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How to guarantee to lower noise- ground loops in your system

I have been through many problem area where noise in the  audio chain was a problem.
my friend Who is a Electrician solved the problem . All too many times people add a dedicated 20 amp circuit 12awg is standard 11-10awg even better lower resistance , also most important 
you need a Isolated dedicated ground, this is totally insulated right back to the earth ground in the 
breaker box this will dramatically lower your noise floor and remove ground loop problems .many people just put a dedicated line and think 
that’s it ,not so, if you are going to go through the trouble, then  for maybe $100 more the isolated dedicated ground  to the dedicated circuit is a must. I can tell you without question .
my Audio has a noticably quieter background .in songs i now hear low level musical artifacts like reverb off a guitar fading cymbals and clearer seperation of instruments .well worth the effort .Hopefully 
this will help others .this is a essential system upgrade .
128x128audioman58

Showing 1 response by cakyol

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cakyol
940 posts
 

Ground loops occur when the resistance between any two or more grounding points is high enough to cause enough of a voltage drop to be detected & amplified.

To reduce this:

1) Attach ALL your devices that handle signal circuits to a STAR configuration, ie to the SAME outlet/plug, with short mains wires. That is your turntable, subwoofer, amp, preamp, DAC, etc. If you do this, make sure you have a 20-30 Amp circuit to be able to carry the load of your megawatt amplifier. The more the better (and more expensive).

AND/OR

2) Use NON COPPER signal connections if you can (optical or fm/radio/wifi).

AND/OR

3) If you must use MULTIPLE outlets/plugs (no other choice), make sure the resistance of the EARTH connection between those 2 (or more plugs) is as close to ZERO ohms (the THICKER/OFC the wire the better) as possible.

If you do one or a combination of these, you will not have a hum problem.


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