Samson S1000 causing slight buzz thru speakers (1 Viewer)

[JohnMW]

I've searched this forum and found dozens of posts regarding the deaded buzz. The buzz in my system is very faint, and you have to put your ears within a few inches of the speakers to hear it.

Additional info:

1) I had a Lutron dimmer that was definitely adding some buzz, and once I removed it and put the single pole switch back in place the buzz 'pitch' was reduced.

2) If I disconnected the satellite coax cable from my 811 receiver the buzz seemed to go away.

2) Since I just had Dish installed (my close friend is one of the local DISH/DirecTV installers) I have one dish for the locals and a DISH 500 on the roof. Before there were a few splices in the RG6 where they were joined by couplers and he was using the existing quad shield RG6 for half of the run to the receivers. Today he pulled some (2) new RG6 (Perfect Vision 75 ohm w/ pure copper conductor) cables that run from the LNB's to a ground block ( http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=180-065 ). Then it's a solid cable run to the 811 and the other run connects to a 2-way separator and has (2) runs that go into the master bedroom to the 625 DVR (Dual tuner). Then one line runs from the DVR to the spare bedroom. He terminates all of the ends with a Digicon DS6 connectors ( http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_disp...PROD=WMFDIGI-S ).

3) The buzz is still barely audible at this point, so I disconnect the coax from the 811 but you can still hear the faint buzz. This buzz is moving around....grrrr.....

4) Since I recall reading that sub amps can introduce buzz I decide to disconnect the SVS BIF box ( http://www.svsubwoofers.com/marchandsubsonic.htm )and the buzz goes away for good! I then tried connecting the S1000 directly to the sub out on the 3803 using a with my Blue Jeans 89239 cable & rca phono adapter to allow it to fit in the S1000 and the buzz came back, so I tried a SVS / Bettercables amp interconnect rca ( http://www.svsubwoofers.com/parts_bc_inter.htm )and saw no change.....stupid buzz is still there. The SVS BIF box does not appear to be part of the problem.

In a nutshell it looks like the problem is no longer the satellite coax, or my dimmer switch, and looks to be and issue between the 3803 and the S1000 Pro amp. I would still like to use my SVS BIF box as well.

Is this really a ground loop? What are my options? I would really like to get rid of the buzz once and for all!

 

[BrianWoerndle]

Yes, it is really still a ground loop.

Try this

 

[ColinM]

Brian -

Just bought one. Have a buzz in my sub with a 31 band EQ, Pro amp, plate amp, alll swapped in and out with a cheater, lift switch, etc.

Nothing worked.

Will report on this little black box when rec'd. If it doesn't work, it'll be for sale along with the rest of my HT, I'm so sick of chasing these things down. Two channel for me if this flops.

 

[BrianWoerndle]

I own one. It works.

 

[JohnMW]

Thanks for the feedback. I just placed and order for the ALH1 and will report back with my results.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Just posting in this thread because of my frustrations, too.

1) I purchased a $39 Belkin home theater surge protector that was supposed to work against RFI, etc. Some initial impressions were good - IMO. Now, a few weeks later, it seems like I'm back at square one.

2) I do have the "ground lift" option set on my power amp. It seems to give me some relief.

3) This weekend, I was wondering around Lowes and noticed some "hospital grade" recepticles. These are the orange recepticles that are sold for a little less than $10 (each). I went ahead and picked one up because they are supposed to provide some isolation from noise - as opposed to the $.79 versions of recepticles that builders tend to use. I haven't installed this recepticle, yet. But, I'll report back in a few days once I've completed the installation.

The $39 "black box" seems like a novel idea. I think I'll return the Belkin surge suppressor that doesn't seem like it's doing much and place an order, too.

Other than that, I'm considering running a dedicated 20A circuit to my gear. Fortunately, the breaker box is in the same area as the gear, so I only need to string about 25 ft. of 12 ga. wire from the box to the new outlet.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

A quick update. I realized that my outlet for my audio is on another circuit - and the lights for the family room was on another. I went ahead and installed the "hospital" recepticle. Even though the package claims to reduce noise, I didn't find it to be of any benefit. $10.00 + a little free time = no real benefit.

The lil' black box is looking mighty attractive.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Those hospital outlets only help if they're installed the way they're designed to be installed...and that's not typically how your house is already wired so retro fitting them in won't likely improve anything.

 

[ColinM]

60hz is maddening when it's constant and at 38db.


Must...fix....

