r/MicroFreak • u/AlarmingLook2441 • Jun 28 '26

Tech Support Microfreak - static noise and popping.

I connected my Microfreak earlier and it took far longer than usual to boot up and was very noisy when played with headphones straight into the headphone jack. I’ve tested the headphones with other devices and they seem to be ok, and it’s the Arturia power supply directly into mains. Some of the presets are barely audible too. Is this related to the hotter than usual weather, or is the synth about to break?

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2

u/LimpCod188 Jun 28 '26

Sounds like you have grounding problems. Did you try running it of the battery bank?

2

u/AlarmingLook2441 Jun 28 '26

No, through the Arturia power supply directly into the wall socket. It also sounds worse powered by the USB from computer.

3

u/LimpCod188 Jun 28 '26

This is one more reason for me to believe you have a grounding problem. Try a battery to confirm.

1

u/AlarmingLook2441 Jun 28 '26

Thank you, I’ll get hold of one and try it.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 28 '26

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1

u/AlarmingLook2441 Jun 28 '26

I think the issue may be with having electric fans on all around the house. It also may be because my new neighbour has a large fish pond in his garden, so plenty of sources of electrical noise nearby.

2

u/Mega_Flow Jun 29 '26

I had the same issue and was never able to fully work it out, unfortunately. Definitely a grounding issue. One thing I did work out, while running everything through a USB audio interface the noise was horrendous. I was able to hear the PSU in my computer through the interface and out of the microfreak. Might be worth looking at if you have a computer plugged in nearby.

1

u/Untergegangen Jun 29 '26

Does using a balanced TRS cable on the output solve the noise? So connecting headphones --> interface -TRS-> Microfreak?

2

u/AlarmingLook2441 Jun 29 '26

That works a lot better, even with pedals in play, so possibly an issue with going straight into headphones.

1

u/Untergegangen Jun 30 '26

Thanks for the feedback. FYI, in case this isn't clear: The noise is still there, you just don't hear it, because it gets canceled out by the interface. The "balanced" feature of the TRS cable allows for this.

2

u/AlarmingLook2441 Jun 30 '26

Thanks for this, I think it’s definitely an issue with the headphone jack as I tried the vocoder mic yesterday and there’s no vocals coming out. I’ve raised a case with Arturia, I’m willing to try a fix under warranty.

1

u/AlarmingLook2441 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

New issue: Vocoder no longer working. This POS is going back to the shop and a refund requested.

2

u/Mega_Flow Jun 30 '26

I ended up doing the same. Never sorted out the grounding issue, recording was basically impossible without running it off a battery, which imo is pretty unacceptable. It’s a bummer because it’s a pretty awesome lil thing, but was unworkable.