I’ve had this dock for close to a month. It functions well (esp. compared to the KD-E10) in providing consistent 4K output from either my desktop or laptop.
It shares peripherals well, but continues to generate static or or EI ‘pops’. These are extremely loud, and appear to volume independent - i.e. occur when the monitor is actually muted. The sound IS happening on the speakers though - confirming this is static/electronic interference of some variety.
I love the dock (the only one under $500 offering all the features I need) so have tried really hard to make this work. I have ferrite loops on EVERY signal carrying cable - both ends (USB-C, HDMI, etc, etc). I also have one on the power supply lines too - even one either side of the inline connector for the PSU on the DC side.
With EVERYTHING the same as the laptop side of the C10 I get no noise AT ALL from the $70 Anker dock I was using before. I get the noise on the C10 with NOTHING on the desktop side.
So the only change is the introduction of the C10 to the signal paths. This issue existed with the KD-E10 also - I upgraded to the C10 hoping to solve this, and an issue with display sync’ing after USB-C disconnect. The display issue IS resolved.
What is the device serial number(A2****)?
The static or “pops" output forn the iDock C10 or from the audio output channel you use? Such as the headphone, monitor speaker. And also happened on both laptop and desktop sides?
A24I0177. Pops are on the monitor speakers (even with speaker volume zero/muted), does not get transferred to headset (but that is BT). Occurs only on the USB-C laptop connection, with KVM switched to that side. Happens regardless of whether a desktop is connected.
Sometimes it is minimal, but it is current very frequent (every few minutes) and has recently started to add a brief, high volume white noise. NONE of this occurs unless the C10 is in use.
I am currently experimenting with USB-C connected (so keyboard, mouse and charging are occurring via the C10). I have taken the HDMI connector out of the KVM and plugged it direct to the laptop. Ten minutes, no pops.
So this shows us that it is not radiated EMF/EI from the C10, it is not the USB-C connection, it is noise/EI being pushed onto the HDMI cable. I have used your supplied cables as well as a very high quality 8K cable. No difference, still pops. Which must be originating on the HDMI circuit within the C10, but on the Thunderbolt side as this issue does not occur when HDMI is connected from the desktop via the C10.
So at this point I have proven my cables and signal paths for both USB-C from the laptop and HDMI from the laptop. There is an issue with the C10.
Note: I experienced similar (but less frequent) issues with the KD-E10 (which I suspect is using the same chip to pass the video from the combined USB-C signal to HDMI within the C10).
I gave up and returned the above unit and had an replacement cross-shipped. Please see if you guys can test this one once you receive it to figure out the issue (as I said - was also an issue for two KD-E10s I tried).
I have sat in silence for almost an hour with the new iDock C10. It’s bliss. We’ll see whether this changes overtime - but right now it seems that this unit is fully functional in this regard. Love the design, pleased I tried another unit. Does seem like there may be a QC issue somewhere.
Sigh - 12 hours later, with the unit being idle (laptop sleeping) for a good percentage of that time) - and the pops are present. So, I assume then that this is either the PSU or internal circuits warming.
Case is hot to touch, but not ridiculous, and I know you are using the case as a heatsink. Will check tomorrow AM whether the dock cools appropriately with no signals going through it, and negligible charge demand.
Hi again, about the sounds issue on our KD-E10, we has do many testings to try reproduce in our lab but failed so far. Our team still keep an eye on this issue and I also setup the device in my office to use in my daily work, hope we can recurrect and fixes it in our side.
And setup the iDock C10 at home and use it at night.
We are try our best to reproduce the issue so engineer can try have a check in our side.
Best Regards,
Thanks for choosing our product and your trust in us. I saw you tried many ways to troubleshoot it. Kevin also tried a lot to figure out this problem and has submitted the case to our product team. I appreciate your respect, patience, and efforts and feel honored to have you as our customer.
Honestly, this case seems unusual, difficult to reoccur, and might be something inexplicable. I apologize for the inconvenience. We will be looking into it this week.