Sound Issue Continues Across 3 New Machines

mattlenco_1971

i just bought 

Item SKU	Item Description	Quantity	Per Item Price	Total Price
980375	DELL CTO X8930 9700/16/512/165	1	999.99	999.99
119107	ASUS 31.5" LED VG328H1B MONITG	1	299.99	299.99
096156	HARMANKAR QUANTUM 100 GMG HEAD	1	39.95	39.95
Subtotal »			1,339.93
Shipping »			62.09
Tax »			80.40
Order Total »			$1,482.42

My daughters friends tell her there is a noise when she connects her new JBL headset. We upgrade the Dell and Windows drivers and run the sound diagnostic tool on the PC. Mind you you can hear her but there is background noise.  So, its technically working but with a background noise. We try her Apple ear buds and the same problem persists. We try a bluetooth headset and the issue doesn't occur. We use a separate microphone and plug it into the microphone jack and the same problem persists. 
Thinking there is something wrong with the PC we take it back to the Fairfax Microcenter who give us a replacement PC. I take it home and the same problem persists.
So, I take the second machine back and upgrade to a different platform/vendor-Rog Strix. When we bring it home and plug her JBL headset, Apple earbuds and microphone into the headset and/or microphone jack on the front of the PC we run a test skyping and the same noises exists! 
The same problem persists across three two new PCs one of which is a different vendor all together. 


What could it be? What is causing this background noise? Why does it not happen with a bluetooth headset? Does the ASUS monitor have a microphone in it that causes interference? I am at a loss here. Has anyone heard of this issue before? Possibly a way to isolate the problem and solve it?

TSTonyV

My guess is the reason it doesn't happen with the bluetooth headset is because it's not physically plugged in. I highly doubt your monitor has anything to do with it, but the easiest way to test that is to try using a different monitor, moving the tower, etc...

Realistically, it's most likely an issue with the cable on the headset/headphones, but it's kind of hard to say for sure. This is a bit of a longshot, but have you tried using a different outlet, or power strip, or anything like that? I think that could be worth a shot, maybe there's some kind of electrical interference happening there. 

I'd also double check and of the mic sensitive/gain settings in the software you're using. It could be that the microphone is just way overly sensitive and picking up noise. 

mattlenco_1971

We just isolated the problem to the brand new generic HD web camera I bought from Amazon. We swapped out a web camera from someone in the house and there was no buzzing. The same suspect camera was placed on another machine and the buzzing happend during a Skype sessin. 
I closed my Amazon accounts but I can still write a review on how bad the camera is. 
I feel bad taking those two Dell machines back to Fairfax Microcenter when the issue was with the web camera. I had to upgrade from Dell spending an extra $200 so my guilt is subsiding. 
Is there a way to tell the store those machines are OK?
Matt

TSTonyV

When we have systems brought back in we typically test them for any hardware issues, so don't feel too bad about it. If I were in your position I likely would've done the same thing. I probably should've thought of it, but it makes sense that other peripherals could cause issues like this if it has a bad cable or something. 

I'm glad you were able to get it sorted out! Please reach out again if you have any questions or issues.