27" iMac i7 system noises/hash out of the analog headphone jack.

Anybody have any info on the cause of this noise?? My 27" iMac i7 emits some sort of system noise out of the ANALOG headphone jack when hooked up to external powered speakers or mixing board. I thought it might be be some sort of grounding issue, since it's only when it's hooked into some other POWERED piece of gear, but I've tried everything I can think of to isolate the source and I can't.
These system noises occur only when using the analog headphone jack, and only when hooked up to anything that uses AC power. They are not heard when using headphones directly plugged in the back of the iMac. The only way around the hash is to use the OPTICAL out of the headphone jack (which is clean as a whistle). The noises vary, depending on the activity on the monitor: scrolling anything, selecting an area, moving windows, web pages loading (especially noisy with a lot of Flash content), etc... all have distinct noises. They are the same in both channels and are not affected by the System volume control, even when the System volume is muted. One interesting thing I noticed - when the Sound panel of System Prefs is open, switching back and forth between Output and Input causes the noise to be significantly quieter on Input, then loud again on Output. In a studio environment, it's impossible to edit with these noise constantly in the background. The noises do not affect a recording, only playback.
Here's an example: http://tinyurl.com/y9ctk29

Slice-
Sorry, hadn't seen your post on the other thread yet. My reply's there, but basically, hub didn't work for me and the junk is still coming out of the headphone jack with no USB interface at all. I'm thinking it's graphics card related... lots of problems with them. At any rate, I'll be talking to an Apple tech in about half an hour, so maybe I'll get an answer then.

Similar Messages

IMAC freezing, hang during startup, loud noise coming out from the speaker

I am using the iMAC i3 Intel based which i bought it just a month ago
Last week it hang, freeze just like that without me launch any application just yet
I hold the ON button for a restart, and it freeze during the startup
One more thing, sometimes when it freeze, there's a noise coming out from the speaker ( just like there is no signal from the TV )
Already sent it to the Apple Service Center but they tell me it is free from any error, but by the time i bring it back home, not even 12 hours, it freeze again just like that with loud noises coming out from the speaker.
Btw did i mention, sometimes there's also a screen distortion
Please somebody help me

I've experienced similar symptoms to the original poster's description. I have an iMac 27" 2010 model. This may be related to the following:
I've looked on numerous forums regarding the freezing problem I was having. This problem would arise on a wide range of systems.
Symptoms included but were not all always present - usually when I am loading the system with games/heavy load processes:
- Full system freeze, screen still on.
- Loud cracking noise coming from speakers (relative to what volume was at when the freeze happened).
- Computer asleep but I cannot wake up unless hard reset with power button.
- My screen backlight was also damaged (permanently dimmed) near the left side, and progressively got worse over time. This was fixed (replaced LCD 27" display $600+ and covered by my creditcard extended warranty)
Basically, what I've come to realize which has not been well documented as far as I could find relating to this problem - is that the system is overheating and causing these freezing errors (and LCD damage in my case). Prologned occurances could result in different system part failures.
How do you fix the overheating problem? Give this a try, it's worked so far for me and I've actually been able to continue video/photo editing without having this annoying freeze.
Search for and download 'iStat Pro' (widget addon that lets you monitor your system temperatures... compare it before and after the fix)
Search for and download 'SMCFanControl (a great little app that allows you to change your system fan speeds) - I did not know this was possible, and have never heard the fans go this high when it was being run automatically by the system. The fan's are obviously louder when set to max, but is well worth the system cooling results.

Some kind of buzz/noise coming out of the desktop speakers when I connect my iPhone 6 plus to my desktop speakers. Help?

I have the iPhone 6 plus with the current update 8.02. As soon as I connect my phone to my desktop speaker jack, I can hear an intermittent, low-level buzz/noise coming out of the speakers. I've never experienced this noise with my iPhone 4S or my laptop connected.
Is this maybe a grounding issue with the phone? Could mine be defective?
I just tried a friend's 6 plus and his doesn't make the same noise.
Thanks for your feedback.

I have the iphone 6 plus and when I play a ringtone or a video or music and stop it, the speaker of my phone make a little sound like shhhhhh haha, why? and still there for a few seconds and sometimes minutes

Why are there faint static noises coming out of the speaker of my iPod touch

There are faint static noises coming out of the speaker of my iPod touch fifth generation

I Just got home and noticed it. It's coming out of the iPods speaker, Not headphones.
For a few moments it was making popping noises. I shut it down and the static is still going. No sounds are playing.

