no joy from Gateway

leftwinger57

Hi guys, This is a continuation of a thread I started a few weeks ago. My main objective was to get steaming audio out of my computer into my Yamaha RX-V665. These 2 machines are in to rooms pretty far apart and my first attemt was pretty much a failure, I got music but with it came a gnd humm louder than the music. The set-up at the computer is a y jack w/an end going into headphones on the Gateway, the other end are 2 RCAs run from room to room and plugged into audio 1 at the Yamaha and the 2 female ends of the y. Now some say 50' is to long, some say it's the jack that could cause this. I tried calling Gateway and because it's from 2003 they were no help at all. NOW, looking at the back of the Gateway there are many more ports and I have no idea what they are for,such as coax male, multi pin female and 2 red and white audio looking RCAs. I'm not the guy to talk computers to so if any body has any ideas go easy on me please.
BTW-Gateway was no help because it was from 2003 and not under any warrenty.....Thanks guys ......LW.

inspiredsports

leftwinger57 wrote: »

Hi guys, This is a continuation of a thread I started a few weeks ago. My main objective was to get steaming audio out of my computer into my Yamaha RX-V665. These 2 machines are in to rooms pretty far apart and my first attemt was pretty much a failure, I got music but with it came a gnd humm louder than the music. The set-up at the computer is a y jack w/an end going into headphones on the Gateway, the other end are 2 RCAs run from room to room and plugged into audio 1 at the Yamaha and the 2 female ends of the y. Now some say 50' is to long, some say it's the jack that could cause this. I tried calling Gateway and because it's from 2003 they were no help at all. NOW, looking at the back of the Gateway there are many more ports and I have no idea what they are for,such as coax male, multi pin female and 2 red and white audio looking RCAs. I'm not the guy to talk computers to so if any body has any ideas go easy on me please.
BTW-Gateway was no help because it was from 2003 and not under any warrenty.....Thanks guys ......LW.

Maybe not code, but use gray 3-prong to 2-prong grounding adapters on any 110v cord leading to a device connected in the chain. If that does not work you may have a short or loose connection in one of the audio connector wires.

PrazVT

Take a pic of the ports - let's see what you've got there.

leftwinger57

THATS A PROBLEM ,NO CAMERA.On the yamaha I still have audio 1-2 ,1toslink and some coaxial connecters. Me being so computer illiterate seems to have the headphone jack which I am using via a y adapter, there are some coaxial type f fittings ,an orange port and some female multi-pin ports. Guys, I really have know idea what they do and Gateway was absolutely no help at all. ALL I asked them was a schematic of what these other ports did. I do have comeing 2 different style jacks but I hope it's not the leagth
killing this whole project. Please most of you guys are way ahead in puters then I am, so Thanks. ALL OTHER AUDIO BOTH h/t and 2-ch work just fine........LW

PrazVT

What's the model number of the Gateway?

inspiredsports

leftwinger57 wrote: »

THATS A PROBLEM ,NO CAMERA.On the yamaha I still have audio 1-2 ,1toslink and some coaxial connecters. Me being so computer illiterate seems to have the headphone jack which I am using via a y adapter, there are some coaxial type f fittings ,an orange port and some female multi-pin ports. Guys, I really have know idea what they do and Gateway was absolutely no help at all. ALL I asked them was a schematic of what these other ports did. I do have comeing 2 different style jacks but I hope it's not the leagth
killing this whole project. Please most of you guys are way ahead in puters then I am, so Thanks. ALL OTHER AUDIO BOTH h/t and 2-ch work just fine........LW

The problem is most likely with a 110v ground loop, NOT the audio wires.

Did you try grounding adapters on any 110v cord connected to the computer, including monitor, powered speakers, etc.?

leftwinger57

Sorry but,It's a Gateway501s mfg. in 2003. Not exactly the newest machine in town, and it does not have toslink or HDMI ports at all. The Yamaha is on a 2 prong plug and the puter is on a 3 prong.Both plug strips or power centers are 3 prong.
Thanks again Ido need to figure this one out.Again it does have 2 RCAs on the bottom both white and red,2coax connecters,a coupleof female multi pin recepticles, and an orange/yellow port. I have no idea what any of these things do.I need a schematic of the back of this computer.. Thanks guys.......LW

mdaudioguy

^^^ Agree 100%. Other viable solutions have been suggested.

inspiredsports

anonymouse wrote: »

What you are trying to do is a fundamentally flawed idea. Even if you eliminate that hum, the internal sound card headphone output in that computer is going to sound like crap through your receiver.

Before we give you alternatives, answer a few questions:
1) Exact model number of your computer
2) Amount of memory i.e. RAM in your computer
3) Operating system of your computer and service patch level
4) Do you have a home network?
4a) Is it wired or wireless?
5) This is going to cost a small amount of money for some accessories. What are your hard budgetary limits.

RANT : I think its pretty sad you are blaming Gateway for not helping you out. If you had a 2003 Chevy out of warranty, would you call GM and be pissed if they did not help you out? No. You would expect to go to a dealership and get a nice fat bill right? What's different with this? In computer terms this thing has reached end of life. We can help you out, but get off your self righteous horse about how bad gateway is and ask nicely for help. You will likely get plenty of assistance.

