Genesis Model 1 - Noise on Headphone Out - Normal?

[WesternNYCollector]

So I got a Genesis Model 1 and 3 games that weren't terribly interesting to me, but it was cheap enough, and I got Sonic 1 separately which I am terrible at but getting better.

One thing I noticed is that the headphone out on the front of the system has a good amount of noise. You can't hear it during gameplay when there's music or sound effects playing, but any time there's a intermission screen with no audio playing it's pretty obvious. I also noticed some occasional popping sounds when sound effects play in games.

When playing through the TV with composite, using the headphone jack on the TV, I didn't hear either, although I didn't really try listening for the occasional popping sounds.

I am using an official Sega Model 1 power supply that I originally purchased for my Super Famicom. The one that came with the unit was an aftermarket 3rd party supply.

Is this normal? Is it possible that the TV is filtering out noise on the composite output?

[alec006]

It's normal, the buzz is electronic noise that is apparent in most every electronic device. Although, if it's really bad you're creating a ground loop somewhere or your capacitors on the board are getting old. Also, an official power supply may make the noise less apparent.

[APE992]

The headphone jack is particularly sensitive to EMI and I don't recall why off hand, believe it has something to do with the construction of the jack itself. The rear output is better shielded and has a more solid construction due to the lack of having a slide adjustment for volume (which create noise when used).

The power supply can also be a great source of noise by design and if it is going bad in the SLIGHTEST it can introduce even more noise. Personally I wouldn't worry about it unless it is really irritating. The first thing I'd try is different power supplies as well as getting a "power conditioner" and seeing if cleaning up the power that goes to the brick helps.

[WesternNYCollector]

Basically what I was assuming here. At least the TV I'm using is nice enough to pipe the mono input to both speakers.

[Superman]

I know I had the noise problem when the system was relatively new. My friend had an off power adapter that he used for his NES, which caused humming in the system, so I figured I would try a different adapter to see if it made a difference (luckily I had a couple different versions of the Genesis to use). I hooked up another power supply and the problem was solved.

Don't worry about Sonic! They make it look easy sometimes, by having Sonic just zipping right through the level! Sometimes it can be done, but usually it takes a little figuring out. I'm sure you'll be a pro in no time!

[WesternNYCollector]

Noise level seems to be about the same with the official and 3rd party power supplies. I only use the official one, just plugged in the other one once to test.