U3818DW, low level hissing from speakers?

I do not have the U3818DW, but both of my U3415W with the same internal speakers as the U3818DW have this acceptable "hissing" noise when I mute accuradio or any other audio software. But I have to get very close to the panels to hear it. There have not been any internal emails discussing this. Which means that the manufacturer and Dell do not consider this as a systemic fault.

I have the same issue with the U3818DW. I had both the U3415W and U3417W and this hissing / static noise was not present. I think there is something to do with either the amping in the speakers or the hardware itself. I have tried getting a replacement and still the same issue persists. The source makes no difference. The static is in the 30 dB range, which pretty much makes listening to something at lower than 20% volume difficult. Has there been a solution to this problem yet?

There have not been any internal emails discussing this. Which means that the manufacturer and Dell do not consider this as a systemic fault.
DELL-Chris M

Just taking a guess, but since the monitor is fairly new on the market. The replacement I have received is not as bad (I am outside the 30 days) but it is still there. I have tried to update to the new .xxx3 firmware with no demonstrable improvement. But as mentioned, any signal sent that triggers the speakers (system notification, webpages, ect) will trigger the hiss. Honestly I would not have noticed it if my old u3417w and u3415w did this, but they both do not. Granted the space I use it in is very quiet. But again, it is the low volume listening which becomes very distracting. It is even stranger that they supposedly have the same speakers.

We did back in December. The U3818DW speakers in the lab when accuradio was muted did have a slight hissing noise. But well within the manufacturer specifications for noise level.

If you are still inside the first 30 days from the Dell invoice date, you may return the U3818DW for refund.

User LioM posted this possible workaround =
* Right click the speaker icon in the bottom right corner
* Select "Playback devices"
* Double click on device "DELL U3818DW"
* Go to "Advanced"
* Change "Default Format" from "16 bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality)" to "24 bit, 48000 Hz (Studio Quality)"

We have the exact same problem: We have just received our first Dell U3818DW monitor and are connecting it to our (also new) Dell XPS 13 (9370) via USB-C. Any audio playback is being accompanied by a well-audible hissing noise (like white noise). It does not matter if volume is at 50% or 1% - the hissing noise is always the same and very distracting.

It is best reproduced when playing following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4mHPeMGTJM&t=7s

This is a "Silence" video, still emitting the audio signal but with no real sound. This allows us to hear the plain hissing noise.

We have tested many things, like changing drivers, devices, cables, etc. Here are some findings:

- When connecting another laptop via HDMI and another PC via Display Port to the monitor, the hissing does not happen (!)
- Connecting the Dell XPS via USB-C to an adapter and from the adapter via HDMI to the monitor, the hissing still occurs
- Connecting the Dell XPS via USB-C to an adapter and from the adapter via HDMI to another monitor (AOC), the hissing does not occur
- When playing sound in Chrome, and stopping the sound, the hissing will continue for exactly 10 more seconds.
- Hissing does not happen on the Dell XPS laptop itself, also not when using headphones

So, it looks like it only happens, when we connect the Dell XPS laptop to the Dell Monitor (in whatever way).

The hissing noise is extremely distracting and not acceptable at all. Please advise.

Update: Just tested with a (non-validated by Dell)  Apple MacBook connected to the Dell U3818DW via USB-C and the hissing sound does also not happen. It only ever happens when connecting the Dell XPS 13 (9370) to the Dell U3818DW monitor. Unbelievably annoying.

Great find! So the Windows 10 Realtek HD audio setting was set by default to 16 bit. I will make sure to ask other users with assorted audio issues to also check this setting.

So this guide used to solve my problem, but I cannot select the 24 bit setting anymore in the described tab. Apparently there is only one standard setting available now 16/48. How could I add the needed setting. I am using an HDMI cable from my RTX 2080 with the latest drivers.

This works great for my HDMI input. But when I tried using USB Type-C connector for output display, Windows 10 does not allow me to set below. As the box is grey out. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Change "Default Format" from "16 bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality)" to "24 bit, 48000 Hz (Studio Quality)"

Hi, I have the same problem and I cannot select anything other than 16 bit too.

My Monitor gets its sound over HDMI, and uses Nvidia HD Audio on the computer. (Latest windows, Nvidia drivers, latest everything ...etc)

I use this monitor for working and use the speakers to listen low volume easy listening music during work.

The problem was really annoying as I want to listen ambient low volume music, and hissing volume is almost at the same level as the music.

I found a temporary solution. The volume on the monitor and the volume of the PC is separate.

So, this happens when the PC sound output level is below a certain value. (If the volume is set to high but sound output level is low, hissing is still there, that is why I said sound output level)

So I set the volume on the Monitor to 10-20 range and increased the volume of the PC both on music app and windows to 70-80 range, and I get much clear sound with almost no hissing for listening low volume music.

So my suggestion for hissing that you hear below certain sound output level, is to decrease monitor volume and increase PC and app volume, until a more permanent solution is provided

Try your method to see how that goes. Thanks!