 

[Wayne Ernst]

I went ahead and placed my order for 2 of the DCI "hum eliminator" boxes. In the event I receive them by Saturday or so, I'll be sure to post my updates on how well the product has worked.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

I got a little scare - well, surprise. A few hours after placing the order for the DCI boxes, I got an e-mail notice back from PayPal indicating "Receipt for your Refund" in the subject line. I immediately thought "crap, they probably are not selling the boxes any more".

What they actually did is refund me $1.70 in shipping fees. When I added the items to my cart, I was charged $3.85 for each item.

It's nice to see an honest company that doesn't burn you on shipping charges - and, frankly, I was fine paying $3.85 (each) for the shipping as it was.

 

[ColinM]

From Hawaii, too, killer.

I like it. My Karma is due for an upswing. Maybe supporting these audio cats will do it.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

My DCI boxes arrived today - yes, Sunday. Actually, it appears the post office delivered the Priority mail box to the wrong house yesterday, and a neighbor dropped it off today.

Some impressions:

1) Box was packed with all the components: the box, a 12V power adapter and a lightweight 1' RCA to RCA inter-connect.

2) Since my pro audio amp is using bare wire for the outputs, I can't use the RCA connectors provided - I've got to get some RCA jacks and solder them on before I can make it work for the pro amp.

3) I did connect the DCI box between my Onix CD player and my receiver.

4) Gosh, that 1' RCA interconnect (from MCM - or, the package stated) is a cheapie. Wait, I called it lightweight before, now a cheapie. Oh, well, on with the impressions.

5) The box has gotten rid of about 95% of my hum. Keep in mind, this is with turning the receiver all the way up to "full" and I'll never run it at that level. The cheater plug, removed 100% of the hum.

6) The DCI box features two adjustable POTS - one for each channel. You simply "dial in" the small knobs to a point where the hum gets extremely minimized or disappears.

7) While the hum didn't completely disappear in my case - it was significantly reduced. Plus, now, the hum can only be heard when the volume is turned up to a level where I'd never have the receiver anyway. I think at $39, this device is very, very cheap insurance when compared to the risks of running your gear with cheater plugs. Additionally, transformers can run $500 to thousands of dollars - and there's always the chance that the transformer will color your sound. Spending more money to solve this problem in this case might not always be the best choice.

I'll be working on the subwoofer connections this week - mid to late this next week. I'll be sure to post my impressions on the changes made with sub. I currently have the "ground lift" set for my pro audio amp. I'll turn the ground back on and configure the device for my tests.

Enjoy!

 

[ColinM]

Didn't work for me. I think the nature of my hum may be different - it's steady in level, volume control has nothing to do with it. It's in the sub only, and only when the EQ is actually "ON".

No combination of cheater plug connections has eliminated the hum.

Add the black box thing. Indeed has an effect, but it wouldn't neutralize the hum. I could hear the level go down and up as the pot was turned, but the sweet spot was very, very narrow and after 15 min of trying to land it, I never reduced the actual hum.

For now, then, I have decided to run w/o EQ. My room placement causes significant loss of signal

 

[JohnMW]

I received the ALH1 a few minutes ago and decided to check out the contents of the box. The rca cable looks like something from the 1950's.

I'll test it out when I get home. After reading the results that you guys posted I am wondering if it will really solve my problem. Like Colin's, my buzz is not affected by the receiver volume in any way; it's just a steady tone.

 

[JohnMW]

Great news....the buzz is gone!

I ran the Denon 3803 sub out to the left input on the ALH1, and the left out on the ALH1 runs to the S1000 amp input. Adjusting the pot has no effect at all on the buzz because there isn't any that is audible to my ear.

I then decided to run the ALH1 out to the SVS BIF box input, then the phased out on the SVS BIF box to the S1000 input. The buzz is still nowhere to be found. ::phew::

Brian, thank you for the recommendation. This is the best ~$44.00 that I've spent in quite some time.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

A quick update on my situation ...

1) I spent more time "fine tuning" the adjustments for my DCI box between my CD player and receiver. Now, 99% of the hum is gone and that last 1% can only be heard when the receiver is at full volume. When at regular listening levels - or, even above, there is now no hum what-so-ever.

2) I was able to get my 2nd hum eliminator installed between my receiver and pro audio amp today. Up to this point, I had the amp set to "ground lift" to get rid of that nasty hum. Well, with the DCI device installed and amp set back to the "ground" position, I made a few adjustments to the DCI device via the adjustment knob. 100% of the hum is gone. Completely!

In summary, the pair of DCI boxes has got to be about the best thing "accessory" for my system. EVAR. And, yes, Brian - thank you very much for pointing this wonderful device out.