Armada Lapotp crackling noise right channel only??

I have two Compaq Armada Laptops.
Armada E500
Armada M700
BOTH have a popping/crackling noise in the right channel only.
Starts out ok, but gets unbearable after a few minutes.
Sounds like there's gravel in the speaker, but you still
hear the noise using headphones, so it's not busted speakers.

I found several similar reports on the web, but no solutions.
Most of the discussions missed the point entirely and talked
about low-level hiss/noise etc. This is not anything that might have
been there at design time. It's HORRIBLE. Nobody could ever
think this was ok. Something broke. On BOTH machines.

I'd rather not reverse engineer this laptop if I can help it.
Are there any schematics of the audio available?
Suggestions?
Thanks, mike
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davy wrote:
> Hi, what is not clear is where you are plugging the headphones, in the
> speaker unit or in the machine, some clarification is required because
> if you are plugging the phones into the machine then the machines have a
> problem.
>
> I assume you are plugging them into the speaker unit so the first thing
> I'd try is the leads, try waggling the ends of the leads to see if
> theres a broken or loose wire.
>
> I would guess the speakers are 'self powered', meaning that they
> require a power source to get them to work, be it battery or wall wart
> adapter. If this is the case then they will contain a audio power
> amplifier to drive the speakers, to me it sounds like one of these
> amplifiers is at fault, in which case I would be tempted to try another
> pair of speakers.
>
> You can check them however, power the speakers up and try plug the
> signal lead (not the power lead) into the earphone socket of a mini
> Walkman, alternatively you can use the line or aux SIGNAL out on a CD
> player or tape cassette.
>
> *Do not be tempted* to use the speakers output terminal of an stereo
> amplifier, the signal level is far too high and the impedance far too
> low for this purpose.
>
> What we are doing is using a *low level audio signal* to feed into the
> speakers so we can try them, this will point us in the right direction,
> obviously if the speakers still crackles then they are responsible.
>
> Davy
>
>
Except that said, quote:
Sounds like there's gravel in the speaker, but you still
hear the noise using headphones,

To clarify, headphones plugged into the laptop have the noise.


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hey mike,

We had similar problems with the Armada 110's in our company, it ended being a problem with the main sys board. If you have one to play with, check the solder connections in the area around the speaker connector wires and the audio chip. look for cold solder points.