Sound Blaster Live! 24

[soundhelp]

Hi,

I have recently had a problem with Soundblaster Live! 24 on my Dell Dimension 9100, Windows XP, where the left and right channels are coming out of both the left and right speakers (from the test on Creative Settings).  Only a few days ago they were coming out of the correct speakers (left from left, right from right only).

There is a really loud static noise, even when I've turned the system sound down low, with the speaker volume on normal level.  I have tried installing all of the updates to the drivers, but cannot find a solution.

Any help is much appreciated.

[foresthill]

Have you added any additonal sound cables to the speakers, as in, to make the cable longer?
It sounds like you know what you are doing so I assume you have checked all of the settings to be sure that Stereo is set and not mono.

[quaxo]

Sounds like something has a short in it somewhere and the two channels are getting merged on both sides, which sometimes gives that buzzing noise regardless of what the volume is set to. Try plugging something else in, like headphones or another set of speakers, and see if the problem persists. If you don't hear it through headphones or other speakers, it's possible your current speaker's wires are damaged.

That's not a bad card, I had one for years and years and it's still in use in my girlfriend's system. I upgraded to an Creative X-Fi card on my last build.

[soundhelp]

Thanks for the replies.

Foresthill - no additional cables, just the standard ones with Dell speakers - I should have mentioned before it is a 2.1 system with the left speaker going through the subwoofer into the right speaker, then the right speaker into the sound card.  I've triple checked all the settings and even changed them to see if it makes any difference, but it doesn't unless I'm missing one somewhere

Quaxo - I'm getting the same problems through headphones on the front headphone socket, but I'll try a different set of speakers and check for any obvious wear and tear on the cables and let you know - it is buzzing regardless of the volume though.  It is a really good card though, so I hope it isn't on it's way out!

I have tried uninstalling Soundblaster and re-installing (I tried to make this the last resort!), but it still came back as before with the buzzing...

[quaxo]

Did you try unplugging the speakers when you plugged in the headphones to the front? If there's a short in the speaker cable, it's possible that it might just be feeding back through, so make sure they're unplugged when you try it. You could even try plugging the headphones into the back while you're at it.

If you're still getting the buzz after that, there is probably a problem with the card and it will be easier to just replace it.