[gerald porzio]

http://www.ground1.com/low_noise_guide.htm

There will be a test Mon. AM. Too much Super Bowl Libation will not be accepted as an excuse.

[sts9fan]

Josh you are correct Dan was nice enough to help me out and gave me a little lesson in grounds.   One thing is for sure it made sense to me and my amp is dead quiet now.

[Niteshade]

I never brought up how my grounding system is wired.  The subject is not about that. All my enclosures are grounded to earth ground.

It is understandable why grounding can be an asset for protection: We can't assume that everything is insulated/isolated in the same fashion, especially when considering vintage equipment. 

The main subject is that noise can travel through ground systems. Grounds can either help noise issues or agitate them. I wanted to bring up why these things can happen.

[Niteshade]

I would like to bring up a tangent: If an entire room is being fed from an isolation transformer and all grounds are local, (no reference outside the room at all) do you believe that is dangerous? The isolation transformer's shield can be connected to earth ground outside the room. There can be a local ground reference within the room, through a local breaker box connected to the secondary of the isolation transformer. All electronic equipment grounds would be tied together in standard fashion with a ground buss. You would have a strictly local ground plane that all electronics would share.

I am bringing this up for the sake of conversation to see what your opinions are.

[gerald porzio]

http://www.equitech.com/support/wiring.html

This will also be in Mon.'s test. After a while these grounding articles will induce migraines in all but the real hardcore audiophiles.

[HAL]

Only problem is that the National Electrical Code is no longer standing behind balanced power in home applications from other threads I have read.  Interesting as it was fine for awhile.  Anyone else read about this?  Just trying to see if it is correct.

[Dan Banquer]

I never brought up how my grounding system is wired.  The subject is not about that. All my enclosures are grounded to earth ground.

It is understandable why grounding can be an asset for protection: We can't assume that everything is insulated/isolated in the same fashion, especially when considering vintage equipment. 

The main subject is that noise can travel through ground systems. Grounds can either help noise issues or agitate them. I wanted to bring up why these things can happen.

If this is happening then I can only think of two reasons at the moment.
1. The main ground connection to the water pipe is corroded or the main grounding rod connection is corroded.
2. Something either in the stereo system or something in the residence is wired incorrectly.

From what I have observed over time is that both of the above can be a problem.
In addition I would like to emphasize once again: There is no standard for grounding in consumer unbalanced audio; so anything can happen and usually does.

Hope this helps;
Dan Banquer

[Niteshade]

Hi Dan,

I never had a problem with grounds. It's a completely hypothetical thread pertaining to possible problems and what can cause them.

[Dan Banquer]

Hi Dan,

I never had a problem with grounds. It's a completely hypothetical thread pertaining to possible problems and what can cause them.

Well if this is a hypothetical thread then mathematically the problems will be finite, but the reality will appear to be infinite to many people.
Regards;
   Dan Banquer

[Niteshade]

If anybody would like to share what kind of ground noise problems they had and how they were fixed- that would be a good direction to go in. I have never had ground issues with my audio gear, so this isn't for me.

[Occam]

Only problem is that the National Electrical Code is no longer standing behind balanced power in home applications from other threads I have read.  Interesting as it was fine for awhile.  Anyone else read about this?  Just trying to see if it is correct.

What problem? I assume you are referring to Article 647 of the 2007 NEC code.
Indeed, it states -

647.3  General.  Use of a separately derived 120-volt single-phase 3-wire system with 60 volts on each of two ungrounded conductors to a grounded neutral conductor shall be permitted for the purpose of reducing objectionable noise in sensitive electronic equipment locations provided that the following conditions apply.

(1)  The system is installed only in commercial or industrial occupancies.
(2)  The system's use is restricted to areas under close supervision by qualified personnel.
(3)  All of the requirements in 647.4 through 647.8 are met.

But please note 627.4 -

(D)  Voltage Drop.  The voltage drop on any branch circuit shall not exceed 1.5 percent.  The combined voltage drop of feeder and branch-circuit conductors shall not exceed 2.5 percent.

(1)  Fixed Equipment.  The voltage drop on branch circuits supplying equipment connected using wiring methods in Chapter 3 shall not exceed 1.5 percent.  The combined voltage drop of feeder and branch-circuit conductors shall not exceed 2.5 percent.
(2)  Cord-Connected Equipment.  The voltage drop on branch circuits supplying receptacle outlets shall not exceed 1 percent.  For the purposes of making this calculation, the load connected to the receptacle outlet shall be considered to be 50 percent of the branch circuit rating.  The combined voltage drop of feeder and branch-circuit conductors shall not exceed 2.0 percent.
(FPN):  The purpose of this provision is to limit voltage drop to 1.5 percent where portable cords may be used as a means of connecting equipment.

And which of these 2 situations apply to an external Balanced Power Conditioner that plugs into a wall outlet? Neither.... NEC is silent on the matter. While not always true, NEC generally stops at the wall, and defers to the various ETLs. Specifically, UL doesn't appear to have a problem with putting their mark on Equitech and Intertkek has no problem with giving the C-ETL mark to Furman's balancing conditioners.

I'm not a P.E. so my comments are not definitive.

FWIW,
Paul