Very noisy signal from laptop headphone output

[rpilon]

Hi

New to the group and thanks for allowing me in.
Also, apologies if this topic has been covered before but I really didn't find anything in my searches.
I've been using my DP-24SD for a couple of years now and absolutely love it.
I am however a bit old school and up until now, hesitated to dive into the VST world. But... low and behold.... I'm now using SSD5 drums along wirh my basic Alsesis drum kit. (after a LOT of setup time and cursing). I'm getting the signal from my laptop to the DP24 using a "mini stereo male to (2) 1/4" males" cable. It does the trick but my God it's noisy. I therefore went out and bought a simple Soundblaster USB interface which also has a mini stereo headphone output but the problem is still there. Just curious as to how other users get that kind of signal over to the Tascam strongly and cleanly ?

Cheers and thanking you in advance.

R.

 

[shredd]

TL-DR…& I’mma too stewpyd to interpret it anyway…

But I will mention that the DP-24/32’s have notoriously noisy h/phone amps. You literally havtea gain-stage it to be listenable.
Most headphone outlets are.

And I’mma willing to bet the output (line OR h/phone) on yr puter sending its’ output to the DP is as noisy as a politician is sleazy.

 

[rpilon]

Hi shredd

Well I have no sign whatsoever of any Tascam generated noises so long as I'm using a mic to record or plugging instruments directly in the Tascam. It's only when I use a VST on my laptop. And yes, that tiny 1/8 stereo jack in my laptop is likely connected to a cheap, motherboard integrated sound card and THAT's likely the culprit but... TBD
I still can't help but think that there's a ton of people out there who have run into this issue.
Based on some additional research, I see a one common cause for other users out there as being ground loop issue. Those specific users however use desktop computers and eliminated the ground loop by either getting rid of the onboard switching power supply and powering their computer with a quiet, non-switching lab DC power supply or... merely snipping off the computer supply's ground pin (going into the wall outlet). I have a laptop so that's not the problem. (and I wouldn't snip off any ground pin FGS....) I WILL find the culprit and solution but I hate doing all this when I know full well this has been fixed before by someone out there...

Cheers !

 

[-mjk-]

Just curious as to how other users get that kind of signal over to the Tascam strongly and cleanly ?

Most people do the VST work in the DAW and then export/import the resulting files to the other device, in this case that being the DP-24.

 

[rpilon]

I had not considered that. I do already use a licensed copy of Reaper but up until now, I've done everything on the Tascam. I only use Reaper for two VSTs. Should I not find the culprit noise source I will have to bite the bullet and do as you suggest. (I am however a bit of a ''dog on a bone'' guy when it comes finding answers so I'll keep looking for now). Thanks again !

 

[-mjk-]

There is a way to get the audio out of the laptop and into the DP-24 in a way that is better than using the headphone jack. That "better" is only relative, however. The solution stated below will absolutely be both more expensive and technologically inferior to simply doing the VST work in the DAW and keeping the entire workflow in the digital domain. But it will work just fine.

A monitor controller with a USB interface would take the clean computer audio and present it on the monitor back panel as output jacks that could be used to input the audio to the DP-24. Again, more costly and cleaner than the headphone jack route, but also would involve D/A and A/D conversion in the process.

Of course, it doesn't have to be a monitor controller - it can be a standard USB audio interface. However, monitor controllers are very useful devices and do a lot more for production workflow than a simple interface can. Since you're using a DP-24, the monitor controller makes more sense as it would be used every session instead of just when you wanted to to do VST work, and with the mono/mute/dim buttons, cue functions, and ability to handle multiple devices and monitors makes it invaluable (IMO) for a modern studio environment. I own and use the device I linked to.

 

[rpilon]

I will look into that !
Thanking you again, sir !

 

[shredd]

I’m updating my earlier drunken rant: it’s not my headphone amp on my DP that is so noisy; I have the line outputs run to stereo channel on my board for monitoring, and that’s the one that, if the output control is over 10, carries unbearable noise.
I mentioned gain staging, because that’s sort of what I’m doing: keeping the DP’s output level low, and boosting it at the board channel and output stages…

Aaaaand - I unquestionably retain my title as Village Idiot!

 

[Phil Tipping]

If you want to stick with live audio from your laptop's line/headphone out socket, a DI box may help. I found a passive stereo DI box worked a treat for eliminating noise when connecting a laptop to the line input on some powered speakers. This should word fine with the 1/4" inputs on the DP. Look for one with a ground-lift switch to give you more options.

Modern computers are a blessing and a curse imo My main system still uses a WinXP desktop with an added Terratec digital soundcard. This gives fibre-optic in & out for 8-channel ADAT or 2-channel S/PDIF, which completely eliminates ground loop problems.

To transfer to/from the DP machine, I use import/export with wave files, as MJ mentioned. This is fine if you don't need live transfers. You may be able to configure PC-based sound sources to create wave files directly, which you could then import to the Tascam... a bit tedious, but it's another option to explore. Or maybe it's easier using MJ's DAW suggestion?

 

[rpilon]

Thanks Phil. Lucky you with your optic-fiber setup.
I'm trying one last thing in my laptop sound Settings and if that fails (and it's likely to), I think I'll go the MIDI interface route. Wish me luck and thanks again.

 

[Phil Tipping]

That was all set up 25 years ago. Still working fine to this day, including software. As the saying goes: "If it ain't broke... "
I'll certainly wish you luck; keep us posted.

 

[shredd]

If you want to stick with live audio from your laptop's line/headphone out socket, a DI box may help. I found a passive stereo DI box worked a treat for eliminating noise when connecting a laptop to the line input on some powered speakers. This should word fine with the 1/4" inputs on the DP. Look for one with a ground-lift switch to give you more options.

I'mma gonna try this with the LineOut's of my DP to the inputs of my board (where I run it to listen to playback...I monitor DP inputs via DP's HeadphoneOut while tracking).