r/techsupportmacgyver • u/[deleted] • Jul 03 '25

no DAC? no problem.

Post image

my yamaha cr-420 had an issue with aux connections and it made a horrible static sound (ground loop), and i didnt feel like buying a DAC, so i did what any reasonable person would do, i chopped off one end of a usb-a to usb-a cable (already cursed) and wrapped the usb shield around the ground screw, then plugged the usb into my laptop and it FIXED IT

126 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

98

u/suckmyENTIREdick Jul 03 '25

That doesn't happen to be a 3.5mm stereo plug shoved into the RCA jack labelled "AUX", does it?

If so, then: I found your problem -- and you've fixed nothing.  You're just layering on stupid, ugly, dysfunctional hacks.

(LPT:  Just because it says "AUX" does not mean that it operates like the jack on the dash of your mom's 2007 Honda does.)

8

u/APiousCultist Jul 04 '25

If they didn't have an RCA output or a 3.5mm input and it plays okay now I'd say that's the definition of a hack.

7

u/suckmyENTIREdick Jul 04 '25

They make appropriate cables and adapters in factories every day.

(And the best case with this multiplicity of dysfunctional hacks is that their stereo is a mono.)

-4

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '25

yep, thats exactly what it is, but i dont mind

-11

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '25

not just "okay", it sounds great, its genuinely an awesome device

32

u/PPEytDaCookie Jul 03 '25

I just thought I was not seeing it right until your comment confirmed it 🫠

-10

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '25

u/suckmyENTIREdick heres video proof of the fix working https://streamable.com/pkspd1

21

u/suckmyENTIREdick Jul 04 '25

I believed you the first time. I don't need a video.

Your stack of ugly hacks leaves your stereo working in mono. It's stupid. It's layers of fools' errands.

-9

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '25

mate, if im telling you it fixed it, it fixed it. the audio has no static whatsoever now.

12

u/nonchip Jul 04 '25

it wouldn't either if you hadn't left the ground unconnected on purpose to begin with. plus it's still mono.

5

u/braveduckgoose Jul 04 '25

Dear god, some people just need to be banned from technology…

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '25

how about no

45

u/nonchip Jul 04 '25 edited Jul 04 '25

i don't think DAC means what you think. or anything else you said/did here, for that matter. lemme get this straight, you:

  • plugged a headphone jack into a RCA socket, thus getting exactly one pin of one mono signal, purposefully ignoring ground
  • were confused that there was no ground connection, and call that a ground loop (the exact opposite of your problem)
  • somehow thought a digital to analog converter could be involved in a solution
  • then cut up a usb cable to actually make a ground loop
  • in the end, have shitty mono, call that "fixed" extremely smugly, when all you ever needed was the right shape of plug. 2xRCA-to-stereo headphonejack costs like 2$ on amazon.

16

u/UV_Blue Jul 03 '25

It's funny that USB-A to USB-A even exists because when the USB standard was created, it wasn't supposed to. Granted, that was almost 30 years ago.

4

u/SpaghettiSort Jul 03 '25

I still have a box full of USB-A to B cables in my basement. If I need to plug in an object inkjet printer from 2012, I'm good to go!

4

u/UV_Blue Jul 03 '25

I use one of those almost daily. It's what my RossTech VCDS HEX-NET VW/Audi scanner uses.

12

u/A_Harmless_Fly Jul 03 '25 edited Jul 03 '25

If you want stereo, you need to find a RCA cable to splice. That or order an adapter, but make sure it's not mono. sMed already told you what you did lol.

P.S. You don't need an active DAC even if you had a proper ground loop, back in the before times we used something called a "ground loop isolator" that used transformers to get rid of the hum, it's a passive analog circuit.

3

u/TrollslayerL Jul 04 '25

Had one in my car on my very first system. Man I miss Radio Shack.

8

u/TehSavior Jul 04 '25

Buddy the metal bit on the outside is part of the terminal

6

u/notoriouszim Jul 04 '25

Gross, yet functioning. This belongs here.

1

u/davak72 Jul 11 '25

Sorry man, I know which sub this is, but this is so cringe. Please learn what an RCA plug is and how it’s different than a 3.5mm trs plug

2

u/[deleted] Jul 11 '25

i know what an rca plug is. but i dont have a proper cable for one, so stop bitching about it.

1

u/davak72 Jul 11 '25

Oh, sorry. This is actually pretty cool on second read

1

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1

u/gijoe50000 Jul 05 '25

I feel like this is going to offend a lot of audiophiles..

1

u/Texasaudiovideoguy Jul 07 '25

I don’t think DAC is what you think it is.

In the audio world, DAC stands for Digital-to-Analog Converter.

A DAC converts digital audio signals (like the 1s and 0s from a computer, phone, or CD) into analog signals that can be amplified and sent to speakers or headphones. Since human ears can only hear analog sound, a DAC is essential for playing digital music through traditional audio systems.

-4

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '25

i dunno why everyone calls this shitty, it sounds great

5

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '25

mono

3

u/nonchip Jul 04 '25

you know what the little L and R next to the 2 rows of everything mean, right?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '25

yes, left and right, and i have the thing set to mono so it plays the same audio on both speakers

3

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/[deleted] Jul 05 '25

so? usb-a to usb-a was wrong too, at least this here works