Poor audio from Series 3 Advanced Mini Dock Plus

[sqldba]

I've got a Series 3 Advanced Mini Dock Plus for my T410 and I've noticed static\line noise when using headphones connected to the dock's headphones port on the right side. I do not have the same problem when I plug the headphones directly into the T410.

Does anybody else have this problem? Any ideas how to fix it?

@SQLDBA

[zekeblue]

Well, I don't have any static, but the volume is unusually low. I have both the thinkpad's and my speaker volume up to about 3/4. I have two of the advanced minidock series 3 and both do the same.

[msafi]

I have the exact same problem, with the same laptop and docking station models. Please let me know if you manage to get rid of it. I have been researching it on and off for a few days. It's annoying!!

[Zoot]

I have the same problem with my Thinkpad X200 Ultrabase. The audio works fine if I plug directly into my Thinkpad X201, but has a staticky hiss if I plug into the docking station.

Anyone have any ideas on a fix?

[Navck]

Do you guys get the same noise when you plug the headphone into the combo jack on your Thinkpad?

[msafi]

Do you guys get the same noise when you plug the headphone into the combo jack on your Thinkpad?

Nope!

[Navck]

Interesting, check if the connector has any rust or deposits building up on it. I can only think of:
1. Poor electromagnetic shielding/interference for audio jack line going to the docking port.
2. Higher resistance means power is amplified, potential noise from raising power.

You should consult Lenovo tech support and ask if you can talk to one of the engineers, perhaps it could be a firmware level issue (If lets say, scenario 2.)

[msafi]

Interesting, check if the connector has any rust or deposits building up on it. I can only think of:
1. Poor electromagnetic shielding/interference for audio jack line going to the docking port.
2. Higher resistance means power is amplified, potential noise from raising power.

You should consult Lenovo tech support and ask if you can talk to one of the engineers, perhaps it could be a firmware level issue (If lets say, scenario 2.)

I live in the United Arab Emirates. Resources here (i.e. Lenovo engineers, replacement units) are scarce. However, my dock is brand new. I doubt it's a manufacturing fault or wear and tear problem that I have.

As for scenario 2, it's a possibility. I've noticed that when setting the CPU performance level to "low" in the power manager, the noise/buzz goes down significantly.

[Zoot]

Mine is brand new too and I just did the same test with the same results. If I plug in the headphones into the docking station with the AC adapter plugged in then I get loud hiss. If I unplug the AC (and my power settings are on "optimize by source") then the hissing goes down significantly (but I can still hear it, unlike when I plug directly into the notebook's headphone jack.

[Navck]

Interference from the powersupply seems to be the cause, does plugging the powerline into the Thinkpad instead of the dock make a difference?

[Zoot]

Can't tell because the design of the docking station blocks the Thinkpad AC port when it's docked. If I undock it to get access to the side AC jack then the headphone jack in the dock is no longer connected to the computer (and we already know that the headphone jack built into the computer works).

[Navck]

More like: Most people have no idea how they work.

I want you to imagine moving the electrical connections into one connector instead. Still no difference, at this point you might as well get a Y splitter and get the same results right there. (Read: Electrically separated, physically one.)

But what I said here most likely will fly over the heads of one in three readers so thats OK, keep reading it until you become the two in three readers.

[jimbobb]

I have the same problem. Has anyone had any luck getting to the bottom of this?

[msafi]

Actually, my problem wasn't with headphones but with external speakers. My old Dell speakers (which looked nice, were high quality, and came with a subwoofer) had this problem. Now, I'm using simple and basic Logitech speakers and they don't have this problem...

BUT, the Logitech speakers have their own headphone socket (you know, for convenience). When I plug my iPhone's headphones into it, I get the same ugly static.

[jimbobb]

Yes, my problem is with logitech speakers (externally powered). I have no technical expertise, but it perhaps is not coincidental that the problem goes away with non-powered headphones.

Still its impossible to use speakers with the dock as a consequence. I have to plug directly into the side audio jack of my T510.

[msafi]

My Logitech speakers are externally powered too.

Yes, I agree that this is a very nasty problem, but I'm glad that my Logitech speakers don't suffer from it.

[Colonel O'Neill]

I've heard of similar issues happening when you plug the dock and speakers into the same power line (ground loop interference).

[jimbobb]

Thanks. I'll check this tonight. Its possible my speakers are currently in the same belkin surge protector as my dock.

[chazas]

I had this problem with the dock for my old T41. I ended up buying an inexpensive USB audio card to hook up my computer speakers. Annoying, but it solved the problem.

[msdowdie]

I have the same issue. I also solved it for now by using a USB audio card - thanks to chazas for the suggestion. This is annoying though. I expect better engineering on these products.

My guess is that the audio out circuit on the dock is not shielded well enough and is picking up electrical noise, which is then amplified by external speakers.

I did not have this problem with my T43 or T61 and the equivalent dock models that they used.

[SHoTTa35]

Interesting, i tried doing it on my system (Thinkpad T410si with Advanced Dock Series 3) and maybe cuz i have one of those 3 section headphones (audio with microphone) it doesn't work at all. It kills the audio from the laptops speakers but no audio comes from the headphones. If i plug them out it works just fine.

As expected it works just fine in the port in the laptop as well as that's a combo port but i use these headphones on non combo ports and they worked just fine too.

[Colonel O'Neill]

Do you have SmartAudio installed? It has some settings regarding multistream output; you can output different sounds to the built-in speakers and headphone port simultaneously.

[dallascowboys]

okay guys, since everyone who posted here said the same thing about the docking station, there is obviously something to it. I was going to make a purchase within the next couple days and get a t410 and a docking station, should I just get the t410 and skip the docking station entirely or what? I wanted the docking station so I could leave my computer speakers, charging cable and etc plugged in and not have to keep unplugging cables from the laptop when I wanted to move it around. What do yall think? Has anyone called Lenovo about this to get them to fix the docking stations?

[msafi]

I personally couldn't live without the docking station. This problem is very annoying but it has been largely reduced with the new Logitech speakers in my case.

So, it depends on how much you need a docking station, I guess.

[dallascowboys]

Hi, what makes you say that you cannot live without it? What features are you referring to? I was about to purchase a docking station, just the Series 3, not the Series 3 plus. Does the series 3 have the same static as the series 3 plus?

[msafi]

@dallascowboys

90% of the time, I work with my laptop docked and connected to 6 different peripherals, including a big external display, hard drives, and USB cables for iPod and BlackBerry. But I really value the convenience that the docking station provides when I need to take the laptop away from the main workstation for whatever reason.

The docking station let's me have both a desktop and a laptop in one device. Switching back and forth couldn't be easier. Press the eject button to go to laptop mode or place the machine back on the dock for desktop mode.

I have the ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3

UPDATE: I just confirmed my model number for you. It's Type 4337 and a quick search online shows that this is in fact NOT the Plus model. It's called ThinkPad Mini Dock Series 3 which maybe different from the ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3. I'm not sure

[dallascowboys]

this might seem obvious to those of you who have had docking stations before, but since I have never owned a dock, let me ask this question:
does the docking station plug into the wall and charge the laptops battery while the laptop is docked?

[dr_st]

Yes, it does.

[dallascowboys]

With all of these threads saying how the docking station has static in the audio, do yall think that this will be the problem with all docking stations? Or do yall think that just some of the docking stations will do that? I am ordering a docking station soon

[msafi]

I would guess that all the docking stations have this problem. Some people either just don't notice it or they have speakers that hide the problem.