monitor hum?

[richMOE]

newbie here....this forum is a huge help....thanks to everyone involved.

i have a home drum studio....im using

KRK monitors (v6)

presonus firepod x 2

macbook pro (laptop) w/ old dell monitor as an extra monitor

presonus hp4 headphone preamp

lace hard drive.

i orginally had some low end yamaha monitors which had no buzz or hum....i upgraded to the krk's and the buzz has continued to get worse....when i turn the dell monitor off it is a little better.

any help is much appreciated.

thanks,
~richMOE!

[Windtaken]

my guess is that your low end yamaha's didn't reveal the hum that was always there. is there hum when you listen with a good set of headphones?

[richMOE]

yes, actually the same buzz is in the headphones....i guess it is internal?

[feyshay]

Do you think you have a ground loop as the cause for this?
Check out solutions for Ground Loop by using searching for it in this forum. When I had one in the past, I purchased a HumX (EBTech is the manufacturer?) which could be used in a pinch when traveling. Laptops seem particularly prone to this. Try running your laptop off battery power and see if the hum goes away.
Try getting everything powered off one outlet. That sometimes will solve the problem.

[Windtaken]

when you turn off the monitor it gets better...
sounds like RF interference.

I wouldn't tell you to go out and buy expensive well insulated cables just yet though. Need to isolate the problem.

See if there's still buzz when all the channels are at zero or minus infinity
See if the buzz increases when you raise one of the channel's volumes.

Can you use the firepod without plugging into a computer? Try that and see if it still buzzes.

This may be a silly question. But are you plugging your monitors/headphones into the presonus or your laptop audio out?

[Matti]

Start by checking you cables with a meter one at the time ...
Matti

[richMOE]

this has been a problem for 4 months or so.....i posted for help this morning....ran out and just got back to find the hum/buzz is gone....these machines are getting smarter.....

however, these are some GREAT suggestions....i will be trying them as i know the infamous 'hum' will return.

thanks MUCHO,
~richMOE!

[deve]

External hard drives are usually responsable for that kind of hum in active speakers.

[firby]

Go buy one of those three light plugin testers that test your power. Very, Very often residential houses have a few plugins that have never been grounded properly. Once it checks out fine run everything off of that outlet and see if the problem goes away. Try turning components off one at a time to see if it is related.

[smoore98]

richMOE,

When you find the answer, please let me know. I have a slight variation. I have the KRK V6's and they alone have a buzz. I can turn off everything in my studio EXCEPT them, unplug everything on the monitors except power - and they STILL have a low humming sound.

I even unplugged them and took them to another room in the house and just powered them on. They hum. My house is only 5 years old and I can't believe every circuit is screwed up. It may be a ground loop, but it just seems weird to me that I do not have this problem with any of my guitar amps, home theater speakers, etc...

It's tempting me to get rid of them because of this. If anyone thinks this is a simple something I am overlooking I am all ears.

BTW - I am using a PC based DAW and using a Furman power conditioner (which probably does not matter). I also have an external Lacie hard drive but even with it removed from the equation, the hum is still there....

Scott

[richMOE]

smoore98, sorry for the delayed reply.

I can turn on the KRK's alone and they hum/buzz. I believe our home is not grounded very well and I also believe the KRK's are very prone to picking up any sort of problem based on my experience.....I haven't gotten to the bottom of it, but I am pretty sure I will upgrade to another monitor in the near future.

Did you have any luck fixing the problem on your end?

peace,
RichMOE.