Speaker noise with Mac?

Joined
Dec 10, 2004
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Your Mac's Specs
PowerMac 7200/75: Mac OS 7.6.1; iMac 233mhz Mac OS X 10.1.5; PowerBook 180c, Mac OS 7.5.3
At my church we use computers in our sound room to play music, do DVD's (or at least, I'm trying to make it that way), and do on-screen presentations such as sermon notes and music lyrics.

Something I noticed, and we have been able to work around, is that when playing music on the computer, when nothing is going on, it makes an odd noise over the speakers. Like a medium-pitched mm-mm-mm-mm. I noticed that it did it with both a Windows laptop and a Windows tower.

Has anyone used their Mac with a big sound system - perhaps not at a public place, but rather, your own h ome, where it has done this?

If Mac's dont have that problem then I may look into getting a Mini to handle the DVD and music parts of the service.

Thanks!
 
Joined
Mar 30, 2004
Messages
4,744
Reaction score
381
Points
83
Location
USA
Your Mac's Specs
12" Apple PowerBook G4 (1.5GHz)
Since you said it did this with two seperate machines, I'd suspect the problem is in the connector or cable you're using, or even the switcher or mixer in the church. Miniplug connections don't always provide the best quality.
 
OP
A
Joined
Dec 10, 2004
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Your Mac's Specs
PowerMac 7200/75: Mac OS 7.6.1; iMac 233mhz Mac OS X 10.1.5; PowerBook 180c, Mac OS 7.5.3
Thing is, it never does this with the DVD player or the stereo. If it is a cable problem, then it would affect every device, right? And not just the computer?
 
OP
A
Joined
Dec 10, 2004
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Your Mac's Specs
PowerMac 7200/75: Mac OS 7.6.1; iMac 233mhz Mac OS X 10.1.5; PowerBook 180c, Mac OS 7.5.3
Well this morning's service was an absolute disaster.

First thing which has nothing to do with this is, the CD I burnt that held the powerpoint presentation which was to be used during the service didn't want to be accessed by the other computers (this is all Windows machines).

Then, the microphones in the church suddenly decide to stop working. This is all during the service. So I am back there trying to figure out how to get the Pastor a microphone, and the problem was that there were 2 computers hooked into the same plug as the sound board and such, which got that mm-mm-mm sound, and killed microphones (as they weren't getting power). I fixed it shortly after with another power strip powered by an extension cord going out to another room, and will use that solely for computers. I didn't get a chance to see if microphones functioned - but they most likely did since they don't have to share power with two computers. So - the mm-mm-mm sound and the microphone problem (unless it is a wiring problem) is eliminated.

So, I'll probably look into a Mini for the sound room to handle what my laptop does.

Thanks guys for your help
 
OP
A
Joined
Dec 10, 2004
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Your Mac's Specs
PowerMac 7200/75: Mac OS 7.6.1; iMac 233mhz Mac OS X 10.1.5; PowerBook 180c, Mac OS 7.5.3
that mmm sound has nothing to do with os

Precisely.

It was because the computers were hooked in the same place as the sound board and other important machines.
 
T

Thud

Guest
The "mmm-mmmm" sound could have been any number of things. Big sound systems like that are very fickle. It was probably a ground loop somewhere.

It has nothing to do with the computer or OS itself-- actually I'm not surprised that you heard some noise when you hook a 1/8" mini jack into a big sound system.

If you want to use a computer for that kind of audio work, a tiny 1/8" stereo jack just isn't going to cut it. They're good for headphones but they're crap when you plug them into a large amp.

You need an audio interface that preferably supports 1/4" balanced I/O. You can spend $100-$150 and get a good quality one for a windows machine, or you can buy a whole new Mac computer, but you'll still need the pro audio interface anyway because you'll have the exact same problem with the mac machine.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top