I need to have audio out from HDMI and headphone jack simultaneously

I need to have audio out from HDMI and headphone jack simultaneously.
I seem to be able to select one or the other, but not both ? !
Thanks

No. You can only use one sound output:
Why can't I select HDMI audio on my Mac mini?
If you connect an HDMI display or television to a Mac mini (Mid 2010 or later), you might not be able to select the HDMI audio device (in System Preferences > Sound > Output). This can happen if you also have headphones plugged in to the computer. Unplug the headphones to be able to select HDMI audio.
Mac computers: Frequently asked questions about using HDMI

Noise coming out from the top of iMac

Noise keeps coming from the top of the machine.

It may be cleared as far as you can see but I'm wondering if you have a dust problem. You could try disconnecting the computer then vacuum along the vent. Reading your mail encouraged me to check out my vent and I picked up a great lump of fluff. But as I have no funny noises, I'm not going to follow my suggestion.

Ideapad S400u - Noise coming out from the headphone jack

I also have this annoying noise coming out from my headphone.
It happens while the notebook is charging/plugged.
Could anyone help me?
My lenovo is Ideapad S400u - Windowns 8.1 - 64 bits.
Thank you,

Igor,
Welcome to the forum!
Can you describe this noise? Is it coming from the area around the headphone port? If you plug headphones into the port, does the noise go away or change? Is the outlet you are using for charging grounded?
Thanks
Mark
ThinkPads: S30, T43, X60t, X1, W700ds, IdeaPad Y710, IdeaCentre: A300, IdeaPad K1
Mark Hopkins
Program Manager, Lenovo Social Media (Services)
twitter @lenovoforums
English Community Deutsche Community Comunidad en Español Русскоязычное Сообщество

"Squelchy" noise from external speakers plugged into headphone jack

I get a strange, warmly, high pitched static continuous "squelchy" noise from my external powered speakers when I have them plugged in via cable to the headphone jack of my iPad (3rd gen). The noise occurs only with the iPad - the noise is not present with other devices, such as my iPhone 4S, older iPhone 3G, or my Samsung Galaxy or Toshiba Thriven (both Android devices). Also, the noise is present only with external speakers - never with headphones. Doesn't happen with Bluetooth audio.
The pitch of the squelchy noise seems to be related to how much load the iPad processor is under, though I can't say for sure. I honestly have no idea why it's making this noise. I thought it might be a ground loop issue which occurred only when I had external powered speakers plugged in while the iPad was also plugged in, but the noise happens when the iPad is running on battery, as well.
Does anyone have any ideas how I might get rid of this noise?

I don't know if this could be your problem, but...
On some systems the BIOS will sometimes disable the on-board audio controller at startup if it doesn't detect anything connected to the inputs or outputs (older HP computers did this to me ). You usually need to enter the BIOS and permanently enable the On-board Audio by changing the setting from 'Auto Detect' to 'Enabled'.
Hope that helps.

Out of the speakers/headphones drive comes a red light

And the computer's speakers will not work.
Whenever I try and adjust the volume on the computer, it shows a sign like the non smoking sign but with no cigarette.
I unplugged my speakers and the computer's speakers will still not work.
Please help.
Larissa

By the sound of it, the 'Book thinks that an optical audio device is plugged in. I say this because the light used for optical audio devices is red and because it displays the "no" sign to changing the volume which happens when you use optical audio for your output. Therefore the 'Book thinks that an optical audio cable is plugged in and therefore will not play out of the default speakers because of that and not your plugged in speakers because a normal 1/8" banana plug doesn't understand light.
So... First, go into the Sound pane in the System Preferences and go to the Output tab. See if you can change the device from something like "Optical Audio" to "Internal Speakers" or "Line Out".
If that doesn't work, then try plugging and unplugging your speaker wire into the speaker jack a couple times and see if that makes the 'Book stop thinking it is Optical Audio.

The whole headphone jack is stuck in my iPhone 4 it just snapped off when I puller it out how do i get it out seem as the whole jack is stuck in there

The whole of my headphone jack snapped off and when I mean the whole thing I literally mean the whole jack how do I get it out as I don't really want to pay hinder of pounds to get it fixed , thanks a lot

There's quite a few clever suggestions for how to do this. See "More Like This" over there >>>>>

How can I reprogram my iMac to be like original "out of the box"?

