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jvillas
04-14-2007, 08:45 PM
I would like to know how many folks have there audio systems connected to there computers. Currently, I am not connected but am considering it again. The problem I had previously was a hum that I just could not overcome.During music playback it was mostly inaudible,but not always.the higher the volume the louder the hum.

Has anyone had this problem? If so, How were you able to reduce or eliminate it?

BradJudy
04-14-2007, 09:00 PM
I have a stereo on my computer (two really). There are two main ways to connect them, depending on your stereo and if it has a DAC.

If you stereo is a surround sound receiver or has a two channel DAC, you can take a digital coax or optical signal from the computer. If your computer doesn't have a digital output, there are inexpensive internal and external sound cards that do.

The second, and more common, way is to connection the analog output to an input on your stereo.

If you are having hum problems, there are a couple of possible sources. The most likely one is that your soundcard is picking up on interference from all of electrical noise in a computer, or that your soundcard is of poor design. One solution is a better soundcard, another is an external soundcard, and another is to move to a digital output to an external DAC.

It's also possible there is a ground-loop hum issue. One way to break that is to move to an optical digital output.

muzz
04-14-2007, 09:06 PM
The "Hum" you hear, sounds like a Ground loop........
Do you have cable hooked up by any chance? They are notorius for ground loops

jvillas
04-14-2007, 09:42 PM
Hi muzz, I thought this may be the problem, but the remedies i have tried were to no success. I purchased a device called ground loop isolator, the results were zip.

BradJudy, my connection is the second you describe analog connection. My soundcard is an internal EMU 0404. Using an external DAC might be the way to go. Any recommendations that are of good value? Moving to an external soundcard also has its appeal. Just the idea of of getting your soundcard out of the box and away from all that noise, and electrical interference makes alot of sense.

Thanks muzz and BradJudy for your quick response and assistance.

muzz
04-15-2007, 09:09 AM
I've had my puters hooked up to my old Technics Stereo Receiver(old analog-100WPC) for years, and I've never had a problem like that.
That includes Turtle Beach, some old crappy card, and 4 onboard sound solutions...
Thats at least 5 different computers.
I use the composite analogs from the cards, to the input on the tape monitor.

Still sounds like a grounding problem, maybe I'm wrong....
EDIT: Maybe a broken/intermittent sheild on one of the composite cables, or just a poor connection?

GL

m

jvillas
04-16-2007, 03:06 PM
Yeah muzz,I'm still checking this possibility.I have another amp and preamp I can hook-up.

curtis
04-16-2007, 03:13 PM
Myself, I love the Squeezebox and Sonos solutions.

http://www.slimdevices.com
http://www.sonos.com

tp7539
06-25-2007, 08:49 PM
I'm in the home stretch of setting up my media room in our soon-to-be finished basement. I'm not sure if this is a secret or not (I'm pretty sure the wife has caught on), but pretty much the main reason for doing the basement was to get the best movie/music watching experience I could get for around 10K total. A big portion of that is the new 52" Sharp LCD....which is just sitting in the baby's room at the moment (baby's not quite here yet). Then I have the NAD T773 receiver waiting in the wings. And I will be purchasing shortly 3 Sierra's across the front, and 4 170's for surround. Adding to this mix is a new pc that I've finally finished building. The PC has the core duo 2 processor, nice power supply, graphics card, etc....not top of the line, but real good value. The main piece of the puzzle on this pc is the X Meridian 7.1 sound card..... I've changed out the operational amplifiers on the sound card to help it compete with high end audio equipment.

So long story short, I'm real excited about running my music and videos off this pc. Not to mention the gaming should be quite something. I also plan to buy the xbox 360 hd dvd drive and run that through the pc.......taking advantage of the 7.1 analog outputs (improved by the new op amps) allowing me to watch my movies in stunning 1080p and Dolby TrueHD. I'm going to have fun just surfing the net on a 52" monitor. I can't even imagine that right now....

Sorry for the long winded post. Just excited and passionate about including my new pc in my audio setup. Let me know what you think. Does anyone else have experience with this sound card?