Hey, I'm looking for some possible answers this is getting me fustrated. Somehow my recording is bad because whenever I playback I can hear slight noise/static. The big problem comes on when I compressed, that even make the noise louder. My current set up is an Mbox 2 and Yamaha Hs80s. I did some search on this very issue and it seems that a lot of people are running into this same problem without any solution. Every time I turn on/off my desktop computer, I hear a big loud popping noise coming out of my monitors. The Mbox 2 doesn't have on and off power so It'll turn on/off whenever my computer is on or not. Is this a faulty problem of the Mbox 2 or just wire and cable issue? Does anybody here have this same problem?

Can you describe your recording chain a little more?

If compressing your tracks is making the noise floor a problem, it's likely something on the way in.

Regarding the popping noise - turn your speakers off before shutting down...

Trying powering down your monitors first before turning off the computer, and turning them on after the computer has started up. Keep the volume on your mbox lower in general when not in use in case you forget to avoid the pop.

If the problem is coming from a recording that was recorded through the mbox 2, look at the entire signal chain. Mic>cable>mbox> and try to determine the problem. I've seen people push the gain of the preamp too high on the mbox 2, and it will add some really ugly noise past 9 and kill the headroom, but not have enough gain before it. Having the gain lower on the mbox and using a preamp between the mic and mbox might fix the issue.

If you have noise/static recorded in the source, yes compressing makes it louder. If you weren't the one doing the recording, I could suggest ways to remove the noise, but since you are it seems, you should try to fix it as close to the sources as possible.

There is no chain, no effects at all, straight plain out recording. When I playback I already hear noise. It leaks into the recording. I already hear some noise coming out of the monitors even when there is no music playing. Is that common?

Yeah I was silly I haven't thought of that.

All I have is a condensor mic going to the input 1 of the box. 2 stereo line left/right from the keyboard and the box go straight to the usb port. The monitors are on the stand. The ground is carpet. Could that be a problem? I never turn on the front pads. If I put my ear close to the monitors I can hear the noise. So I'm thinking the problem might be the box.

There is going to be a certain amount of inherent thermal noise in electronic equipment.

Unplug the keyboard and the mic then connect them one at a time to try to identify which source is causing the noise. Keyboards can be noisy sometimes, or have defective cords. If you get the noise with neither connected, then look at the interface and its connection to the computer.

Always shut off your gear in the order of Last to First in your signal chain when possible.
Turning gear on the opposite.
Turn on: Computer, outboard gear, interface, monitors last.
Off: the opposite.

"Pro" gear doesn't always have the built-in protection circuits that consumer gear does so you can trash your stuff by not knowing what you're doing. Turning a mixer on with live microphones when your speaker system is already on can melt amps, destroy tweeters, etc..... and turning off anything usually sends a sharp cutoff or worse down whatever lines are plugged into it.

Imagine a full blown concert PA system where they turned the console on last!!!! KABOOM. The amps are always last on, first off.

As far as your noise floor goes there are many variables. What is the noise floor of the microphones? Are you hitting the input levels hard enough? And yes, keyboard can be VERY noisy.