Crackling and distorted sound from PC speakers!

Lord_Gardener

MIL pc uses an Asrock K7s41 motherboard. She has just discovered Skype! However, when using speakers (have tried 2 sets) or headphones, the sound - either speech or music - has loads of crackles/distortion as if speakers are straining (changing volume makes no difference). This is the same through both front and rear outputs (lime colour socket). Have tried speakers on alternative devices and they work fine with no distortion/crackles! I'm guessing this is a motherboard/software issue? Have sent a message to ASrock technical help with success yet!!. Any suggestions/guidance would be much appreciated.

An update - just had a reply from Asrock who recommend reinstalling windows to see if that solves the problem!?

Lord_Gardener

Any expertise around re above problem?

vyseyboy

LOL, reinstalling windows. Severe.

Sounds like wireless interference. Any wireless adapters / wireless routers nearby? That normally produces a fizz / crackle type interference.

Also, a much less severe option that might produce results is re-installing the sound driver. Try one of the options here (not sure of your exact model):

http://www.asrock.com/support/download.asp?Model=k7s41

It's the C-Media Driver you are after, once you've selected the motherboard.

mdcdeve

Wouldn't recommend reinstalling windows, have you got any mobile phones nearby ? Have you checked all the connections are properly plugged in, also does this crackling happen only on Skype or is it the same when playing music etc ?

Lord_Gardener

Happens on both music and voice (Skype). Have checked all of the connections and re-installed the audio drivers that came with the motherboard - no change! The only thing near to it is their 'Orange broadband box'!

john_s_2

Have you tried turning off the Orange Box? Play some music and turn it off. If crackling stops then it would sound like the culprit. Turn it back on and if the crackling starts again then it must be the culprit!

I don't think it should be affecting your speakers (if it was working properly) so if this seems to be the case head over to www.orangeproblems.co.uk to see if anyone else is reporting the same problem.

Lord_Gardener

john_s wrote: »

Have you tried turning off the Orange Box? Play some music and turn it off. If crackling stops then it would sound like the culprit. Turn it back on and if the crackling starts again then it must be the culprit!

I don't think it should be affecting your speakers (if it was working properly) so if this seems to be the case head over to www.orangeproblems.co.uk to see if anyone else is reporting the same problem.

Just what I was thinking of doing! FIL has dropped the base unit at our house for me to fix! I've set it up and guess what, no problems with sound! Of course, the Orange Live box is not here!! I'll have a look at the link and see if it is the box causing the problem!!

vyseyboy

All wireless equipment I've had has interfered with my speakers.

The only solution, as far as I can see, is keep the two apart, and use a high quality shielded amp and cables.

john_s_2

I've had my Netgear router next to my speakers for years with no problems. The speakers are Creative and cost a tenner to add to the PC when I ordered it.

As an ex customer of Orange I shouldn't be surprised if their Livebox is the problem. But that was over a year ago so I should be over taking every opportunity to criticise them by now ;-)

As it sounds like the Livebox is indeed the problem then is it possible to store it further away from the PC? You can get a longer cable if necessary (it's a good idea to keep at least one PC wired to the Router as it's less hassle to sort out when the wireless connection or internet drops). And the longer cables cost less than a tenner. Or maybe moving it up on a shelf above the PC will do the trick?

Lord_Gardener

john_s wrote: »

I've had my Netgear router next to my speakers for years with no problems. The speakers are Creative and cost a tenner to add to the PC when I ordered it.

As an ex customer of Orange I shouldn't be surprised if their Livebox is the problem. But that was over a year ago so I should be over taking every opportunity to criticise them by now ;-)

As it sounds like the Livebox is indeed the problem then is it possible to store it further away from the PC? You can get a longer cable if necessary (it's a good idea to keep at least one PC wired to the Router as it's less hassle to sort out when the wireless connection or internet drops). And the longer cables cost less than a tenner. Or maybe moving it up on a shelf above the PC will do the trick?

Yes, it is normally right next to the monitor with one of the speakers behind. It is usually wired to the PC, not wireless. I'll try moving it when I take it back to them at the weekend!

Lord_Gardener

I think that this has been cracked now! Just installed a new Logitech QuickCam communicate STX on DD's machine and got same problem. Uninstalled software and distorted sound went away. Reinstalled using latest software from Logitech site rather than cd received with webcam and got same problem. Hunted through their site and discovered they have a known problem - they say 'This issue may be experienced in combination with certain audio chipset's and the Logitech RightSound feature, also known as AEC'. Just switched off the option and got nice clear sound!!