New user in the UK.
I have emailed Neural regarding the grounding problem/signal noise as I regard this problem sufficient to enough to be able to reject ‘the goods’.
Let’s see if I get a response.
Having to provide a separate ground to make the QC usable is shit.
Neural obviously know about this and as far as I can see have done nothing to fix it.
Considering returning the unit.
Hi, welcome to the forum.
According to NDSP, the power supply is ungrounded to avoid ground loops when connected to different devices. Check here: https://support.neuraldsp.com/help/resolving-noise-problems
Now, of course, one can agree or disagree with this approach…
I bought a QC in April 2022 and had the same issue. Email support and this is what they said.
“ For this, the solution we are exploring involves using a floating power supply , specially engineered to reduce the pickup/ground interference issue when using QC just with headphones, while minimizing the likelihood of ground loops when using the unit in conjunction with external devices.
Our preliminary tests are very promising and we are waiting for sample approval to proceed with sourcing.”
I asked for an update in over a year later and got this from support in August 2023.
“ Hi Alan,
Thanks for getting back to us. We can happily say that the we are working with a company who have delivered us a suitable prototype of the alternative power supply you mention. is still relevant and prog
Unfortunately I don’t have an exact date when these will become available for you, but we have your details for this, and you will be among the first to know.”
It’s now coming up on 2 years.
Yeah, that’s their story.
They’ve bundled a cheap shit power supply and then come up with some BS to justify it.
Why the **** would you buy a piece of gear for $$$$ and then have to look for an expensive power supply (Cioks) to make it work???
Utter ball rocks
Actually never had any issue using the current power supply. Of course, I always use the QC connected by XLR to FOH or, when at home, to my USB interface.
If I listen just thru my headphones, with no other cable connected, it does make that ground noise yes.
Actually, it makes a lot of sense. Grounding the unit to the audio system you’re plugging into mitigates ground loop noise.
Also, if you must have a grounded supply, you do NOT have to shell out $200+ (choose your currency) for a Cioks DC7 (+ Crux). There are other ways to do that for way cheaper.
Or just provide a physical ground lift like all the other bits of kit
I agree. I purchased an alternate Globtek PS from Digi-Key so I would have a spare (for around $30 shipped) which works the same or as good as OEM. For me, no issues, no noise for almost 2yrs (Knock on wood).
@MP_Mod Keeping on saying you have no issues does not make the people with issues feel any better. Neural support have clearly stated it is not the best design and are actively trying to manufacture an alternative solution. The best response is yes there is known issues and Neural are trying to find a solution that suits everyone best.
I agree mostly with what you are saying but there are two (or more) sides to everything. I have personally seen multiple ‘noise’ related issues that were resolved due to other non QC related variables. A large amount of owners don’t experience noise issues which is evident via the various forums and related posts so it’s good to know that others are not impacted as well. It doesn’t take away from those that are impacted and obviously I hope their issues are resolved as well. I personally do not know what NDSP is doing to handle those that are impacted, nor do I know their schedule and or timeline to address and provide a final resolution. For anyone that is impacted and or experiencing these issues, I hope resolution comes quickly!
If other QC users always have the QC attached to a PA/DI/FRFR/Interface that provides a ground then yes, they will not have found the problem but the problem does exist.
Agree, for those who have the QC’s output plugged into a grounded input, Neural’s approach can actually help avoid ground loops. The QC can also use a hum busting cable. Not including an internal power supply in their design might have assisted in maintaining the QC’s relatively small footprint or helped avoid shielding requirements. Just guessing though.
I get it though; I remember when I first received mine and it is just not intuitively a good thing to have an ungrounded power supply and the hum that can accompany it. They were definitely thinking out of the box.
Do you have a link for an inexpensive power supply that you are recommending? And more importantly, does that do the trick or does a QC output have to be connected to take advantage of a ground? Seems to still be some question on the forum as to whether you still need to run the I/O to a ground, even if you are using a grounded power supply.
There are no alternative power supplies that can “ground” the QC. Most are not even grounded themselves and, even for the few that are, that ground does not pass through the voltage reducing transformer to the barrel connector. You can use whatever you think may be a “better” power supply, or a solution that will fit better on a pedal board, but none will ground the QC. The QCis designed to be grounded via the XLR to amplification, and there is no way around that simple fact.
You don’t. Mine’s been working fine with the original power supply for over two years.
This. A barrel connector never was and never will be able to provide a grounded power connection since it provides only two contacts (the barrel and the tip on the inside). A grounded power connector always needs at least three contacts (cf. american wall power plugs with two vs three prongs, or type c vs type f plugs) Every device that uses power supplies connected with a barrel plug is not grounded and will have similar problems (the line6 HX stomp for example).
But people still go on endlessly about how a Cioks or another alternative power supply will solve all the grounding issues! They just don’t seem to get it!
Agree. Connecting any QC I/O socket to a grounded device solves the problem. Alternatively, I made myself a grounding adapter: 6,3 mm TR jack plug on one side, and on the other end a shockproof plug, providing ground connection only, pins removed so there´s no power connection. Then simply connect ring to ground.
The weird thing I don’t understand is they say it needs to be grounded to work, however I also use my MacBook not plugged in (so not grounded) with my guitar using irig hd cheap interface and a set of headphones. Using Neural DSP Soldano plugin there is no noise.
How can they make the plugins work with no ground but not the QC? There must be a software reason the unplugged laptop works but the QC doesn’t.
I’m no electrical engineer, but as I understand it; grounded doesn’t need to mean literally connected to Earth. The laptop will have a ‘circuit’ ground.
If you were to plug that irig setup into an external PA/amp, you might find you end up with a ground loop that acts as a big antenna that picks up all sorts of interference. This is what the QC avoids, by requiring an external ground connection.
If that is true about a circuit ground where it doesn’t need to physically ground then I would have hoped QC had this technology for when it isn’t physically grounded. With the option of selecting between circuit ground and physical ground. For a device costing as much as a MacBook I would have hoped they would have used this technology if it was possible.
Are there any electrical engineers here that could explain why a laptop on battery doesn’t need grounding when using unpowered usb interfaces?
Thanks