Constant crackle on right channel

alvabass · Dec 26, 2008, 03:37 PM

Hi and thank you so much in advance.

I am a long-time user of a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum sound card, and I replaced the original drivers with the Kx ones long ago as well.

I can't remember when this problem started, but it's been a long time since I started noticing a constant crackle on the right channel when recording with any software (Audition, SoundForge...). By reading in the forums, I thought that maybe it was a Mother Board problem (an Intel 765 -I think- with a Pentium IV processor). But a couple of months ago I replaced the MB and now I have an Intel DG31PR AAD97573-205 with a 2,40 gigahertz Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 processor... and still have the same problem.

Needless to say, I keep my Kx drivers up to date. Here's a pic of a wave file created with Adobe Audition. I just hit the "Record" button with no sound source and this is the result:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/alvabass/Kx.jpg

Thank you in advance for your help.

RIV@NVX · Dec 27, 2008, 12:45 AM

Just right channel? Are you sure it isn't hardware issue? Can you try with Creative drivers or boot some Linux LiveCD and try it there?

alvabass · Dec 27, 2008, 01:43 AM

Hmm... since I got rid of the Creative drivers ages ago, I didn't think of trying them again. Fortunately they are still available from the Creative site. Here's the same pic as above, but this time with the factory drivers:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/Creative.jpg

Still crackling, so it seems it's a hardware issue, although after several tests I must say that crackling doesn't occur as often as with Kx drivers, as can be seen on this new picture. Still unacceptable, anyway. The question then is: How can I fix this? Should I replace my sound card or is there another workaround? Thank you so much!

RIV@NVX · Dec 29, 2008, 12:00 PM

Well, replacing your card is an option that will fix it indeed. However, prior to that, you can try to fix your current one. If I were you, I would find an old soundcard and solder Line In jack connector from there in place of broken one on Audigy. It might fix it.

alvabass · Dec 29, 2008, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RIV@NVX

Well, replacing your card is an option that will fix it indeed. However, prior to that, you can try to fix your current one. If I were you, I would find an old soundcard and solder Line In jack connector from there in place of broken one on Audigy. It might fix it.

Is the problem supposed to be in the Line In jack connector? Notice that there's crackling even with nothing plugged in.

And just in case, may I have some recommendations on sound cards with similar front plugging capabilities?

GigaWatt · Dec 29, 2008, 03:38 PM

when you recorded with the sound card, did you record mostly in mono where the mono input was set to the right channel, or in stereo?

also, could you make a more detailed screen shot of one of the spikes in the previous two screen shots... it doesn't matter which driver you use for the screen shot, since the spikes are almost identical in shape in both cases.

alvabass · Dec 29, 2008, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GigaWatt

when you recorded with the sound card, did you record mostly in mono where the mono input was set to the right channel, or in stereo?

I always record in stereo. Just tried a mono wave and the crackle is still there.

But I've just found something! I created a 32-bit (float) wave file on Adobe Audition and NO CRACKLING! Sony Sound Forge is not accepting 32-bit files as a recognizable format, but it has a 24-bit option which also works well. No crackling! (Is there any potential problem working with 24 or 32-bit files aside from disk space?)

That's great, but now I'm even more confused. Is it a hardware problem or not? Should I try going back to the Kx drivers now?

alvabass · Dec 29, 2008, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GigaWatt

also, could you make a more detailed screen shot of one of the spikes in the previous two screen shots... it doesn't matter which driver you use for the screen shot, since the spikes are almost identical in shape in both cases.

Here it is: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...bass/Spike.jpg

BTW, it seems that crackling is now as prominent with the Creative drivers as with the Kx ones. Anyway, hope that 24 or 32-bit recording will be the solution.

GigaWatt · Dec 29, 2008, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alvabass

Here it is: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...bass/Spike.jpg

BTW, it seems that crackling is now as prominent with the Creative drivers as with the Kx ones. Anyway, hope that 24 or 32-bit recording will be the solution.

i saw the pic, this is a common problem with digital monitoring equipment, the spikes are a result of an opamp going into osc mode instead of amp mode, and then turning back in amp mode. since most of the amplifying circuits are built with a negative recursive bridge between the input and output of the opamp, the amp could go into self oscilation just for a while and then turn back to his original state. in digital equipment this effect could sometimes be caused by some sample rates (higher sample rates usually trigger this behaviour, for example 96KHz sample rates). try a different sample rate, for example 44.1KHz, or 48KHz.

there could also be one other thing that could be casusing this kind of behaviour of the opamp, warn out components (usually capacitors). the spikes you see on the picture could be caused by a faulty capacitor releasing it's cahrge through GND, which destabilises the output of the opamp and that is shown (and heard) as a high frequency pitch sound (if the capacitor has a larger uF value) or as a crackle (spike, if the capacitor has a smaller uF value). in this case, i would recommend changing some of the output capacitors of the card, 2 or 3 of them for starters. if the problem still exists, but is less frequent, change them all. the problem should disappear after all of the output capacitors are removed and replaced with new ones.

it could also be a software (driver) issue. your idea of trying different bit depths of recording could also solve the problem... not a bad idea to try this first and then try the other two i have described above...

