Noise in headphone jack

[Steven Pendleton]

Last summer was my first time having a Genesis/MD with a headphone jack and also my first time building the Mega Drive tower.

 

Does my MD suck, or is it true that taller tower = more noise in the headphone jack? It's a stock VA4 and I don't have any of those metal thingies aside from the Mega-CD's mounting bracket. Also don't have the screw for that, unfortunately.

 

Using the MegaSD also adds a little bit more noise (regular carts don't seem to add any, but I didn't remove the Super 32X and try Virtua Racing Not Deluxe. I expect that adds more noise than the MegaSD since it requires more power), and so does using a wireless controller. I generally use the SJ-6000 that came with it since I prefer real controllers on original hardware, but today I used my wireless 2.4GHz Saturn controller because why the hell not.

 

I'm guessing this is 100% normal and expected due to the system needing to supply more power to both the MegaSD and also the wireless receiver than to a normal not-Virtua Racing cart or not-wireless controller, but is there a way to reduce this aside from the obvious fix of just not using the MegaSD/wireless controller? Also curious to know what happens with the original IR wireless controllers from 30 years ago, if anyone has those. Probably not. Thanks.

Edited April 3, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[DragonGrafx-16]

It's normal for a headphone jack to add noise in comparison to a line output (this is true for anything electronic) since it has a higher gain amplifier since most line outputs are connected to some audio system with it's own amplifier. 

[Steven Pendleton]

3 hours ago, DragonGrafx-16 said:

It's normal for a headphone jack to add noise in comparison to a line output (this is true for anything electronic) since it has a higher gain amplifier since most line outputs are connected to some audio system with it's own amplifier. 

Yeah, but should the noise increase just because I added a Mega-CD and Super 32X?

[DragonGrafx-16]

12 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Yeah, but should the noise increase just because I added a Mega-CD and Super 32X?

The CD addon does add new audio channels so it increasing the noise floor would be expected... anyway is it adding more white noise or is it digital noise? If it's digital noise it may be grounding issues and since most game consoles don't have a ground that connects to a power outlet there's not really anything you can do about it.

[derFunkenstein]

The 32X adds noise to the image, so it makes sense that the mushroom might add additional noise to the audio. 

[gorfcadet]

My kiddo’s Gen 1/32X/CD2 had some weird noise that turned out to be a cheap after market power supply.  Once we switched him to an original model 1 power supply it went away.  Also a ferrite clip on the audio mixer cable out of the headset jack can help.

[Steven Pendleton]

Yeah, I forgot to mention that I'm using a real SA-160A for the MD, another one for the Mega-CD, and a real SA-190 for the Super 32X.

 

At least, I was. Now I've stopped using my Mega Drive tower and use the Mega Sg instead because that actually fits on my desk with the Saturn I bought recently.