I can not believe this !!!

The forum for non-component-related silent pc discussions.

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JEN
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I can not believe this !!!

Post by JEN » Fri May 09, 2003 6:27 am

I can't believe this!!!!

I got my case fairly quiet now. I can hardly hear it with the panaflos at 12v under the table, mounted with rubber fan isolators.

I am getting one of my friends to make some switches for me (electonics expert :D), which should allow me to run the fans at 7v-12v

Now that my case is fairly quiet, I can hear another noise!

ITS THE MONITOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND THE SPEAKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its making a faint buzzing sound. I know its the monitor because the noise gots away as soon as I turn the monitor off, but returns when I turn it back on again!

And also the speakers. They make a louder buzzing sound. It's coming from the subwoofer. Even with its turned off. The subwoofer buzz stays until I unplug it from the mains

Any silent monitors and silent speakers around???

ruprag
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Post by ruprag » Fri May 09, 2003 6:38 am

There there, every thing will be fine, just relax.

*goes out to get the men with the white jacket*

:-)

regularfries
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Post by regularfries » Fri May 09, 2003 7:04 am

Just a thought

This may be nothing to do with it but it is possible to create "ground loops" between equipment. This is where the audio or video ground is connected by one route and the mains ground is connected through another and they are slightly different.

To minimise this try and run everything out of as few wall sockets as possible, ideally one multiway adaptor from one socket. And don't have cables that are a lot longer than they need to be.

I cannot say I suffer from such problems myself but maybe when I get a quieter PC!

Katana Man
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Post by Katana Man » Fri May 09, 2003 7:40 am

hehe, ruprag, that was hilarious. Thanks for the good laugh :)

loply
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Post by loply » Fri May 09, 2003 8:17 am

You can open your monitor up and cover some kind of coil or something in grease to stop that buzzing? Someone hear will know about this.

As for speakers, cheap speakers? Try grounding them somehow, not sure how that works exactly but thats prolly it? Try muting your mic too (even if you dont have one).

GamingGod
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Post by GamingGod » Fri May 09, 2003 8:36 am

You can either buy new speakers and monitor. Atempt to to open the monitor and spray the coils with lacqor, which cuts down on the whine. Or if I were you I would just turn the fans up a little bit higher so you hear the fan noise over the monitor whine. I feel your pain though. Right now my tv is built into an inclosure cos it whines. And I was thinking about doing the same to my playstation 2 because of the fan noise. Not to mention my guitar amplifier that also whines.

JEN
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Post by JEN » Fri May 09, 2003 8:54 am

So close, yet so far :cry:

marc999
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Post by marc999 » Fri May 09, 2003 8:56 am

You could get a Monster HTS-1000 or PC 1000 (they're the same). It has separate audio and video noise filters (to reduce noise from the local power grid). They're kinda pricey (about $200 CAD) but they are high quality and may help reduce the buzz. Even if it doesn't, they provide surge protection, so it may be worthwhile anyway.
http://www.monstercable.com/power/produ ... sp?pin=590

rpc180
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Post by rpc180 » Fri May 09, 2003 9:12 am

One other thing, if you have a cheaper sound card, or onboard sound, sometimes the card emits noise even when its supposed to be silent. Might want to check that also.

chiahaochang
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Post by chiahaochang » Fri May 09, 2003 9:25 am

Any silent monitors and silent speakers around???
I've got some silent speakers, they don't make any noise. Ever. :D

As people've mentioned, speaker noise may come from ground loops. I've actually had bad speaker noise when I had my speakers plugged into a UPS. I plugged them into a seperate surge suppressor and it was fine. I'd still get some speaker hiss, but nothing that I could hear unless I put my ear ~2inches away from the speakers with the volume turned up.

aphonos
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Post by aphonos » Fri May 09, 2003 10:46 am

chiahaochang wrote:
Any silent monitors and silent speakers around???
I've got some silent speakers, they don't make any noise. Ever. :D

As people've mentioned, speaker noise may come from ground loops. I've actually had bad speaker noise when I had my speakers plugged into a UPS. I plugged them into a seperate surge suppressor and it was fine. I'd still get some speaker hiss, but nothing that I could hear unless I put my ear ~2inches away from the speakers with the volume turned up.
Do you mind sharing the brand and model with us?

