop.

[@JonathanMcKey]

I'm trying to record audio from my Soundcraft GB2 sound board into my old Acer laptop, crude, but it works...except for one thing. It has a nasty ground loop issue and the battery will only last about an hour and a half when recording on battery, while I just managed to make it through a band concert before it fully died, it was really close. I can't have that for future shows. Will that Behringer or a Pyle hum destroyer eliminate the noise while the laptop is plugged in, just like on this video?

[@bassett1605]

Does the 2-pin PowerCool power supply cause any kind of vibration issue with metal chassis laptops? I have a Samsung Series 9 laptop that I'm using with an audio interface that has too many inputs/outputs to use that Behringer device.

[@arashandarmin]

The mic it self has a 7pin cable which acts like an antenna, when i play around with it sometimes the radio gets stronger and there are spots that i can get rid of the noise the 7pin cable goes to the PSU then XLR cable to pre amp On the pre amp it has a headphone jack which is for monitoring the mic I am using pearlman tm1 and Focusrite One pre I haven't yet bought a isolator Would Jensen iso max pi-xx or mi-xx solve my problem?? Would this happen to any mic or is it just this??? Regards

[@RainComputersUK]

Arash Armin I have no idea - all you can do is try it :)

[@mexemexe]

I have same noise but on my desktop! from my audio interface. with 10 outs. do I need 10 hum eliminators? This solves my laptop noise problem though, so thank you for that. But any Ideas of Desktop loop fix? I tried cord with no ground just to test but didn't fix the noise.

[@thevangurusinghe7242]

Same here dude

[@uriel6798]

Is there another way to fix this without the hum eliminator and just using the things you have at home?

[@XxNate96xX]

I get that same noise from my computer speakers. I have them connected to my custom built pc and they just started making this noise recently when i switched all the parts to a new case. I have no idea what i could do to fix it it.

[@djpaul146]

my laptop sometimes makes a loud sampling noise on wmp and youtube and when this happens I cant turn my volume down and the video freezziz to what could be up

[@mojtabagolestani6802]

what about PC ? and Sound card like Audigy LINE in ? low volume and at the high volume Static HISS is there with a bit up and down but its constantly there

[@ben99687]

This only started happening when my Lenovo charger broke and I bought a replacement off amazon. It's not a branded Lenovo charger and definitely feels cheaper to hold. I don't have much knowledge of electronics but could there be components in the new charger that causes this?

[@CurtisAmoy]

But that is only using the headphone output. What do you do if you are using the balanced L and R outputs on the Babyface?

[@RainComputersUK]

CurtisAmoy exactly the same thing

[@ImElDuderino]

Hello, although having the 2 pin power adapter I still get that annoying hum on my wireless headphones. Would the only solution be buying the hum eliminator? :\ Also, there's still noise even if the headphones are connected to an mp3 or my cellphone, as long as the laptop charger is connected to the laptop. Thanks in advance

[@zappandy]

If the issue is present when the laptop is also unplugged, would the ground loop isolator help? Or would it mean is an entire different problem? Granted when the laptop is unplugged the noise is drastically reduced. Still screws up with the recording a bit but it's far more bearable.

[@RainComputersUK]

+Zappandy It's going to help i think but eliminating noise is a lot of trial and error.

[@RainComputersUK]

Well, if you break the loop and the noise remains then it's probably something else, or there's more than one loop - it's all trial and error trying to work these things out. It may be that the cables to the speakers are really poor and it's just picking up interference - maybe see if you can try something else. Good luck with that.

[@keffmcculloch6864]

Can someone tell me where to find a 2-pin adapter (for Australia but I don't care where I buy it). All of the universal units seem to be 3-pin now. Thanks.

[@rickc2222]

on my desktop pc i got this terrible buzzing whenever i would move the mouse, scroll screen, and expecially when playing games - I cut the pc speakers ground prong off at the outlet and it is silent now. hope I dont burn the house down....it is a 18v 3.5a dc laptop power supply now with no ground.

[@steveuhde3066]

Running a balanced Line level output from an interface with an unbalanced instrument cable, into an Instrument level input on a guitar amp is not helping anything and can cause added noise. If you're going to demo how to fix grounding problems with laptop power supplies, it might be wiser to connect a balanced cable from the interface to a balanced input on a studio monitor that is designed for LINE level signals.

[@mistercaptain6102]

Is this problem different from picking up interference from a desktop power supply? Crackling gets way worse when games are loaded/the GPU or power supply using more power. This is with a usb audio interface and studio monitors. Everything's disabled except the output of the speakers in sound options too.

[@01chohan]

I have pretty much the same issue as you, if you've found a solution let me know please!

[@mistercaptain6102]

01chohan whats workin right now, is that that I've turned the decibel volume knobs on the back of the studio monitors all the way down. It takes away 98% of it, there's a small buzz when video games are played but I'm fine with it. I read taking the 3'd bottom prong (the ground) out of the plugs of the studio monitors could be a solution, but those are there for a reason and could be dangerous....

[@DanielCundeyMusic]

The noise completely disappears when i pull the charger out and the laptop is running on batteries. The noise doesn't happen at all on headphones or any other speakers for that matter. Its just my KRK Rokits and a Marshall amp i can hear the interference on. So 100% a hum box would clear up this issue?

[@unfa00]

Man, thank you so much, I have the same issue with laptop connected to a 10W guitar amp, I'm starting to understand this issue...

[@misterboodie]

Thank you for a simple but effective video. The video was easy to understand and helped me.

