noisy inputs on hardware effects

howdy,

i bought a roland DEP-5 recently and the inputs are seriously noisy. even the bypass signal sounds completely degraded, especially through the right channel. if i wiggle the input cords i can hear a sort of digital distortion feedback. it almost sounds as if it's rapidly teetering between stereo and mono.

i was thinkin about maybe tryin to replace the input jacks but i've never done anything like it before. are they even the problem?

i should mention that i've pretty much isolated the problem to the inputs of the DEP-5. i've tested other cords and checked all the other devices in the chain separately.

any advice would be appreciated, it sucks not being able to use it.

some gear is just noisy. roland ef-303 i have goes eeeee quietly. puts me off using it most times...

but if one channels is different from the other, i'd try replacing the jacks, yeah.

shit i hope it wouldn't be this noisy naturally, it's pretty much unusable. i guess i'll give replacing the inputs a shot, though i'm not too sure how/where to get the correct parts. any recommendations?

google, maybe ask on the AH mailing list? not entirely on topic but those dudes might know

also, maybe they're 100% bog standard jacks and they sell them for 50c each on the web -- not all these parts are rare unique jewels!

always a good policy to open it up and have a looksee for any obvious problems if you aren't a klutz.

awesome, didn't even think of analoghaven.. that's a really good idea. you might be right about them being standard jacks, too. might as well take a look inside for the time being.

thanks for the help dude.

seems like this could also be an issue with impedance and or cabling, what are you running through it? Supposedly synthesizers and consumer audio are supposed to have the input selector switch set to -20 dBm so I could definitely see that being the problem if it were set to +4 dBm where it might benefit to have properly balanced multi-conductor cables w/ a good signal to noise ratio

just a thought before you go buying new parts

also if you dont have it the manual is here:

http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/DEP-5_OM.pdf

huh, didn't know that. i'm guessing it's because the output on synths is so high? good info.

Yeah, check for ground loops as well.

Also, no harm in using some of this stuff.

if it is eventually a ground loop, place some adhesive tape on the ground pins of your power cable to avoid contact with the wall socket ground pins.

  On 2/10/2011 at 4:11 PM, Scrambled Ears said:

seems like this could also be an issue with impedance and or cabling, what are you running through it? Supposedly synthesizers and consumer audio are supposed to have the input selector switch set to -20 dBm so I could definitely see that being the problem if it were set to +4 dBm where it might benefit to have properly balanced multi-conductor cables w/ a good signal to noise ratio

 

just a thought before you go buying new parts

also if you dont have it the manual is here:

http://media.rolandus.com/manuals/DEP-5_OM.pdf

yeah i suppose that could be the problem as well. the chain i was running was: mixer -> stereo synth -> stereo digital delay ->stereo analog reverb -> DEP-5 -> output to mixer. when i remove the DEP-5 from the chain, i hear no issues, and when i wiggle the input cords i can specifically hear the problem amplified, which is what leads me to believe it's a loose or dirty jack. also, the noise persists at both -20 dbm and +4 dbm, but -20 dbm is what i've been using.

i'll see what happens when i just go synth straight into the DEP-5 through headphones.

not really sure which parts to buy anyway, as when i opened up the DEP-5 the jacks were all encased in black plastic containers.

  On 2/10/2011 at 4:29 PM, mafted said:

huh, didn't know that. i'm guessing it's because the output on synths is so high? good info.

nah i don't think so, i experimented with the input and output levels of each device extensively.

  On 2/10/2011 at 5:18 PM, Ascdi said:

Yeah, check for ground loops as well.

doesn't sound much like a ground loop, but taking the DEP-5 out of the chain and auditioning it with just the synth and headphones should rule that out i think.

  On 2/10/2011 at 11:13 PM, uptown devil said:

yeah i suppose that could be the problem as well. the chain i was running was: mixer -> stereo synth -> stereo digital delay ->stereo analog reverb -> DEP-5 -> output to mixer. when i remove the DEP-5 from the chain, i hear no issues, and when i wiggle the input cords i can specifically hear the problem amplified, which is what leads me to believe it's a loose or dirty jack. also, the noise persists at both -20 dbm and +4 dbm, but -20 dbm is what i've been using.

 

i'll see what happens when i just go synth straight into the DEP-5 through headphones.

 

not really sure which parts to buy anyway, as when i opened up the DEP-5 the jacks were all encased in black plastic containers.

definitely sounds like a faulty jack... if you can't figure out how to replace the part yourself see if you can find anyone in the area who has experience servicing roland gear i know there's a guy in BK though it might cost a bit