Looking for audio help

[smutrux]

Hey all, I'm looking for some help and or suggestions. 

I recently built a new computer with a Gigabyte B850M Gaming X mobo. I'm not noticing that I can hear my gpu (RX 6900 XT) coil whine as audio interference though my headphones. That wasn't the case on my previous build, so my question is: Is this a common/known phenomenon? If so, is there an elegant fix? 

I'm thinking along the lines of a usb dac that connects to an internal usb header and to the front panel audio cable. This mobo has room for a full blown sound card but it would asphyxiate my gpu so I'd like to avoid those, if at all possible. I have tried to use an external usb dac I have for my phone, and the audio artifacts are not present, though that's an inelegant solution, I find. The only thing I can think of is to use one of those usb c to 3.5mm audio cables, but one of those would plug up my only front usb c port. 

Happy to provide more info if needed.

 

Some troubleshooting that I've already done: Driver updated, tried different dac, checked front panel audio cable routing (definitely runs tightly past power cables but those should all be DC, therefore little to no interference, right?), Bluetooth but the degraded audio quality during bi-directional audio streaming (on a call) makes that unusable

Edited April 5, 2025 by smutrux
Updated troubleshooting

[Psittac]

So coil whine in the audio system is a difficult one to deal with.  I had this issue a few years ago and it was all external to my PC.  I learned a couple of thing's, that something about the PSU can contribute to it, I don't know what but when I changed PSU's it went away and when I got the RMA of the same model PSU that was in the PC before, it came back.  The overall issue is a grounding problem, for me it was in one of several amps that was plugged into the RCA/single ended side of my dac/amp and it was feeding back through everything on the single ended side, even the dac/amp that was coming from the computer.  I never got to this point but was going to use a ground loop isolator, however I figured out the problem and rearranged my setup.  It was a cheap tube amplifier that was causing the issue, even when it was off.

 

Single ended means RCA or one supply one ground per channel.  Balanced connections are somewhat immune to this phenomenon, at least in my testing.  Balanced, typically XLR have a way to filter out noise because it compares the two signals and removes interference.

 

For your situation I would imagine that it is related to the PSU and/or motherboard, maybe the combination of the two that neither would have a problem with combined with different components, that's just a guess.  Since you have tested a dongle then it's safe to say that a different USB audio solution would work, should it fill all of your needs.

 

Typically PCI sound cards are a dead end, they still exist and can be competent but the vast majority of audio solutions are USB.  Whether that's a dongle (type A in your situation) or a dac/amp combo or separate dac and amp or even wireless.  There are so many ways to skin this cat that it might be good to start another thread asking about a USB sound card, or see if this thread works out.

 

What is the reason you are wanting to connect to your PC's front panel? If it's for ease of access you could always just get an AUX extension, also known as a TRS extension and place the end of it anywhere you want, like under your desk or monitor.

 

What headphones you use and what your budget is along with country you live in will help others give a recommendation.

[smutrux]

Thank you for such a detailed writeup, this is why I came here instead of Reddit lol

 

My budget is whatever it takes to solve this problem effectively and invisibly. I live in Canada, so 60 Hz and 121 ± 5 Vac, even under load. The headphones I use are Sony's WH 1000X mk4, wired with ANC on. I should note, this issue goes away with ANC off, and this behaviour is consistent with the mk5 too. 

 

I haven't considered a balanced audio solution, mainly for practicality (headphones need asym input). On my previous system I didn't have this issue, and the only related things that've changed are the mobo, GPU, and CPU(?). I carried the PSU over. If I understand correctly, the PSU could be bad and my old main board just had a better tolerance towards that?

 

Lastly, on the front panel. Yes, ease of access and simplicity. I don't like extra cables dangling around, though using the back panel seems like a simple and -- in my case -- free resolution. That being said, surely it's not that expensive to make a usb dac that has a front panel header connector instead of a usb A connector, right? And instead of a 3.5mm audio jack on the other side, a front panel audio header, or? Idk, maybe I'm way out of touch or just super nit-picky.

[Psittac]

3 hours ago, smutrux said:

Thank you for such a detailed writeup, this is why I came here instead of Reddit lol

 

My budget is whatever it takes to solve this problem effectively and invisibly. I live in Canada, so 60 Hz and 121 ± 5 Vac, even under load. The headphones I use are Sony's WH 1000X mk4, wired with ANC on. I should note, this issue goes away with ANC off, and this behaviour is consistent with the mk5 too. 

 

I haven't considered a balanced audio solution, mainly for practicality (headphones need asym input). On my previous system I didn't have this issue, and the only related things that've changed are the mobo, GPU, and CPU(?). I carried the PSU over. If I understand correctly, the PSU could be bad and my old main board just had a better tolerance towards that?

 

Lastly, on the front panel. Yes, ease of access and simplicity. I don't like extra cables dangling around, though using the back panel seems like a simple and -- in my case -- free resolution. That being said, surely it's not that expensive to make a usb dac that has a front panel header connector instead of a usb A connector, right? And instead of a 3.5mm audio jack on the other side, a front panel audio header, or? Idk, maybe I'm way out of touch or just super nit-picky.

I wouldn't say your PSU is faulty, rather it's more of a mismatch or perhaps like you said the mb is just less tolerant.  It's one of those thing's that no one will ever know short of trying different products, and for that you'd need to spend a lot of time and money when in all honesty no one really cares about it except the few people it affects.  You'd need something like the labs team to tackle it to get a full picture of what the issue really is, and that's assuming it's not multiple factors.  It could be different with each situation.

 

Also I was unaware that it was only on the front panel connector, I didn't put 2 and 2 together.  If that's the situation it might not even be the PSU and could be a grounding issue with the case or just the header on the mb, like I said no real way to know short of investigating further.

 

I googled balanced cable for your headphones and they supposedly exist, I would verify this and if you want to get a balanced system go to hart audio cables or periapt audio cables and ask them to make you one, might need to be "custom" but that doesn't mean more expensive, it just means they don't have a specific sku for it and they need actual instructions on what to make, it costs the same as if it were an actual product.  Then you could look into a balanced solution that connects via USB.  This is anything but the cheapest solution however it may be more elegant because you can set it somewhere convenient with nothing but the correct length USB cable and power cable running to it.  Some solutions only need USB for power.  I just mention all of that because you sounded half way interested.

 

As to the front panel, this isn't a common thing.  I went to creatives site and found the Sound Blaster XAE-5 has a front panel connector.  I haven't had a Creative labs product for decades, but I'd imagine that they are competent.  No promises that it won't do the same thing but it's the best solution I can find that fit's your needs.

[smutrux]

Okay, so I did some thinking and testing. I'll go with my cheapest option: my cable is long enough to reach the rear audio output and there is no interference there. Ideally, I would use a usb dac, a small internal front panel usb to usb A adapter to plug that dac in, then somehow wire up the dac output to the front panel audio connector but that would get complicated with the sensing pins and the cursed presence pin. The other suggestions you had were all golden, very good options, just nor for me. Though, you have been super helpful, especially with the context on psu and mother board mismatches. Next time I make a build, if I remember, I'll do some extensive testing before the return window closes up