Ground loop hum?

deronb1

Getting a hum when at idle. Turn off pio or amp and it goes away. Never had this issue before. What should i check for?

quicksilvergts

Funny you post this.
Just noticed (today) mine does too only my parasound.
I read the pdf parasound manual and this work for me.
Just went down to my Lowe's and bought an adapter.
People say it is a quick fix but I don't know. Will investigate layer this week.

"• While 3 pin grounded AC cords are standard on most high end components, sometimes it becomes necessary to reverse the polarity of the AC plug to reduce hum. In this case, you may use a 3 pin -to- 2 pin AC plug adaptor, or cheater plug, which is readily available at low cost from any hardware store. If you believe your system has a hum problem, the first step is to reverse the AC plugs of your other components, one by one, starting with the preamplifier. In many cases, this will eliminate the problem. lf this fails, it may be necessary to reverse the direction of the HCA-1200II's AC plug. Please do not cut off its 3rd ground pin; you may need it again if you change components. The preferable way is to purchase the "cheater"" with only two pins which can insert in either way in the wall outlet. This will not compromise the sound quality of your system."

Hope this might help if any.

Cheers!!

westmassguy

Try connecting a ground lead from one component to the other. A simple 20 or 22 gauge wire, daisy chained will due. Some components have a ground lug on the rear panel, if not, use one of the rear chassis screws. Once connected to each other, the chassis grounds will all be at the same potential. I would also check the interconnects. If the outer shield is defective or "open", this could cause the hum as well.

deronb1

Thanks guys. Will check it out

quicksilvergts

westmassguy wrote: »

Try connecting a ground lead from one component to the other. A simple 20 or 22 gauge wire, daisy chained will due. Some components have a ground lug on the rear panel, if not, use one of the rear chassis screws. Once connected to each other, the chassis grounds will all be at the same potential. I would also check the interconnects. If the outer shield is defective or "open", this could cause the hum as well.

Would this be better for long term than the 3-2pin adapter (cheater)?

westmassguy

quicksilvergts wrote: »

Would this be better for long term than the 3-2pin adapter (cheater)?

Every situation is different. Those adapters defeat the safety ground. With a ground lead between components, that safety feature remains, and the ground potential is the same for all components. Ground loops, and ground plane differentials are like gremlins. what works for one system may not work for another. Same goes for Turntable ground leads. Sometimes they're required, other times they produce hum.

deronb1

I tried a wire between componets and heard no difference. The hum lessoned considerably when i seperated the parasound and pio as far as i could on the rack. Maybe the two transformers were causing the interference? Not sure, but way better now at idle.

leftwinger57

The only time I had what I thought was a gnd. loop hum was when I bundled all my ac cords together then ty-rapped them to my angle iron rack I had at the time. When that rack went I seperated and routed the ac wires differently and the hum was gone. I use no cheater plugs as all my gear is 2 pronged except for the Samson surge pro that goes directly to the wall outlet. Now granted I had about 6/7 devices at that time bundled together.

quicksilvergts

Thanks!
I will give it a go today, as I am going to restart my cable management.
It is getting out if control lol.
I would much rather have a ground.