[dallen]

recently i discovered static coming through my sound system on my computer. i first heard it through headphones, while they were plugged into the 2.1 system, and after trying my logitech 2.1 speaker system i heard it through there as well. i then plugged my headphones straight into the computer and there was no static. im assuming this means the static is caused by the speaker system.

um im assuming my computer specs would be helpful. its a dell dimension 4600. pentium 4 2.4gigahertz. 768 mb ram pc2700. on board sound card, not sure what kind, ill look it up if needed.

the static is not constant. sometimes its there and sometimes its not. and it is not very loud, most noticable when i turn up the volume for the speakers (not the software volume, but the volume knob on the speaker control unit) while typing this post, with my music off and no others sounds, the static seems to have lessened. i do usually have music playing, could this have to do with some kind of over use of my speakers? any ideas or suggestions of fixing this problem would be grealty appreciated. thanks for reading

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you probably have an AC97 onboard sound chip, its pretty standard. check it in device manager to be sure.
check for latest drivers for sound card, update if not already.
it sounds like it is the speakers...are they powered? make sure power cord is firmly seated, and is right amount of juice (6v, 9v, etc.)
cheap PC speakers will often break up at high volumes, so if you pump it up, that might be it...
report back on these, and we can go from there.

[audioboy]

you probably have an AC97 onboard sound chip, its pretty standard. check it in device manager to be sure.
check for latest drivers for sound card, update if not already.
it sounds like it is the speakers...are they powered? make sure power cord is firmly seated, and is right amount of juice (6v, 9v, etc.)
cheap PC speakers will often break up at high volumes, so if you pump it up, that might be it...
report back on these, and we can go from there.

[dallen]

i couldnt find where in the device manager it tells me the sound chip. the speakers are powered, the power cord is seated firmly, and i believe it is the right amount of power. it is the power source that came with the speakers and the same one i used with it before i discovered the static. i wouldnt exaclty call these cheap speakers, but i rarely use them at high volumes. i usually use them at about 1/4 of the max volume.

the static seems to be less today. i hear it a little in the background when i listen to music, but its barely noticeable.

[audioboy]

lets check it this way-
control panel, sound and audio devices. click the audio tab, what is listed as the playback source. also, do you have any other options for sources.
have you done a reboot on the machine lately? that will often solve odd device glitches like this...

[dallen]

playback source is soundmax digital audio and that is the only option. yea i reboot often. thats what i usually try first with computer problems. the static is quite minimal now, to the point that i can tolerate it. but it might come back. i did a windows update, dont know if that couldve affected it. as of this moment i only hear static when i turn the volume knob to almost full. im assuming this is normal and not a concern because it would be a bad idea to use my speakers on almost full volume. mm ill report if the static becomes significant again. thanks for the help

[test]

the same problem just started with my logitech z-2200 speakers. Static noises are comming from the left channel. I tried to plug differents speakers on the left channel, but the noises stays. Dam logitech, I know i should not have trusted those n00bies....

[audioboy]

I have read some bad reviews of logitech stuff. not all, though. if the noise is still there, even on a different set of speakers, it may well be the sound card, not the speakers at all.
first, test the noise in left channel by plugging headphones directly to the PC. if that is clean, the problem could be the speakers. if its crappy sounding, then it could be a bad sound chip. check the drivers, etc. also be wary of the microsoft version of drivers for onboard sound, I have experienced that causing all kinds of problems.

a real sound card may be the solution here. onboards are OK, sometimes, but I have seen many of them have problems. a PCI sound card will always sound better, use less system resources, etc.

another way to check those speakers...if you have a portable CD player, or MP3 player, or even a radio, anything with a headphone out. plug them into that, see how they sound. you may have to crank the headphone volume on the device up to around 6-8 or so, in order to drive the speakers well enuf.

Edited by audioboy, 29 April 2005 - 09:55 PM.

[dallen]

yea, i checked mine and the static is only coming from the left channel for me as well. i tried your test with my mp3 player and the static is still there. its actually still there when the speakers arent plugged into any audio source. im wondering if this is covered by any kind of warranty. ill have to check.. dang i didnt know logitech was so shoddy, i thought they were a reliable quality brand. guess i was wrong.

i think im gonna try getting a pci sound card. any suggestions? im pretty much gonna use it for music so dont need to fancy of one.

Edited by dallen, 30 April 2005 - 06:15 PM.

[audioboy]

noise is there with no sound source...bad speakers! should be able to return them, assuming you havent had them very long.
as mentioned before, I have read some bad reviews of some logitech stuff, but not all. personally I like altec lansing, have used them in many installs, and never had a problem. and they sound pretty good for a cheap set of speakers.

lots of sound card manufacturers, but I figure everybody makes things soundblaster compatible, why not go with soundblaster? even the older live!value cards are fine, I use those in my PC's for general sound playback.

[dallen]

yea i think im gonna get them replaced. i checked logitechs forums and this seems to be a common problem with the z-2200's. i hope logitechs customer service is good. thanks for the help