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Audiophile novice needs your expert opinion

I recently purchased an Acurus 125x5 for my home theatre system.I love the amp,but I have a small humm-buzz in every channel(speaker) My last system I had a Classe CA-100 pre-outted for my front channels and the reciever amplifying the center and rears,and it was dead quiet no humm.After experimenting I found it(the humm-buzz)was coming from my cable TV connection at the wall.(very close to the outlet for my HT)If I disconnect the cable line the humm-buzz stops.What is this from? And what can I do to stop the humm-buzz? I would appreciate any help. Happy Holidays- John
krelldog
8 responses Add your response
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
You have got a ground loop. You can get a ground isolation transformer for Radio Shack for cheap or a better made but not necessarily more effective one from Mondial (called Magic) or from Audioadvisors (made by MIT). Our you can try a cheater plug (3-prong adapter) on the amp.
kennyt's avatar
kennyt
1,226 posts
 
John, I had a similar problems with Acurus amps (A250 and a 200x3)... it's a ground problem. I managed to solve it by running ground lines from every component to the screw in the outlet the components were plugged into... It seems the cable wire is truly a definitive ground, so the cable folks tell me, so by bettering the rest of your systems ground you should be OK.

Good luck!
sattothestars
233 posts
 
Get yourself the "magic box" from Aragon/Acurus/Klipsch(any Klipsch/Aragon dealer can order it) and it will solve your problem.You shoud be able to get it for around 100.00.
krelldog OP
323 posts
 
Thanks Audiophiles.There was a very informative forum on the Mondial webpage.Someone explained that by using two Radio Shack parts(15-253, 15-1140)you could transform 75 ohm signal to 300 ohms and then back to 75 ohms,and this would cure the problem for about 4 dollars.In my factory sealed box from Mondial there was a brochure for there Magic Box,which basically does the same thing for 100.00 dollars.Gee you think its a coincidence or what? Thanks again. John
jond's avatar
jond
5,845 posts
 
The easiest, cheapest, and most effective thing to do is get a cheater plug and lift the ground on your system. This will eliminate the hum and plugs cost something like 50 cents each.
krelldog OP
323 posts
 
JOND- Thanks,Thats the first thing I tried and it did NOT work.When I unscrew my cable connection,the buzz stops completely.
inscrutable
313 posts
 
I would NOT lift the ground from your electrical components. It is dangerous, not worth the risk, and there are other ways around it. I'm sure a search on ground loop will produce many threads. There is also an article posted on the SMR theater forums about it.
natalie
404 posts
 
Try putting the preamp and tv power cords into seperate receptacles and getting them as far away as possible from each other.T
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