Hello,
I have enjoyed my iMac and produced lots of iMovies and iDVDs as well as other projects over the years. I have tried to stay current with all the upgrades and updates. Lately I have noticed significant sluggishness and programs "unexpectedly quitting". The more I have tried to fix these problems, the worse they have become.
I currently have NO themes in my iDVD program and my e-mail program forces me to enter my password repeatedly even though I check the box that says "remember this password in my keychain". Safari is noticeably slower, and there are numerous other glitches.
I have purchased Tiger (10.4) with the upgrades but I am afraid to load it with all of the current problems that I am having. I am considering just scrapping the whole thing and buying a new computer, but before I do that I am wondering if I could just start over with this machine? I would like to just erase everything (I have all my movies and data backed-up to an external harddrive) and start over with the original software (10.2) then work my way back up to 10.4. I would also start over with the iLife programs (I own them all), and this time I would save iMovie 2 and iMovie 4 (which I found to be very user friendly) before upgrading to iMovie 6. I would also like to get all of my iDVD themes back (both the old and the new ones).

Hello again:
There are NO documented viruses that affect a Mac running OS X - none.
You do not, of course, know what has been occurring. However, an archive and install will install a fresh copy of OS X. I would think you would wish to retain your data, programs, and settings. A corrupt program should not affect the operating system. If you have installed any haxies (things that hack into the operating system, you should remove them (some people install stuff in Safari, for example).
Erase and install, IMHO, is reserved for VERY bad problems (I have never done one). Some people do them on occasion, but I think that is a Windows approach.
Barry
P.S One thought - you should have about 10% of your hard drive free at all times. If space falls below this, "funny" things happen."
Message was edited by: Barry Hemphill (added postscript)

IMac combo drive extremely loud out of the box

Well our new iMac 17" just arrived and it is gorgeous. When I put in the CD to install Office there was this VERY loud whirring that didn't stop until I completed the installation and removed the CD. I put in another CD and it did this for several seconds and then quieted down. Is this normal?
Thanks in advance
eMac, 1g, 640 RAM, combo drive Mac OS X (10.3)
eMac, 1g, 640 RAM, combo drive Mac OS X (10.3)

I guess I spoke to soon. It's still awfully loud. Any insights here, guys? I need to know whether or not this is a serious problem. TIA...

Why is my iPhone 4S still in headphone mode even though i have my headphones out of the 3.5mm jack?(iOS 6.1)

The reason why this is, is because you either have the "change sounds with buttons" setting ON or, you have installed either a faulty version of iOS 6.1 or a version which has an extremely massive bug in it. You can, however, get it out of headphone mode by following these steps;
Step 1: Check if your "change with sounds with buttons" setting is off.
Step 2: if step 1 is as said, go onto iTunes and go to "restore".(This WILL delete all of you devices data but if you have it backed up on iCloud or on iTunes so you dont need to panic.
If all of those steps seem to not be the case, contact your nearest apple store or phone their hotline.
I hope this helped some people in distress.

Briansyddal - you might be able to manage your phone without a PC, but many of us can't, especially those of us with large iTunes libraries. How do you propose I manage my 250GB of music using only a phone? Maybe I could go out and buy 10 iPhones and spread my library out among them!
Catz537 - I have the same problem as you and I've spent hours on the web trying to find a solution to it. It was a problem with iOS 7 and 8.1.1 doesn't fix it. The the only advice from Apple is completely useless because it requires you, effectively, to delete and recreate your iTunes library and lose all your metadata, album art, notes etc and there's also no guarantee it will work. I wish I could be more help (even more - I wish Apple could be more help) - I updated to 8.1.1 at 1400 today. At 2200 I'm still "waiting for changes to be applied" for a measly 16GB of music transfer.

Does iMac OS 10.9.4 computer dac produce 24/96 audio at the analog headphone port from 24/96 iTunes files?

24/96 at analog out from iTunes

Hi Jordan PH ,
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!
I know how frustrating sound issues can be. One troubleshooting step I would definitely recommend in this situation would be to reset the NVRAM / PRAM. Please use the following article as a reference and let me know if the issue continues after the reset.
About NVRAM and PRAM
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379
Have a great day,
Joe

Why am i only hearing out of the right headphone

I have checked in System Prefs and the balance is centered for headphones output.
This problem occurs with multiple (i.e. all) headhpones.

Could be the contacts inside the stereo port are no longer making good contact.
Try rubbing alcohol on the male plugs to clean the oils off and inside the port contacts.
Sometimes the stereo mini plugs are not the full size, and a female to male adapter might work to make better contact.

27" iMac i7 system noises/hash out of the analog headphone jack.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for