Speakers crackling with power changes

By +Tantawi
in Home Theatre Discussion

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Grand Master

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Hi,

I just purchased this speakers set: Logitech X-530 5.1 Speakers, and connected it to my PC fine (X-Fi XtremeMusic).

It works beautifully, but the only problem I have that drives me insane is the occasional crackling "bombs", it happens clearly every time someone turns a light on/off in the house, or even the TV or washer machine, and also it happens occasionally but lighter.

The problems keep happening even if I shutdown the PC and disconnected all audio cables from sound card, so I think it's pretty power related. I've connected the speakers to a voltage regulator unit but it didn't help at all. The strange thing is that my previous cheap no-name speakers didn't have that problem.

What do you think? a surge protector can help? noise filter? new house? :D Can you share your experience?

Thank you :)

Grand Master

uniacidz

Posted
Posted

My place, my digital set top box, tv etc is affected by light switches as well. Funnily enough, my big amp and speakers are not so much. Kinda just goes quiet a second or two when a light switch is turned on or off.

My father was a electrician and he stated that its the wiring in the apartment and some electrical equipment is more susceptable then others.

My computer in computer room has a UPS (universal power supply) which is great for brownouts(small surges or dropouts) and blackouts.

Since these regulate the power and also have surge protection, and battery backup, might be something you are after.

I cannot guarantee that it will work for you, but i have lil drop outs and my UPS quickly kicks in and protects my modem, and computers, monitors and speakers and have no issues with crackling in the computer room.

I guess you could pick one up and test it, and if you do, make sure the place you buy it has a great return policy.

Sorry i havent been able to help further but just telling you my experiences with my gear.

Grand Master

+Tantawi Subscriber²

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Jasur, I appreciate your informative reply.

I already have a UPS, but it can't take my speakers plug, like this:

post-49195-1169893489.jpg

It only takes those three pins computer plugs, like this:

post-49195-1169893495.jpg

Do you think there's a converter to allow me to connect the speakers to it? that would be worth the try I think! I searched locally before but couldn't find it (didn't check RadioShack yet though).

To add, I have tried connecting the speakers to every power socket in the house, and all produce the same effect when turning light off/on.

Thanks.

Neowinian

mattj1989

Posted
Posted

I have the 2.1 model of those speakers, it does the same thing when the Air-Conditioner or Washing Machine is on.

Also my Pioneer Amplifier does as described above, has a short cut-out (that is just the great power protection inside most amplifiers)

It is just basically us being electricity ######, a controlled UPS would probably fix your problem (as described above)

BTW I am new here, so Hi everyone.

Grand Master

+Tantawi Subscriber²

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Welcome HybridShadow, It's an honor to have your first post in my thread, you'll enjoy Neowin SO MUCH :)

tiagosilva29, thanks for your feedback, me too guess it can be done manually, but I don't want to take the risk of damaging the speakers/UPS if I did it wrong, also can't find any tutorial for that.

Waiting someone with the magical solution :)

Neowinian

mattj1989

Posted
Posted
Welcome HybridShadow, It's an honor to have your first post in my thread, you'll enjoy Neowin SO MUCH :)

[OFFTOPIC] Thank you, it is great to have a nice welcome, so far I am enjoying it. [/OFFTOPIC]

I had a look on eBay for noise filters, but I don't know much about them and I couldn't find anything that would of been any help.

Grand Master

+Tantawi Subscriber²

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Thanks for your research, Hybird :)

After some more research, I found this: Belkin Power Port Plus? UPS Adapter, which allows connecting any type of plugs to the standard UPS plug type. I ordered one that should arrive within few days, and this will allow me to connect the speakers to the UPS and see if the problem goes away, if not, then I didn't lose anything as I needed such an adapte(Y)Y).

Thanks for help everyone.

Grand Master

uniacidz

Posted
Posted
Jasur, I appreciate your informative reply.

I already have a UPS, but it can't take my speakers plug, like this:

post-49195-1169893489.jpg

It only takes those three pins computer plugs, like this:

post-49195-1169893495.jpg

Do you think there's a converter to allow me to connect the speakers to it? that would be worth the try I think! I searched locally before but couldn't find it (didn't check RadioShack yet though).

To add, I have tried connecting the speakers to every power socket in the house, and all produce the same effect when turning light off/on.

Thanks.

My UPS has normal power connections. The type you use to go into a wall socket.

Well, with ya purchase, i hope it does solve the ieeues you have been having.

Worst comes to worst, just disconnect the power from the fuse box :p

Let us know how it goes for you.

Grand Master

+Tantawi Subscriber²

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I really need to find one of those in my country.

Are multifunction printers, speakers and routers all suitable for a surge-only C13?

I'm aware that printers are, but I'm not sure about the rest of the devices.

I'm not sure, but I guess as stated on their website it'll take care of that:

??Ideal for Protecting: b>

Zip? Drives

Jaz? Drives

External Hard Drives

Printers

Scanners

Any Peripherals Requiring Standard Plug Power Ports

If you can't find it in Portugal, you can order it here: http://www.stuff-uk.net/?s=ST-F6C104UKPP-A, they ship internatonally.

Thanks Jasur, I'll keep you updated when it arrives (I ordered it from the site above).

Grand Master

+Tantawi Subscriber²

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You have a point here, this image shows it clearly: http://images.belkin.com/F6C104uPP/FUL1_F6C104uPP.jpg

Anyway, there's still a chance it can take it, and I already contacted their sales department and will update you when I receive a reply.

Grand Master

+Tantawi Subscriber²

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It seems it's not compatible as I received this message regarding my order:

We confirm that we have cancelled the above order. We cannot ship this item to Egypt.

We have not debited your card as requested.

Oh well :pinch:

Experienced

Googintosh

Posted
Posted

I had this problem. The cause could vary and power line filters or a UPS won't necessarily help.

If you have a multimeter test your outlets. The monkey [electrician] who installed them may have incorrectly inversed the hot wire and neutral -- that's what I found in my residence.

Also, if you have fluorescent lighting that could be the culprit, and again a filter won't necessarily help. Specifically an older system of fluorescent lighting. They use a high voltage system to make the gas glow. With the higher voltages and weird wave shapes (not a clean sine wave), they generate a lot of harmonics at higher frequencies. Furthermore, the wires in the fluorescent lighting going from the transformer to the bulbs are acting as antennas, while your amplifier/speakers are acting a receiver and the lighting fixture as a transmitter. Everything time they get turned on or off, there is going to be a strange looking waveform, harmonics will be generated and you'll hear that annoying crackle or pop noise. The only fix for this particular problem is to upgrade the fluorescent lighting to the latest technology.

There's a slew of possibilities, those are the two I can think of off the top of my head because I had issues with both. Try to single out the cause before you start dumping money on filters or a new UPS, or least make sure you can return the item if it does not remedy the noise. And good luck, I know how annoying speaker noise can be.

Grand Master

+Tantawi Subscriber²

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Googintosh, Thanks very much for your very useful post.

I can assure you that it's my house wiring, as I know that who did them is a monkey!! What I'm trying here is to find any possible workaround. And yes, we have an old system of fluorescent lighting too.

I think I'll consult a professional to examine and suggest upgrades to the electricity system in our house.

Thanks again for your help.

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