I’m getting buzz sound when plugging in my iPad to my Bose L1 pro 32 speaker by the 3.5mm input. here’s the chain of adaptors from the iPad I have a audio and power y splitter that gives the iPad the ability to charge and send audio through a 3.5mm jack, from that audio outlet I have the tracktor audio splitter that I send audio to the Bose speaker and also my headphones. (Note: im also using a Y power splitter to have an extra outlet for the iPad charging brick) When I plug power into the chain via a certified iPad usbc brick I start to hear ground loop buzzing. What’s the best way you guys suggest I plug my iPad into my speaker given that Im also able to power the iPad and also able to use pre-cueing with headphones. I am struggling and it’s been over a week and still can’t figure this out.
Save yourself the time and money.
→ Get an Apple adapter + basic controller.
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Apple USB-C Digital AV Adapter
USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter - Apple -
Basic Controllers
- Hercules Starlight
- Numark DJ2GO2 Touch
- Pioneer DDJ-FLX2
Notes:
*I’ve futzed around a lot with those types of adapters for music (audio mixing, keyboards, synth apps and djay pro) - It is all prone to ground loop interference:
- USB-C is even more sensitive to ground loops than previous versions of USB.
- The split/Y cabling creates excellent antennas for stray EMI. The more split/Y cables you add the better your reception (and that’s not good).
- Add a circuit for power/charging and you could not design a better system for creating ground loop interference in the cheap electronics.
This is the same reason that stand-alone USB sound cards are preferred over internal sound cards. It solves many electrical interference issues in cheap electronics.
I’d recommend getting a Reloop Mixtour Pro to give yourself a more professional config, with stereo audio, dedicated cueing and RCA outputs.
So im getting rid of Djing with a controller completely, I’m coming from Serato of 20 years using a MacBook and controller. seeing how intuitive and powerful this app really is, I want to complete change courses on the style of Djing I do. with that said, how can I pull this off viably with no controller? I really do appreciate your tips you seem to be experienced, I hope you can help me see my vision through with the right cables.
Hey PK, so im wanting to step away from all controllers all together, as I explained to Michael, I’m coming from a Serato and controller background and after testing out this app I am wanting to completely change my style. So having no controller is key here. What solution can you think of to help me achieve this configuration?
Hi @Djgusgus, welcome to the community! I recommend that you use an Apple certified USB-C to headphone adapter from their website. Third party adapters like the one you showed above can be unreliable. Apple doesn’t make one with a charging socket, so, you may want to go with the Belkin one.
- Apple Adapter: Buy USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter - Apple
- Apple Certified Belkin Adapter: Belkin 3.5 mm Audio + Charge Rockstar - Apple
- Then I would connect your Native Instruments DJ Headphone splitter cable.
- Also try connecting your Genuine Apple charger to a high quality surge protector.
so im plugging the speaker to this and the apple charger to this as well. my iPad takes usb c so option 2. would not work for me. and option one only gives me audio out but no way to power my iPad. Do you think this option would work better?
Hi @Djgusgus, sorry I didn’t realize that Belkin adapter was Lightning instead of USB-C.
I would definitely ditch that Y adapter and plug your iPad charger into a proper power bar or surge protector instead.
That Anker USB-C hub would be a good option. I have a similar one from Baseus that works great. Both companies are reputable and make high quality hubs.
So I just figured out that the issue is the extension usb cable, I have a hub already that is used for another rig, I tried it and all works perfect, except when I plug the extension usbc cable to it. there seems to be a compatibility issue between hub and extension. keep in mind that the usb cable coming off of the hub is male, and the extension cable is male to male forcing me to use a female to female adaptor to plug those together. there’s also the factor that I want the cable have a ribbon end so that I can tuck it inside of the frame of the stand and run it along the inside of the stand (as pictured bellow) here is a link to the ribbon cable and female to female adaptor.
[https://a.co/d/g3jWEcw](Amazon.com: USB C Charger Cable,60W 6ft Type C Charging Cable,Flat 90-Degree C-Port,Type C Fast Charging with L Design Right Angle Seamless Charging for iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max,MacBook,Samsung S23/S22/S21 etc. : Electronics)
Thanks for the follow up. Glad you got it sorted out. I would definitely try to avoid extra adapters and long USB cable runs if possible. Sounds like you’ve got it figured out though.
I don’t have the same setup but I learned that buzzing when using my iPad would stop when my iPad wasn’t charged to 100%. Once it hits 100% the buzzing starts.
So now whenever I have a gig coming up I let my iPad drain to about 75% and it never hits 100% during a 4 hour set.
Thanks for sharing @WhenIFeelLikeIt. You could also change the charging limit to 80% in the iPad>Settings>Battery>Battery Health>80% Limit. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about running it down ahead of time are accidentally hitting 100%.
