Power conditioners and amps (1 Viewer)

[Mike Keith]

Isolation Transformers can do wonders for Video noise, I just recently installed some on a Bizjet that I did a Audio Video system in and it totally rectified the noise caused by the CSD engine generators. On the ground with either the APU or the GPU there was no noise at all, but during flight under heavy load conditions there was a wavy (horizontal) band of noise in all the LCD displays, but the Isolation transformers completely cleared this up and they were only about $120 ea, I needed 3 for the 3 different sources.

 

[MarcUR]

"I think the culprit is the TV"

I agree, but after reversing the channels, the popping noise is more concentrated in the left side (always the right channel) I guess i forgot to mention that in my original post. I have had a technician look at the tv, but he said nothing was wrong with the TV. I wasn't impressed with the person they sent out though. I am in the first year of a 5 year warranty so luckily I am not pressed for time. My next test is to connect the receiver up away from the tv and move it closer until the pop occurs. If there is some kind of interference, is there any kind of product you can buy to shield the receiver from an EMI pulse or whatever is affecting the receiver?

 

[Chu Gai]

Yes, he may simply not have seen something like this before. I'd persist strongly with your displeasure by looking to speak to supervisors and describe your particular problem and demanding some sort of satisfaction. This is one of those things I think that maybe you could find a kludge for but it'll come back later to bite you in the pocketbook. Read that warranty carefully with regards to who pays for parts & labor in each of the years.

 

[MarcUR]

i bought the best buy extended warranty, they are responsible for everything, parts, labor, etc. Preliminary tests, show the farther away the receiver is, the softer the pop. Guess I just need to figure out what kind of signal the TV is sending out to interfere with the receiver.

 

[Chu Gai]

This further suggests the problem is airborn EMI from the TV making its way into your system either via the receiver or a defective cable (shield problem). Remake any connections. Swith them to see if the problem moves to the other speaker. If it does, replace the defective cables. This happens when people don't excercise reasonable care in their removal. Lastly cover unused RCA's with aluminum foil caps which will act like little EMI shields.

 

[EricWu]

Hi everyone I'm new here and this is my first post!

Anways, getting to the point...

I am having a similar problem to the one MarcUR is experiencing, except in my case, I can hear a skip/click/popping sound every time my refrigerator motor turns on. I can confirm that it is the refrigerator because the popping occurs whenever I manually turn on and off the fridge.

According to an article I read on the net, theres some type of high voltage kickback back into the power line whenever a large AC motor (like a refrigerator turns on). I've tried using an automatic voltage regulator without any luck. I contacted APC and it seems they claim the only solution to a problem like this is to get a double-pass double-inverter system, such as a TRUE/ONLINE UPS. Unfortunately they are quite expensive, so I was hoping you or anyone else might have found a cheaper solution?

 

[ericanthonE]

i just wanted to say that the richard grey is suppose to be FANTASTIC! They are relatively expensive though! The small one is like 695 i think.

 

[Chu Gai]

Eric: Occasionally one runs into situations such as yours. If we assume that this spike from the fridge is running back down the lines there's a couple of things you can try.
First of all, if I recall correctly, your fridge should be on it's own circuit according to NEC codes so you might want to check to make sure that's the case.
You can try picking up a surge protector like one of the Belkin Isolators from a place that'll give you a no hassle return policy like Staples, Office Max, Office Depot (I forget which one of those sells them). The reason for that particular model is that each pair of outlets has a RFI/EMI circuitry between them. Therefore, the amount of attenuation is greater the further away you are from the power cord. That 'might' work to quench enough of the spike to make it a non-issue for your audio system. Of course, the same thinking should be applied to what you hook your HT system in. You can use a similar product (except it'll be the HT or A/V model) but that'll set you back about $100 new or $60 refurbished from Belkin. Possibly a more effective and cheaper model would be TrippLite's Isobar units. They apparently have some additional circuitry that does sine wave tracking and also provide isolation between each pair of outlets. Not sure on the pricing but I recall it being less than the Belkin unit.
Another approach that I've heard of is the addition of a large capacitor that's installed inside the fridge. You'd have to call the manufacturer of your fridge and get past the sales people to someone in technical. They may well have a specific part for this although if it's just a capacitor, then you or someone else will have to install it.

ericanthonE: The benefits of the Gray unit are enormously speculative (even StereoPhile tore them a new a$$hole and they rarely ever do that) and if you're going to consider one of those, you'd likely be far better off using some of the products mentioned above, various Furman units, or simply having a subpanel put in that has an isolation transformer and running your HT off of that.

A lot of problems that people have can be traced to a source. Whether that source is a noisy dimmer, bad connections, poor ground, it's generally a better idea to identify the source and deal with that. Better to remove the stone from the shoe than keep taking pain killers.

 

[Darren Lang]

EricWu: Are you using a NAD receiver as well as MarcUR? The reason I ask is that I too am running a NAD unit ( T163 pre-pro and T973 amp ) and I am getting the pop sound from my speakers as well. Mine does it whenever the doorbell rings or when my furnace kicks on or when the amp turns off. I live in a brand new house and when I asked NAD about it they told me it was because my house was too dry. They said that with a low moisture level static electricity builds up in the home and any big current draw will set it off. I increased the humidity in my house to normal and even on the humid side and still had the pops. My NAD dealer was kind enough to lend me his own CHANG LIGHTSPEED POWERLINE FILTER model 6400 ISO and after connecting everything to it I still had the pops. I then ran a dedicated 20 amp circuit for just my a/v equipment and still used the CHANG and I am still getting the pops. Mine does it through all of my speakers.

 

[Chu Gai]

Maybe the transformers that provides the voltages to the doorbell and the relays on the boiler need to be replaced?

 

[Darren Lang]

I was just wondering if my NAD equipment is popping and MarcUR has a NAD that is popping and EricWu has a NAD doing the same thing ( not sure if EricWu's is NAD yet ) that mabey there is something wrong with the NAD itself? MY dealer has told me to try using a GROUND SHORT PLUG. Anyone heard of this?

 

[EricWu]

If it's NAD (the brand) you are referring to, then no. I'm running a lower-end model Pioneer receiver (D412). I have since moved into my own apartment where the fridge is now running on its own circuit, and I haven't had any problems with audio popping. However, I never was able to the fix the popping problem from last year that supposedly came from my fridge...