Volca sample noise and constant tone

jugger · Post by **jugger** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 5:56 pm

Hi,

Is it normal that when using headphones with volca sample, in addition to the expectable background noise you can also hear a fairly quiet tone in the background? It doesn't make any difference if I use it with AC or batteries, also adjusting the volume doesn't have any effect on how loud the noise and tone are. I have tried several headphones and all of them have the problem. I can't hear the problem when using active speakers though.

Actually, whatever is happening on the LED screen seems to affect to the constant pitch. If I for example change the sample and the screen says something like "S.002", for that moment the tone disappears. But when the text "LIVE" comes back to the screen, immediately the constant pitch is back too.

darenager · Post by **darenager** » Wed Dec 31, 2014 1:55 am

No that is not normal, do you have any other cables plugged in?

Sounds like the LED display is leaking noise to the output.

jugger · Post by **jugger** » Wed Dec 31, 2014 7:08 am

No other cables plugged in. I tried now with Akg studio headphones and can't hear the tone then. Problems only seem to come up with more sensitive headphones like earphones.

jugger · Post by **jugger** » Wed Dec 31, 2014 9:50 am

i sent it for warranty repairs, probably takes couple weeks to come back... Let's see if they manage to fix it.

bretik · Post by **bretik** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 7:52 pm

Same problem here. Any tips on how to fix it?

Tom 62 · Post by **Tom 62** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 10:04 am

The high background noise is absolutely normal for all Volca models. It's dependent from the impedance of your headphone. When using my AKG headphones with Volca Sample or Keys I get much lower noise than with my other headphones.

jugger · Post by **jugger** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 7:35 am

Tom 62 wrote:The high background noise is absolutely normal for all Volca models. It's dependent from the impedance of your headphone. When using my AKG headphones with Volca Sample or Keys I get much lower noise than with my other headphones.

Yes this is true, I got my unit back from repairs and they told that there is nothing wrong with it. So basically it's not recommended to use Volca series units with any low-impedance headphones/earbuds unless you are OK with a lots of noise in background. Fortunately Volca Sample can output relatively high volumes even with higher impedance headphones like AKG Studio.

aw-bs · Post by **aw-bs** » Thu Mar 12, 2015 7:37 am

Hi All,
I also have this problem.
When you turn this device and listen to the speaker the constant noise is still there.
This should be normal too ????

Have you the same situation?

I have no interest to send the device to service and get it back with no change...

macpepito · Post by **macpepito** » Tue May 19, 2015 5:23 pm

Can anybody clarify this, please?
I have got the same problem with my volca sample.
Ok, there is the usual background noise, but there is also a low tone like jugger said.
I also tried with the included batteries and with an official korg power supply.
Maybe the noise is lower with the power supply, but I'm not sure.
Is that normal?
Have all volca sample units that extra noise?

neeve1 · Post by **neeve1** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 12:16 am

have the same problem. so is this a problem with all volca models?
i get background noise out of the little speaker on the back as well regardless
of how the volume is set.

thanks.

macpepito · Post by **macpepito** » Fri Dec 04, 2015 10:25 am

I own two volcas, sample+keys.
The two units have a lot of background noise for my taste.
In my opinion, it is something related with the product quality and the user's ear/gear.

holmes · Post by **holmes** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 6:49 pm

Has there been any answer from Korg about the background noise on Volca Sample? I just bought one, and I like the features and workflow, but I find the background noise to be quite bad - both the internal speaker and using good headphones. It's static and not effected by the master volume or any other parameter. I know this is low-cost budget type of device, but even a $30 Casio keyboard has really low noise in comparison.

effemm · Post by **effemm** » Tue Jul 12, 2016 12:35 pm

See discussion here:
http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... p?t=104622

>____<

holmes · Post by **holmes** » Tue Jul 12, 2016 1:46 pm

Yes, that's interesting that the new Volca FM has the same sort of issue. Although they are experiencing noise out the line out as well. With this Volca Sample, the noise floor isn't that bad when going out of the line out into a mixer or audio interface, but with headphones and the built in speaker it's a bad noise floor. The built in speaker hiss is noticeable to the point of being bothersome.

Has anyone figured out if some units are worse than others and whether it's worth trying to exchange it for another one?

Right_teddy · Post by **Right_teddy** » Sat Dec 01, 2018 2:30 pm

yes my volca sample has lots of background noise when headphones are plugged straight in.. however plug it through my mixer and the noise is gone! I almost returned it but glad i didn't!

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Volca sample noise and constant tone

Volca sample noise and constant tone

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