[@JimijaymesProductions]

Any suggestions for people running desktop PCs and multiple equipment, I get computer nopise through my interface, my guitar gear (pedals, amps) and my preamps don't really want to put hum eliminators on every audio thing I may use. My PC has a thermaltake 750W. Eventually I'll get a power conditioner but can't afford one right now.

[@RainComputersUK]

JimijaymesGuitarist The answer is better power, better cables and hum elimination. Your setup is picking up a lot of interference and so you can't magic that away, you have to take steps to remove it. Just one hum eliminator at the end of the signal chain would help enormously. The HD400 is like twenty quid. Get it from Amazon, try it out, if it doesnt work send it back - easy.

[@JimijaymesProductions]

The problem is there is no end of the chain, monitors are the end of the mixing chain. Guitar amp is one chain, and mics are one chain, I can deal with the monitors as long as the sources I record isn't getting as much interference. Will a hum eleminator work with mic level XLRs?

[@RainComputersUK]

JimijaymesGuitarist if you are getting interference in everything then i think you need to do more work on your system as a whole. Take your guitar and amp setup and plug it in somewhere else - another room, another house - does it have the same level of noise? Borrow a different amp - is it the same? There should be no interference on the mic cables because they are balanced XLR yes? If there's noise there then you need better cables. Hum eliminators only deal with earth loops, they don't remove general noise from bad circuitry, electro magnetic interference, or background spill. If you are having earth loop issues then this video and a hum eliminator will help - if you are having other issues then you need to work through each piece of gear until you find what's causing it. Cheers.

[@JimijaymesProductions]

Its only from my pc with it off there isn't interference. The power in my house isn't great not sure if this is the problem or not, All my gear is plugged into two outlets (as I only have 4 in the room). Thanks for your help I think the solution may lie in power conditioners and shielding. All my cables are high quality and balanced (except guitar cables).

[@gastonsobalvarro9292]

WOW! YOU SERIOUS! I unplugged some stuff I had and now I'm not getting noise outputing from my pc to loop pedal! THANKS MAN!!! WOW..... I might get that though if i need to.... thanks! means alot! I"M LOOPING MASSIVE WITH MY LOOP PEDAL NOW! WOOOOT!

[@amidouba7037]

Thx very much this video helped me lot .... But I have a question, what should we do if we have projector in the system i mean a pa system with a projector taking its feed from a laptop, that same laptop is feeding a mixer for the sound of the video

[@GUSRULZ445]

Do these solutions degrade sound quality at all? Great vid! I hadn't even heard (PUUUUN) of this issue until it started happening to me a while ago. I thought something was wrong with my laptop! Is there a (safe) way I can mitigate ground loops without buying extra kit? Thank you!

[@DanielCundeyMusic]

The noise that comes form my speakers isn't a constant buzzing sound. Its like you can almost here the components working in the laptop. For example when i put a cd into the drive you can hear the drive spinning through the speakers. Is this still a ground loop issue? and will a hum box sill clear up the problem? Sorry if this sounds like a bit of a dumb question but I've never delt with an issue like this before. lol

[@hendrasantoso4374]

Thank you this is the solution that i search until now and i'm planning to buy that behringer hum eliminator for my audio interface

[@sevchyk]

Did you buy the isolator from this video? Did it remove the 50hz hum?

[@jekku_GG]

i use an guitar electric guitar connected to a laptop via a usb guitar link cable. if i connect the hum eliminator between the guitar and the usb link cable, will the problem go away?

[@zappandy]

If it's a ground loop, it should.

[@ricog7636]

Hi, When I turn on my external lcd screen (hdmi connected) my monitors start making loud whitenoise, i never had this before and there are no cables crossing plus my macbook is not powerd. i use a cheap lexicon alpha usb interface but theres no noise in the headphones connected to this interface. It all worked fine for a year untill now.. thnx!

[@makennasmom77]

What are the cables connecting the hum eliminator to your speaker? I have a brand new pair of KRK Rokit 5's and I'm experiencing this exact problem with my laptop, but only plugged in to the main power source, and not on battery, just as you showed here. I am ready to buy this device but need to know what cables to purchase as well. Thanks!!

[@RainComputersUK]

+Holly Albright The cables are pretty irrelevant, in this instance it was a regular audio jack cable. If you can use balanced XLR or TRS cables then use those because they will prevent noise being picked up in the cable. Check with your audio interface and your speakers to see what type of connectors they take and get cables accordingly.

[@makennasmom77]

+RainComputersUK Thanks. I researched further and found what I need.

[@sevchyk]

@@makennasmom77 How did you solve the problem?

[@tk3141]

Hi, will using balanced cables help with this at all? I've got this issue, and just trying to see what the cheapest option is to resolve it. Having two studio monitors means I would need to buy two short extra cables + the HD400. Buying balanced cables might be cheaper. Thanks.

[@ALTchannel]

My adapter is double insulated power supply, but whenever I plug my adaper into laptop and connected my behringer mic usb and start recording, there's always have a electrical sound like. How can I resolve this?

[@RainComputersUK]

+literia リテリヤ Is the noise still there when you unplug the power supply?

[@ALTchannel]

No, its gone

[@RainComputersUK]

+literia リテリヤ Well it must be earth related - maybe your power supply isnt what it says it is or you need to put a hum eliminator before the speakers. Is the noise on the recording? If so then maybe noise is being picked up in the USB cable - i've not used a USB microphone before so i'm not sure how that affects the signal chain. All you can do is plug in things and plug out things and see what makes a difference and act on that.

[@VoxsarDharamage]

When i use my 2.1 speaker system, i shorted the left signal jack into the shield, it took away the noise but only tweeter works, in that setup