doc-phil
About ten minutes ago while I was playing guitar on my pc through line 6 Gearbox my left speaker in my pc just started buzzing like crazy.. at first I though I had disabled the noise gate or taken off the hum reducer... but its not that. I closed gearbox and everything else running on my pc and the buzzing remains! What has happened? I haven't fiddled with any settings at all.. could my speaker just be kapeesh?? ???
AlanRatcliffe
Restart your computer - could be something "stuck" in your soundcard driver. Check cables too.
doc-phil
I've restarted and fiddled with all the cables... :-\ It's just an old cheapo 5.1 surround sound system. It does need replacing, and assuming the is something wrong with the speaker, are there any monitors you would suggest I get? Is a subwoofer necessary for recording purposes? Could I maybe just get two decent monitors and salvage my old subwoofer?
RobK
Did the buzzing stop after the restart? If it did, I think I'd agree with Alan - something got "stuck" in the soundcard driver - I've had it happen a few times.
If it still buzzes after the restart, try turning off the volume using the software control on the PC. If it's still buzzing(with PC volume down/mute, but the 5.1 system volume up) then could be a problem with the speaker or the 5.1 system itself - don't know what you have so no idea what it all connects to.
A lot of other things you could do too, to try figure out where the problem is. EG. swap the left and right speakers and see if there's buzzing and which speaker it's coming from. If it's still the left one, it isn't the speaker.
Disconnect the speakers from the PC, see if it buzzes.
Hope those help out with ideas for troubleshooting.
majestikc
Does it just permanently buzz?
If it does then I don't think that would be the speaker doing it (meaning the speaker most likely isn't "blown"), unless they're self powered speakers and then maybe there could be a problem there, with the power supply or amp of the speakers.
Heath
Restarting doesnt always work , specially if the hardware buffers get jammed up , i have found most times , shutdown and yank the power cable is the only way togo , or the sound card is overheating specially if its on board . Doudt the speakers are gone .......
FenderBender
If a speaker buzzes with the volume muted then the speaker is working and simply reproducing whatever is on it's input - lots of noise in this case. Rob K has a good idea. Isolating either the PC or surround system as the culprit would be your next step.
Removing the surround sound system's audio plug from the PC's sound card is essential, as although the PC's output is muted, noise could still be transferred to the surround system. The ungrounded inputs could cause more hum, so I suggest wrapping a piece of tin foil around the plug so that all three contact points are shorted together. Doing this will ensure that the amp's inputs are (hopefully!) grounded. If she still buzzes then the surround system is suspect. If not your hassle is on the PC side.
My money is on the surround system. A common problem with systems where the sub sits on the floor is that plug and socket for the system cable get damaged if someone inadvertently moves or kicks the box. I have kids! ?
doc-phil
Thanks for the tips guys... what I seem to have established is that the speakers are fine.. its something wrong with my toneport gx. Whatever speaker I plug into it begins to produce the buzzing. ☹ That can't be good.. I haven't bumpd/stood on/knocked the toneport so I really don't know what the problem could be.
The speakers aren't parmanently buzzing.. the buzz corresponds in volume to the volum control on my subwoofer. What I find strange however, is that when I mute the sound in windows volume control the buzzing stays. It only goes away when I unplug my speaker from the toneport or turn the big volume dial on my subwoofer to 0.
AlanRatcliffe
In my experience, it's usually a socket that's come loose from the circuit board. A lot of stuff these days has sockets not bolted to the chassis, just soldered on to the board and even just plugging in and out a few dozen times can make the earth lug (which is at the front of the socket) come loose. Resolder it and put a dab of epoxy between the socket and board, which helps stop it from happening again.
FenderBender
+1 Alan
Exactly what I was about to suggest
doc-phil
Ok I'll give that idea a try, wish I could solder myself.. gonna have to wait a bit until I can get somebody to do it for me. But for now I'll take the unit a part and see if anything has come loose.
