Quality Cheater plug??

I did just install a PS Audio Plus that I had in another place and will use is for now. Thanks again for all the help. Good (although not really good) to see that I am not the only one with these issues.

As I mentioned in my earlier post you could also go with a PS Audio power cord. I believe all of their models have a removable ground pin. The least expensive model is $50 www dot psaudio dot com/products/xstream_power_punch.asp. You may even be able to find cheaper in the used market.

You could think of it as a high quality $50 cheater plug. ;)

Or as already suggested, cut the ground lug off the $2 cord you have now. Of course finding the source of the hum wouldbe the best way to go. but if you can't find the source...

Maybe... maybe not.

I've had a couple balanced systems, and in two completely different homes... one old, one brandy new.

going balanced in the old home didn't help. Going that way in the new one was better, yet not dead silent.

Another way to quickly narrow down the problem to either a poorly operating ckt, item, or appliance causing the issue, is to simply begin by turning on the system and then opening up the house' breaker box, and start flipping off breakers.... or turn them all off save for that which drives the system, and then one by one, turning them back on, and checking the system for the buzz as you go along. Naturally, if all else is off except for the power ckt (driving the rig) and you have the buzz already, it's likley in the way the home is wired to ground.

Depending on local NEC codes, the neutral (white wire) and the common, or ground, the green one, are bonded (tied) together in both the braker box and definitely outside at the service itself.

Most often, as I said, the dish or cable box is the culprit. sometimes the phone system, such as Verizon FIOS (fiber optic system), even those uninterupted power supplies for computers are providing the nastyness. I found that last one out the hard way.

Battery chargers, devices which need recharging periodically, they too can induce noise back into the homes electrical system.... some more so than others.

To totally isoalate ones ssytem, both the neutral and ground must also be independant or dedicated.... not just the hot wire.

A difference of potential in the grounds can also provide a ground loop.

turn off everything and then start energizing things one by one... and see.... if there's no change, lift the ground on the cable or dish rig at the service pole.

BTW... I put cheater plugs on all the appliances in my home as I was able... so now only the dryer, hot water heater, and oven are wired directly.

remewmber if it's the cable box, there are filters which can fix things.

Thank you for the help so far. I do have another thought, do you think that a balanced IC would help on those pre/pro to amp connections? I was wondering if I had a seperate ground on each channel that may help. I would have to do some moving around to try this and before I went through all that effort, I would like to hear some opinions from anyone that has tried that.

Try the humx;
wwwdotebtechaudiodotcombackslashhumxdesdothtml

email me privately

You, probably, are getting a ground loop through the outlet.
You might try plugging into an outlet on a different circuit, that could solve your problem.
Or, conversely, you could unplug each thing in the house on that same circuit, one by one, and see if and when the hum stops. Then, you've found your culprit. And, then, you could try plugging THAT into an outlet on a different circuit.
If the above fails, or, is simply not possible, or practical, you could buy an Acoustic Revive RGC-24 Grounding Conditioner from VH Audio for $449.00 and that would, probably, solve your problem--safely (and improve your system's sound quality). If you were to try that, I'd suggest emailing Chris, first, to ask him what he thinks.
Barring all else, disconnecting the green ground wire from the outlet, as has been suggested would, likely, eliminate the hum. But, it does pose potential hazards.
The easiest solution is to just take some bolt cutters and chop the ground plug off your power cord. That would facilitate obtaining correct AC orientation, as well, since you could try the cord flipped each way and pick the one that sounds best.

Someone posted the following on Audiogon a short while back on this very subject. It's worth a read prior to un-grounding your system.

http://www.aes.org/sections/pnw/pnwrecaps/2005/whitlock/whitlock_pnw05.pdf

It's permanent but cut off the ground.

I had a similar problem regarding hum with my setup. I went from a dead quiet house to a problem when I moved here to Arizona with the left speaker humming. My speakers have amps in them. When I talked to Richard Vandersteen, he advised me to run a ground wire from the humming speaker amp to the main amp or preamp which quieted the problem. It seems that the speakers were on a different circuit than the other electronics which created the different ground potential. Try running a very thin wire touching different components and see if it works. In any case, using a cheater will ruin the sound..grainy, no depth, etc.

I simply lifted the ground inside the outlet... it's the green wire. Proceed at your own risk. ... and turn off the braker beforehand to kill the power to that ckt.!!

My exp? Done it for years with no probs... usually it stems from the cable/satellite/phone ground at the servidce pole outside your house.

There are filters too which can help if in an apt. However some of these filters can affect the speed of the cable box' when going form ch to ch and so forth.

I've not seen a cryo'd cheater or the like yet.

I've seen some suggest the PS Audio Power cable's as they have a removable ground lug, and others have suggested disconnecting the ground within the outlet (at your own risk of course not to mention a potential code violation)

Just throwing some thoughts at ya.