GigaWatt · Dec 29, 2008, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alvabass

I always record in stereo. Just tried a mono wave and the crackle is still there.

But I've just found something! I created a 32-bit (float) wave file on Adobe Audition and NO CRACKLING! Sony Sound Forge is not accepting 32-bit files as a recognizable format, but it has a 24-bit option which also works well. No crackling! (Is there any potential problem working with 24 or 32-bit files aside from disk space?)

That's great, but now I'm even more confused. Is it a hardware problem or not? Should I try going back to the Kx drivers now?

i'm sorry, i just read your previous post, silly me...

well, there you have it, the bit depth is causing this behavior...

the only problem you might run into is burning your recorded sounds on a CD, since the bit depth of CD recording is 16bit, you would have to convert the recorded sound from 24bit to 16bit before burning... i wouldn't go with converting sample rates on the fly (while burning the CD). this could cause degradation of quality in the burned audio file, or even a chopped up audio file...

well, by the looks of things, it's not a hardware issue, but you could never know, as i described in my previous post, some sample rates and bit depths could trigger this kind of behavior in analogue amplifying circuits... so the best thing that you could do right now is just record in 24bit format and then convert the sample rate back to 16bit when you are done recording. i wouldn't recommend recording in 32bit floating point format...

i'm sure that if the Creative drivers had no problem with that bit depth, the Kx ones would have no problem with it as well, so it's safe to say that you could go back to the Kx drivers now...

Dec 26, 2008, 03:37 PM	#1
alvabass HardwareHeaven Newbie Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 9 Rep Power: 0	Constant crackle on right channel Hi and thank you so much in advance. I am a long-time user of a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum sound card, and I replaced the original drivers with the Kx ones long ago as well. I can't remember when this problem started, but it's been a long time since I started noticing a constant crackle on the right channel when recording with any software (Audition, SoundForge...). By reading in the forums, I thought that maybe it was a Mother Board problem (an Intel 765 -I think- with a Pentium IV processor). But a couple of months ago I replaced the MB and now I have an Intel DG31PR AAD97573-205 with a 2,40 gigahertz Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 processor... and still have the same problem. Needless to say, I keep my Kx drivers up to date. Here's a pic of a wave file created with Adobe Audition. I just hit the "Record" button with no sound source and this is the result: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/alvabass/Kx.jpg Thank you in advance for your help.

Dec 27, 2008, 12:45 AM	#2
RIV@NVX Freedom is a feature. Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Croatia, Rijeka Posts: 4,476 Rep Power: 67 System Specs	Re: Constant crackle on right channel Just right channel? Are you sure it isn't hardware issue? Can you try with Creative drivers or boot some Linux LiveCD and try it there? __________________ -- Vedran

Dec 27, 2008, 01:43 AM	Thread Starter #3
alvabass HardwareHeaven Newbie Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 9 Rep Power: 0	Re: Constant crackle on right channel Hmm... since I got rid of the Creative drivers ages ago, I didn't think of trying them again. Fortunately they are still available from the Creative site. Here's the same pic as above, but this time with the factory drivers: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/Creative.jpg Still crackling, so it seems it's a hardware issue, although after several tests I must say that crackling doesn't occur as often as with Kx drivers, as can be seen on this new picture. Still unacceptable, anyway. The question then is: How can I fix this? Should I replace my sound card or is there another workaround? Thank you so much!

Dec 29, 2008, 12:00 PM	#4
RIV@NVX Freedom is a feature. Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Croatia, Rijeka Posts: 4,476 Rep Power: 67 System Specs	Re: Constant crackle on right channel Well, replacing your card is an option that will fix it indeed. However, prior to that, you can try to fix your current one. If I were you, I would find an old soundcard and solder Line In jack connector from there in place of broken one on Audigy. It might fix it. __________________ -- Vedran

Dec 29, 2008, 03:38 PM	#6
GigaWatt Now In Color :D Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Macedonia, Skopje Posts: 2,116 Rep Power: 79 System Specs	Re: Constant crackle on right channel when you recorded with the sound card, did you record mostly in mono where the mono input was set to the right channel, or in stereo? also, could you make a more detailed screen shot of one of the spikes in the previous two screen shots... it doesn't matter which driver you use for the screen shot, since the spikes are almost identical in shape in both cases. __________________ It's not schisophrenia... it's just a voice in my head... Last edited by GigaWatt; Dec 29, 2008 at 03:47 PM.