White noise from Speakers

[GaretJax]

I got a new Pontiac G6 GT recently, and it came with the sun and sound package, which has an upgraded Monsoon stereo. I'm not a big stereo guy, so I don't know how good it is, but it sounds good enough to me.

Notwithstanding, my problem is the white noise that the system makes. It has a plug for my iPod (a normal 3.5mm cord that connects to my iPod from the front of the stereo). When that is plugged in, even if no audio is coming from the iPod, a white noise sort of sound is always going on. It is at a decent enough volume that if I want my music on low, I can hear it. I was told that this was normal by a guy at the dealership, and had been assuming it was just my sensitive hearing. However, after getting a new pair of PC speakers I found that even cheapie 25 dollar pc speakers from Walmart don't make that noise, so why would my car???

For reference, if you are unfamiliar with white noise, check out this website ( http://www.simplynoise.com ) to hear it; if you set the orb at 8% that seemed to be a good approximation of what I hear.

Additional information: Regardless of the level of the volume knob, the white noise volume stays the same. This also happens if I have XM radio on. I haven't noticed a change in the noise depending on what I am doing in the car at the moment (i.e. Driving, not driving, etc.) As soon as I turn off the stereo, the noise immediately stops. I've made sure the sound isn't coming from a bad cord, or from my iPod, so I am positive it is the stereo.

So is this noise normal? Now that I have these new cheap speakers I would expect to really hear nothing at all, and I think it really detracts from the clarity of my music since it is always there in the background. I can't really hear it when the volume is up high, but the fact that it is there probably makes everything sound worse.

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[groundpound4200 5,000+ posts]

definitely not normal.....

 

[endofdays89 5,000+ posts]

is white noise the long beeping sound that you can hear when you turn the head unit on?

 

[Simek4life 10+ year member]

Of course the guy from the dealership is going to tell you thats "its normal".

What does the "white noise" sound like?

My g/f has a Hyundai Santa Fe with the Monsoon system and its not an upgrade at all. It still sounds like shit imho. Do yourself a favor and upgrade to something aftermarket for decent quality sound.

 

[Horsemanwill 10+ year member]

does it only do it when play a cd or just listen to the regular radio?

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

Does this only happen with the auxiliary (3.5mm jack) on? It could be a poor quality 3.5mm jack cable. That's what happened to me. I upgraded and now it sounds great.

 

[BushJ311 5,000+ posts]

I clicked the link. Sounded fuzzy. or like in between radio stations.

X2 on a cheap 3.5 mm cord. i had a bad one and got a good one and its perfect now.

 

[GaretJax]

Wow, really quick responses, I'll try and get everything.

With respect to the cord: I bought 2 spanking new ones from Best Buy, one was even ridiculously expensive ($15 or something..) Neither helped.

With respect to explaining what it sounds like, I think the best option is to just listen to the link I put in my post.

Regarding upgrading my system, I appreciate the advice, but I'm just not interested in that, like I said, I'm not a very discriminating listener, but this white noise definitely does bother me.

I hate to sound like a jerk, but please read my whole post, a couple questions were pretty much already answered in my post. Though I really do appreciate all the help, and the speed thereof //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Simek4life 10+ year member]

Wow, really quick responses, I'll try and get everything.
With respect to the cord: I bought 2 spanking new ones from Best Buy, one was even ridiculously expensive ($15 or something..) Neither helped.

With respect to explaining what it sounds like, I think the best option is to just listen to the link I put in my post.

Regarding upgrading my system, I appreciate the advice, but I'm just not interested in that, like I said, I'm not a very discriminating listener, but this white noise definitely does bother me.

I hate to sound like a jerk, but please read my whole post, a couple questions were pretty much already answered in my post. Though I really do appreciate all the help, and the speed thereof //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I guess your best option would be to insist on the dealership replacing it for free. If you have tried multiple cords, then it is obviously that the CD player is faulty.

 

[Horsemanwill 10+ year member]

didn't answer my question you said xm and ipod only didn't state if it did it with cd or regular radio didn't want to assume anything so after that post i guess i will if it's not doing it with just the radio or cd player and only the "aux" stuff being the xm and the ipod i'd go to a different dealer not one you bought it from and ask to "demo" a system similar and see if it does it if it doesn't then take it back to the dealer and tell them to fix it. if it does then it is Normal for that system. it being factory who knows wats norm for them.

 

[GaretJax]

Simek: Any thoughts on what this would be or why it would be happening though? I'm pretty curious, and the car is under warranty, so I dont' expect any problem. It's a very recent purchase, and I hesitate to bring it in and have them fiddle about, rip out the radio, etc.

Also, why do you call it the CD player? I have no idea what the real term for it would be, but I just want to make sure you understand that the iPod is directly connected to my car, not through something. That way if there was a misunderstanding your advice will be even more helpful. Thank you for trying to help!

Horsemanwill: I'm sorry I missed replying to your comment. I haven't tried it what a CD but I woudl guess that it would do it, I can't go out and test at the moment. And with normal radio it does do it, but I woudl expect that from normal radio since reception and sound quality is always an issue with AM/FM. Thanks for trying to help me out!

Has anyone ever tried sitting in their car with the Aux audio input hooked up to nothing (or something that is not playing music) and the volume pretty high? Should I hear absolutely nothing?

 

[Horsemanwill 10+ year member]

i call it the cd player because of the "input" device for example with the cd playing it's using a different part of the deck to actually read the "music" it's using the laser and then sends the signal where as the ipod is from the ipod player then out to the signal. usually if there is hiss and a person has outbound amps the gain could be too high. but it being factory who knows.

 

[GaretJax]

Well, I just ran out and tested the CD player, same noise, same volume. What seems wierd to me is that it doesn't increase in volume even if I turn the volume up. The white noise pretty much stays at a constant volume.

I guess at this point I'm looking to go to the dealer armed witha bit of information about what could be causing it. Or vaguely hoping someone will have a good fix that will work very easily, though obviously that's pretty unlikely.

 

[Horsemanwill 10+ year member]

i'd have them check the amp then.