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Just bought this Trendnet TPL-401E2K 500MBS Powerline AV Ethernet Adapter Kit, and it's able to stream 1080p video across my house, but now there's a soft buzzing noise coming from my speakers. I'm guessing it's interference from my powerlines? The picture OTOH looks to be perfect quality.

How do I fix it? Is it a faulty device? Do I need to run it through a power cleaner? Is it unavoidable?

One outlet is attached to one of the adapters and nothing else, the other one shares an outlet with my TV.

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  • Where are the Speakers connected to?
    – Werner Henze
    Commented May 3, 2013 at 10:56
  • FYI, I'm pretty sure I was using crappy speakers at the time.
    – mpen
    Commented Aug 1, 2016 at 19:33

3 Answers 3

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The fault is not in the Ethernet part of the path (and not in the part where ethernet is carried over powerline conductors) but most likely improper earthing of the audio section.

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  • Oh good! I'm glad to hear this. They're cheap speakers anyway, but I haven't noticed any problems like this with them before. I'll see if I can ground them or get some new speakers.
    – mpen
    Commented Sep 1, 2011 at 15:34
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Keep in mind that the data coming over the ethernet (powerline or otherwise) is digital and packetized and as such is impervious to picking up powerline buzz. Powerline issues could cause problems, but they would be connectivity issues. The data either comes though unchanged or you don't get data.

You need to look elsewhere for the cause of the buzz

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  • Awesome! Thanks for this info. Glad it's not a problem with this crazy ethernet-over-power technology.
    – mpen
    Commented Sep 1, 2011 at 15:35
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Searching for the same issue, I came across the fact that this is indeed most likely an issue with ethernet-over-power.

The ethernet-over-power pollutes your main current (as it modulates it) with small changes in order to transmit data. These small changes are then propagated into your audio equipment, which interpret them as sound that should be amplified.

So while what uSlackr writes about data that is digital and packetized being flawless is true; the buzz still comes from the ethernet-over-power due to interference on the main current.

To solve this, most people seem to install an ups/powerline conditioner on your audio equipment to make sure they filter out the bad current.

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