Mac Mini Audio Trouble Options

[JBeat]

I'm a first-time Mac user, and first-time poster on this site. After spending way too many years fighting Windows PC's, I finally made the switch and picked up a $599 Mac Mini w/512MB of RAM. As I've heard many say before, I'll never go back, I'm already a Mac fanatic after two weeks! I love everything about the Mac, especially Garageband, however, I'm getting a buzz when my speakers are plugged into the headphone jack. I've tried several sets of speakers, with the same result. If I keep the volume of the speakers very low, I can't hear the buzz, but I have to max out the Macs volume, and sometimes it's not quite loud enough. It's frustrating because I have a Creative 2.1 system with subwoofer, but I can't cut it loose on my tunes. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks.
JBeat

[Vincent Online]

Sounds like a ground loop. One thing that may help is to make sure that all your gear is plugged into the same powerstrip. If it still hums, you can try using a Ground Lift (A 99 cent 3 to 2 prong power adapter).... also, make sure your audio cable is good.

While the buzz problem can and should be solved, eventually you may want to kick your audio quality up a notch by buying an audio interface. For the money I like the MOTU 828MKII or Traveler. Then you'll have not only higher quality audio, but more ins and outs...

www.MOTU.com

-Vincent

[editbrain]

hard to believe that he is getting ground loops from a set of computer speakers and a headphone jack.
i don't really think this is the problem. what happens if you hook your old computer to the same outlets and use the same speakers? i mean did it buzz when you used your old computer?

if it did not happen when your old computer was plugged in using the same speakers sounds like a power problem, but not a ground loop.

[jannop]

What Editbrain - are you kidding? Sounds exactly like a ground loop problem. He is connecting Mac Mini to a sound system using headphone/line out - the cure are the things Vincent mentioned...

[editbrain]

you have to be kidding me.... if it wasn't making noise before he got the mac mini then why would it be a ground loop now?

i have had four G5's replaced by apple because there power supply's could not pull the load. they tried to contribute it to a ground loop, but that wasn't the problem. it was faulty powersupplies. this is why i am asking if he had the problem before the mac mini. possibly apple is still making crappy power supplies. which would contribute to the noise. it would contribute to noise coming from the speakers because you would hear the power supply buzzing and whining when extra load is put on it.

This post has been edited by editbrain: Fri 4 Feb 2005, 14:39

[JBeat]

Thanks for the response guys. I agree with editbrain, I can't see how it would be a ground loop. Nothing has changed except that I unpugged and removed my Windows tower, and hooked up my Mac Mini. The speakers were left plugged into the same power strip, and I just plugged them into the headphone jack on the back of the mini. I even tried another set of 2-piece powered speakers to see if the 2.1 system was the problem, but I get the same buzz. It was the same with them, I could turn them way down and crank up the Mac's volume, and I didn't hear the buzz, but cranking the speakers gives me the loud buzz. I have AppleCare, but I haven't called them yet, just wondered if anyone else had this trouble.

JBeat

[ourmanflinty]

One thing jbeat....the methodology in music systems is always to keep your source as loud as possible..this means that you have good dynamic range at the outset and it keeps noise as low as possible...with computer speakers this means always always having the mac volume all the way up, itunes up, garegeband up , all of them up and using the creatives volume control to manage the level through the speakers.
See what your results are after that ok..

Um, is it a buzz or a hum?
You know, buzz like when a crt monitor's too near a guitar or a cable ( turn the screen off to check ), hum like er, 50 /60 Hz mains frequency sort of a hmmmmmm not a bzzzzzzz, not a click click brrrr or a squirt squirt cheepp cheep chirrrrrrt or any of those type either

[editbrain]

[QUOTEnot a click click brrrr or a squirt squirt cheepp cheep chirrrrrrt or any of those type eit[/QUOTE]

that is so funny....

but he is right. I have just had the absolute worst luck with apple power supplies being faulty. it took 4 G5's to get one that worked.
guitar cables, monitors can contribute to the hum/bzz. but i think that you are more inclined to have the problem the whole time you have used your computer not just all of a sudden if it were monitor/guitar/or ground loop.

one thing to think about also is that if you are using a heavy plug and it is pulling down on the connector you will get a buzz from the jack. happens in my powerbook if i use a heavy cable and it pulls down on the jack from hanging i get a bzz. also the cdrom on my powerbook makes noise through the headphone out jack sometimes. this is again due to the power distribution of apples computers.

[JBeat]

It's definitely a buzz. The Mac is right next to my LCD monitor, but the buzz doesn't stop when I turn it off. Since it didn't buzz on my PC, and it buzzes with different speakers attached, it has to be originating with the Mac. I've always had sound cards in my PC's, so I never used the headphone jack to run my speakers, I was wondering if that is a common problem when running off of the headphone jack.

JBeat

[ourmanflinty]

an lcd, ah well they don't cause noises so that's not it.

Maybe the screening on the mac is not as good as it could be.
i wonder if the jack out is impedance matching like ibooks etc.

remember, always leave the mac volume up.

Call applecare, or check the apple website support for any discussions on the mac mini if it's common to mini's there'll be others in your boat!