again with the mbox noise

[Filterthing]

Just wanted to let you all know, after a day of searching through all of the related posts, I cured my mbox noise. Using a Powered (powered being the key) belkin usb hub, I no longer hear static, pops, whirrs, whines and similar noise. This is on my home built digi aproved AMD/Asus winXP system. My mbox was a quiet as a mouse on my gateway p4/intel system, but was almost unusable on my AMD machine. I am glad it is fixed, but can't help wondering why the Gateway machine works but the AMD does not. Is this a power supply issue? The other thing that bothers me is this is not a small problem. Many people posted here with the same issue, yet there is little in the way of support from Digi. I know this is a public forum, but people spoke of emailing and calling digi looking for a fix. I work for a post house for film sound, we spend thousands of dollars on pro tools gear. I seems to me like digi is unwilling to help the little guy unless he drops 25 g's on a HD system. Is it too much to ask for a technical doc for our humble mbox? Anyway, I am done ranting, thanks to all for the invaluble help with my mbox. I thank the forum, not digi.

[lemix]

I'm sooo happy for you Filterthing ,

However, I am using an AMD custom box without any of these problems described.
>Might not be an AMD><INTEL issue, after all. It would be really beneficial for all of us involved, to sort this out anyway once and for all.

happy tooling,
cheers,

[voj57]

I just got my Gateway 675X notebook and installed PTLE 6.1 on it with my MBox and I am getting all the static, whirs, pops, etc. that you speak of on my studio monitors. It is much worse when I actually open ProTools, but I also hear noise whenever the computer is on.

It is interesting that your Gateway was quiet. I was thinking that the problem is just the radio frequency emissions that high-speed processors give off (thus why we have to turn off electronic devices in airplanes during take-off and landing.)

But your solution with a USB hub is interesting. Before I return my Gateway, I would like to learn why the hub idea would work. Please expand on that idea.

Thanks!

Kent Jones

[instro001]

i tried the belkin usb hub which did kill the noise.. but.. i cant playback or record when the buffer is set to 128..

[Calvin]

That sounds a lot like an issue I was having with the 002. I couldn't record a single track at a buffer setting of 128 or below and I knew my computer could handle it. I finaly figured out that it was something to do with my video card. I switched my nvidia 5200 out for the ATI Radeon 9600 and everything has been great since (although I still think the Nvidia card was better for everyday life aplications). Also I have heard of this issue also being fixed by turning off all of your monitor sleep options and turning off screen savers and the like. Hope this helps.

[streets]

so can i get any usb hub to kill the static noise or i have to get one that have a power plug with it...

[instro001]

Going out to Streets and everyone else in this Forum. I found the ultimate solution to neutralize that annoying usb noise.. Purchase a Powered Griffin USB-Audio Hub online.. I tried the Powered Belkin Hub and honestly it did kill the noise, with a major trade off such as excessive drop outs and unreliable playback recording when the buffer size is set to 128.. But in case of the Griffin USB Audio Hub, no problems and the pestering nose is at its grave.. if your skeptical about it type griffin usb audio on your google bar, yahoo search bar. etc etc.. and read about it.. peace -Instro

[tele_player]

The Griffin USB Audio Hub might be great for this, but don't be misled by the name. It doesn't mean it's specially designed to handle audio over USB - it means it works correctly with Mac 'USB Audio' devices, which, despite sounding almost the same, is not the same thing.

[=GF=]

If a powered hub still does not solve the problem it might help to replace your computers power supply for a stronger and more stable one.

When I started adding more hardware to my computer (harddrives, second soundcard, UAD-1 card) I also started getting more and more background noise from the Mbox. Replacing the power supply solved the issue. I also tried a powered hub, that didn't help in my case.

[superpenguin79]

One suggestion that I have found with the MBox is that sometimes when you are using an AMD laptop (under the Digi compatibility list of course) with a power source plugged into the laptop from a wall outlet that the laptop can pick up ground loops and power spikes that will fluctuate the power on the laptops processor. When this happens (seeing as the MBox is a USB/computer powered hardware device it causes your imputs to become somewhat ungrounded as far as I can tell and you'll notice you'll get the humming, crackling..etc.. and if you plug in a microphone (dynamic, condenser..etc.) that you'll sound like a robot talking through because the ground loop seems to be so bad. One fix I found with my Compaq Presario 2100 and the Mbox was to purchase a power conditioner from Furman (about $100 from Musiciansfriend.com) and I have not had this issue since. It seems that it is an issue with dirty power coming from the outlets and that the MBox and other digi related devices need a regulated flow of power in order to work properly. Just something anyone can try if you like, but I found it helps. Goodluck