Crackling Sound

Page 1 of 1 [ 9 posts ]

hartzofspace
Supporting Member

Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Gender: Female
Posts: 7,138
Location: On the Road Less Traveled

19 Jul 2011, 4:36 pm

I have a Dell INSPIRON D530 computer which I purchased in 2009. Lately, I have been noticing an annoying crackling sound when I listen to music or watch movies. I thought it was my earphones, but using a different pair netted the same results. I am not very hardware savvy, so I was wondering what I should do to find out what the problem is? Any help would be appreciated.

_________________
Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born.
-- Dr. Dale Turner

orchidee
Blue Jay

Joined: 31 May 2011
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 77

19 Jul 2011, 5:48 pm

Is it an issue with your CD drive on your computer at all?

This might be really "out there" because I have never heard of this suggestion before and I am not tech-savvy in the slightest, but when I listen to things on headphones and do things that make a lot of static electricity (like wearing a lot of wooly clothing, petting static-y cats, brushing my hair - mostly in the winter for me), it disrupts the sound and makes it kind of crackle-y like you described. Is it very dry/full of static where you are? This might have something to do with it.

Otherwise, it could be your headphones jack on your computer, though I'm not sure what would make it have a crackling noise.

StevieC
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 30 Dec 2009
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Posts: 649
Location: Cupboard under the Stairs

19 Jul 2011, 6:16 pm

it could be a multitude of things, namely:

the internal volume or gain levels on ur mixer output (Wave out, Master, CD player etc or Software/app) are too high, thus causing the audio to clip

the jack socket is faulty - try a USB or FireWire sound card to remedy this

the TV shows/music is ripped incorrectly - thus it is causing "clipping" to occur (the audio is distorted)

your graphic equalizer may be set too high on each frequency, again causing clipping to occur

What OS and which version are u using?
what apps do u use to play media?

_________________
I'm a PC and Ubuntu was my idea.

My RSS feed:
www.steviecandtheplacetobe.net/rss.xml

hartzofspace
Supporting Member

Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Gender: Female
Posts: 7,138
Location: On the Road Less Traveled

19 Jul 2011, 6:57 pm

StevieC wrote:

I am using Windows 7. and I use VLC to play media.

_________________
Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born.
-- Dr. Dale Turner

Last edited by hartzofspace on 20 Jul 2011, 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

MasterJedi
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 22 Oct 2010
Age: 52
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,160
Location: in an open field west of a white house

19 Jul 2011, 7:24 pm

sounds like it might be an internal wiring issue.

_________________
That is my spot, in an ever changing world, it is a single point of consistency. If my life were expressed as a function on a four dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, that spot, from the moment I first sat on it, would be 0-0-0-0.

Oodain
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 30 Jan 2011
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Posts: 5,022
Location: in my own little tamarillo jungle,

19 Jul 2011, 9:37 pm

can also be faulty software, try updating your software driver,
again some specs might be help.

_________________
//through chaos comes complexity//

the scent of the tamarillo is pungent and powerfull,
woe be to the nose who nears it.

greengeek
Velociraptor

Joined: 18 Jul 2007
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Posts: 434
Location: New York USA

03 Sep 2011, 9:46 pm

I would try it on the internal speaker or speakers and see if the sound clears up, as the headphone jack's contacts might be dirty. Dirty connections can make the sound crackle. I have an old Composite computer monitor with an RCA plug audio in and when ever I adjust the volume control the sound crackles and occasionally drops out as the volume control pot is dirty. I live with it as the only time I use the sound on it is when I plug a DTV converter box into it, as it is basically an old style TV but beige and with no tuners inside.

_________________
Nothing is fool proof only fool resistant

Knifey
Deinonychus

Joined: 19 Aug 2011
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 324
Location: South Australia

05 Sep 2011, 8:26 am

if you plug in usb headphones and the crackle is not there then it is your soundcard or soundcard drivers. If it is there still with usb headphones then it is motherboard/chipset drivers (or a f****d motherboard). enjoy.

also RC7/CRC lube spray stuff does not conduct electricity so feel free to squirt it into your earphone socket and clean it with an ear bud etc. you never know

_________________
Four thousand six hundred and ninety one irradiated haggis? Check.

hartzofspace
Supporting Member

Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Gender: Female
Posts: 7,138
Location: On the Road Less Traveled

05 Sep 2011, 11:53 am

I'll try these ideas, guys. Thanks!

_________________
Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born.
-- Dr. Dale Turner

Page 1 of 1 [ 9 posts ]

Jump to:

Similar Topics
When a Lhasa Apso Howls - You Won’t Believe This Sound! in Random Discussion	31 Dec 1969, 7:00 pm Guest
When a Lhasa Apso Howls - You Won’t Believe This Sound! in Random Discussion	31 Dec 1969, 7:00 pm Guest
When a Lhasa Apso Howls... You Won’t Believe This Sound! in Random Discussion	31 Dec 1969, 7:00 pm Guest
Does this sound like a good time at subway? in Random Discussion	02 Jun 2025, 6:21 pm enz

Crackling Sound Post Reply New Topic

Crackling Sound