A major tenet here at CP is always "try it and decide for yourself".

I agree that Gateway has no culpability and the sound card isn't as good as other solutions, but it should be absolutely possible for lwing57 to get decent, hum-free sound from his Gateway to his Yamaha so he can make up his own mind if he wants to spend more money to go to the next level.

I did this EXACT SAME experiment before buying my first USB DAC to cut the sound card out of the loop. A "Y Adapter" out of the "headphone out" of the sound card through 50' of decent wire to the RCA Phono plug female "Audio 1" input on the back of his Yamaha should produce listenable music.

Lwing, did you try a 2-prong grounding adapter on that 3-prong cord that powers you computer (and also on an external monitor (if there is one) attached with a 3 prong)?

NOTE: The power strips won't stop ground-loop, only surges.

leftwinger57

my fellow forumites, I get that Gateway has no vested interest for my problem ,considering it was a gift to begin with.Secondly I did change all 2 pronge plugs to 3prongers and nothing.I lifted my Samson power distributer off my Adcom and still no difference. I tried changing the way I listen and watch tv now one at a time, before I used a toslink to get both audio /and silent tv. I switchedback to HDMI ONLY AND STILL NOTHING. I'm still waiting on 2 more splitters of different designs,and will hold my breath. Now I know a lenght this long I should 've just laid out the cable to see if in fact it works.Thank you all for your help and if any thing changes I certainly will list it here w/ you guys.As for ranting on Gateway I at least would have some input or direct me in some direction not to hang up.....LW

inspiredsports

leftwinger57 wrote: »

my fellow forumites, I get that Gateway has no vested interest for my problem ,considering it was a gift to begin with.Secondly I did change all 2 pronge plugs to 3prongers and nothing. I lifted my Samson power distributer off my Adcom and still no difference. I tried changing the way I listen and watch tv now one at a time, before I used a toslink to get both audio /and silent tv. I switchedback to HDMI ONLY AND STILL NOTHING. I'm still waiting on 2 more splitters of different designs,and will hold my breath. Now I know a lenght this long I should 've just laid out the cable to see if in fact it works.Thank you all for your help and if any thing changes I certainly will list it here w/ you guys.As for ranting on Gateway I at least would have some input or direct me in some direction not to hang up.....LW

I think you might be reading me backwards.

3-Prong will CAUSE ground loop hum.

Necking 3 down to 2 eliminates the ground pin from coming into play where it can pick up mismatched voltage due to inconsistent grounding schemes in your house/antenna/cable wiring.

While you would think 3 prongs are good (and they are from a safety standpoint), it is the 3rd prong that CAUSES hum to be picked up when the potential is there.

mdaudioguy

inspiredsports wrote: »

A major tenet here at CP is always "try it and decide for yourself".
[...]
I did this EXACT SAME experiment before buying my first USB DAC to cut the sound card out of the loop. A "Y Adapter" out of the "headphone out" of the sound card through 50' of decent wire to the RCA Phono plug female "Audio 1" input on the back of his Yamaha should produce listenable music.

Of course he should try it, and he did. And, his 50' analog run also included hum. IMO, it's not worth the effort to solve the hum for a sub-par solution, but to each their own. You tried it, then upgraded to a better solution. Just trying to save LW the effort... ground loop hum can sometimes be difficult to resolve, so why not just avoid it altogether?

inspiredsports

mdaudioguy wrote: »

Of course he should try it, and he did. And, his 50' analog run also included hum. IMO, it's not worth the effort to solve the hum for a sub-par solution, but to each their own. You tried it, then upgraded to a better solution. Just trying to save LW the effort... ground loop hum can sometimes be difficult to resolve, so why not just avoid it altogether?

Now that's no fun :biggrin:

mdaudioguy

leftwinger57 wrote: »

As for ranting on Gateway I at least would have some input or direct me in some direction not to hang up.....LW

Anyone who's answering the phone for Gateway, Dell, HP, Apple, etc..., isn't going to be able to help with this. Your PC outputs sound - that much they'll know. Your best bet is to learn on a forum, or get a knowledgeable friend to come over and help. I'd do so if I was close. Like I said before in one of the other threads you started on here, you've already received a lot of good, valid suggestions. Good luck!

mdaudioguy

inspiredsports wrote: »

Now that's no fun :biggrin:

Hey, for me, half the fun's in trying!
For others, it's just frustrating...

leftwinger57

I know this is a very late post, but ALL IS RESOLVED. After trying your ideas when I came to my main rack for whatever reason I unplugged the HDMI port out which is only used for on-screen adjustments for the avr. Since the Yamaha is fine it , the Hdmi plug got disconnected and ALL and I do mean All hum is gone. So now I'm listening to streaming computer music which kills terestrial radio and I couldn't be happier. Did I say there is no hum, I mean it and the sound quality out of 7-chl stereo is fantastic....LW