Bad static sound coming from my used Roland JUNO-DS 61 whenever I use a headphone splitter

[ocomobock]

I know this is an oddly specific problem. I guess I'm just curious if anyone knows what's going on here or if it sounds like the juno is messed up and I should get a new one.

When I record music, I use a headphone splitter to hear both my laptop audio and keyboard audio at the same time. A bad static noise shows up when I connect a USB from my juno to the laptop. This occurs only when I'm using a headphone splitter and the keyboard is connected to my laptop through a USB cable. I have tried this on another laptop and I get the same static noise under the same circumstances, so I know it's not a problem specifically with my laptop.

Furthermore, my laptop seems to freeze randomly at least once a day when I have the juno plugged into the laptop through USB. I did buy my juno used, so it is possible that I just have a faulty synth? It's a shame cause everything else works just fine, but this problem is really bugging me.

 

[happyrat1]

A splitter cable on two outputs will eventually destroy the output transistors of one or both devices. The mismatched impedances mean that one circuit is trying to drive the other as well as the output.

You should have used a proper mixer circuit.

At this point you've trashed your output.

Now all you can do is shell out $200 for a repair or learn to live with a fried headphone output.

Gary

 

[ocomobock]

A splitter cable on two outputs will eventually destroy the output transistors of one or both devices. The mismatched impedances mean that one circuit is trying to drive the other as well as the output.

You should have used a proper mixer circuit.

At this point you've trashed your output.

Now all you can do is shell out $200 for a repair or learn to live with a fried headphone output.

Gary

Dang I had no idea this was a bad idea. The headphone outputs on both devices actually work fine when used solo, but create static when used in conjunction. Do you think they're still fried anyway?

EDIT: Also, the problem only occurs when I plug the USB into my laptop from the keyboard. Otherwise the headphone splitter works perfectly fine with no static.

 

[Biggles]

Throw the splitter in the trash and buy a Mixer, $100 will get you a reasonable unit.

 

[happyrat1]

Ya know what? Don't feel so bad. I learned the lesson the hard way too way back like 25 years ago with a Casio WK-1750 pumping output thru the headphone jack. Totally fried the headphone output when I was driving a home stereo as an amp.

Let's face it. We never google this stuff until AFTER it happens to us.

At least if the headphone output is fried on the Juno DS you still have proper Line Outs. The WK didn't.

And if the headphone jack is fried now you can always use the phones jack on the mixer plugged into the Juno's Line Outs.

Chalk it up to a life lesson well learned and keep on moving forward

Gary

 

[happyrat1]

Just noticed the second part of your query.

The effect of the headphone going noisier when you plug in the USB on your laptop might be a sort of ground loop situation caused by the Juno and the laptop plugged into different outlets.

Sometimes the same outlets in the same room could have been miswired by an amateur electrician putting earth ground and current ground on reversed or even the same circuit, with impedance differentials sufficient to generate hum or or other noise effects in audio equipment.

Best advice?

Probably don't do it or find a workaround.

Gary

 

[happyrat1]

BTW, when you buy the mixer, take a half hour and Google the proper use of TS vs TRS cables in audio situations.

Plug the wrong cable into the wrong input our output and the results are not always pretty.

You should look up musical instrument cabling in general.

Gary

 

[Effectone]

I know this is an oddly specific problem. I guess I'm just curious if anyone knows what's going on here or if it sounds like the juno is messed up and I should get a new one.

When I record music, I use a headphone splitter to hear both my laptop audio and keyboard audio at the same time. A bad static noise shows up when I connect a USB from my juno to the laptop. This occurs only when I'm using a headphone splitter and the keyboard is connected to my laptop through a USB cable. I have tried this on another laptop and I get the same static noise under the same circumstances, so I know it's not a problem specifically with my laptop.

Furthermore, my laptop seems to freeze randomly at least once a day when I have the juno plugged into the laptop through USB. I did buy my juno used, so it is possible that I just have a faulty synth? It's a shame cause everything else works just fine, but this problem is really bugging me.

I wOuld update the firmware , and try another usb cable. Usb can produce static noise on a pc. I would try to hook the juno using midi and not through usb. Usb is and will always be a pile of problems on audio products.

My juno 88 is connected through midi out to midi in of my soundcard. No static noises.

Static noises can be very hard to fix. I even had to by a new motherboard once.