Not sure if this will help, but I took my entire computer (MP 2013) on a job to Asia. When I plugged it in, a coil/electrical sound appeared. When I returned to the states, it disappeared.
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2017 iMac 27" 5k - BUZZ ELECTRIC NOISE - URGENT
- Thread starter MarcoTogni
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Bumping this thread:
I have a 2017 i7 imac with SSD and top GPU.
Just moved the iMac location in my house, in the new location the wall is much closer to the back of the iMac and the room is quieter. All of a sudden I started to hear this same noise!
I tried moving the iMac back to the original location and plug and the noise is present but less noticeable because it doesn’t reflect off a close wall.
The noise sounds exactly like a regular mechanical hard drive accessing data, but I only have SSD.
It gets louder with screen brightness increase. It only happens when something on the screen changes: scrolling, moving windows, etc.
Anyone solved the issue?
I have a 2017 i7 imac with SSD and top GPU.
Just moved the iMac location in my house, in the new location the wall is much closer to the back of the iMac and the room is quieter. All of a sudden I started to hear this same noise!
I tried moving the iMac back to the original location and plug and the noise is present but less noticeable because it doesn’t reflect off a close wall.
The noise sounds exactly like a regular mechanical hard drive accessing data, but I only have SSD.
It gets louder with screen brightness increase. It only happens when something on the screen changes: scrolling, moving windows, etc.
Anyone solved the issue?
This is related to the CPU/GPU requiring sudden bursts of power from the power supply when under load and is likely due to either a failing power supply or the VRM chip on the motherboard. Most computers have this noise to some extent, but it shouldn't be loud enough to bother you - if it is see if Apple can replace the power supply or motherboard.
How loud is normal? It’s a very low volume noise, but loud enough that once you hear it you can’t stop hearing it.
I’m kinda pissed that I missed the Apple care window by a week so now I’m out of warranty.
Hmm, I have the same machine, i7 2017 iMac. I can’t say I have that issue.
I use mine in a recording studio, in that environment there are guitar pickups, mics etc all awaiting the opportunity to cause noise.
Some things to consider.
Fluorescent bulbs, tubes are terrible for adding noise to some equipment.
Light dimmers should never be used.
What else is plugged in that circuit breaker?
Do you have a quality UPS, some cheaper ones cause noise.
When I push the CPU, the fans do speed up and do make noise.
If u check with a fan app, if they are running 1200 or so rpms they are virtually silent.
If they are spinning 2000 rpms or higher, the fans are very audible.
Sounds environmental seen as a second machine is the same.
I use mine in a recording studio, in that environment there are guitar pickups, mics etc all awaiting the opportunity to cause noise.
Some things to consider.
Fluorescent bulbs, tubes are terrible for adding noise to some equipment.
Light dimmers should never be used.
What else is plugged in that circuit breaker?
Do you have a quality UPS, some cheaper ones cause noise.
When I push the CPU, the fans do speed up and do make noise.
If u check with a fan app, if they are running 1200 or so rpms they are virtually silent.
If they are spinning 2000 rpms or higher, the fans are very audible.
Sounds environmental seen as a second machine is the same.
It’s definitely not fan noise, that’s a distinctly different noise. This noise occurs even with the fan at 1200rpm.
I’ll have to explore the electric circuit noise avenue.
Also, are you able to switch the sound preferences to say, Bluetooth?
Eleiminate the sound card, to see.
Some external, monitors have a small soundcard and speaker that are noisy.
I had to use a loner cheaper FireWire sound card that added noise.
SSD shouldn’t make any noise.
maybe try a different power cord?
Eleiminate the sound card, to see.
Some external, monitors have a small soundcard and speaker that are noisy.
I had to use a loner cheaper FireWire sound card that added noise.
SSD shouldn’t make any noise.
maybe try a different power cord?
Thanks, I will try some of your suggestions.
I am also planning on getting my hands on my brother’s heavy duty power conditioner.
Last case will be to order another identical iMac from Apple and test it in my house, then return it. There is no way I could test and hear the noise in a noisy Apple store.
I think I know the solution but it may be out of your control.
I had the same issue about a year ago and found out that it's actually interference from electrical devices in the vicinity. I went around the house and turned off everything until I isolated what was causing it - it turned out to be some speakers. Problem solved.
I've recently moved house and the buzzing sound has come back. Unfortunately I've turned off everything in the house and haven't been able to isolate what's causing the problem. This has lead me to believe that it must be something in my neighbour's house, which is out of my control.
