Best (i.e. most static immune) way to connect speakers?

I don't care too much about fidelity, frequency range, etc.. But I hate static. Are Bluetooth and USB connections both less prone to static than the audio jack connection I use now? Is Bluetooth better than USB or vice versa? Thanks very much, I always appreciate the great advice I get here. Thanks, Bob

bob17821 said:

I don't care too much about fidelity, frequency range, etc.. But I hate static. Are Bluetooth and USB connections both less prone to static than the audio jack connection I use now? Is Bluetooth better than USB or vice versa? Thanks very much, I always appreciate the great advice I get here. Thanks, Bob

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A lot depends on the environment.
Anything that doesn't use wires is prone to interference from just about anything in range.

Things that use wires, are prone to interference from other wires that are too close to the speaker wires.
Like a power cord or three all running near the speaker wires.

Ofc, shielded speaker wires are the best. Which is true for just about any cable.

Quite a few of the more expensive motherboards, shield the audio circuits as well.

It could also be the speakers themselves, causing the static.



You need to substitute things until you find where the static is coming from... THEN you can work to eliminate it.

If you're hearing a ~50Hz humm, then your PC isn't grounded properly. It can be very tricky to find the cause and mitigate it.

If you're talking about static noise, then only way to get rid of that is to use better quality soundcard, amplifier and speakers, which will lead to HI-Fi range of gear.

You can also play with the volume settings on your computer and amplifier. The higher you put the volume on your amp and lower on the computer settings, the more static noise you will hear. You can fix this by tuning the computer volume to almost max and adjust the actual volume lower on tje amp. Be careful to not put computer volume too high or you'll end up with distorted sound.

Most motherboard untegrated audio chips should be good enough for most music listeners. USB audio can also be a good option, especially if you use a proper audio interface. BT audio is the weakest of them all and is very prone to WiFi signal interfering. You'll experience cutoffs if this happens.

You have speakers that accept a digital input (like USB)?

I use that (Kef Eggs), and it's noise free. Optical is also an option for me, but I haven't tried it.

My "standard" 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo jack/plug connection has been plugged in for two years and no static, caused by a bad physical connection. I would suspect something other than the connection in most cases.

As previously noted, try to isolate what/where is causing the static. I've seen problems caused by a dirty/bad volume control in the speakers cause this.

Could also be the PC, there are many reports of popping/crackling, etc caused by latency and other PC issues.
Download and run the free (and popular) Resplendence Latency Mon.

Ghot said:

A lot depends on the environment.
Anything that doesn't use wires is prone to interference from just about anything in range.

Things that use wires, and prone to interference from other wires that are too close to the speaker wires.
Like a power cord or three all running near the speaker wires.

Ofc, shielded speaker wires are the best. Which is true for just about any cable.

Quite a few of the more expensive motherboards, shield the audio circuits as well.

It could also be the speakers themselves, causing the static.



You need to substitute things until you find where the static is coming from... THEN you can work to eliminate it.

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Not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for the dose of reality and perspective. I will adjust my expectations accordingly. Bob

Even using RF chokes on speaker leads and power supply leads can help with interference, RF choke is basically a Ferrite ring you wind the cable through or easier, you can get clip on ones for various size cables, very inexpensive from Amazon.

Even LED lighting can create RF interference, that would mainly be the cheap Asian ones.

Don't negate my computer is causing the noise, as it seems you are from posts.

I've had a (home) recording studio for almost 20 years. I've never had the need for a choke on any audio, High Z, Low Z, Line level, Instrument level, etc.

Wasn't negating anything just pointing out that RFI is a possible source of interference.

Another thought is does the "static" occur if using headphones, that would be a quick way to rule out speakers and cabling if it's present in headphones I would think?

bob17821 said:

less prone to static than the audio jack connection

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Bob,

Please would you describe the sound that you refer to as "static".
- single frequency / multiple frequencies?
- level / varying volume?
- similarities to anything so commonplace that we'll all know what it sounds like?
- ...

All the best,
Denis