Humming issue with my setup

[merrymaid520]

If you read my other thread about my ICE powered NHT amp, you will know I am comparing different amps. I have always had an audible hum when placing my ear very close to the front three speakers. This did not change between the 3 amps I have used recently or the other yamaha receiver I sold months ago(eliminating all of those as possibilities).

I hear the hum whether or not the yamaha is powered up or not and it does not matter which outlet in the house I try with the amp.

My thoughts are leading me to two possibilities, a grounding issue or my interconnects? I will swap in a cheater plug tonight that has only two prongs rather than 3 for the amp cord. My last thought is to buy some BlueJeans cables which some have said has corrected the same issue.

any thoughts or suggestions guys?

Thanks for your help in advance,

Brandon

[curtis]

The cheater plug is a good test, but not a good long term solution. You should really find the actual problem.

Quality interconnects with good shielding is also something to try.

I once had a hum problem in my subwoofer that took a LONG time to figure out. It ended up being the standby circuit of my TV.

[merrymaid520]

Thanks Curtis,

Does each pice of gear need to be unplugged and off in order to narrow down possibilities or what? I have a huge amount of wires and such behind my barely accesible Tv stand, is there an easier way to help narrow down the issue?

I tried unplugging one RCA interconenct from one of the amps channel and the humming basically dissapeared from that speaker but I still hear a very very slight and almost inaudible higher pitched hiss-----the amp was still on though and nothing else?

Could this mean its the interconnect or what?

Brandon

[curtis]

Yeah....you have to disconnect everything and start reconnecting each component(source) one by one to find the culprit.

It is a PITA....but the best way to do it.

By just disconnecting one amp channel, you really have not eliminated any possibility before than amp......just that it is before the amp.

[merrymaid520]

Darn:(

I figured the search was going to lead me to that.

I believe the satellite box might be a good place to start.

I will play around with some wiring scenarios this weekend in hopes of discovering the hum. Once its discovered though, its a whole other issue in itself.

Well, I can disconnect everything and just use my TV speakers:o

Brandon

[merrymaid520]

A quick thought. Rather than unplugging the sources(RCA connections to the receiver) can I simply unplug each source one by one until I narrow things down? I imagine other than the satellite box that has the RG6 running thru it, all other components should have no effect on the hum if they are not receiving any juice, correct?

Or maybe I am way off base on that assumption.

Brandon

[curtis]

Yeah...I think that would help.....unless the interconnects are picking something up,

[merrymaid520]

Unplugging the power cords from the surge protector will be far easier than the alternative. After everythings unplugged other than the amp, and the hum still exists, can we conclude its the cables?

Tonight I will just leave the amp running while I slowly unplug each peice of gear until the culprit is determined.

Thanks,
Brandon

[curtis]

I am not sure what you could conclude....but it is a good start.

One thing though, I would definitely get some good shield interconnects if you don't have them already.

[merrymaid520]

As far as interconnects I use some run of the mill monster cable rca's. They are about 3ft long and were probably low-mid tier priced back a few years.

Will the Bluejean cable alternatives be a much better solution in regards to rejecting interfrerence? A 4ft set of 5 cables runs about $90 through them, any other companies that offer something similar at even cheaper prices?

Brandon

[curtis]

I am not familiar with the Monster products, but I have been very happy with all the stuff I have bought from BlueJeans.

I have not tried anyone else. One of those things..buy once and forget.

[merrymaid520]

curtis,
An update,

I started unplugging all power sources with no luck. I then moved onto the interconnects going into the receiver, no luck. I even disconected the directv feed and no luck.

I tried running extension cords to different outlets and leaving only the amp plugged in with nothing else, still a hum.

The final option was to try the cheater plug and guess what it worked!

I know this is not a fix, but what can I do from here? It seems as if my home wiring is the culprit(new house too)?

[curtis]

There is something in the house that is the culprint. I would call an electrician.