High-pitched whine/noise while using Cubase.

Got a new car for my wife, great trade.

Hi there,

I also am hearing a constant high-pitch sound through my speakers.
It begins the moment I load up Cubase 7.5 and remains constant and persistent (except when I disable the sound driver in Cubase entirely) until I finally close Cubase 7.5 .
It DOESN’T happen with any other software that I use.

I run a Windows 10 PC with Cubase 7.5.
The PC is coupled to my Yamaha MW10c mixer via a direct USB connection.
I’ve ensured that my computer has the latest Windows 10 compatible driver for this mixer installed on it.
My Yamaha MW10c mixer then sends the analogue stereo output via 1/4" line-level cables to my pair of Yamaha HS80M powered speakers.
All of the above mentioned products/equipment I’ve purchased and registered.

The noise is not overly loud, but loud enough to be quite intrusive.
Curiously enough, it is significantly louder from my right speaker than from my left speaker.
Disconnecting either of the two speakers does not change the level of it coming out of the other.

It is independent of my (powered) speaker volumes or the stereo output volume on my Yamaha MW10c mixer (it’s still apparent when ALL volumes are -inf dB on both the mixer, speakers and Windows’ mixer), so it’s clearly nothing to do with noise/interference in any of the analogue components of my gear.
It is also worth mentioning that the noise persists even without any audio inputs connected to my computer or mixer.

It is exactly 1kHz (I’ve tested it with a tuner) and it sounds much like a saw tooth wave.
Someone somewhere mentioned something about USB frames being in 1ms periods, so I’m speculating that this is somehow related to feedback over the USB interface between the PC and the Yamaha MW10c (again, this only happens with Cubase; not other software).

Has anyone got any ideas as to how I can eliminate this problem, without having to do without the USB interface between my computer and Yamaha mixer entirely?

I once had a problem a bit like that. It’s unlikely to be the same problem, but for what it’s worth:

I was running Cubase thru my audio interface, and system sounds thru the regular sound card. This was any sound generated outside of Cubase never makes it to the audio interface. (idea #1: It could be some interaction between the DAW and other software somehow running in the background that makes just a whisper of noise, so maybe silence other software sound sources.)

So I was running 2 stereo audio signals to my amp, with one of them selected at any time. (This was before I got powered monitors. I was using a home stereo system.) Regardless of which signal was active, there was moderately high pitched noise (more of a white noise than a sawtooth). I discovered that it went away when I disconnected the inactive signal. I believe the audio interface, the amp, and the computer soundcard had somehow shared a ground that they couldn’t agree on, despite all being on the same AC circuit. (idea #2: It could be an interaction between multiple audio inputs going into the mixer. Disconnect other inputs to see if it helps. It could be even a relationship thru the AC circuit).

Speakers acting differently

This suggests a cable problem. I now have Yamaha powered monitors, but I use the XLR connection on them. It’s line level (+4dB). You should use a balanced line if you’re not doing so already. (Doesn’t have to be XLR, could be 1/4" TRS).

But you don’t have the problem with other software. Perhaps the problem lies of the other side of Cubase. (idea #3: check for rogue input sources that might be feeding an an open audio track in Cubase. That would include cables carrying the input).

These are just guesses. I hope something helps.

Hi,

I am also having the same problem. I hear the buzzing coming directly out of my PC laptop into my headphones. It only happens when I open Cubase. I’m using Cubase 8.5, windows 10 - 64bit.

I tried reinstalling / updating my audio drivers but that didn’t work… however, I see that in my playback devices, it says that the audio is going through the speakers and there is no “headphones” option listed. So I thought that might be an issue, but after reinstalling drivers, there still does not seem to be a headphone option.

Any suggestions?

THIS PROBLEM IS NOT CABLES OR GEAR

I have the high pitched whine, it is at the same frequency as B6 (almost two octaves above middle C).
I have a a P105 (Yamaha digital Piano), cables from the Audio Outputs on the back into a small Behringer mixer with USB digital audio out.
All this is plugged into a Mac running High Sierra.

If I simply plug the piano in, switch it on and monitor through headphones - no whine. It is NOT coming from the piano. I don’t hear it on my monitor speakers either, which are plugged into the Main output from the mixer.

As soon as I switch on Cubase, the whine starts. If I now disconnect the piano, it stops. If I turn down the piano input pot, it stops.
IT ALSO HAPPENS WHEN I ACTIVATE GARAGE BAND!

I have a USB microphone, plugged directly into the machine, which does not have this problem. If I monitor the mixing desk, which has the piano plugged in, and I switch Cubase or Garage band to the USB Microphone Codec - the whine stops. This suggests to me that the problem is an interaction between the USB Audio Codec and the mixing desk, somehow.

I’ve tried all sorts of setting on the internal sound setting of the computer - but to no avail.

I am also having a high pitched tube amp noise when using Cubase 10 and Windows 10. I’ve checked every other cable. The amp is normal until I open Cubase 10. This causes the high pitched noise to come from the amp. I have no idea what to try next, other than maybe move the amp further from the computer.

I too had this problem , it wasn’t loud but grew to be intolerable by me over time.
Only happened when Cubase was open.
Tried it all - including a new computer.
On some advice from the RME forum I bought a USB isolator.
Intona USB 2.0 Isolator.
Wasn’t a glamorous purchase but well worth the $$ — wish I did this years ago!
Completely solved the whine and on top of that a noticeable Improvement in audio clarity.
It feels like I upgraded both my convertor and speakers to something much more $$$.

Hope this can help someone with the same issue and USB.
Not sure if anyone makes a FireWire version.

Thread necromancer! But none of the answers in this thread helped me and I have new info that maybe can help someone else. It fixed it for me.

So, I have an old UR22 on Windows 10, and whenever I started Cubase the connected speakers would emit this high pitched noise as described in this thread. Very faint but enough to drive you crazy, especially if you turn up the volume. Finally today I decided to do something about it.

Several hours later and a lot of trial and error I finally came to the conclusion that this only happens when the “Yamaha USB Codec” audio is activated.

SOLUTION: downgraded the Yamaha USB drivers from 2.x for Windows 10 to 1.x for Windows 7 and it fixed the problem completely for me!

Thinking about it this makes sense because I was on Windows 7 with no issues for the longest time, and didn’t notice this happening at first when I finally switched to Windows 10. So there you have it, if you too have this problem, on Windows 10, then try the older drivers. Not sure if this should be reported to Yamaha in some way, running outdated drivers isn’t that great…