Macbook humming sound?
Hiya guys have a slight problem with my Macbook. When i plug my Hercules Rmx controller into my Macbook it makes an awful humming noise. Im pretty sure its coming from the RCA - AUX cable which i plug into the back of my controller and then into my speakers.
But when i connect it all up to my Windows laptop every things works fine and there is no humming at all, only when connected to my Macbook?
Has anyone exsperiencend this and have any solutions for it? Many thanks.
Are you using the extension cable for your Macbook charger?
Does it happen when you MAC is running on battery, not plugged in?
This is when the charger is plugged in. I cant test it with out the charger plugged in because my battery is on its way out, so turns off if charger is removed. Why would this be the case guys?
Are you using the long extension cable with your charger, or the small plug?
Chargers are often the culprit and some are worse than others. A ferrite clamp on the cord can help. Also check proximity of the charger to the other chargers and interconnects. Does the sound change when you change the brightness on your screen? And you gotta get a battery, man. What do you do when playing out and the adapter comes unplugged?
This sounds like a ground loop, not noise (thus the questions on the 2 vs 3 prong power supply)
Im using wat looks to be a normal Macbook charger, im pretty much new when it comes to Macbooks!
I will check the brightness thing asap. When you say check to other chargers and interconnects, i only have one charger and when you say interconnects? And im not using it for DJing at the moment just trying to get it set up for future gigs! Many thanks.
And everyone when i unplug my Hercules Rmx controller from the Macbook and hold the usb side and wave it near my Macbook it creates the humming noise, when i take the usb away from my macbook the humming stops. So even when the usb is not plugged in and im just holding the usb near the Macbook theres loads of humming, take it away humming stops, so weird!!
Sorry for the long rant hope you guys understand wat i mean!
The long extension cord has 3 pins and grounds your Macbook, which can cause ground loop interference (noise).
Whereas the small plug has only 2 conducting pins and effectively ground lifts the laptop, preventing it from causing a ground loop.
Case closed it was the charger!! All working now. Thanks to everyone who gave advice
What about the charger? Was it the plug, or a bad charger?
If the 3 pin extension was causing the problem, you can use a standard figure-of-8 lead instead which is 2-pin like the small plug.
Ground lifting your laptop is a somewhat better solution than using a ground loop isolator, which attenuates low frequencies.
