Q: I just moved into a new space, and now my studio monitors are humming; they were perfectly quiet for five years in my old studio. They even hum when I have the audio cables to them disconnected. They’re the type where one monitor contains all the electronics and the other connects to it by a single cable. Any suggestions?
A: We can think of two possibilities. First, the AC power in your studio may be very dirty, causing noise in the speakers. Second, it’s possible that your speaker was damaged in the move. We have two suggestions:
1. Try the speakers in another room, making sure that you are not on the same electrical circuit as you currently have them plugged into. If they don’t hum, then the studio is the problem. If they do hum, it is possible that the “master” speaker was damaged.
2. Try another set of speakers in your studio to see if they also hum. If they do, then it would point toward dirty AC power or some other problem that is causing hum.
If you decide the speakers are at fault, you’ll need to take them to a repair/service center or contact the manufacturer. If the room is at fault, you may need to bring in an electrician to help you track down where the hum is coming from.