Ground audio loop, normal or faulty grounding pin?

Question

Ground audio loop, normal or faulty grounding pin?

Hello got a Mac mini m2 pro the other day. Everything is working fine but the headset I've been using is giving off an electrical buzz. Even if not turn on/just plugged in I can hear it. If I touch the Mac or the metal on the keyboard it's stops. I tried the only other earbuds I have and they're not effected but I can't use them as they don't have a mic. Never had a problem using them on my old late 2012 iMac.

I've seen that most of the time your monitor grounds the computer through the hdmi but I don't think my monitor is grounded either as it has a plastic third pin.

Googling it seems to be a common thing with old Mac minis but wasn't sure if the new ones (in the UK) are supposed to have a grounded power cable or is my power cable faulty?

Mac mini (2023 with M2 Pro)

Posted on Feb 16, 2023 4:19 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 16, 2023 5:28 AM in response to andrewdoesart

That issue usually has something to do with the actual jack/plug interface with one or the other being slightly out of spec. This is somewhat confirmed as you have plugged in other earphones and they work fine.

In addition, there seems to be no mention in the specs that the new Mini even supports such a configuration via the 3.5 jack which would also generate a hum:

Audio

Built-in speaker
3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones

Note: there is no mention of microphone compatibility.

HDMI port supports multichannel audio output

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Answer 2

Feb 16, 2023 6:25 AM in response to woodmeister50

Thanks for replying!

I was thinking of a cheap usb c headset just to see if that works.

I'm assuming the jack must have some kind of microphone compatible as I was able to use it last night. Happy the microphone wasn't picking up the humming so it was only me having to put up with it.

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Ground audio loop, normal or faulty grounding pin?

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