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I am not sure if this is the right place to ask my question, so please remind me if this is the case.

The problem

I just discovered that my USB microphone produces static noise (not sure if this is the correct term). Please listen carefully to this recording.

My setup

  • Desktop PC. The microphone is plugged into the back of the PC.
  • Microphone: Røde NT-USB
  • Innox IVA 08 USB Broadcasting Arm** (with integrated 5 meter USB cable)

** I couldn't find an international web shop selling this arm. I bought it from a Dutch web shop.

What I have done so far

I started to investigate the issue. First I tried a different USB port. This did not make any change. After that, I tried to use a different USB cable (5 meter). The noise disappeared! Please listen to this recording and compare it to the original recording. I have used the exact same USB port and the same audio settings.

You may say that I should switch to the working cable. Unfortunately the cable is integrated into the arm. So I can't replace it. Besides that, I am wondering if the USB cable is actually causing the issue. I don't see a difference between the two. The one that resolves my issue is slightly thicker. Could it be a shielding issue?

My questions

Does anyone know what may cause the issue and how I can fix it with the original USB cable? Did anyone experience a similar issue?

If you have any questions or if you need more details, please let me know.

Matthijs
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    The cable that the company provided with the arm simply is a low quality cable. It will have very bad shielding which results in noise being introduced in the AD conversion that's happening in the built in interface. Generally, a good, high quality usb cable makes a big difference. Not only in sound quality, but also in length that you can reach without the need of adding buffer samples. Generally, I stay away from microphones with integrated interfaces because you have pretty much 0 control over some important aspects of achieving a good sound in the first place. – Long Tree Studios Jun 14 '20 at 23:21
  • That's what I thought. Thanks for your explanation. The reason for me to use a USB microphone is simply because I am not using the microphone professionally. – Matthijs Jun 15 '20 at 06:58
  • I’m voting to close this question because this is a support question for Rode. Please address it directly to them. – Mark Jun 15 '20 at 10:18
  • @Mark I see your point, but I do disagree. This question is about the USB cable differences. The Rode microphone happens to be the microphone I use but it is not part of the main question. – Matthijs Jun 15 '20 at 10:26
  • I ran into the same sound today. In my case, the issue was inadequate shielding on the USB drives of my Dell XPS. When I plugged the Rode NT_USB into a MacBook Pro the noise was gone. Hope this is still helpful. – DJ_Beardsquirt Oct 17 '20 at 22:51
  • This is not a sound design issue, but either a support issue for rode, or a requirement to use better quality hardware. – Rory Alsop Nov 07 '20 at 14:05
  • @RoryAlsop Actually, the problem was in fact the USB cable. Not the microphone. – Matthijs Nov 07 '20 at 14:09
  • @Matthijs Hello. Did you solve this problem? I faced the same trouble. Was it the issue with USB itself? Does buying another USB cable make any sense in this case? I use the original one. – Gromov Anton Feb 07 '21 at 20:00
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    @GromovAnton Sorry for my late answer. The USB caused the issue. Using a better USB cable solved the issue for me. – Matthijs Apr 26 '21 at 08:45

1 Answers1

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I also experienced the same problem. I am using the RODE NT-USB to record video course using my Windows PC. The microphone produces static noise all the time.

BUT when I record using MacBook Air, the noise is gone.

Then I found out that the problem on my Windows PC was caused because I plug in my RODE NT-USB cable into the USB 3.0 port in my PC. When I plug it into the USB 2.0 port, the noise was GONE.

I guess USB 3.0 has higher electrical power and caused the noise. Here screenshot of waveform displayed in Audacity software, to compare USB 2 vs USB 3 result: enter image description here

I have pronounced the same words. When using USB 2 port, the sound is natural and crisp with no noise. When using USB 3 port, the sound is too high and with noises.

Andy Primawan
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