Ground Loop Hum


I think that although this subject is covered within the forums that it's worth it to give a solution again as it is a very common and annoying problem. I experienced a hum coming from my speakers after upgrading to a more powerful amp. I knew from the buzz that it was a 60Hz signal from the alternating current in a ground loop. I tried all manner of grounding manuvers and decided to live with it, but then came across an easy solution, less than $10. Here's what you do. First, go to home depot and buy a bunch of 3 to 2 prong (i.e., ungrounded) adapter plugs. Then use one of these on EVERY piece of equipment that you have plugged in (turntable, tuner, speed control, preamp, phono amp, etc), except for the amp, which you leave as a grounded 3 prong plug. Since all the equipment is ultimately interconnected via the amp, none of it remains potentially dangerously ungrounded. And, since there is only one grounding source, the potential for a loop is greatly diminished. Worked like a charm for me.
carja

Showing 1 response by ozfly