[johnzm]

i have a problem with a new washer causing alot of noise on my gear. it is causing a pretty substancial hum through my sub, which gets louder/quieter depending on which cycle its on.

i had read (and lost) a nice article talking about filter capacitors being used in a power conditioner box on the recepticals. i would like to replicate that on the in wall recepticals so that i can perhaps keep everything looking clean, and kill the noise at the earlilest spot. i was also thinking of perhaps putting the filter cap on the receptacle the washer is on, to kill the output.

does anyone have any thoughts on resolving this idea?

[jtwrace]

Does it only happen when the washer is on?

[Paul_Bui]

I have Alan Maher's filters on most wall outlets around the house.  Particularly, there are AM filters on outlets where refrigerator, washer/dryer and other thinkable appliances are located.  Not only audio but video performance improved, significantly.  I have not seen HD TV picture this good (color saturation, sharpness, etc.) from any friend's houses.

[johnzm]

you know what. the washer causes some inline noise ONLY when the motor on it is doing alot of work (spin cycles especially)

i am running an EP4000 on my sub and it really amplifies the sound to where its easy to hear.

i am also getting a low level buzz in all of my speakers, that was not here when i moved in. i am secretly hoping doing filter caps on the receptacles will fix that too. of course if it does not help with those i wont be too unhappy, but the washer is what i really need to fix.

its at a point where the noise coming out of the sub is louder than the dialog on quiet scenes. i simply cannot wash clothes and watch movies at the same time.

Alan Maher's filters are terribly expensive. I am looking for a under 50 dollar fix. i have read somewhere where someone replicated a hydra conditioner by putting filter caps on a few outlets and it helped a great deal. i lost the thread.  i would like to try this, but have no idea which cap i should use. 

[ctviggen]

Is the low level buzz there all the time? 

Try the following.  Unplug or turn everything off (hard off, using hard off buttons).  Remove the inputs to your amplifiers.  Turn the amplifiers on.  Do you hear the buzz from your speakers?  If not, remove all inputs from the preamp.  Connect the preamp to the amp.  Do you hear a buzz from your speakers?  If not, keep adding in one thing at a time (turning everything off each time) until you hear the buzz.  That's what's causing the buzz.

As for the washing machine, filter caps may or may not help.  Here's something for $70 (see the EMI filter):

http://www.vhaudio.com/acpowerconditioning.html

He also used to tell you how to solder caps and which ones to use for outlets.  However, if you have a cap that goes bad and shorts out, you have a potential fire hazard. 

[Mike B.]

A couple suggestions. Swap positions of breakers in your breaker box. If you can put the audio circuit on the opposite leg from the washer, it should solve the problem. A worn AC outlet at the washer can amplify noise. A $2 decent AC outlet with cleaned and tightened wires might also solve the problem. Installing caps inside the outlet box might help but be sure to use an AC rated cap made for AC applications.

[Speedskater]

Scotty, any amplifier that has that problem is either defective or poorly designed.

[johnzm]

http://www.10audio.com/diy_power_conditioner.htm

here is what i had found earlier.

http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=F17724102900virtualkey61310000virtualkey75-F17724102900

these are a version of the cap he used (the exact one, http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=F17104101000virtualkey61310000virtualkey75-F17104101000 is backordered.)

im just gonna place an order for some of the ones in stock and let you guys know how it works out

[rollo]

 There are soulutions that plug in such as the PS Audio Quietlines. However your best bet is to get an Electrician to rearrange your circuits if possible. Do you have a dedicated line for your system ? Have the Electrician check your grounding connection as well. After the panel look into a better AC receptacable. Good luck.


charles