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You are here: Experts > Home/Garden > Home Appliances > TV/VCR/Stereo Troubleshooting > PC-Home Stereo Connection
Expert: cleggsan
Date: 9/13/2008
Subject: PC-Home Stereo Connection
Question
Hi...
I'm trying to connect the audio signal from my crappy dektop PC to my crappy, complicated home stereo. Both units work fine, and the computer currently drives a small set of powered speakers with no problem. However, when I use a mini-headphone-to-RCA adapter cord to attach the computer's audio output to an unused Laserdisk audio input in my main amp, the spaeakers all produce a very loud scary hum, even if A) the computer's audio is muted, and B) the primary amp does not have the input from the computer selected. This leads me to believe this is an electrical problem and not an audio signal problem. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Greg
Answer
Try the following:
ONE: Disconnect the cable from the PC and let it hang loose. Do you get any hum when volume is turned up? Yes? Then pull the cable out so that there is no input cable to the player input. Still hum? If yes, the hum problem is with the player.
TWO: No hum when no connection to the PC. Touch your finger to the hot end of the plug that goes into the PC audio board. You should get a hum induced by your finger. This will verify the amplifier is working.
THREE: Now turn off the PC and unplug it. Then connect the audio cable to the audio output. Be sure you are connecting to an output and not an input and not to a power jack. Hum? Probably not. Then, plug in the power cord of the PC only. Hum? No, turn on the pc and see if you get hum. If yes, turn it off and verify the hum goes away. In this case it is probably a grounding matter. You may have to invert the power plug of either the player or the PC.
FOUR: PC on, player on. Touch the ground metal of the jack to the metal part of the PC plug. Watch for small spark. You may have to be in a darkened room to see it. If spark there is a chassis hum signal getting from one to the other. You may have to obtain an audio isolation transformer to pass the audio.
Maybe you can experiment around until you find the cause and the cure.
Good Luck. Let me know if you need more suggestions.
C
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