It's worth going around your house and switching everything off. If you do this and nothing changes consider how close your neighbours are to you and if you know them well it may be worth asking them to do the same for you.
I had the same issue about a year ago and found out that it's actually interference from electrical devices in the vicinity. I went around the house and turned off everything until I isolated what was causing it - it turned out to be some speakers. Problem solved.
I've recently moved house and the buzzing sound has come back. Unfortunately I've turned off everything in the house and haven't been able to isolate what's causing the problem. This has lead me to believe that it must be something in my neighbour's house, which is out of my control.
It's worth going around your house and switching everything off. If you do this and nothing changes consider how close your neighbours are to you and if you know them well it may be worth asking them to do the same for you.
Thanks for that, I can definitely give that a try. My neighbours are quite far so I doubt that’s an issue.
What you are experiencing is no a figment of your imagination. I have a much older, 2009, iMac and have always experienced the buzz you are talking about. I believe it is noise coming from the power supply. The noise has gradually become louder and is now a problem since I use the computer for music recording. My troubleshooting (including opening up the unit) concluded that is acoustic noise from the PSU. Apart from replacing it, I found a very simple, albeit temporary, solution:
Try leaving your iMac unplugged overnight and see if the buzz is still there when you reconnect and reboot the next day. In my case, leaving it unplugged for about 12 hrs gives me a few days of noise free operation, or until I do intense work such as Final Cut rendering. Anything that draws a lot of power will trigger the noise again and that includes setting the monitor to Mac brightness.
At this point I've given up and am waiting for the new model expected this fall :/
Thanks Uller - I'd been trying to diagnose this problem my MacBook for an hour or so and it was only after reading your post that I disconnected the charging plug and it went away completely. When I plugged back in it came back louder than ever for a few seconds before suddenly fading to almost inaudible. I'm going to clean the contacts and hope for the best
I am having the same exact problem with my 2017 iMac 5K 27 inch top model. Any clue? Did you solve your issue?
I found a simple solution that silenced my iMac noise (which was outputting over USB into an audio interface and then onward to powered studio speakers). The noise was especially noticeable when moving the Magic Mouse, or bouncing mixes in Logic.
The problem seems to originate in the electrical earth wire that connects the iMac to the wall socket (via the mains lead). I believe the proper term for this phenomenon is "ground loop".
My solution was to improvise a "ground-lift" mains lead by simply cutting away the earth (green and yellow colour) wire at the plug.
I would imagine any standard 2-core mains lead would, effectively, do the same thing. Just as long as it has the correct connector shape for the power inlet of the iMac.
Just to clarify - it needs to be a mains lead that DOESN'T have any earth wire, only live and neutral.
Below is a pic of my procedure, whereby the earth wire (Yellow & Green ) is being disconnected from the large earth pin ( this is a standard 3 pin European plug ). I subsequently snipped the earth wire right back to prevent it accidently shorting off either of the other wires inside the plug.
Clearly, if yours is a moulded plug, you won't be able to carry out the exact same procedure,
in which case I would suggest sourcing a proper 2 core lead ( with NO EARTH ).
Another option, along the same lines, is to modify an old trailing socket board - exact same procedure - just remove the earth connection from the trailing socket board ( either inside the board itself, or at the plug end ).
It's a good idea to label-up your improvised lead / socket board and mark it as "no earth".
Hope that helps.
The problem seems to originate in the electrical earth wire that connects the iMac to the wall socket (via the mains lead). I believe the proper term for this phenomenon is "ground loop".
My solution was to improvise a "ground-lift" mains lead by simply cutting away the earth (green and yellow colour) wire at the plug.
I would imagine any standard 2-core mains lead would, effectively, do the same thing. Just as long as it has the correct connector shape for the power inlet of the iMac.
Just to clarify - it needs to be a mains lead that DOESN'T have any earth wire, only live and neutral.
Below is a pic of my procedure, whereby the earth wire (Yellow & Green ) is being disconnected from the large earth pin ( this is a standard 3 pin European plug ). I subsequently snipped the earth wire right back to prevent it accidently shorting off either of the other wires inside the plug.
Clearly, if yours is a moulded plug, you won't be able to carry out the exact same procedure,
in which case I would suggest sourcing a proper 2 core lead ( with NO EARTH ).
