xone22 into audacity - a lot of noise!

[dempsey]

Mac OS 10.6.8

Audacity version: 2.1.2 .dgm download

Hi there,
Problem trying to record DJ mix into Audacity.

I'm going from an Allen & Heath Zone:22 mixer (recording outs at back),
via i-Mic into my laptop and Audacity, with new minijack to minijack cable

Am getting a lot of noise on the recording, not the sort of static people generally describe in the background when having problems recording with mics say. It's a loud sort of rough noise / distortion overlaying the recording on playback. Not something where noise reduction on Audacity would help i'd venture.

I've just dowloaded the new version of Audacity and the problem occurs with this one, as with my old version.

My computer speaker outs work fine otherwise.

I've tried the whole circuit into a friend's laptop/audacity and there was no problem, thus it appears the problem would be with my computer somehow but don't know where to look.

Have the problem going into both USB ports.

Can't think of any other variables to cover. Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

[kozikowski]

the whole circuit into a friend's laptop/audacity

Including the iMic? I'm not an iMic fan. Mine is nestled snugly in a box in the garage.

However, if it worked on another computer, my next thing to go wrong is the USB. Lower End audio devices like the iMic depend for their very life on the 5 volt battery coming down the USB cable from the computer. If there's anything wrong with it at all, the sound can be hissy, buzzy, noisy, low, hummy, distorted, etc. This is the problem that causes The Great Yeti Curse named after the Blue Yeti microphone that refuses to work on many computers For No Good Reason. It also gave us Frying Mosquitoes.

http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/clips/Fr ... itoes3.wav

Listen carefully after I stop talking.

That problem is actually two people doing something wrong at the same time. The computer maker is going all: If I take shortcuts on USB quality, nobody will notice. At the same time the device maker is going all: If I take shortcuts on the USB connection stability, nobody will notice.

Quiet a number of people noticed.

We're on very firm ground here because Flynwill, one of the forum elves, took his USB device apart and "fixed" the circuit so it didn't do that. At the same time I noticed most or all the devices that supported professional and broadcast microphones didn't do that right out of the box because they are required to have good connection stability. They don't work any other way.

So it's noisy when you hit the right combination.

Koz

[dempsey]

Thanks Koz for your detailed reply.

Yes, tried it into friend's computer with i-Mic, which I just got new.

Would this problem with the USB manifest itself 'out the box' both ends, or come with age / gradual deterioration? The i-Mic is new but obvs my Mac OS 10.6.8 bit old now. Bought 5 years ago.

I hear hiss / light buzz on the sample you added, the noise I'm getting is loud and up-front, we're talking CHURNING RUBBLE!

Are you saying there is something in the computer circuitry/internal components/internal connections that is possibly causing the problem? Or could the USB ports themselves be damaged? They look OK...

[Gale Andrews]

So did you receive the noise on your friend's computer?

Can you post an audio sample of the noise?


Gale

[dempsey]

No, as stated above, with i-Mic too but no noise on friend's computer

I've attached a short WAV sample with the very evident noise problem

[cyrano]

Doesn't sound like the usual USB noise...

What Mac is this, exactly?

In case it's a laptop, have there been fluid spills into the keyboard?

Does it also produce this noise when it's on battery?

Was the Xone mixer attached when you tried it on your friend's computer?

[dempsey]

ok so i've got it. thanks for dropping the right clue.

no noise on recording when just on battery. i bought a replacement charger a while back which seems dodgy cos it's become a bit noisy itself. somehow computer picking up on that noise when i'm recording? i have the charger on all the time as battery is old. time for a system upgrade...

[cyrano]

If it is a genuine Apple charger, you could try getting a new one. I haven't tried that myself, as I never had a new one that was noisy. But it's worth trying.

If it's a Chinese one, you're probably better of with a genuine one. Some Chinese chargers aren't safe...

[dempsey]

It looks exactly like an Apple one. Are the Chinese ones copies of Apple with exact or near-to-exact same appearance or are they different?

If it's Apple presumably can just got to Genius bar with it even though it was bought from third party retailer online.

[kozikowski]

just got to Genius bar

I would. Particularly if you have AppleCare or are still in the first year.

Call ahead. Genius Bars in Los Angeles take appointments.

Koz