Static Issues with GMX 5.1D

[mac_nicrom]

I will try to explain this as simple as I can without getting lost.

I bought a Klipsch GMX 5.1D sound system from the Apple Store a couple months ago. The speakers looked awesome hooked to the Powermac G5. So I brought one home to my PowerMac G4. The G4 only has a headphone jack and apple pro speaker port.

At first I thought this was easy. Simple setup, and awesome sound. Well, both went wrong. I set up the speakers after reading the manual. I took the coaxial-to-headphone jack cable and plugged it into my headphone jack of my G4. I turned on the system, set it to Digital Coax and tried playing a song. Nothing happened, no sound. After reading I found out that coaxial is not compatible with my headphone jack. I bet your thinking I'm real stupid, but I really didn't know anything about optical, or coaxial or analog terminology at that time.

So the manual said i needed to use analog with DDPLII. I took the cables, hooked it up to the mac, and it worked. Analog works. So now I knew my mac needed some kind of sound card to receive coaxial connections. That was the least of my worries though.

In analog mode it says that there would be a hissing sound. At first I thought it was small, but it sounded loud! It was getting annoying. I thought it was my cables but I seemed to have plugged everything right. And ever since then I have been hearing this loud super-annoying hissing everytime my system is on. Though when I mute it via the remote, it's quiet.

Just out of curiosity I switched to the digital coax mode on the remote with nothing plugged into the coaxial port. All of a sudden it was quiet. No hissing at all. I thought, if I get coaxial everything would be quiet. But i don't know if this is true.

So my basic question is: If i get coaxial will my hissing go away completely when it is plugged in. Second: Is it normal for the Analog mode to have a loud annoying hissing sound? Are my speakers defective? And third: I have found a sound card with an SDPIF out port, will this sound card help me connect my mac and sound system via coaxial. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/70103/wo/Df7LVBemKYnv2cgiXRM1zjjC6dj/2.3.0.5.10 Last question: Is coaxial better than analog, and is it better than optical?

Thank you to anyone who responds to my dilemma. Gabe

[eq_shadimar]

Okies I will try to help out a bit here. First let me tell you that I have a GMX 5.1 system as well and there is no hissing on the analog input so this is not normal. Now lets look at what might be causing the problem.

Analog -

First make sure you have the correct cable which should be a 1/8" mini Stereo plug to 2 RCA plugs (normally red and white). Look in the Apple documentation to see if you have a line out jack that is the normal 1/8 stereo jack. This will be different than the headphone jack and made specifically for hooking the MAC up to a stereo. This would be your best option. If you have to use the headphone jack the loud hissing may be reduced by turning down the volume on the MAC. You should be able to find a balance of the volume on the MAC and the volume of the GMX that will produce a lot less hissing. I think the hissing is because the headphone output is over driving the analog input on the GMX.

Surround processing will be Dolby Surround or Dolby Surround II

Digital -

COAX and optical. For your equipment both will be the same. COAX cables are much cheaper. Also most gaming consoles use an optical output so if you ever want to hook one up then it is a good idea to keep that input free.

Surround processing will be Dolby DIgital 5.1 or Dolby Surround/II

The digital connection will allow for DD 5.1 sound if your software and sound card support it.

Hope this helps!

OPPS forgot to add that you may find more help down in the Promedia GMX section. The guys there really know their stuff.

Laters,

Jeff

[mac_nicrom]

Actually, when i just leave the sound system turn on and switched to analog mode on either 5CH,2ch,Dobly 1/2 and when nothing is plugged into the gmx controller(the optical,coaxial, analog ports) the hiss is still there. it has to be the sound system itself that has the problem. one thing tho: in analog mode it wont let me into dobly digital, is that ok? or does that only work on digital opt/coax. thanks

[eq_shadimar]

Correct the Dolby Digital will only be active with a COAX or optical connection. Also the source material also has to be DD 5.1 too. What volume level is the system on? Also make sure that the test button on the control pod is not on. This will cause white noise or hiss to come out of the speakers.

Laters,

Jeff

[kfalls]

I went to the Klipsch Pilgrimage last weekend and asked the same question about the hissssss. I was told it's a result of an updated design decision made to increase the gain of the amplifier. When you increase the gain, you increase the noise floor as well. Apparently the increased gain is was what the consumer wanted and Klipsch complied. I bought the GMX-D5.1 hoping to get an above average to excellent multimedia speaker system. What I got was a system with more hiss than Indiana Jones heard in the Temple of Souls knee-deep in snakes! I let my son have the system as I can barely stand it to be on while I'm at the computer. So, if you're hoping to find a solution to the hissssss issue, you're out of luck. What you are hearing I'm told was by design.