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I'm using an ASUS VH236H monitor and an EVGA GeForce 570 GTX both of which are brand new. My monitor has an audio out port for speakers/headphones so I plugged in my headphones and made a random selection from my library when I noticed two things:

  1. There are static-like artifacts during "louder" parts of songs.
  2. There's what seems to be a volume cap in place. When I crank the volume past 100% in VLC the decibel level does not truly increase but the amount of static does.

The cable is not new; I yanked it off of my PS3 when my DVI cable broke. It has been used a good amount on my HDTV and PS3 so I doubt it's a matter of burn-in.

I like the way the setup works with an HDMI cable as opposed to DVI because my headphones barely reach my rig whereas I have plenty of slack when they're plugged into my monitor.

Thanks in advance for any support.

Note: I'm using a high quality HDMI cable from monoprice, AKG K702 headphones, and VLC media player.

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Please note that VLC player does not control system volume, it only controls the volume of VLC itself. Try leaving the VLC volume at 100% (default) and adjusting your system volume (by clicking on the little speaker bottom right hand corner of the screen). Also pick a non-random song to ensure your selected track is excellent quality audio (i.e. play a song directly from a retail CD).

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Nothing in my library is even remotely poor quality. It's all V0 and V2 and there would be no audible difference between it and listening to it on vinyl or CD with my current audio equipment. Bitrate means jack when you don't have the equipment to augment it. – I take Drukqs Jan 9 '11 at 23:21
When you are trying to diagnosis a problem it is best to eliminate as many possible causes of that problem as you can. A retail CD is lossless (unlike an MP3) and will give you the best possible audio quality while you diagnosis your problem, but it is up to you if you want to take my advice or not. Beyond what I have already told you to try you could also try swapping components and cables one at a time until you find the root cause of your problem. – typoknig Jan 10 '11 at 17:53
There's not going to be any static in a V0 or V2 rip, ever. Not even in horribly low bitrates should there be any form of static. A noticeable loss in sound quality depending on your audio hardware? Of course, but not static. I wouldn't keep something static-y and I'm well aware of what I keep in my library being an audiophile and whatnot. The problem fixed itself upon installing the latest drivers for my GPU from NVIDIA's site. It included an HD audio component this time around. It could have recognized that I was connected through HDMI and acted accordingly. Thanks anyways. – I take Drukqs Jan 14 '11 at 22:15
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I am glad you got your problem fixed, but I would be careful speaking in absolutes. ANY rip can have bad spots in it, even lossless rips. I have heard 320kbps rips of low quality, and I have heard 128kbps rips of high quality, but if you have a high quality 128kbps rip and a high quality 320kbps rip the 320kbps is going to win out if you are being picky like a true audiophile would be. Also saying that hardware cannot cause static is wrong. Computers are complex machine, and the variables of hardware and software that could cause a problem like the one you were having are vast. – typoknig Jan 14 '11 at 23:10
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You have taken bits and pieces of what I have written out of context. If you want to quote one thing I wrote you should have quoted "if you have a high quality 128kbps rip and a high quality 320kbps rip the 320kbps is going to win". Regardless, you can believe what you want, if you are satisfied with 128kbps MP3s then keep using them. Good day. – typoknig Jan 15 '11 at 5:38
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