The headphone jack on my Mac Mini is putting our distorted audio

Currently, I'm running the audio from my Mac Mini to our brand new digital sound board but we are getting a lot of distorted signal.
It's not a constant distortion and it seems to develop after a few minutes of use.
We run the computer volume no higher than half....so that's not the issue.
We also have changed out the cables several times...so that's not it.
Like I said, the sound board is brand new and so are the powered speakers it's running to.....that's not it.
We also run the signal to a set of wireless speakers from an aux output on the board and get the same issue....
So, it seems that the issue is the audio jack (headphone jack) on the Mac Mini.
Anyone else had this issue?
Any solutions?
Can it be replace?
Should I try an USB interface?

Something you haven't mentioned, have you plugged just
a set of headphones directly into the Mini and get the same
result?
I ask this as it could be some interconnect issue between the
Mini and other devices (ground loops, loading, etc.).  It still
may not mean that the Mini is not the issue, just trying to
isolate what the issue is.  The fact that the issue is not
immediate, kind of sounds like it may be one of these issues.
As a side note, I have found that ground loops can cause all
manor of strange issues, especially with audio.

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