You've already been systematic by unplugging all the gear except the computer, monitor, mixer, and amp, to rule out other ground-loop possibilities. In your case, the Yamaha MW10 mixer and the Alesis RA15 power amp both provide balanced I/O on TRS-wired jacks, so if you've already got a pair of balanced, TRS-wired cables between the two for left and right channels there's no possibility of a ground loop here. They may not be touch-sensitive, but the motorised faders on the Behringer BCF2000 are a bonus at this price point. As I described in SOS July 2005 ( there are three common ways to break such loops safely (depending on whether or not the gear you're using provides balanced inputs and outputs), and they are: using balanced audio cables using pseudo-balanced audio cables or using a ground-loop eliminating box containing an isolating transformer, such as the ART Cleanbox II, reviewed in SOS August 2005 and typically costing under £35 in the UK or around $50 in the US. The whining noises you hear are due to a ground loop, and you may also notice them changing when you move your mouse, access your hard drive or update your graphic display.Ī ground loop occurs when there's more than one ground path between two pieces of gear, and nowadays is comparatively common when connecting an earthed computer via an audio interface to an earthed mixing desk or power amp. SOS contributor Martin Walker replies: I suspect that you have run into a common problem faced by many musicians who use USB and Firewire peripherals. Devices are chosen for each MIDI input bus using pop-up menus accessed by the arrow button under each channel 'LCD'.Malcolm Furneaux Reason's Hardware Interface is the key to using up to four external hardware controllers to control the devices in the Reason rack. Other stuff in my studio includes some outboard hardware powered by wall-wart PSUs, but I've had these switched off and disconnected and the whine still persists. Apart from this noise, all the audio works fine via the loaded MW10 drivers. To date I have isolated or switched off all other equipment and had only the computer, amp, mixer and LCD monitor powered from one surge-protected domestic plug board going to its own mains power socket in my small bedroom studio, but the noise persists.
My problem is a slight, audibly noticeable (and recordable!), annoying high-pitched 'whine' from both speakers when Reaper is booted up and set ready for recording. I use high-quality cable from amp to speakers, a TRS-wired jack lead between the mixer output and amp, and a good-quality USB cable between my mixer and computer. I have a Core 2 Duo PC, Yamaha MW10 USB mixer, Alesis RA150 power amp and JBL speakers.
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