GamingGod
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Post by GamingGod » Fri May 09, 2003 11:24 am

I think it was sarcasm, thats his way of saying he doesnt have any speakers at all, or he has them unplugged?

JEN
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Post by JEN » Fri May 09, 2003 12:00 pm

If I get the monitor and speakers sorted, whats going to be next. The birds singing away in the garden seem a lot louder then before !!!

GamingGod
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Post by GamingGod » Fri May 09, 2003 12:08 pm

LOL then youll need to buy a shotgun.....with a silencer

edcrane
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Post by edcrane » Fri May 09, 2003 12:13 pm

next comes silencing the actual room. Windows actually do have a propensity for leaking sound (like those excessively loud chirps). There are special noise absorbing curtains for that. Following that, you'll probably want to look into floating a ceiling (if there's a story above you), and perhaps floating a layer of lead or even wonderboard a couple inches out from the drywall.

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Post by rpc180 » Fri May 09, 2003 1:38 pm

when the furnace turns on in the basement the frames on my wall rattle... actually, they rattle alot even when the furnace is off. Probably alot of bugs or something in the walls, I don't know. I actually punched the wall this morning while in bed because of the racket - it woke me up ... sigh ... I'm thinking pesticide the house to kill everything, tape down the picture frames with double sided tape, get steel support beams to prevent the house from settling, and those damn wood steps ... :!:

aphonos
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Post by aphonos » Fri May 09, 2003 1:47 pm

rpc180 wrote:when the furnace turns on in the basement the frames on my wall rattle... actually, they rattle alot even when the furnace is off. Probably alot of bugs or something in the walls, I don't know. I actually punched the wall this morning while in bed because of the racket - it woke me up ... sigh ... I'm thinking pesticide the house to kill everything, tape down the picture frames with double sided tape, get steel support beams to prevent the house from settling, and those damn wood steps ... :!:
Reminds me of the pest control TV commercial (can't remember the company--not good marketing if I can't remember the brand) where the couple lives in a concrete house with concrete furniture and decorations to avoid pests. Of course, a concrete abode would be an acoustic nightmare.

goose_wh
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Post by goose_wh » Fri May 09, 2003 2:00 pm

seems that theres a few posts asking about silent monitors? maybe this can be an opporuntiy to start a Silent Monitor sticky, or better still a Silent Monitor Forum?
I know i for one will be wanting a silent TFT monitor in the next few months, so ill be keeping my eyes peeled for anything that crops up or comes recommended.

goose_wh
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Post by goose_wh » Fri May 09, 2003 2:04 pm

oops double post.
Last edited by goose_wh on Fri May 09, 2003 2:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

mynci
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Post by mynci » Fri May 09, 2003 2:14 pm

@GamingGod - my tv drives me mental with its whine (so high pitched and piercing) i was once told to open it up and poke at things with a pencil (while on) untill it stops the whine, then just put a shed load of silicon on the offending component. i havent managed to get that far yet, i keep hitting it and that seems to stop it.

on a moderately unrelated note. everyone else can hear a tv thats on but making no sound, even if its a few rooms away, right. please dont let it just be me.

@rpc180 - i think taping the frames may be a step too far, why not put some bluetak under the corners, invisible, and i would go out on a limb and say it will shut the rattling up.
i guess you have bluetak in the us and they havent rebranded it and called it something crazy.

GamingGod
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Post by GamingGod » Fri May 09, 2003 2:28 pm

yea i can hear anything electric. I can even hear digital watches sometimes. Hell I can even hear the led in my remote control when I change the channel.

mynci
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Post by mynci » Fri May 09, 2003 2:38 pm

thank goodness for that, im hoping as the years pass my hearing gets worse and i wont hear the high end stuff any more.

although i will have to have the tv up really loud.

swings and roundabouts.

chiahaochang
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Post by chiahaochang » Fri May 09, 2003 3:25 pm

I think it was sarcasm, thats his way of saying he doesnt have any speakers at all, or he has them unplugged?
Yeah, I was trying to be funny. Guess I failed.

