[mowgli317]

I have Altec Lansing ADA995 speakers on Dell Dimension 8300 with Nvidia 6200. Recently I get unbearably loud hum when the woofer is switched on.
Steps to date:
1. Disconnect from surge board and plug into wall socket. No change.
2. Disconnect from sound card (Audigy 2). Noise changed to hum AND high pitched screech. Smell of burning.
3. Then, unplug each speaker one by one. No change.
4. Then, unplug ALL speakers. Noise reverts to deep reverberating hum.
5. Eventually now, with speakers reconnected, hum lessens and noise is loud, continuous high-pitched screech. No burning smell.
Any ideas?

[Telstar]

Just a thought...

do you happen to have a Mic that connects to your comp located nearby that the volume might be on/too high?

Check the Volume Control (double-click little speaker in your Taskbar) and make sure that volume is muted and see what happens.

[mowgli317]

Thanks Telstar,
No, no mic.
Checked with all settings muted.
Woofer is disconnected from PC but I note that the S/PDIF light is coming on when I switch woofer on.
With all speakers unplugged the screech goes but woofer makes loud rumbling noise and then VERY loud 'pop' when switched off.
I think I'll change my level from intermediate to beginner!

[Telstar]

Here's a Troubleshooting Guide you may or may not already be familiar with which is part of the Altec Lansing ADA995 User's Guide.

There's a section in there Subwoofer emits loud humming or buzzing noise that indicates a possible Ground loop issue that could be the cause. In fact I had been thinking that a hum coming from speakers of any kind is often related to improper grounding or even something as simple as incorrectly connecting positive to negative connections so, something to check out.

Also, there's the Self-Diagnostic Feature

The ADA995 has a built-in diagnostic function to test the operation of all speakers. This test is usually performed when no sound is detected from the speakers, and after all other solutions have been tried in the Table of problems, possible causes and solutions.

Good luck!

[mowgli317]

Hi Telstar,
The User's Guide was where I started. Not much success so far.
I am puzzled by the S/PDIF indicator light entry in the Guide. It seems to imply that if the light comes on there is something wrong as it falls under the heading of 'Troubleshooting tips'. At the moment my woofer is just plugged into the wall socket, disconnected from both PC and speakers.
When I switch on I get the 'booming', with no way of turning it down, and the light comes on, apparently indicating detection of a digital signal...but where from?? With this set of circumstances I can only conclude that there is a fault with the Woofer itself.
Thanks for your help. Pity that the manufacturers haven't the foresight to provide something similar. Where will I buy from next?

[Telstar]

That User's Guide was about the best I could do for you until I had this bright idea...

why not contact the manufacturer Altec Lansing and perhaps talk to someone in their Technical Support department that might be able to help. They're located in Pennsylvania.

Here's the contact info:
http://www.alteclansing.com/index.ph...ect=contact_us

Heck, they might even be kind enough to replace any faulty components like a defective woofer that might be the cause of all your problems (I had a recent experience with a coffee maker from Mr. Coffee that had died...the warranty had expired but I took a chance and a call to them very unexpectedly got me a brand new coffee maker so, you never know till you've tried).

Keep us abreast of how things turned out.

[mowgli317]

Hi Telstar,
Don't let the CONTACT US entries on the Altec Lansing site fool you. I tried pressing the buttons on the right of the page and each one created another copy of the same window. As I'm in the UK I try to avoid phoning tech supports as I usually get bounced around from Mumbai to Vladivostok and we all talk in our respective languages and (to coin a phrase) what little that comes of it is truly precious - better in writing.
Many thanks for your assist. I guess the piggybank is in for a hammering.
Regards

[Telstar]

Oops sorry, didn't realize you were in the U.K. You might consider adding that to your Edit Your Details in your account so everyone who views your posts has that perspective.

You're right about clicking on those links and going nowhere...what's up with that? That is really poor site management by whomever is supposed to take care of things like that.

I know what you mean about being discouraged from calling customer support...it's the same story for most manufacturers...I usually end up somewhere in India where I constantly have to keep asking "can you repeat that please?"

Again, good luck...hope you find a quick resolution.

[BruinBeer]

Whenever you plug a sound device in your computer or unplug it, don't do it while both devices are switched on. Ive do it once and now that port is damaged. All sorts of hums is now coming from it. If you unplug it that way then you short
the + with the - of the socket
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