Hey all, I don't think this is a specific Sonar X2 question more than a general system question, but I wanted to see if anyone else has run into this.
 
I'm using a DELL laptop for Sonar X2 (works great, believe it or not!) and I have a Tascam US-1800 interface connected via USB.  I'm using a Furman PL8C power conditioner, m-audio BX5a monitors and SBX10 subwoofer.
 
When I plug everything in and turn it all on, I get this god awful buzzing/hum/noise (inconsistent noise, not a steady hum) coming through the monitors.  I recently added the Furman to see if I just had some dirty power, but I get the same result.  Now when I unplugged my laptop from power, the noise stops.  Clearly something is bleeding through the USB and along into everything else.  Is there anything out there that I can use for a USB filter or power filter? 
 
 

I get the very same thing with my laptop setup.

My "work around" to this problem, although I wouldn't suggest anyone else does it, is to remove the earth from the plug of the laptop power supply. It works.

synkrotron


I get the very same thing with my laptop setup.

My "work around" to this problem, although I wouldn't suggest anyone else does it, is to remove the earth from the plug of the laptop power supply. It works.

I've done this as well... by plugging the three pronged plug into one of those 3  prong to 2 prong adapters... if worked to remove the hum when I was using a Korg synth.

I had that type of noise but it was not on a lap top. I have a rack mount custom built computer. I was using a USB hub. The hub came with an external power supply but I wasn't using the power supply. I called the manufacture of the computer and they told me to plug in the power supply and it would clear the noise... I hooked up the power supply and the noise was gone.

it's commonly known as an earth loop.

Had same problem with my laptop setup.  Bought a Ebtech HumX and it solved the problem.

Available at Sweetwater and Guitar Center.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HumX/

Is everything relevant to audio plugged into the same outlet? If not, you could be plugging into separate circuits and that would make this kind of problem much worse. 

While you're at it, try moving any non audio related things like lamps to another plug/circuit.

I recently had a problem with noise, and I did a bunch of stuff to fix it. It turned out to be my WiFi Antenna. So, I yanked the card out and went with a wire for my internet. Now, it's nice and quiet. I'm using a Yamaha Steinberg CI1 USB Audio box. Maybe, disabling your WiFi will help.

Many laptop external power bricks don't provide very clean power and this kind of noise is a very common laptop problem.

You can't fix it up by using things such as star pattern power linking as the problem is not an earthing issue ; rather poor cheap power supply design.

PLEASE: NEVER do the remove an earth pin trick. While it removes the hum it also opens you up to the danger of electrocution if a fault should occur.

As already mentioned, there are devices you can buy to eliminate the hum or you can try replacing your laptops external power supply.

It isn't necessarily the USB...its a problem with switching power supplies that all computers run on...relocating the PSU or trying to isolate it might help (believe it or not wrapping it in copper foil can help, if you've ever taken one apart they generally have this already)...

Getting the audio device and the psu as far apart as possible might help...

And again depending on the grounding scheme of the tascam it may be isolated to that device...make sure you don't have any transformers close by, any pre-amp units or switching psu's like for a monitor etc...

It is very doubtful that it is the USB that is picking up the noise since it is dumping A/D into your laptop...