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Crackling/static noise in speakers and headphones.

Tags:
  • PC
  • Speakers
  • Headphones
  • Audio
Last response: in Audio
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August 27, 2014 4:21:12 PM

I'm beginning to notice that there's a somewhat quiet but definite crackling sound in my headphones and speakers, which gets worse if I move my mouse, scroll through pages, or pretty much anything going on in my monitor. It gets much worse if my monitor is displaying anything intensive, like a full screen video or a videogame.

I've tried three pairs of headphones, one set of speakers, with both the front and back jacks on my PC, and I still get this noise.

It MIGHT be related to my (corded) keyboard. I used to have it plugged into the front USB port, next to my audio jack, but I moved it around to the back because it made the headphones buzz. Now that hte keyboard is plugged into the back, I no longer hear the buzz, but I'm still getting quiet static. I've used this same keyboard for a long while without any problems.

Is this a common problem? Is there anything I can change in software that would fix this? Or perhaps I need to clean out my computer tower? Any advice would be appreciated. I want to know what's causing this problem. If it is my keyboard, I'd like to know why it's an issue (something wrong with my motherboard maybe)?

I do not have a separate soundcard.

More about : crackling static noise speakers headphones

August 27, 2014 4:26:25 PM

It's a bad audio source from the motherboard. I have the exact same problem with my pc. The only thing that can fix this is a new sound card or dac.
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August 27, 2014 4:51:29 PM

Okay, that answers my question. I'm fine if it can't be fixed, it's negligible. The motherboard has given me problems for a good while and I'm not surprised.
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August 27, 2014 4:55:57 PM

Mind if I ask which motherboard you have?

I have an Asus A55 BM-E which hasn't given me any problems besides the crackling and distortion from the audio port.
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September 12, 2014 10:09:25 PM

Sorry for the late answer. I custom built my PC awhile back and I couldn't use software to check my motherboard. Kept forgetting to check the splash screen on start up.

It's an Asrock A55M.

It's had a weird hardware conflict with two plug and play pieces, including an xbox controller and a Razor Deathstalker keyboard. It's hit or miss with the controller, but the keyboard would prevent startup from moving past the splash screen, which replaced the BIOS startup screen.

I could have looked into it (thinking on it, I never tried pressing F1 to see if it was waiting for input, I already replaced the keyboard [entirely because I spilled some syrup on it and the keys are now sticky]) but I never had the willpower.
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