Home computer sound corruption issue

[BloodFetish]

Hey all. I've had a long-standing problem I'd finally like to deal with on my home PC. Whenever I scroll an internet page, especially a mostly white page, I get a distinct and very annoying sound in my headphones or speakers. Similarly if I play a FPS and look from the dark ground to a light sky, or any other change in contrast for that matter, I get the same sound.

Good quality hardware all around. The sound card is an Asus Xonar Essence STX card in the furthest slot away from the video card. Quality Gigabyte board, quality Corsair HX750 power supply. I'm using the SPDIF optical output to my speaker system.

I used to think my video card was generating a lot of EMI, however I recently upgraded the card and it made no difference to the problem.

My chief suspect now is a power issue. Since the Xonar has a dedicated power cable I'm thinking it's getting a noisy power feed. Since the power supply is modular I moved the cables powering the video card to different ports and OMG sweet baby Jesus the annoying sounds stopped....for a day. But now it's back.

Has anyone else had similar issues and was able to fix?

[GoinAllTheWay]

I had the exact same issue with the same card. I bought one after the fact for my system and after about 5 months, started getting really bad buzzing from the speakers. I figured it was a bad card so I bought a new one. Fixed the problem for a bit but came back.

Bought a new one after that (different manufacturer) and never had the problem since. Those Xonar cards are junk IMO.

From what I can remember, that Xonar card just never got seated down properly into my MOBO despite numerous attempts to do so. It always seemed loose.

[Rathji]

My bosses PC speakers buzz whenever a train moves down the tracks between 9th and 10th downtown.

So my suggestion is check for trains...

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Rathji

So my suggestion is check for trains...

They truly are the scourge of our fine city. Snaking their way through the city during rush hour, AND lunch breaks both there and back. And now speakers!

When will we stand up against this menace?

[BloodFetish]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

I had the exact same issue with the same card. I bought one after the fact for my system and after about 5 months, started getting really bad buzzing from the speakers. I figured it was a bad card so I bought a new one. Fixed the problem for a bit but came back.

Bought a new one after that (different manufacturer) and never had the problem since. Those Xonar cards are junk IMO.

From what I can remember, that Xonar card just never got seated down properly into my MOBO despite numerous attempts to do so. It always seemed loose.

Yet the Xonar cards are consistently rated very highly everywhere I check. Did your last replacement have a dedicated power input like the Xonar does?

One thing I could try is to isolate the Xonar's power cable. Currently it's run alongside all others behind the motherboard and could be picking up a lot of signal noise there.

Another problem I've been reading about is "ground looping", and the simple fix in a lot of people cases is to eliminate multiple grounds in a circuit by making sure all interconnected devices are powered by the same outlet. So maybe my speaker system is not sharing the same ground as the computer?

I'm determined to fix this!

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by BloodFetish

Yet the Xonar cards are consistently rated very highly everywhere I check. Did your last replacement have a dedicated power input like the Xonar does?

No. I forget what I bought to replace it now but I don't recall a powerline.

And honestly, I used to be a pretty big soundcard buff. But these days, even onboard sound is pretty damn good. The noticeable difference between a dedicated card and onboard is pretty much gone.

I do admire your determination to fix it though, best of luck! Drop a line when it's all said and done, curious as to how this turns out.

[FlameOn]

Interference in the cables or ground looping as BloodFetish mentioned. If it's interference a choke on the sound cable might help.

[BloodFetish]

Whelp, I think the problem was in software. I ended up going into the playback mixer and easing the sliders from 100% down to 80%. My sound issues are gone and haven't come back. Can't say I understand why 100% picks up sound from monitor redraws and 80% does not, though. Sympathetic frequency?

The good news is I can turn every downstream volume control up and still get plenty of volume.