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January 16th, 2019 12:00

Overcoming the static noise of the XPS 13

I have an XPS 13 9370, which has pretty bad static noise coming from its headphone jack. I used to have earphones with quite large resistance, so it would bother me only on quiet songs / when one song transitions to another. Still, it was bad enough that I went out and bought a USB DAC so that it wouldn't bother me while I listen to music at night.

Fast-forward a few months, and I purchased a pair of new IEMs, which have both a lower internal resistance, and are able to pick up more detail than my previous earphones. Turns out that despite using a USB DAC, the static from the laptop even makes its way over to my earphones! It is especially noticeable when the SSD does some reads, as it causes electronic noise at a different frequency. What's funny is that if I plug in these earphones into the standard audio jack on the laptop, the static is insanely loud compared to normal audio! I can easily hear it at all times when listening to something. Built in jack + these earphones = hot garbage.

I've deduced that this is purely a laptop issue, because I've verified that neither these earphones nor the DAC do not have any noticeable static when connected to, say, a phone, ipad, or my friend's macbook. Having the laptop plugged into AC power makes no difference. (It's not that.) I guess I could buy a different USB DAC, but I'd still risk having one that doesn't block static from the laptop enough. Does anyone have a good solution to this dilemma? I've heard that all XPS laptops have had coil whine issues in the past, so surely there's something I could do. Perhaps some special USB cable or dongle that actively/passively blocks this analog interference to my digital audio signal? Thanks.

2 Posts

February 17th, 2019 12:00

My situation is exactly like yours. Just bought a pair of new IEMs made of Knowles 29689s. The static from 9370 is unbelievable.......why did Dell not find this problem? 
I'll try some resistance enhanced adapter tomorrow. Really hope Dell has some firmware solutions.

2 Posts

February 19th, 2019 06:00

OK~This 68ohm resistance adapter solved the problem perfectly! I tried 18ohm but still can hear the noise. Costs about 400TWD (13.5USD). highly recommend it.

Screenshot from 2019-02-19 22-34-17.png

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