reference monitor question

Posted on Oct 07, 2004 11:22 pm
little guy
just a good guesser
Member Since: Oct 04, 2004

this is really wierd.. my studio monitors are picking up a radio frequency and i can hear it.. really low though... how do i stop it

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Keegan
Do U Beleev in D-Flo?
Member
Since: Jun 15, 2004

Oct 08, 2004 10:08 am

This sort of problem can be caused by all kinds of things. It really depends on your specific setup. Also, just because you hear it in your monitors doesn't mean that is the source of the problem, it can be anywhere in your signal path.

Long cables make excellent antennas, any long cable runs in your setup?

little guy
just a good guesser
Member
Since: Oct 04, 2004

Oct 08, 2004 11:26 am

well.. the cable that i'm using is about 6 feet long. i think the problem maybe coming from the fact that i have to run the cable around my viewing monitor for my PC. i'm going to have to find a differnt way around. i've tried different cables also and i get the same result. i was thinking... could the problem possibly be because i am using an unbalanced cable. if so.. should i get a balanced xlr cable. the only thing is if i do i'm going to need to have a 1/4" plug on one end of the cable.

Noize2u
Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002

Oct 10, 2004 03:39 pm

To be honest it could be any combination of things like electrical cables to close to audio cables. The PC itslef could be picking something up as well and introducing it into the output. Does this only happen when playing audio out from the computer? You might try feeding a CD player or something right through the mixer or directly into the moniters via and 1/8" to 1/4" stereo Y adapter.

Keegan
Do U Beleev in D-Flo?
Member
Since: Jun 15, 2004

Oct 11, 2004 10:10 am

To isolate something like this you really need to look at the entire signal path from instrument/mic to monitor. Any piece of gear, and maybe multiple pieces, could be the source.

The fact that you are running an unbalanced cable across a computer monitor is definately suspicious though. Even if that is not the source of the problem I would try to find away to fix that part of your setup anyway.

BTW You can get balanced cables with 1/4" connectors. Do you need a mono TS connector, or is it TRS? I don't know what you are plugging this into, but you can get balanced 1/4" cables.

little guy
just a good guesser
Member
Since: Oct 04, 2004

Oct 11, 2004 10:26 am

well i'm plugging into my mixer's control room outs (left and right). i'm pretty sure that each line (left and right) is a mono connection.

Keegan
Do U Beleev in D-Flo?
Member
Since: Jun 15, 2004

Oct 12, 2004 10:46 am

By mono I meant a 1/4" cable that is not balanced, like an instrument cable. You can have a mono signal coming out of there, but if it is balanced you would use a "stereo" TRS cable.

I looked at the manual for the UB802, and it said the control room outs are unbalanced outputs.

Now, if your monitors are expecting a balanced signal you would need something convert the unbalanced signal to a balanced one.

Or, looking at the manual to the TR8s, you can get a 1/4" to RCA cable and just use the unbalanced input on the monitors.

Does this help?

little guy
just a good guesser
Member
Since: Oct 04, 2004

Oct 12, 2004 01:04 pm

thanks everybody for the help. i called the manufacturer of the monitors. they told me that when they first released the monitors they had problems with the amps picking up radio frequecies. so they're paying for me to send them out to the manufacturer to replace the old amps with brand new ones and that should fix the RF problem. all for freeeeeeeeee!!