Video & Audio: Power, Ground, EMI, Noise in Cables


On Audiogon, I have found a lot of excellent advice and great people so I thought I'd say thanks to all and give a little back. There is so much information in the forums on power, grounding, electro magnetic interference (EMI) issues, noise and various cable dynamics such as impedance and signal reflection. The only problem I had is finding it in the forums and then finding more technical information to explain deeper why the advice works.

If others agree, I would like to start a permanent thread of technical sources and references links, but not specific advice like the forums.

An excellent source I have found, (with references!) is by Philip Giddings at:
http://www.engineeringharmonics.com/papers/papers.htm

I placed relevant links below with comments, mostly from the author's text (with a few from me).

Grounding and Shielding for Sound and Video (This is it: The *must* read, you'll need coffee!)


Power and Ground Update
Balanced Power - The Final Frontier? (A cutting edge discussion of balanced, isolated ground systems in studios.) This article provides some recent ideas and developments that affect electrical noise in audio and other technical systems. Anyone planning a new facility or a renovation will want to consider how these can best be used to maximize and protect their investment.

Noise Reduction Systems
This article discusses a number of established, well known single-ended noise reduction products.

Grounding Systems and Their Implementation
(Excellent for home wiring) This paper discusses the grounding system installed in the facility up to but not including the electronic equipment as implemented in a number of large installations and is part of an on-going AES effort to document appropriate practices with regard to the control of noise in audio systems.

Getting a Perspective on Noise In Audio System
(Excellent overview) This article provides background on where, when and why electromagnetic interference (EMI) noise enters audio systems.

Hearing Losses - Cause and Effect
and Turn It Up, Eh! Part II - The Horror Continues (Oh, boy...)

For cables here are some technical papers from Belden:
http://bwcecom.belden.com/college/college.htm
Start with:
Cable recommendations for Home Theater and High-End Audio
Wire, Cable, and Fiber Optics (Easy Overview to Understand Everything Else!)

For interconnect:
Coaxial Cables and Applications (Technical overview)
Solving Signal Problems (shielding)
Multimedia Shared Sheath Applications (Interesting fun tests of new cat5 network cable with audio and video)
High Definition Cabling and Return Loss (Excellent tutorial)
Precision Digital Video Snake Cables (The amazing 7710 RGB 3GHz!)

Now after you read the tutorials - get your calculators for the engineering
Precision Video Coaxial Cables - Part 1: Impedance
Precision Video Coaxial Cables - Part 2: Return Loss
Precision Video Coaxial Cables - Part 3: Reflection Coefficient
Characteristic Impedance of Cables at High and Low Frequencies
Multimedia Shared Sheath Applications (Crosstalk tutorial, twisted pair examples)

For Power: Fire Alarm Cables datasheet (Subaruguru and 83803 fans)

I have more, but I'd like to see others add their favorites.
dan_in_san_jose
Oh crap, now I have about two weeks of reading!!! Thanks for this excellent post!
I have not followed the links provided, but thank you for the wealth of information. That required considerable work and there are many who will benefit.
Hooray! I second your idea. Reference lists like these should become part of a library at Audiogon. It has often occurred to me also that there should be a few basic tutorial discussions on how to lay out a dedicated a/c system including pros & cons of wire gauge, MC cable, grounding options, isolated receptacles, safety issues, and the like (only written by professionally credentialled contributors). There are too many posts starting with "the electrician is coming tomorrow, what do I do now" and it would be good to have someplace to point to.