Speaker Hummmmmm

randog · « **on:** 29 Mar 2006, 08:28 pm »

I have 2 Stratos. One that drives my left monitor and sub and one that drives my right monitor and sub. This is in an audio/HT system. When my preamp is on, I get a hum through the monitors... both of them have a similar hum through both the tweeters and drivers... again - they are hooked up to different amps.

I had the amps plugged directly into the walls, then plugged them into my BPT conditioner (along with all the other components)... same. I then bought a Monster HTS-3500II to get all my HT off the BPT and into the Monster and allow me to filter the satellite and phone cables... same. Today I unplugged the Monster which unplugs the TV, satellite, DVD, HT receiver, satellite feeds, phone feed... same.

I can hear the buzz from a couple feet away from the monitors.

1. Is this causing any harm to my tweeters and drivers? (Ellis 1801's)

2. What could be causing it?

3. Should I continue to seek out a solution or give up? You can't hear it under normal listening situations.

Thanks!
Randy

Sonny · « **Reply #1 on:** 29 Mar 2006, 09:07 pm »

Well, there is no harm to the speakers, unless there is a loud pop when you first turn the system on. The hum is due to the ground loops in your system, I expect. Try a cheater plug on the preamp first to see if the hum goes away, if not, take the cheater plug out of the preamp and try it on the amps.

I had the same issue a while back.

Also, it the preamp grounded?

NJBOB · « **Reply #2 on:** 29 Mar 2006, 09:15 pm »

What source are you using,,Is it from all or just your Cable or satalite? I had the same problem it was from the Digital Cable provider. (I use digaital cable for a music source) They actually had to send engineers to my neighborhood. Still havent fixed it but gave me a 20% discount till fixed. No harm to my system

randog · « **Reply #3 on:** 29 Mar 2006, 10:09 pm »

Quote from: Sonny

Well, there is no harm to the speakers, unless there is a loud pop when you first turn the system on. The hum is due to the ground loops in your system, I expect. Try a cheater plug on the preamp first to see if the hum goes away, if not, take the cheater plug out of the preamp and try it on the amps.

I had the same issue a while back.

Also, it the preamp grounded?

Sonny, I think you are on to something. I played around with my preamp (IRD Purest) and the hum changes based on the source selector and increases with volume and gain adjustments.

Sorry, what is a cheater plug?

Sonny · « **Reply #4 on:** 29 Mar 2006, 10:17 pm »

Sonny, I think you are on to something. I played around with my preamp (IRD Purest) and the hum changes base ...[/quote]

Randog,
a Cheater plug is one of those adaptors that enables a three prong plug to be able to plug into a two prong outlet!

I think its a ground loop situation, and if you have it on "phono" the hum is even louder, right?

Radiator · « **Reply #5 on:** 29 Mar 2006, 11:27 pm »

You know, when I first started using the mono blocks, I heard some hum, but not all the time. Turns out that a halogen lamp I have plugged into the wall is creating it. When I turn the DIMMER all the way up to bright, it basically disappears, but when I dim the light, it returns. Very irritating. I guess I need to move it to another circuit, though I don't think I can in that room.

I also have bad hum when using the phono, maybe I'll try the cheater plug on that.....

Sonny · « **Reply #6 on:** 29 Mar 2006, 11:46 pm »

I also have bad hum when using the phono, maybe I'll try the cheater plug on that.....[/quote]

Yes, the cheater will help, but on the phono, try to ground the preamp to something solid.

I found that dimmer's are really bad....

Christof · « **Reply #7 on:** 30 Mar 2006, 01:26 pm »

Randog

Maybe you have been playing your subs too loud and something came loose in 1801's:wink:

In diagnosing my own loop problem I first tripped and pulled all breakers except for the breaker my system was on. I also disconnected all cable connections, internet, everything was unhooked and I then removed all the grounds from my breaker box. PITA, yes, but I found the problem to be refrigerator and a dimmer that had gone bad (even when turned on all the way) Since I had my breaker box torn apart I moved everything with motors and dimmers to one buss bar and my system everything else to the other....seemed to work.

c.

carusoracer · « **Reply #8 on:** 30 Mar 2006, 01:43 pm »

Quote from: Christof

Randog

Maybe you have been playing your subs too loud and something came loose in 1801's:wink:

In diagnosing my own loop problem I first tripped and pulled all breakers except for the breaker my system was on. I also disconnected all cable connections, internet, everything was unhooked and I then removed all the grounds from my breaker box. PITA, yes, but I found the problem to be refrigerator and a dimmer that had gone bad (even when turned on all the way) Since I had my breaker box torn apart ...[

/quote] Wow. I can not even begin to task that one.

I too have a slight hum that I can detect coming directly from my EE MiniMax Pre Amp,When I run my Odyseey Amp. As soon as I turn it on (PreAMP)you can hear a slight hum coming from the speakers. I did not have this hum on my previous 4 Amps. Would a Cheater Plug? Work on this as well. I do not know how to track down ground loop issues.

Gordy · « **Reply #9 on:** 30 Mar 2006, 02:41 pm »

Cheater plugs are a good way to track down a problem but should never be left in your system for any period of time! You're removing your safety ground and should you ever have a serious failure (God forbid!) the fire / insurance investigator will find the remains of the plug and your insurance will be void.

If a cablenet connection is the problem there's an isolation unit that's available very inexpensively. Sorry don't have the link, but it's been posted here in the past. If you really can't track down the true cause of your ground loop then please consider using a line level iso transformer like the one Jensen offers... they are very transparent though a tad spendy at about $115. All in all, less expensive than a set of cables!!! Thanks

craig223 · « **Reply #10 on:** 30 Mar 2006, 03:40 pm »

Have you tried to isolate which component is causing the hum? My Direct TV box causes a hum whenever it is plugged to my preamp. The only fix is to remove the ICs. Tried several different boxes and always the same result.

randog · « **Reply #11 on:** 30 Mar 2006, 04:03 pm »

Thanks for all the inputs guys. You have given me excellent things to try.

Chris, you're a stud. I wish more woodcraftsmen were as finicky as you. The world would be much more nicely adorned.

Radiator · « **Reply #12 on:** 30 Mar 2006, 04:52 pm »

Quote from: Sonny

Yes, the cheater will help, but on the phono, try to ground the preamp to something solid.

I found that dimmer's are really bad....

Thanks, I'll give it a shot..

Sonny · « **Reply #13 on:** 30 Mar 2006, 05:14 pm »

Quote from: Gordy

Cheater plugs are a good way to track down a problem but should never be left in your system for any period of time! You're removing your safety ground and should you ever have a serious failure (God forbid!) the fire / insurance investigator will find the remains of the plug and your insurance will be void.

Yes, you're right about cheater plugs...
that's what I forgot to mention.
Thanks

boead · « **Reply #14 on:** 30 Mar 2006, 07:13 pm »

The Jensen Iso Max VRD-1FF Cable TV Ground Loop Isolator took care of all hum issues with cable TV!

Worth every penny

http://www.jensen-transformers.com/iso_vid.html

There are cheaper device that claim to work from Radio Shack and other s that I tried and they didn’t help at all! This thing actually works and doesn’t interfere with HDTV or On-Demand digital service.

randog · « **Reply #15 on:** 30 Mar 2006, 11:22 pm »

Interesting that it doesn't work with satellite...

Gordy · « **Reply #16 on:** 31 Mar 2006, 03:48 am »

Thanks for the link Boead! Markertek has the best prices that I've found for the Iso Max products... http://www.markertek.com/SearchProdList.asp?off=0&sort=prod