Killing the "CLICK" in a relay

Is there an easy way to eliminate audible clicking caused by relay switching? Perhaps a snubber across the coil (ain't just for arcing protection?)?

Are you talking about the direct, mostly mechanical noise or the switching noise that makes it on your audio?

For the later, a snubber may help. More important are separate audio and relais grounds as well as separately regulated PS lines. And make sure that you do not have DC on your audio. The diode across the coil is mandatory.

Relais with small coils are typically quieter, but even with everything done right, a tiny click may remain in critical circuits (i.e. mic pre).

Samuel

BTW: is the spelling "relais" not used in English?

Thanks. I'm just going to try different tricks and see what's what. Yes I was refering to line level audio.

@Sam
I've never seen the spelling "relais" americans just write "relays"

[quote author="Ethan"]Thanks. I'm just going to try different tricks and see what's what. Yes I was refering to line level audio.

@Sam
I've never seen the spelling "relais" americans just write "relays"[/quote]

If you are switching balanced signals via a relay put at every signal in & out of this relay a resistor with 1-10 MOhm and put the other ends of these resistors together. Then you have no clicks and pops anymore....

When you are using unbalanced Signals put this resistors to ground.

[quote author="Leslie West"]...Then you have no clicks and pops anymore....[/quote]
...unless you're talking about the 'interruption' click, which you can never get rid of.

Ethan, you didn't say if the click you hear happens when you switch silence, or when you switch during a signal (a 100Hz tone, or a dull bass guitar sound is a perfect demonstration). If you hear clicks during silence, follow the suggestions mentioned so far. If you do not hear clicks during silencs, but hear them during signal, (especially strongly on the aforementioned low tones) then there's nothing you can do about it. Any sudden interruption of a high-point or a slow-moving tone will produce lots of higher harmonics for a brief instant, and there's no way around it apart from slugged FET switching (very fast fade) or similar, either in place of -or acting in advance of- the relay.

Keith

@ethan: Relais is french and we have a lot of french words in the german language. And english also has it's history in the french language.

The spelling "Relais" is not used in English.

The word "Relais" (as in "Relais Routiers" for example) has a subtly different meaning as I understand it.

Keith