Another option, along the same lines, is to modify an old trailing socket board - exact same procedure - just remove the earth connection from the trailing socket board ( either inside the board itself, or at the plug end ).
It's a good idea to label-up your improvised lead / socket board and mark it as "no earth".
Hope that helps.
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Well, you could be right. However, I have many appliances in my studio and quite a few of them use
those little two pin, figure-of-eight connectors ( ie no earth ).
I did check my iMac, and everything connected to it, with a phase tester - looking for earthing issues,
and I found none.
I guess somebody qualified in electrics could offer an informed opinion here.
For me, at any rate, the reduction in electrical noise was necessary, and I really just wanted to point
to a solution that I found to the initial question posed at the start of this thread.
One other observation about earthing - many audio devices feature a ground lift switch, precisely
to address the very issue of hum/buzz bleeding through into the audio path. Surely if there were
known safety issues with removing/lifting the earth connection then these switches wouldn't be
fitted in the first place. Just a thought.
those little two pin, figure-of-eight connectors ( ie no earth ).
I did check my iMac, and everything connected to it, with a phase tester - looking for earthing issues,
and I found none.
I guess somebody qualified in electrics could offer an informed opinion here.
For me, at any rate, the reduction in electrical noise was necessary, and I really just wanted to point
to a solution that I found to the initial question posed at the start of this thread.
One other observation about earthing - many audio devices feature a ground lift switch, precisely
to address the very issue of hum/buzz bleeding through into the audio path. Surely if there were
known safety issues with removing/lifting the earth connection then these switches wouldn't be
fitted in the first place. Just a thought.
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Depends on if the computer has an internal power supply or not, there is no earth wire from the power brick to a MacBook.
My Mac mini has no earth wire in the cord, therefor it must be fitted with double insulation, in the EU no earth wire is necessary if it is double insulated.
Here's the marking for it.
If this marking is on the iMac no earth wire is needed, at least not for the EU.
As above, you might find the above marking somewhere on the iMac, if it is no earth wire is needed.
But...as an electrician engineer I would be extremely careful cutting earth wire(s), they are normally there for a purpose.
Never ever...ever cut the earth wire off a malfunctioning washing machine (Earth fault pops), potentially deadly.
Good to know this.
I must say it seems remiss of Apple to release expensive computers like iMacs into a market populated
by professional audio users, knowing that the mandatory ground connection causes very audible electronic buzzing
via the USB ports. If there is a better solution to this issue - a solution that doesn't involve lifting the ground
connection, then I would be glad to hear about it myself. Meantime, I'll accept whatever risk an ungrounded
computer poses, in order to have a noise-free audio path.
I must say it seems remiss of Apple to release expensive computers like iMacs into a market populated
by professional audio users, knowing that the mandatory ground connection causes very audible electronic buzzing
via the USB ports. If there is a better solution to this issue - a solution that doesn't involve lifting the ground
connection, then I would be glad to hear about it myself. Meantime, I'll accept whatever risk an ungrounded
computer poses, in order to have a noise-free audio path.
Why did you hack at the ground for your computer (which is very unsafe) instead of using a ground loop isolator at your USB audio interface or between the DAC to your amplifier?
And to be clear ... where exactly in the path are you getting the unwanted noise?
I already have a ground loop isolator on the USB cable between the iMac and the audio interface.
It does nothing to remove the buzz and hum and other audible garbage that the iMac produces at its USB ports. As noted earlier, it is especially noticeable where moving the Magic Mouse or when bouncing tracks in Logic.
My iMac is nothing unusual - I have heard this same noise on every iMac I've worked with.
Hacking a standard kettle lead is a simple solution and, as I mentioned, I'll accept whatever potential hazard an ungrounded computer might pose, in order to have a noise-free audio path.
I'm not recommending this procedure to all and sundry - just sharing a fix I found to the initial inquiry at the start of this thread.
It does nothing to remove the buzz and hum and other audible garbage that the iMac produces at its USB ports. As noted earlier, it is especially noticeable where moving the Magic Mouse or when bouncing tracks in Logic.
My iMac is nothing unusual - I have heard this same noise on every iMac I've worked with.
Hacking a standard kettle lead is a simple solution and, as I mentioned, I'll accept whatever potential hazard an ungrounded computer might pose, in order to have a noise-free audio path.
I'm not recommending this procedure to all and sundry - just sharing a fix I found to the initial inquiry at the start of this thread.
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