Rev 2 Noise

[Jmazur]

Hi everyone,
I bought a pre owned, mint condition Rev 2 a few months ago and have been trying to determine if two things I hear are defects or expected under normal operating conditions.

The first is a high pitched whistling tone coming from the synth itself when it is powered on, regardless of what else is plugged in, even if it’s just the power cord. It sounds like a dog whistle almost, not exactly loud but definitely audible and it’s annoying after a short time. I can hear it from 15 feet away easily. This seems like it could be just part of the synth operating normally but I wanted to check.

Second, when I use the headphone output,  there is substantial background noise in the higher frequencies, with a peak above 10k that is especially noticeable. It is audible at every master volume setting. The photo attached shows the recorded spectrum with the default patch being played at 100% volume and the background noise is just as loud as the note itself.

The first issue I can live with, the second one is tough because I can’t play my synth with headphones without hearing it. I have reached out to support to see if these are normal operating features or if I’m dealing with an issue. Has anyone dealt with these? I don’t know if I’m just being overly critical… that’s what I’m trying to figure out lol. It is still under warranty and I’ve been dealing with it since day one so I’d like to find out if I should try to return it. I would gladly provide more information that seems relevant. I’ve done calibrations, plugged into a surge protected power strip, and changed outlets to no effect.

Thanks in advance for any help!
Jesse

[jg666]

No I've had nothing like that.

[maxter]

Would like to hear an audio sample of it... to determine what it could be.

Is it connected by USB or MIDI?

[AlainHubert]

I also suspect USB ground loop noise. I've had that with other DSI/Sequential products in the past, but not with my REV2 however, but it depends on what the USB cable is connected to at the other end.

[maxter]

I suspect the same... even when having effectively eliminated a USB ground loop, there can still be interference from the USB data being passed, it's not as loud as a ground loop but still.

[LPF83]

I've had good luck with the PyleAudio PHE400 mini hum eliminator ($20 on Amazon).

[seq_user12123]

Hi everyone,
I bought a pre owned, mint condition Rev 2 a few months ago and have been trying to determine if two things I hear are defects or expected under normal operating conditions.

The first is a high pitched whistling tone coming from the synth itself when it is powered on, regardless of what else is plugged in, even if it’s just the power cord. It sounds like a dog whistle almost, not exactly loud but definitely audible and it’s annoying after a short time. I can hear it from 15 feet away easily. This seems like it could be just part of the synth operating normally but I wanted to check.

Second, when I use the headphone output,  there is substantial background noise in the higher frequencies, with a peak above 10k that is especially noticeable. It is audible at every master volume setting. The photo attached shows the recorded spectrum with the default patch being played at 100% volume and the background noise is just as loud as the note itself.

The first issue I can live with, the second one is tough because I can’t play my synth with headphones without hearing it. I have reached out to support to see if these are normal operating features or if I’m dealing with an issue. Has anyone dealt with these? I don’t know if I’m just being overly critical… that’s what I’m trying to figure out lol. It is still under warranty and I’ve been dealing with it since day one so I’d like to find out if I should try to return it. I would gladly provide more information that seems relevant. I’ve done calibrations, plugged into a surge protected power strip, and changed outlets to no effect.

Thanks in advance for any help!
Jesse

I had a similar problem. had to change the device. here is my posting from back then
https://forum.sequential.com/index.php/topic,2629.msg53749.html#msg53749

[Jmazur]

Would like to hear an audio sample of it... to determine what it could be.

Is it connected by USB or MIDI?

I have connected it by USB a few times but the headphone output noise is present at the same volume even when no USB cable is connected. I have a given support a recording but they said the noise was at -70dB, which is only slightly higher than normal.

When I play notes of the default patch though, I can’t reach 0dB in my DAW without the noise floor being at -40dB. Photos attached show note on and off. A recording is attached as well.

I noticed the audible high pitched ring I hear is also coming through in the headphone output, seen by the peak in the noise spectrum at approximately 16Khz.

Thanks again for everyone’s responses!
Jesse

[Jmazur]

I had a similar problem. had to change the device. here is my posting from back then
https://forum.sequential.com/index.php/topic,2629.msg53749.html#msg53749

Thanks for sharing! It’s such a bummer because i love the synth but I can’t get past the noise right now. I’ll reach out to the reseller and hope their warranty covers this. Good to know I’m not going crazy though and someone else has had this issue.