I do not think there is a "one size fits all" solution to troubleshooting electrical system problems. My power company came the same day I called to do some perfunctory testing of the service entrance and all was good. I had found a few spots in the system- funky xlr connector (which the manufacturer re-terminated at no cost) and a bad tube socket (which I had help replacing). Despite having gone to some lengths to set up a good electrical "subsystem" for my hi-fi shortly after I moved here 4 years ago, I still had an occasional intermittent burst of static, even after replacing every tube (I have tubes all the way through, from phono section and power supply to line stage to amps- a lot of tubes).
I think I was finally able to diagnose the problem with the help of the designer of my line stage. He suggested I pull the battery packs (it runs on lithium batteries when playing) and swap them. I noticed some dust between the battery packs and the plates where they make contact. So I dusted those while swapping them L-R and R-L.
System is now functioning as it should.
One thing I do recommend is a commercial electrician. I’ve done several rooms over the years and my experience with commercial electricians generally has been better than the garden variety residential person. Not to paint with a broad brush, but as @jea48 mentioned, there is a wide variety of experience and knowledge among those who do this stuff for a living. The guy who ran my project did not specialize in sound or studios, though they have done them-- they work on all kinds of big institutional stuff. Trick is finding a service company in your area that does both residential and commercial, since a lot of commercial electricians don’t want to bother with what they consider to be small residential household issues.
I’d also counsel patience- I know, you want it right and you don’t necessarily want to throw money at it in the hope of some band-aid. I’d start with the power company and find a good electrician who is savvy at troubleshooting. It could be something small.
For example, in a previous house, even with dedicated lines, there were certain appliances that could be heard through the system. Simple solution- avoid using those when listening.
I know people rely on power conditioning as an quick solution-- it may not solve the problem, but my bigger issue isn’t that- it is what the conditioner does to the sound. You may hear a difference with conditioning, but that doesn’t necessarily mean better. I’d try to solve the problem before I resorted to "conditioning" simply because filtering out noise is likely to filter out information you want to hear.
Good luck with this. You’ve gotten some good input here.
I think I was finally able to diagnose the problem with the help of the designer of my line stage. He suggested I pull the battery packs (it runs on lithium batteries when playing) and swap them. I noticed some dust between the battery packs and the plates where they make contact. So I dusted those while swapping them L-R and R-L.
System is now functioning as it should.
One thing I do recommend is a commercial electrician. I’ve done several rooms over the years and my experience with commercial electricians generally has been better than the garden variety residential person. Not to paint with a broad brush, but as @jea48 mentioned, there is a wide variety of experience and knowledge among those who do this stuff for a living. The guy who ran my project did not specialize in sound or studios, though they have done them-- they work on all kinds of big institutional stuff. Trick is finding a service company in your area that does both residential and commercial, since a lot of commercial electricians don’t want to bother with what they consider to be small residential household issues.
I’d also counsel patience- I know, you want it right and you don’t necessarily want to throw money at it in the hope of some band-aid. I’d start with the power company and find a good electrician who is savvy at troubleshooting. It could be something small.
For example, in a previous house, even with dedicated lines, there were certain appliances that could be heard through the system. Simple solution- avoid using those when listening.
I know people rely on power conditioning as an quick solution-- it may not solve the problem, but my bigger issue isn’t that- it is what the conditioner does to the sound. You may hear a difference with conditioning, but that doesn’t necessarily mean better. I’d try to solve the problem before I resorted to "conditioning" simply because filtering out noise is likely to filter out information you want to hear.
Good luck with this. You’ve gotten some good input here.