so i have the sennheiser hd555s and just a couple of days ago i noticed there is some static-y noise coming through my sound card on the right ear

i plugged the headphones into the motherboard's sound card and played something through it and no static, so i only get it when plugged into my x-fi card

it's not really loud - i can still use shit but it's annoying when nothing's playing and i have the headphones on. now, even when something's playing i try and listen for the sound and it's still there!

wtf?

12/10/2008 2:23:19 PM

My guess is a physical problem with the solder joint for the connector on your z-fi card. Is it loose or wobbly at all?

12/10/2008 4:02:24 PM

yea, it's probably loose inside, especially if you have the X-Fi front bay expansion and are using your headphones through that.

12/10/2008 4:22:05 PM

does it go away if you mute your auxiliary and/or line inputs?

12/10/2008 5:18:34 PM

Quote :

"My guess is a physical problem with the solder joint for the connector on your z-fi card. Is it loose or wobbly at all?"

i'll check later

Quote :

"especially if you have the X-Fi front bay expansion and are using your headphones through that."

nope, just a regular PCI card

Quote :

"does it go away if you mute your auxiliary and/or line inputs?"

nope they're already muted by default and not even if the master volume is muted

12/10/2008 5:51:56 PM

RF interference is also a possibility, but I'm not thinking that's the issue because it's only affecting the right-side channel.

12/10/2008 6:17:12 PM

the card was seated firmly.

i tried jiggling it but it wouldn't budge. any other ideas?

1/16/2009 1:09:57 AM

it's affecting the left-side channel too but VERY faintly

like if i press my shure's into my ear canal and make sure there is no other sound around, i can make it out

but the right side one got so annoying i had to go back to my onboard sound card instead of the x-fi because of it.

could the card have gone bad somehow?

1/19/2009 3:52:52 AM