Well, if the interconnects in my system get too long, I worry abut the cosmic chi ray fluxion parity balance, and I need to re-adjust my tinfoil hat and fix the gold-plating on my ears....and then the speaker wires need re-braiding and the crystals on top of my gear need to be moved, and I have to re-sharpen the pointy feet on everything .........you know how it is.....
The integrated amp just saves so much extra work....
EDIT: ENOUGH FUN!!! Let's get back to serious stuff.😀
Hey man....comes a time when you have to let it all go.....my amp hums a little....but guess what....when the musics playing......heeey. I have my power supply in a separate chassis to the amps (power amps) but that's mainly cuz it's too freaking big to all fit it the same box. I like stuff spread out.....cramming it all into a too small space is for people who've bought into some fashion/marketing ploy usually aimed at women anyway who generally don't really care too much what something sounds like so long as it fits their notion of being trendy.......but hey(again) my woman isn't normal thank God..........
I used to have hum, but I declared war against it. Now I don't have hum, but I still have the QUALITY. 🙂
I live in my wife's house. I only have free-reign over a few small spaces, namely my tiny study (of which is half filled with stuff that doesn't go anywhere), and I only have free-reign over one other area of the house - the back wall of the living room, about 1 meter into the room. And it's within that 1 meter that I can let my equipment be as spread out as I want it to be. 😀
It's on the agenda to fix it. It's complex system unfortunately, I'll get there...........
It's very low level, but an interesting exercise to rid it entirely
It's very low level, but an interesting exercise to rid it entirely
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Earth ground loops in complex systems can cause one to pull one's hair out. I simply disconnect the earth of my amplifier, and the hum is gone. The amplifier is still earthed via the input.
Major safety implications in doing this I'm afraid and as such it is not something to be recommended.
Although you may think the amplifier is still 'earthed' and so still safe, it can not guaranteed.
A mains safety earth is designed to carry the full current available in the event of a fault, and for long enough to either blow an internal fuse or blow the fuse in the mains plug.
The input sockets and connecting leads are nowhere near adequately rated for that and relying on other connected equipment to fulfil the safety role is not recommended.
There is also the case of using the (now non grounded) amplifier with equipment that is in itself non grounded. Now there is no ground connection at all.
Advice has to be, DONT DO IT.
Absolutely, and I cannot stress this safety issue more. I was hoping someone would reply to my post with this.
My amplifiers have wooden enclosures, and are therefore isolated from mains.
My amplifiers have wooden enclosures, and are therefore isolated from mains.
But what of the user accessible connectors and the speaker sockets ?
They could all become live in the event of a fault. The same applies to any metallic hardware such as potentiometers having a metal shaft.
All could be very dangerous.
Sure, but inputs are earthed via the external system - not a sure protection for a chassis, but enough that there is definitely protection when touching the input grounds (RCA - you can only touch the ground). Speaker outputs are Speakons (FTW!!!!) and if you manage to get a live voltage on the speakers that you end up touching, your house wiring hasn't done what it was supposed to. In the event of such catastrophic failure, at least the fuses should blow. My soon-to-be built new speakers will have Speakons as well.
I cannot stress how much I am in favour of Speakons.
I cannot stress how much I am in favour of Speakons.
And anyway, I connect the speakers, connect the input, connect the mains and then turn on. I see no reason to fiddle about when things are plugged in. I'm going to have a guess and say that 80% of amplifiers (transistor) that have ever failed (before 5 years) have failed because someone was fiddling about.
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The fact you can not see where the danger/s (because there are more than one), is what makes this so dangerous.
The only electrical contact that can be made to my amplifier is via the RCA (common) grounding point. This can only become live if the mains cable is physically plugged in at least. This only happens when I've plugged everything else in. The "external system" is a well-earthed computer (tested).
Now, there is certainly a case (after some sort of catastrophic failure) when you can have live voltages on these RCA connectors. In these cases, the amplifier is plugged in normally with the earth connected, and this is when I use the amplifier with a laptop, phone, DVD player, TV, etc.
I practice extreme caution with mains electricity - I grew up in an electrician family, and I have had my fair share of shocks. I believe that earthing your equipment properly is extremely important and I will never advocate that anyone doesn't. In my case, I have no possible way of exposing live voltages on my amplifier. It cannot happen. If I am zapped one day, I will be sure to let you know.
For a unit to be classed as safe, it has to at least meet the basic safety requirements. Relying on other 'ground' paths that may or may not be intact breaks every rule in the book.
Your unit has to be safe under all reasonable usage conditions, not simply relying on you to follow a predetermined procedure or using it with certain equipment.
It has to be safe if you give the amp to a stranger to use, and for any possible occurrence such as someone disconnecting any connecting equipment.
Your unit has to be safe under all reasonable usage conditions, not simply relying on you to follow a predetermined procedure or using it with certain equipment.
It has to be safe if you give the amp to a stranger to use, and for any possible occurrence such as someone disconnecting any connecting equipment.
Absolutely. And the amplifier is indeed earthed; I only disconnect the earth connection by turning the plug around myself, and this only happens when the amplifier is connected to my computer while I'm using it.
If anyone uses my amplifier, the plug they get is a 3-way, and if they somehow disconnect the earth, it is at their own risk, and not on my mention of it, or recommendation.
If anyone uses my amplifier, the plug they get is a 3-way, and if they somehow disconnect the earth, it is at their own risk, and not on my mention of it, or recommendation.
I have worked with mains power most of my life. The only time I have ever had a shock from the mains was when I stuck a fork in a socket when I was 5
And then you may ask what of the hum? Well, I know about it, I know how to be rid of it, and I will be making the modification soon. Until then, I'm the only person who will use my amplifier, and I will make do with no earth for now.
There are safe ground lift schemes like using a diodes bridge between circuit's ground and mains earth. Only in case of fault where their voltage difference exceeds 0.6V it conducts any large fault current. In normal state the connection is lifted.
http://sound.whsites.net/earthing.htm
http://sound.whsites.net/earthing.htm
You're lucky. When I was young and irresponsible, I worked on a mains connection while it was live.
"My fair share" is 3 times. Each time has thankfully been while practicing some level of caution, so it was usually a loose live wire which got me (with no return path).
The only time I received an unexpected shock while practicing extreme caution was when I was working on a friend's geyser timer. We disconnected the mains at the actual house inlet from the city power. Then we switched off the mains switch on his DB's. After that, I was working near copper water pipes, and my left palm was resting on one while I touched an otherwise live wire with my right hand, and got the absolute shock of my life! This is how I learned the very hard way (without dying) about floating potentials on a "disconnected" mains. Now I only work on mains (even changing light bulbs) with rubber gloves.
EI or Torodial
https://www.distrelec.de/en/control...4-vac-intronic-elf-ei-120-53-24vac/p/15600975
https://sklep.toroidy.pl/en_US/c/400-VA/89
Which one is better? I see so many amps with Torodial, is it a just a matter of choice or is Torodial the tested and preferred among the diyaudio guys.
https://www.distrelec.de/en/control...4-vac-intronic-elf-ei-120-53-24vac/p/15600975
https://sklep.toroidy.pl/en_US/c/400-VA/89
Which one is better? I see so many amps with Torodial, is it a just a matter of choice or is Torodial the tested and preferred among the diyaudio guys.
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