Speakers humming

Im not sure if this is the right section and sorry if this has been posted before, im going crazy.

So the problem is that i have an Altec Lansing Speaker set (2 desktop speakers and a sub woofer) and they won't stop humming. when i turn the bass down it makes a buzzing sound. I tried plugging the speakers into different outlets and it still hummed. It started right after i opened a program (eJay 6, makes music and etc.). I restarted the computer hoping it would work and it start right on the Windows XP Pro loading screen. Here are my specs:

Windows XP Pro -2002 SP2
Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.40GHZ
1 GB of RAM
Integrated SoundMAX sound card
i have a bunch of audio codecs if that has anything to do with it.

if you need any more info you can ask, i dont know a ton about computers but i know some.

please help this is really bothering me. thanks

 

do the speakers hum if you try them on a different computer? if so then its the speakers and they either need maintanence and you need new ones or theres a driver problem somewhere.

 

If you don't have another computer to plug the Altec Lansing system into, try a portable CD player like a Discman, or something like that. Preferably a source that you know does not hum.

If the hum disappears, you can be fairly sure that the problem is with your sound card, software, or something else in your computer.

If the hum is much the same with a different source, the problem may be with the Altec Lansing system.

With many systems, you can double-check by unplugging the sound system from any source. (But take care -- a few systems will hum very loudly if no source is connected.) If the hum remains with no source attached to the sound system, it's in the sound system. If the hum disappears, it was in the source.

The hum probably comes from a 60-cycle AC power supply. There's one in your computer; there's another in the sound system. (But there isn't one in your battery-powered Discman, which makes it a good test source.)

Good systems will provide enough filtration to keep the 60Hz hum out of the sound signal/speaker outputs. But that filtration adds to the cost, so it isn't always as good as it should be. Even my Altec Lansing 641 system has more hum than it should, and it was one of their high-end 4.1 computer sound systems.

(And, I'm sorry to say, mcadam88, that I don't think there's any maintenance you can provide to speakers to ease the problem. Physical damage to the speakers can be repaired, and defective components in the electronics that drive them can be replaced, but it's usually not cost-effective to do either.)

 

Ok the only thing that i could test it with was my iPod. I plugged it in and it works flawlessley. One thing i forgot to mention was that when i would turn the T.V. off or walk at a certain spot on my floor (near the computer) the hum would go up a little or down a little, get a little lowder or quieter.

so its not the speakers...bah

 

hmm... lol this is weird.. sounds like your sound card might be getting some interference
what kind of mobo do you have??

 

Not a clue. It came with the computer. I fixed it, for now. I have no clue why this happened; i have headphones with a ear phone plug and a microphone plug that come off of them. all i did was unplug the microphone and the humming stopped.....what the hell is goin on lol.

 

I also have a hum on my altec speakers and I swear it didnt start until I got hooked up on cable modem? Who knows, I just tune it out now.

 

Does the hum also go away when you have the microphone plugged in, but have the input control muted in the Volume Control/mixer? (As a general rule, unused sources should be muted in the Volume Control or whatever you use for a mixer so that those inputs don't pick up stray signals.)

If it does, I'd guess that the microphone circuit is picking up some hum that's being broadcast by something else. If the shielding in the microphone circuit isn't adequate (or isn't properly grounded), that can easily happen -- especially with less-expensive sound equipment.

 

Well i just tried it again with the microphone plugged in and no hum. I'm confused but as long as its gone im happy.