Noisy/dirty power problem, any suggestions?

faster100 · February 2005

Ok i had my house rewired a year ago, I think they did a shody job as i found a ground off on a outlet and they also ran the living room and florida room off the outside outlet instead of straight to the box, still need them to fix that.. and now its been 3 setups, amps and pre's so i know its not gear.. In my florida room is where my 2 channel rig is.. I have this buzz in the tweeters and also a good amount of hiss... I even ran a extension cord to several different rooms to see if it was this room.. they all made the same noise.. Is this just dirty power and i need a conditioner? It does it with cheater plugs, sources off, on, amp and pre only on.. what is the source of these noises..

PolkThug · February 2005

Sounds like you need shampoo and conditioner.

faster100 · February 2005

This any good? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1499&item=5750503592&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V

I called panamax and of course they suggested the 400 dollar max 5300, well i cant afford that.. so a smaller noise filtering unit should work? shouldnt it?

dkg999 · February 2005

I had the same type of issues with the old wiring and transformer boxes at the apt. complex I am in. I bought an Adcom ACE-515 off of eBay, which really helped, but did not entirely fix the problem. I then bought a Tripp Lite LCR-2400 which does an incredible job of cleaning up the power. I even have the LCR-2400 on the same 20 amp circuit as a window AC unit, and I don't hear any noise or have any fluctuation in the AC power for the A/V gear. A friend has a Panamax 4310 that seems to work very well also. If you search the web, you can find the Tripp Lite unit for around $250 and the Panamax for under $200.

faster100 · February 2005

do they sell from their website? doesnt look like it..

polkatese · February 2005

faster,

If I were you, I would do the cleanup first. I'll make sure that the wiring is up to code (i.e. the way the wiring was done in the first place) and try to pinpoint the source of the problem. Until you are sure that it is the a dirty line that caused the noise, I would not try to remedy it with noise filtering. Personally, I don't believe the dirty noise. Perhaps your fridge cause the noise excessively, or your neon lights, etc. I have a Panamax 5500 on the system, but I know my line is clean, before I add the dedicated line. I am happy with the incremental difference/improvement it adds, but I would not count on it as the silver bullet.

BlueMDPicker · February 2005

Have you tried RCA shorting plugs in all unused inputs on your preamp(s)? Just a suggestion, it often solves maddening noise issues.

tryrrthg · February 2005

I've read good things about using hospital grade conditioners. The ones from Powervar get good press over at audiogon...

ebay link No affil...

unc2701 · February 2005

Could it be ground loop? That's cheap to fix...

kingkip · February 2005

When they rewired your house, did they install/use the existing ground? A lot of older houses never had a ground installed, and shoddy electricians will come to update wiring, and never install a ground. All of your GCFI outlets, power conditioners/surge protectors don't do crap without a grounded system. They way to check is if you go to your main panel, you should see a bare copper wire that goes outside and then is buried. A "to code" grounding system will consist of this wire running to 2 underground stakes. A good ground system will have at least 6-8 stakes preferably in moist soil, eg under a downspout. Good luck with the noise.

If you're looking for a silver lining, maybe you can tell people that the background noise is added on purpose to make the sound warmer, like the hiss and pops of a record player.:p

ezc · February 2005

Use a outlet checker to check for ground. The one that is three prong with 3 lights on the back, get one from the hardware store for under $10 bucks or even one with a gfi test button. Once plugged in the lights will light up telling you if you have a properly wired circiut or reversed neu/hot or no ground. That is the safest way, & you dont need to open up your panel. You got a nice 2ch rig. If going to power conditioners make sure it will not limit your system! You could end up removing the noise & limiting the current flow to your system & not getting the best sound. Look for a conditioner that has dedicated high current outlets.

Noisy/dirty power problem, any suggestions?

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