I actually blew the pair speakers, I plugged in a DC P/S that supplied about 2A more than the speakers could handle (I used the wrong P/S). Turned them on, they made a nice thump, then never made a sound again. I still have them laying around here, dunno why, maybe I figure I can salvage them.

I now have Klispch Promedia 5.1s plugged into an SB Audigy2 and I get no hiss/buzz/whine from them. I need to crank the gain on them to about 60 (I'm guessing it's 60dB gain, max 80) before I hear any noise. I'm sure that's "ear bleed" level. Normally I'm at about 30. A friend of mine has Promedia 2.1s and they seem to perform the same (except for the 3 extra speakers of course).
next comes silencing the actual room. Windows actually do have a propensity for leaking sound (like those excessively loud chirps). There are special noise absorbing curtains for that. Following that, you'll probably want to look into floating a ceiling (if there's a story above you), and perhaps floating a layer of lead or even wonderboard a couple inches out from the drywall.
The room makes a big difference, I started down the whole silent PC path when I removed the old shag carpet from my den and put in laminate flooring. With the shag carpet, the room was fairly dead sonicly. With the laminate flooring, it's very live, a LOT of echo.

In my room even the grilles on the A/C vents even made noise. When air was passing through them, they'd vibrate and create a humming noise. I was going crazy last summer trying to figure out what that noise was. I turned on and off everything electronic in the room trying to figure out what it was. Turned off my PC, monitor, printer, cable modem, cable router, unplugged/shut off all my UPSs, I even went so far as to unplug my cordless phone and turn off the lights!
I know i for one will be wanting a silent TFT monitor in the next few months, so ill be keeping my eyes peeled for anything that crops up or comes recommended.
I actually have a Dell UltraSharp 2000FP (20.1" TFT LCD). I believe it's silent. At least, I can't hear it's noise over anything else.

aphonos
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Post by aphonos » Fri May 09, 2003 4:05 pm

chiahaochang wrote:
I think it was sarcasm, thats his way of saying he doesnt have any speakers at all, or he has them unplugged?
Yeah, I was trying to be funny. Guess I failed.
Nope, you were funny. :) I was just misled by the way you went on to explain about hearing noise our of your speakers--realize now you were speaking of 2 different sets. :oops:
chiahaochang wrote:I actually have a Dell UltraSharp 2000FP (20.1" TFT LCD). I believe it's silent. At least, I can't hear it's noise over anything else.
Wow :shock: 20.1" I have a 17" Dell UltraSharp at work and it is smooth. Can't complain too much though, with two 19" Samsung flat CRTs at home--but they really use a lot of the real estate on my desk. So, I would be digging two of your 20" TFTs.

starsky
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Post by starsky » Sat May 10, 2003 5:52 am

ah.. monitor noise...... yes I solved that problem. 2x LCD screens ;)

hehehehhe works for me.

I am getting more and more displeased with my Sonata Power Supply every day :(

Mr_Smartepants
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Post by Mr_Smartepants » Sat May 10, 2003 6:54 am

starsky wrote:I am getting more and more displeased with my Sonata Power Supply every day :(
You and me both my friend! You and me both. :cry:

pingu666
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Post by pingu666 » Sat May 10, 2003 11:26 am

the speakers are probably mains hum, my cheapy creatives have it too :( so do my uber cheap 5quid speakers. route the wires away from the power plugs helps. i seporated the 2 with a bit of wood which worked quiet well surpriisingly

loply
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Post by loply » Sat May 10, 2003 12:35 pm

I can tell a muted TV is turned on from just about anywhere in my house lol... The static from teh screen or power components or whatever... you can just hear *something*.

Mr_Smartepants
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Post by Mr_Smartepants » Sat May 10, 2003 1:18 pm

loply wrote:I can tell a muted TV is turned on from just about anywhere in my house lol... The static from teh screen or power components or whatever... you can just hear *something*.
It's called the "flyback transformer". I can hear it too. Mine, not yours. :lol:

Actually, in the UK, it's the flyback transformer noise that the "TV License cops" track to tell if you have a TV or not when they come knocking. :lol:

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