Unless he's moved and unless I'm mistaken, montezuma is in Hong Kong.  standards are not the same in Hong Kong as they are in the US.

Guitarhacker...do you think that even power cables such as the ones used from the PSU to the wall could influence things? I would not know if I am using the exact cord that came with my PSU...likely not...nor the exact cords that came with my speakers. I just noticed upstairs that my mobile phone is charging...there was a squeaking/ buzzing sound coming from somewhere...I pinpointed the sound to the actual charger that was plugged into the wall going to my mobile phone. The large bulky part of the charger right in the wall was squealing and buzzing right there on the wall...it's possible that the charger isn't the one that came with the phone...just one with the same connecting end that goes into the phone.

I'd be inclined to blame the proximity of the firewire port on the mobo to the mouse usb port on the mobo...they are right next to each other. I'm not saying it's the mouse...but the mouse is linked to the noise in some way because when I scroll a webpage up and down the buzzing coincides with the movements I make with the mouse...the mouse controls the way the screen is manipulated/ what happens on the screen...etc. Interesting to me that the headphone out from the Firebox is crystal clear/ no buzz...but the speakers buzz. Maybe my trs cables out of the Firebox and into the speakers suck. A lot of people with onboard sound have reported the same sync'd buzz in conjunction with mouse movement and they say that going to Control Panel/ audio options/ mute line in/ mic makes the buzz disappear. I don't have onboard sound though. It is disabled in bios.

I'm using a converter for the plugs that I brought back from HK...here in Australia the voltage and power is the same as HK...only the actual jack is different. I'd think about that as a cause for starters...but the same buzz used to occur in HK with all HK plugs and no converters.

Hi montezuma  Are you running proper balanced audio leads between the firebox and the Mackie MR5 monitors. It has been mentioned above but not what sure your setup is or if you are or not.

The reason I say this is because recently I had a rather larger job to do using the latest IMac and ProTools 9. I was provided with these things for the duration of the job. I was not using a soundcard with the IMac just the headphone out. So I connected a mini stereo jack out to two RCA plugs which I adapted to 6.5 mono jacks and fed this into my digital mixer. It all worked fine except I got the same whining and digital noise that you are describing. Mine was pretty loud and bodering on unacceptable.

Anyway I read an interesting article in our Audio Technology magazine describing the best way to connect Ipods and I Macs and things to a mixer. There is the standard lead I mentioned above of course but a better way is to wire the standard unbalanced stereo out into two balanced inputs on the mixer (not connecting the earth pin but using pins 2 and 3 instead or TR only) Anyway after doing this all sign of this noise completely disappeared.

So if you have not done this yet try a full balanced (TRS to TRS/Cannon) lead from your firebox to the MR5's and see what transpires. (both speakers as well not just one either) It is also better because you will get a 6db gain increase for nothing. I use Mackie HR 824's and I have got them connected balanced to the monitor outs on my Yamaha digital mixer which are also balanced and I have never had a problem.

A good rule of thumb is if you are connecting an output to an input and both are balanced then keep them that way.

I'm using Firefox 6.0.2 Thanks for all the suggestions everyone...I'll have to go through all of them one by one and see if I can solve the problem. Thanks again.

montezuma, 


 Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but... welcome to the firebox whine/noise/hum issue.
 http://forums.presonus.com/posts/list/3416.page
http://www.mutimusic.com/2/news/uncategorized/production-how-to-get-rid-of-that-whine/

http://www.gearslutz.com/...est-another-brand.html



just google it. 




(I've got to admit that I started reading this thread and was thinking, 'has he got one, has he?, he hasn't mentioned it..., had to laugh when you finally mentioned the Firebox... was thinking 'I knew it!)  
 
 I would say it is the firebox. Don't waste any more valuable hours on this. 

To put your mind at ease regarding your monitors, try turning up the headphone port on the Firebox to max and you should get the same whine/noise through your cans as I do. 
 
 I have exactly the same issue. AND IT DRIVES ME CRAZY! When I connect a 12v 1000ma power adaptor, it does get slightly better but still there. 


 The point I have now reached (after hours of diagnosis) either ignore it as it doesn't seem to be recorded in Sonar, or get a new interface. I'm considering the latter. 


 The preamps are a bit too quiet anyway, just did an acoustic recording with a XY set-up and the noise floor is crazy.


 Good luck. 

Ha, well, we are in the same boat. I've had my Firebox for about 4-5 years too. 

 Thing is that I hear the preamps on the Firebox are good and would be hard pressed to beat around the same or even more money. 

 I was looking at the RME fireface but I was thinking about micing up my guitar (stereo x2 mics) and recording vocals at teh same time and realised I would need 3 XLR inputs. 

 The RME doesn't even have that, and for £500, I'm not sure it is worth it. 

 My issue is that I just built my new machine (see below) and it is lovely, but I specifically got the motherboard for the firewire. It would be sad to have gone to all that expense to now go USB. 

 So, I also ask. Any suggestions for a good priced 'bang for buck' interface for a home user that is a step up from the FireBox?


 Cheers. 

(Monty, when you turn up the headphones to the max, you can hear the same whine, yes?)

I've had great results using Firewire with the Focusrite Saffire Pro. Mine's an older model now, the 26 I/O, but I reckon it's worth checking out some of their newer offerings.

if you don't want to pay for "great pres" and you are not wanting firewire (which, I have and love myself, BTW) then I'd suggest something like the m-audio delta 44 or 66.  PCI, solid drivers, line inputs only, no pres.  but also only line outputs which could be a problem if you want/need headphone outputs.

then I might suggest the following:

MOTU Audio Express - USB or Firewire (hybrid) $400
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/motu-audio-express-6-x-6-firewire-usb2.0-audio-interface/h72809000000000

M-audio Fast Track Ultra - USB $350
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/m-audio-fast-track-ultra-usb-audio-interface-with-pro-tools-se/h76479000000000

Roland Quad-Capture - USB $270
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/QuadCapture/

I'm not using a laptop. DI box? Everything is grounded here.

Fantastic news! Glad you got it sorted.

...nothing that shouldn't be...

Well...there's nothing wrong with the speakers...but thanks anyway