Scratching noise a soundcard problem?

[mikehende]

I hooked up an old PII Dell which I hadn't used in 3 years or so and played music through it for a few hours when all of a sudden I started getting a scratching noise intermittently, I am going to change the soundcard but was just wondering if this can be caused by any other pc component or if anyone here has ever had this problem?

[mjc]

Could be the speakers, drivers or some other software interfering...

[mikehende]

It is definitely something pc related.

[pangea33]

It is definitely something pc related.
This comment isn't exactly intuitive to me, because other than speakers themselves, mjc is only talking about things that are PC related. Many things could be responsible for this, and audio drivers are a big suspect many times. What media player are you using? Are you listening to mp3s, wmas, actuals cds, or something else?

If you're listening to audio that was ripped from cds, this can be source file corruption from scratches or something else that the ripping device's error correction couldn't keep up with. If the files were captured from an auxilary audio source, like cassettes, the inputs could have been overloaded to the point of distortion.

If you're using an equalizer in the media player, and boost the signal of any frequency band above 0db, clipping/scratching can be introduced. For best quality sound, I highly recommend choosing the equalizer curve that sounds best for your source material, then move the entire curve down so that nothing exceeds 2db boost. In truth, everything being below 0db is best. You can't boost an audio signal above it's true level without introducing distortion.

Does the problem always happen with the same files, in the same place, or is it truly erratic? If things sound good at the beginning, but get scratchy only after a few hours, this could indicate a problematic component. Are you using powered external speakers? Are you running the signal to a home audio component? Are you using onboard audio, or an add-on sound card? The amplifier built into powered speakers could have problems with distortion that are aggravated by the heat that builds up from driving it too hard, a product of inefficient speakers. Even the oncard signal amplifier that boosts the signal enough for use with headphones can fall prey to this same phenomenon.

Does this problem only happen when you've got the sound cranked up, or at all volume levels? Does the same thing happen when you're using headphones instead of the speakers? Does this only happen when you're running a lot of applications at the same time? Are you listening to cheesy commercial music? I know that always sounds like crap on my system. (J/K)

Seriously, a lot of stuff could be impacting this. Give a little feedback and I'll try to help. Music is my passion, and I hate to see any enthusiast go without.

[mikehende]

The last time I used this old pc years ago I was having the same problem, the problem with it is that the scratching noise does not stay on long enough or happen frequently enough for me to track it down. After a few hours of playing the noise would come on for a few seconds then dissapear and don't happen again so last Saturday it happened only once in 8 hours of music and doesn't happen with any particular files.

Reason why I say it is pc related is becuase it definitely doesn't happen with the same equipment and my main pc so it is something in this old horse that's messing up. I don't see this as a distortion issue because I don't play loud music, my player [OTSDJ] is maybe the most stable music software on the planet but I can't rule out that this may be coming from the software but I highly doubt it as no other OTSDJ member has ever experienced this same problem with that software.

[SufferWell1396]

err, same thing happened to me, maby a bad pair of speakers, i mean, i pluged those things in, and now one port on my Creative Sound Blaster is screwed, it plays sound, but with distortion, idunno if this can help, but im just making sure this isnt a problem that is simple and we make it into a complicated one

[mikehende]

Appreciate the input but I can't see how our problems are similar especially since mine is an "intermittent" problem?:)

[mjc]

The intermittent nature of it, especially if it starts after the machine has been on a while, sound to me, at least, to definitely be sound card related. It sounds (no pun) to be a component of the card getting warm enough to cause problems...this is usually because of a bad solder joint or a bad capacitor.

If it were my sound card, I'd pull it and look for any caps that have too much 'wiggle' to them...and then hit the leads with a soldering iron to redo the joint...but it would just be easier to pull the card and replace it.

I guess since that it is a PII system, it has an ISA sound card?

They are getting hard to find...

[pangea33]

Mike, considering your specs and the relative infrequency, I think this is a resource issue with decoding the files...if I am correct in assuming they're mp3s. I had an HP PII 400mhz as my secondary machine, and basically it was just for audio. I had similar problems VERY infrequently. Once my then girlfriend discovered her enjoyment for AIM and webbrowsing, the problems happened a lot more often. It got to the point where the audio was unlistenable.

I ended up getting an audio card with onboard mp3 decoding. This took the work off the processor, and everything sounded awesome again. I bought a Creative Live 5.1 mp3+ PCI card because I read about the hardware decoding on the box. It may have been about $50-70 back when I got it around 2000-2001. I still have the card in a new machine, and it still sounds awesome. They're probably like $20 now.

I liked the results so much, I immediately bought a Creative Live mp3+ USB card when I got my notebook. Sounds great, has RCA ins/outs, headphone/mic jacks, and spdif connectors. I paid like $39 in 2004, and those are like $20 now too.

You can spend a fortune on audio hardware, but that won't improve the quality of powered computer speakers, or inherently lossy audio formats. I suspect this is WAY more common now, but I was pleased with this brand, and will continue to buy Creative until I cough up loot for a higher tier audio machine.

http://us.creative.com/products/category.asp?category=1&subcategory=206

Regarding other formats, OGG is defn gaining popularity, but I am completely satisfied with 320kbps mp3s made using the Radium or Lame codecs. Granted this is proprietary technology released by the Fraunhofer society, but I think that will hold as much weight as CompuServe's bids for licensing fees to use the .gif image format.

[mikehende]

Like I said in my orinial post, I will swap soundcards but I won't be able to know for a while yet if it works so will come back to this later on, I appreciate all of the inputs and help here guys.

BTW, on the subject of "Creative", that's a name that gets my goat as those bastards charge you tax on their products no matter where you live, I let them have a piece of my mind the last time I bought one of their products and never will again in my lifetime.

[pangea33]

Fair enough. I don't care for Creative too much either, but they were the right choice for my particular requirements and price point.

IMHO, M-Audio (http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.list&ID=pciinterfaces) is boss.

[mikehende]

Never used M-Audio but I hear it's up there among the best, I use EMU on my main music pc.

[mjc]

You hate Creative but love E-mu?

That's funny....

E-MU Systems has a world-wide presence with a European office, warehouse and service center based in Dublin, Ireland. A Pacific Rim office is located in Singapore, and there are distributors located in almost every major country not directly served by the headquarters or branch offices. E-MU Systems is based in Scotts Valley, California on the West Coast of the United States about 50 miles south of San Francisco on the outskirts of Silicon Valley. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Creative Technology Ltd. of Singapore, created as a result of an acquisition in March 1993 of E-MU Systems.

[mikehende]

Never said "I loved EMU":) , only that I have one of their cards which I bought ONLY for it's DSP effects and not for any other soundcard features whatsoever. I also had this talk with EMU when I had found out at that time that they were affiliated with Creative.