g5 dual "chatter"

[coyotehill]

hello:

i have a 1.8 dual g5 with a 002r running 6.4.

i have a horrific low level high frequency chatter coming through my monitors when i am monitoring with my 002r...

not exclusive to pro tools, it occurs even with itunes!

much has been made regarding firewire issues & power supply on the apple forums, but as it does NOT occur when monitoring through the 002r's headphone jack with itunes, recorded audio or with plugs such as absynth, reactor etc i am not sure this is the case.

it is dreadful when monitoring ANY outboard sources such as my motif, roland sampler etc,
even through the 002r headphones

is this a p[roblem that can be solved with cleaning power supply or what???

suggestions on equipment????

it NEVER occured using exact same power source with 2408 & cubase on my old g3....

thanks


coyote

[2224]

hello:

i have a 1.8 dual g5 with a 002r running 6.4.

i have a horrific low level high frequency chatter coming through my monitors when i am monitoring with my 002r...

not exclusive to pro tools, it occurs even with itunes!

much has been made regarding firewire issues & power supply on the apple forums, but as it does NOT occur when monitoring through the 002r's headphone jack with itunes, recorded audio or with plugs such as absynth, reactor etc i am not sure this is the case.

it is dreadful when monitoring ANY outboard sources such as my motif, roland sampler etc,
even through the 002r headphones

is this a p[roblem that can be solved with cleaning power supply or what???

suggestions on equipment????

it NEVER occured using exact same power source with 2408 & cubase on my old g3....

thanks


coyote


sounds like you need a new 002r if you ask me

[coyotehill]

hmmmmm....

not sure about that..

it works fine if nothing external including power amp is plugged in...

did i mention the externals (motif, etc) were plugged directly into unbalanced inputs of the 002r, not my board?

grounding? dirty power?

the chatter is def from g5....

what is it?

anyone?

digi?

[sleepingtiger]

Hey,

I've got a revision A dual 1.8 complete with the problem that you've described. It's common and I've read of many frustrations and possible solutions online such as relplacing the power supply and using the CHUD tools to manage hardware functions inside the machine. From what I gather these solutions are often ineffective but there may be new information. I haven't looked into it since shortly after I purchased my machine in May.

I have no problems with the noise when using balanced connections. I had to do a little reconfiguring in my studio to accomodate having two sets of monitors with independent level control but since doing this all is quiet. It would certainly be wonderful if this problem didn't exsist but unfortunatly... For me, it hasn't been worth it to chase a solution since the workaround is preferable anyway...

Good luck,

[coyotehill]

next step

ok, here's what i have now..

i just bought a furman series II power conditioner, then pulled every single piece of gear
i possess out of the system...

i have only the furman, my 1.8 dual g5 with display, the 002r and:

a) yamaha motif es8 through 1/4' or xlr's

or

b) hafler power amp, d&r board and monitors (alesis)

either way, i cannot rid myself of that sound...

does NOT occur using plugs, recorded audio or itunes monitoring through 002r headphone jack

therefore it is NOT unbalanced or balanced cables, bad speaker cables, any odd peripheral gear etc etc

nothing...

anyone with an idea, please

digi??????????

thank you

coyote

[DJ Insomaniac]

could it be processor noise, or are you using coreaudio instead of the built in soundcard?

[coyotehill]

dj:

i am using core audio....

best yes?


is there any way to turn everything else(audio) off in the g5??

thanks for your time

[FunkNotPunk]

Speaking of noise..........ever since I got my G5, I have a "chatter" as I use lower buffer settings. I have never been able to figure this out. I don't know if it is related to the same problem this guy is having. But it has been loud enough to cause me to get anal and try and fix it yet. But I do need to do something about it at some point soon.

[MrNed]

It's a known about problem with the power supply of dual processor G5s. There's nothing wrong with your 002 or anything like that. You should be able to contact the supplier to have the power supply replaced or, failing that, you should contact Apple and have them sort it out as a warranty replacement.

Ned

[coyotehill]

i have read all the threads about power supply replacement with regard to this problem
but i have never read one that said anything apple did with re: to replacement helped..........

people just keep having it replaced & the problem still exists..

if anyone knows anything contrary to this, please let me know..

i am attempting to work around apple as opposed to wasting my time with apple care..

most of us using pro equipment on a daily basis know more than they do...

my initial problem with a power supply when i bought my machine 6 months ago was never fixed by apple inspite of their keeping it & "repairing" it for a week..

i sent it back to my retailer (mac connection) & they fixed it immerdiately..

THEREFORE, i am attempting to use interference related hardware to solve THEIR problem for them..

more later...

unless someone knows more????????

yes, i agree that it is not 002r related, except for the fact that it happens to use firewire!!!

thanks!!

coyote

[K-Man]

It's a known about problem with the power supply of dual processor G5s. There's nothing wrong with your 002 or anything like that. You should be able to contact the supplier to have the power supply replaced or, failing that, you should contact Apple and have them sort it out as a warranty replacement.

Ned



That's a very sensable answer. Thank you...

I have the same problem with my dual 1.8 G5. I run an 002R on my system. I'm having the worst problems getting rid of that awful noise. And it just keeps getting louder and louder. And now, it's even printing itself into my recordings! So anything I record at home, is useless.

I've spoken with the three Apple repair centers located in my city. A lot of recordings happen here so they're very familiar with other's having the same problem as we are. They say that it's definately the power supply. And Apple hasn't solved the problem yet. They can replace the power supply. But there is no guarantee that it will solve the problem because only one out of five power supply replacements will work properly, ridding you of that awful chatter. One of the service centers also told me to use CHUD tools to temporarily fix my problem. But I've been reluctant to try it.

Good luck all!

[K-Man]

Here's the Apple thread regarding this very topic... Just found it online. I'm going to attempt to try it at home if I currently have enough outlets to share.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86655

[theom]

Using a "rat shack" iso transformer is NOT a real solution. They will degrade your signal.

It seems like a design issue in apple power supply.

Going all balanced will (should) get you around the problem. Also using the standard pro audio technique of "Ground in // Lift out "on all balanced gear will help. That is: cliping the shield connection on the connectors pluged into the Outputs of your balanced gear. The exception to this is some gear using tranformer balanced outputs. In that case you have to check with the manufacturer to see if you need to tie the ground to either the negative signal pin or leave it open.

Check each connection as you go for noise. Start with your monitor system and work backwards.

You should do a search for "star ground" too. It is the best way to connect all you a/c mains.
Basically you want everything sharing the same ground. Like a power conditioner, then if you need more outlets plug some power strips into the power conditioner. Making sure you dont overload the A/c circuit.

If you have your computer and all your outboard stuff on one circuit (outlet) then plug anything else (like a monitor amp) into a different outlet ( on another breaker ) you create a difference in ground potential that will cause wierd intermitant noise in many cases.