Humming when connecting my Rane TTM 56S to my computer

[whighzeguy]

I just got that Rane TTM 56S and I'm getting a little humming when I have the RCAs running out of it into my soundcard.
When I had my cheap ass Stanton hooked up I wasn't getting any humming.
I don't have any turntables hooked up so I know turntable grounds aren't causing the problem.
FYI, I only have 1 monitor hooked up and I have a 1/4 running out of one of the master outs into it.
I did notice that under both of the 1/4 inch master outs it says "balanced" so I'm thinking maybe only having 1 monitor hooked up is causing some kind of issue?
Any info is greatly appreciated.

[Quannum Logic]

I just got that Rane TTM 56S and I'm getting a little humming when I have the RCAs running out of it into my soundcard.
When I had my cheap ass Stanton hooked up I wasn't getting any humming.
I don't have any turntables hooked up so I know turntable grounds aren't causing the problem.
FYI, I only have 1 monitor hooked up and I have a 1/4 running out of one of the master outs into it.
I did notice that under both of the 1/4 inch master outs it says "balanced" so I'm thinking maybe only having 1 monitor hooked up is causing some kind of issue?
Any info is greatly appreciated.

Does your sound card have balanced inputs (e.g. 1/4" TRS or XLR)?

[Broken Home]

it has to do with the ground on your computer, I believe

[whighzeguy]

No.
It only has RCA inputs.
Another key piece of info is that my setup is about 60 feet away from the computer so the RCAs have a decent distance they travel before hitting the soundcard.


Does your sound card have balanced inputs (e.g. 1/4" TRS or XLR)?

[5l1mm]

your soundcard has rca inputs?
that was probably a pretty expensive soundcard.
i guess that removes my first question of "is it the onboard sound chipset, or a card)

-are the rca's magnetically shielded?
(one of those cylinders stuck on the wire like playstation remotes, or fancy cable insulation. you would have paid extra for them if they are, so if you dont know, they probly arent)
-try shorter rca's, (like 3 feet or less)if that reduces it then id say mag interference.
-also try turning down the output volume into the card, (even if your not overdriving it could reduce the issue until you figure it out)
-have you tried the unit on another computer(heiders got like 5 of'em, just take it to his house, and go around plugging it into all of them) maybe its a faulty unit

[whighzeguy]

I don't think it's the ground for the computer since the mixer I was using the day before produced no humming whatsoever. Everything was fine until I swapped out my cheap ass Stanton for a nice expensive Rane????

[5l1mm]

I don't think it's the ground for the computer since the mixer I was using the day before produced no humming whatsoever. Everything was fine until I swapped out my cheap ass Stanton for a nice expensive Rane????
computers are usually pretty good about grounding, unless you got it plugged into some shoddy 2 pole outlet or something.
were the long cables on the cheep unit as well?

[Broken Home]

Hey Greg,
Did the power cord on your old mixer have 3 prongs or two?

[john c]

what you need to do is buy a Monster cable that costs $120 yet is virtually the same as the standard connector you are using. the Cognative Dissonance imposed on your system will trick it to thinking the hookup is so elite that it will stop the humming

[Broken Home]

what you need to do is buy a Monster cable that costs $120 yet is virtually the same as the standard connector you are using. the Cognative Dissonance imposed on your system will trick it to thinking the hookup is so elite that it will stop the humming

Yes and also get that $500 CAT5 cable from Denon. Totally essential.

[Quannum Logic]

Greg,

the hum is likely a result of one of 3 possible things

1) you are using RCA's, an unbalanced connection, and probably molded cheap ones at that (while the price of monster-style cables is outrageous, they are 1000% better than molded plastic Radioshack-style RCA's as the cable is shielded, the winding maintains a constant twist to distance ratio, the copper is more pure, they are hand solidered as opposed to wave solidered or crimped, etc.... the best way to reap the benifits of monster-style cables with out paying an arm and a leg is to buy quality cable and ends, and solider them yourself). RCA's should never run further than about 15' otherwise you can encounter all sorts of issues such as signal loss, noise introduction, and Hum. Balanced connectors such as 1/4" TRS and XLR are your only viable option for a 60' run. oh, and ferrite cores (those little things 5|1mm is referring to) do next to nothing to help shield cheap RCA's.

2) your mixer is ungrounded, your computer source is grounded. this can be corrected by taking a peice of copper wire, attaching it to the chassis of your mixer and the other end to something grounded in the house, such as the screw of a power recepticle.

3) your rane mixer is outputting hum on the rca out signal path due to an issue with the mixer itself. take it somewhere else and test it out, also, if your monitors have RCA inputs, test it through them and see if you get a hum still.

try any of those and get back to me.

[whighzeguy]

Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate it.
It was an easy ass fix!
I originally had the mixer plugged into a surge protector and my monitor plugged into the outlet. I plugged the mixer into the outlet and the monitor into the surge and that did the trick.

[5l1mm]

Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate it.
It was an easy ass fix!
I originally had the mixer plugged into a surge protector and my monitor plugged into the outlet. I plugged the mixer into the outlet and the monitor into the surge and that did the trick.
your fired.

[Abduction]

In my experience...hum equals bad ground or the cable has some sort of issue.








(or it's a Pioneer mixer and the booth out levels blow a dead bear...even on the 800)