How Much DC is OK on a Power Line?


The other night my Classe amplifiers started producing a substantial mechanical hum. Classe told me that it was likely from DC on the power line. The hum was there even when the preamp was switched to standby, and even when I plugged the amps into different sockets.

My questions:

1) how much DC on the powerline does it take to cause problems with audio equipment?

2) How does DC get into the AC signal on the power line?

3) Do the power companies have any spec they need to acheive for maximum DC?

4) Or is it more likely appliances within my house causing the DC.

Thanks, Peter
peter_s

Showing 2 responses by hifiman5

The PS Audio Humbuster III is working well in my system. It's main goal is to eliminate as much DC as possible coming into the system.

My system isn't humming.
Power regenerators do NOT remove DC. I use a PS Audio Premier Power Plant in conjunction with the Humbuster III to eliminate the DC on the line that is not addressed by a regenerator.