Weird noises? Try a ground isolator for your audio system

[naquaada]

I had already on my Leopard system a humming every time I scrolled in the browser or moved a window. On my Core i7 Mini-ITX system I had this problem too, but not so strong. But on my Xeon Mini-ITX system with a Radeon HD4870 it was extreme - every time scrolling in the browser I had a loud humming, it was inacceptable. But it was no problem of OS X, I also had it in Windows.

 

So I searched a bit about this problem - it may appear due to interferences with the power supply or other devices in the area. In a Mini-ITX system the power supply and the graphics card with its fan (which is not always active) are rather close to the audio chip and the audio output. So I bought a Ground Isolator Monacor FGA-30M for about 15 Euro. It has a 3,5 mm jack to RCA plugs and a cable with about 115 cm length. The device uses a small passive transformator with 1:1 ratio and is simply plugged like a normal cable. The result: No more humming, even if I turn the volume of my mixer and my amplifier very loud.

 

It is really a worthy investion to improve audio quality, I presume it also would be useful for vinyl. There are different version of Monacor Ground Isolators with different connectors.

 

Greets, naquaada.