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Floating the Ground

My B&K Ref 30 is sick and not working quite right. I am awaiting the arrival of a new Ref 50 but they keep delaying the shipment.

One of the problems is a terrible hum in my speakers coming from the preamp. It doesn't matter if the ref 30 is on or off, if it is plugged into the power source (wall or conditioner) the hum immediately starts.

I think floating the ground on the Ref 30 would eliminate the noise but I don't know for sure if there is a downside to doing this until the new Ref 50 comes in.

Any power experts out there?
bundy

Showing 1 response by jmcgrogan2

jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Do you have a cable tv line? If so there is a chance this is creating the ground loop hum. You could try floating the ground, from my experiences, this helped, but didn't eliminate the hum altogether. You could try one of those cable ground isolaters (like the Mondial Magic Box) also, if you have a cable line. I found more success with the Magic Box than with floating the grounds.

Good luck,
John
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