HP Pavillion Owners Please Comment! Sound Interference

There seems to be a problem with HP Pavilion laptops. If you use either the microphone input or either of the two headphone outputs on the front of the laptop you will get a disctinct buzzing noise. It seems to be interference from the power supply. If you unplug the laptop's power cord the noise will stop.

This is from my experience with two HP laptops and from my research. I'm running a DV9934CA and my friend is running a similar DV9000 Model. They both have this issue.

I'm running an amplified speaker setup and I cannot leave it plugged in. I get a constant buzzing that is insanely loud. I've contacted HP support and they won't consider this a "large scale fix". Apparently it's an isolated problem because no one else has reported the issue. Quite the opposite from what I've seen. I was actually talking with the Director of Technical support or some lady along those lines who basically brushed me off saying it wasn't an issue. With your help I can show her this need attention.

Please reply here with your model number and whether you get any interference.

 

I have the Dv6704 and no problems at all with any buzzing.

 

Here's a review from this site which actually lists this sound problem as one of the only downfall to these laptops.

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4378

I ran accross another post on different site which suggested the problem was actually a bad ground.

 

I have same issue.

My recently purchased DV9700 has terrible inteference through the 2 headphone jacks -headphones are pretty much unusable as the inteference coming through is almost the dominant sound.

I hadn't noticed effect of power cord in or out previously, but can confirm the noise reduces in volume almost completely (maybe 95%) when power cable is removed.

Will chase up with HP support here in the UK and see what they say.

 

I have a similar problem.
I bought my laptop on the 2008 Black Friday. It is a dv5t custom built laptop, which has the same sound interference issue. However, the buzzing does not go away when I unplug the AC adapter. The buzzing is not noticeable on some of the earbuds (the low quality ones) and it is also not noticeable when playing music. Muting the sound does not make the buzzing disappear.

 

it could be because your speakers and/or amplifier unit are not magneticly shielded.

it cold also be a grounding problem with the headphone cable your using. try with a different one.

make sure the AC/DC power block is nowhere near your speaker amp, laptop or speakers. also, do not coil power or speaker cables up, leave them loose. coils induce magnetic interferance. this is common on car audio installs done by muppets to "make it look neat". if you want it to look neat, cut the cables to the right bloody length!
try to keep power and speaker cables as far away from each other as possible to minimise interferance.

if you want to test the dodgy ground theory of the headphone jack, get an old pair of headphones and butcher the cable. attach a voltometer to the ground cable. there should be no reading.

BTW, i have a dv5 1015ea

 

3 different DV-9500T's tested, with perhaps as many as 20 different genuine HP power bricks, and all buzz when plugged in (to a wall outlet).

No buzz when the power bricks are plugged in to a pure sine wave inverter (tested on four different AIMS pure sine wave inverter's - two different models).

This is a commonly reported problem, and I suspect it has a lot to do with the quality of the power your power company provides.

It is also worth noting that all have a lot of noise when writing to an SD card in the memory reader.

Joe

 

Hi i have an HP Pavillion dv6000 and i have a terrible interference, whcih is driving me insane, cause i spent lots on the laptop, which i bought to produce music, and i can only work on it on battery, which is crazy, cause that doesn't last long...i might be in the middle of a perfect take and the pc battery will run out...i tried manyn things, but no joy...i've been told to take the erth off the power supply...is this advisable? any more joy from who contacted HP's tech support?
MAny thanks
COnsuelo

 

I woudnt advise taking out the ground pin. Have you tried power/surge boards with interference protection?

Also try disabling your wireless.

 

the ground pin is technicly not needed, however removing it will make it very difficult to plug in since it opens the other 2 sockets.

 

Hi ta 4 replying, yea i just bought an 8 plug power surge adaptor, and tried disabling the wireless connection, and same prob sussists

I have been advised to buy a Behringer HD400 hum distroyer, have you hear of these, do they work? I also read that DI Boxes should be isolators...so sall i get 1 of those instead? at least i can make more of an use of a DI Box, since the 2 things are same price...

Consuelo

 

Same problem here! I also have some sound interference when my power cord is plugged in. The noise is really driving me crazy because I have plugged in an amplifier with some huge boxes... No idea how to solve this problem... My model is HP Pavilion dv9860eb... Are there any known fixes for this problem?

 

Hi Jens, i read that a DI Box was to do the trick, and bought 1. i'm amazed that it worked. I'm using a Samson one:
http://www.dv247.com/invt/34384/
For the price you might as well get this stereo one, which will be more versatile...
Good luck
Consuelo

 

It is as simple as reading the posts to this thread, and soaking in the info.

If you read them, you will run across the following information, detailing the test, the fix, (and if you read the whole post, the reason - quality of the input power, meaning the HP bricks do not do a good job of filtering the garbage).

Here it is:

3 different DV-9500T's tested, with perhaps as many as 20 different genuine HP power bricks, and all buzz when plugged in (to a wall outlet).

No buzz when the power bricks are plugged in to a pure sine wave inverter (tested on four different AIMS pure sine wave inverter's - two different models).

Joe

 

The buzzing noise coming from HP Laptops when power cord is engaged is contributed to a ground loop problem. Unsure of the technical jargon used, but I guess results is what counts.
SOLUTION: Purchase a 3 prong adapter which would accommodate the existing AC plug. This adapter end should have just two prongs. In other words the original 3 prong plug goes into an adapter that has a female on one side and a 2 prong male on the other which you will now use as your primary plug into your power socket and that it! All noise stops, guaranteed!

 

All that techie talk from JoeCHecht is unnecessary with all due respect. Just get the AC adapter, plug your power cord into the female 3 prong and use the 2 prong into your power socket. I bought one for $1.00 at a local hardware store today and it took care of this issue once and for all. NO MORE NOISE!!!!!!!! Your welcome! lol.

 

What is the full name of the adapter? so when I goto Home Depot I don't have to spend a lot of time looking for it.

 

I read up on another forum that this 3 prong to 2 prong adapter may open up to surges but I guess you can avoid that by connecting the adapter to a surge protector. Just an fyi. But thanks magplus for the simple solution!

 

Good idea, however, living in the second most lighting struck place on earth, I cannot bring myself to take out the ground.

I also could not recommend that others do this, without at least giving information on what might happen to a person/equipment if they disable the ground.

Might you like to comment on how disabling the ground might affect shock hazards, warranty issues, and the like?


Joe

 

Try and borrow a different power cord it may be the cord is defective. A 60 hertz hum is common in power supplies. You could try shielding the power supply behind some metal perhaps a folding chair.

 

The problem is the power supply brick. Go on Ebay and buy a cheap replacement and it should clear right up. I had the same issue when I hooked my dv6000 up to my TV to watch videos. The new power brick cleared the issue up right away. I was able to buy a new one on Ebay for under $10!