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Ground Loop Question

Just curious about this....

What exactly is a ground loop and why does it affect the stereo like it does? What exactly is happening to cause this? I'm a little rusty on electrical but i know the basics and terms. I would assume a ground loop is actually where a ground gets fed back into itself and maybe oscilates and causes the hum? or am i totally reaching here?

My buddy's ol man has a pretty decent mid-level system that is PLAGUED by this Hum. He has a MONSTER 3600 stage 3 power filter and the hum is still there.

Better yet, when he turns on the lights the hum gets WAY worse. (not a dimmer switch either) Normally i would attribute this to bad power, but shouldnt the stage 3 filter be clearing this? Does this sound like it could be a ground loop?

What are some common causes of ground loops and some common fixes?
slappy

Showing 1 response by lawdog

lawdog
1 posts
 
I purchased used a Pioneer Elite Receiver VSX 95 that has a hum throught the speakers and the headphone output. This hum is present with all other source components disconnected. The hum does not increase in volume and becomes masked by the music. The AC plug is two pronged and does not seem to have an effect when placed in one way or the other in the electrical outlet. There are no dimmers in the room and this problem occurs in no matter what room outlet the Receiver is plugged into.

This seems like a grounding problem. Is there a simple fix or complex fix that can be done by someone with limited to mayber moderate experience in tinkering with electronics.

Thank you for your time and assistance in helping me. My email address is: lawdogesq@excite.com
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