Static from headphones connected to front audio? (k7vta3 v6.0c)

[JEDI]

i've had these headphones for a while. it worked w/o a problem on my p3 1.1ghz machine.

now i have a k7vta3/sempron 2500+.

i'm getting static through the front audio, even when nothing is playing. and when i plug the headphones in the rear of the case, no sound comes out.

Why am i getting static and how do i get rid of it?

thx!

EDIT:
i did notice that when there's no harddrive activity, there's no static.

i tried moving the cables around as best as i could, but i still get static whenever there's hd activity.

WHY?

 

[neoreturns]

Trying muting the mic and see if that helps.

 

[JEDI]

the mic is muted. there's still static.

i did notice that when there's no harddrive activity, there's no static.

i tried moving the cables around as best as i could, but i still get static whenever there's hd activity.

WHY?

 

[Vernor]

because sound cards in PCs have poor amplification ?

Even 10$ stereo speakers witha headphone jack would probably help here.

 

[sxr7171]

This is why when people claim to get "audiophile" sound quality out of a PC, I have to laugh. Anyway, your best bet is to disconnect the front audio and try the jack on the sound card itself. If you really want to attempt good quality out of a PC your best bet is to get an external USB DAC.

 

[Zap]

Many boards do this. Most of the time people don't notice with cheap multimedia speakers or cheap headphones. Once you go to better headphones or speakers, you'll hear HDD seeks and mouse movements. My Abit IS7 is horrible in this respect, as well as my MSI PT880. Funny thing I noticed with my MSI, didn't notice it until I connected front ports. The cables from front ports run past the hard drive - coincidence? On my Abit IS7 I use a PCI Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card and have no more problems.

 

[Peter]

Poorly shielded case audio wiring.

The rear jacks work when your front jacks do proper loopback-when-unused (if they don't, it's again "cheap case wiring"). If you disconnect the front stuff altogether, you need to put loopback jumpers onto the onboard front audio header. See mainboard manual.