ZED10FX High Pitched Noise or Hiss with USB connection

[Mike]

I have a ZED10FX mixer that I use for Zoom calls with a guitar, a mic and a backing track. I use the USB out from the ZED to the computer, and choose that USB input as the “microphone” in Zoom. The problem I’ve been having is that (only) when the ZED gets connected from the USB to a computer, there’s a high pitch noise or hiss that comes out through the mains, the aux and the headphone out of the mixer.

To troubleshoot, I’ve tried different USB cables, and even a different computer (one Windows 10, and one windows 7) and the noise remains. I also tried different USB ports, and even a powered USB hub on one of the machines. Cannot figure out how to get rid of the high pitch noise. You can hear it in the attached files.

The Windows 10 machine is the main one, the one I use for Zoom. I use the Windows 7 laptop to play band in a box tracks into the mixer. When I was troubleshooting, when I connect the USB to the laptop, the noise gets louder as the volume on the mixer is increased. However, when the USB is connected to the Windows 10 machine, the noise is present with the volume all the way down, and it doesn’t get louder when you turn the volume up.

The other thing I notice is that when I change the sample rate and bit depth setting in the windows device settings area (screenshot attached), the noise changes, some settings are louder than others.

I started doing some searches and came across others who experience the same issue as me with the USB. My volume in the windows recording devices settings for the mixer doesn’t have any effect on the noise as a few mentioned in the following threads. Now I’m really at a loss as to what the cause could be, but it doesn’t seem to be isolated to my unit based on the following posts:

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/1005411-allen-amp-heath-zed-10-noise-help.html

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/1201602-anybody-elses-zed10fx-have-noisy-usb-bus.html

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/low-end-theory/575392-amp-h-zed-10-fx-usb-noise-garageband.html

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/low-end-theory/516574-usb-hiss-disturbing-my-new-zed10.html

I also have a support ticket open with american music and sound tech support on the issue. Has anyone obtained a fix for this noise issue?

Attachments:

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[volounteer]

I did not hear any high pitched noise nor hiss on your mp3 sample.

AH and usb has noise issues but not like you described.
Win10 has a boatload of issues that causes problems.
But you said increasing gain in Z10 increased the noise which does point to it being involved somehow.
Or did you mean mixer in the PC increased the noise as you changed that??

Those gearslutz links took me somewhere else and did not show anything useful.

[Mike]

How could you not hear the noise? It’s very obvious, maybe you don’t have your speakers turned up..

The noise only got louder when I connected the ZED to the laptop and increased the volume on the ZED. For some reason, the noise does not get louder when connected to the Win 10 desktop machine.

The gearslutz forum posts describe exactly the same issue – noise or hiss with the USB connection. What do you mean they took you somewhere else? Yes it’s a different forum.

Here’s another MP3 file of the noise.. This was from a past recording. I haven’t actually tried to capture the noise via the USB in the computer. The noise on these MP3s came from the main outs into a video camera.

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[volounteer]

@Mike

My speakers were as loud as I care to listen to them.
I heard some ‘music’ and some clicking like a drum or metronome but nothing as OP describe.

gearslutz no longer works with that bizarre new layout along with the name change.

The new sample you posted had a low level whine at the beginning that disappeared when the music started.
While it may be coming over on the usb I do not think this noise is due to the usb issues others have.

Are you sure it is not your playing at excessive levels whilst your PC & software also has a low SNR that is causing your problem?
Else I would blame win10 until shown proof that it is something else.

[Mike]

no my levels are not excessive at all; as others have stated in the other forum, the noise is heard even with all levels down, and nothing plugged into the mixer except for the USB.

I don’t know why you can’t see my linked posts to the gearslutz forum, they work just fine for me.

My next step is to remove the ZED from the room that it’s in and place it in a different room, connect a laptop to the USB, and some headphones and see if it’s still there.

[Mike]

I’ve just discovered that the noise is not transmitted into the computer via the USB. I just did a test recording with the USB as the source and there is no noise whatsoever. So it seems while we can hear it coming out the speakers, headphones, etc., the person on the other end of the Zoom call will not be hearing it. Nevertheless, it’s still quite annoying and I’d like to be rid of it if possible.

[volounteer]

@Mike

I can see the gearcrap pages but they are laid out so it takes too much work to actually see what is useful and scroll past those humongous images and then have poorly laid out text then finally get to a tiny message then have to repeat scrolling to find the next snippet. gearslutz used to be decent but this new stuff is painful to look at.

Well if it is not coming in via usb then is the Z10 using ESP? — or could it be the fault of windoze10 garbageband and zoom?

[Mike C]

Well I can hear it plain as day on my speakers and in headphones, you do only have audio on one channel though.
It sounds like processor RF noise bleeding in and or switching power supply noise.

If your using a lap top try it running on battery power, completely unplug the power supply.

Are you also connecting the headphone jack to the mixer or is it just a USB connection
between the computer and the mixer?

[Mike]

Hi Mike C (funny, those are my initials too!)
During troubleshooting, when I did test with the laptop, the laptop was running on battery actually.

I connect the headphones to the headphone jack n the mixer and can hear the noise. If I unplug the USB, the noise stops everywhere. I also hear the noise through the main XLR outs, as well as the Aux out, which I use for a monitor mix for the musician giving the lesson.

The audio samples I provided were panned left (track) and right (guitar) from a previous recording. That audio was captured to a video camera via the mixer’s main outs. The strange thing about all of this is that the noise is tied to the USB connection, however the noise isn’t transmitted through the USB connection into the computer. I’m baffled and it seems most others are that reported this issue are as well.

[Mike C]

So there are no analog connections between the computer and the mixer?

Just to double check is it a ZED10 or a ZEDi10 that you have.

I have a ZED10 and have had no noise issues when using it as a USB audio interface.

Do you have the ST2 or the playback level turned up on the mixer, those control the
incoming level from the computer.
In the computer what do you have selected for the audio output destination.

There have been noise issues with some of the digital mixers and the USB interface,
though the times I have used the USB B on my QU I have not had issues.

I have set up a few of the larger ZED’s that use the USB for a live stream or recording
feed to a computer.

[Mike]

The only connection from the mixer and the main computer is the USB. As noted, the noise is still present if all inputs are disconnected and it’s only the mixer and the USB.

I use the laptop to play tracks, and the audio output from the laptop is going into ST2.

It’s a ZED10FX model.

So yes, ST2 is turned up because that’s the input from the laptop. I’m not sure what the “playback level” is as I don’t think I use that?

In the main Zoom computer, the “speaker” I use for Zoom is a connected HDTV. For regular computer usage, I have a pair of powered speakers.

[Mike C]

For the sake of testing if you turn up and the down the ST2 level does the noise
change with those level changes?

[Mike]

ST2 input level control has no effect on the noise.

The noise does not present itself until I activate the ZED as an input device, i.e., as soon as I open the Sound Settings window and choose the ZED, then the noise kicks in. If I change the input device to something else, the noise stops.

[Mike C]

Just to check it off the list have you tried another USB cable?

If the noise is coming from the computer via the USB input it’s strange
the ST level does not change the level of the noise.
That kind of points to physical USB connection it self between the
computer and mixer, but yet you can get rid of the noise by sending the
audio out to another output.

What happens if you use the analog headphone output as the audio input to the
mixer?

[Mike]

Yes, did try several USB cables.

I’m not understanding your question about the headphone output; can you explain a bit? You mean output audio from the computer into the mixer? If so, which input on the mixer? And why? Because I’m using the mixer to send audio, not to receive it.

[Author]

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