From a technical point of view, could or should I expect a thick, heavy (heavy gauge copper, not just a thick jacket) cable to make a minor ground loop hum WORSE than a thinner in-box power cable?
On a few amps, they are best with short, thin basic black cables, but if I add a fancy, thick cable I hear more ground loop hum. Of course, what I am saying there IS some ground loop hum no matter what.
Specifically, there is vastly more copper in the ground wire on the fancy cable (I think it might actually be 2x of the standard 14 gauge conductors)...could that somehow make a minor problem worse?
On a few amps, they are best with short, thin basic black cables, but if I add a fancy, thick cable I hear more ground loop hum. Of course, what I am saying there IS some ground loop hum no matter what.
Specifically, there is vastly more copper in the ground wire on the fancy cable (I think it might actually be 2x of the standard 14 gauge conductors)...could that somehow make a minor problem worse?
Thanks, understand on the larger diameter piece.
For the diagram, I have tried every variation to try to rule something out. From the full system (assortment of components) to literally just the amp plugged into the wall and connected to the speakers (nothing else in the chain). The only thing that did work was using a 3-2 ground eliminator plug, but obviously not a good or permanent solution.
For the diagram, I have tried every variation to try to rule something out. From the full system (assortment of components) to literally just the amp plugged into the wall and connected to the speakers (nothing else in the chain). The only thing that did work was using a 3-2 ground eliminator plug, but obviously not a good or permanent solution.
When you have a ground loop, there must be something radiating nearby to pick up hum *from*. Twist the hot and neutral tightly using teeny tiny conductors, and less field gets induced in the ground loop. If you have a large spacing between the hot and neutral, you won’t get good magnetic cancellation, and that larger current loop induces more voltage on the ground loop.
Check to see if your AC sockets are wired in the right polarity. Many are not.
In fact, sometimes entire houses are wired completely backwards.
Here is the link http://hifisonix.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Ground-Loops.pdf
Please see slides 19-25
Please see slides 19-25
From your prose, it's hard to say if it's a loop between the components, or is it a problem inside one of the pieces, the amp being a likely culprit.
Look at Bonzai's paper again, use it as a template, draw you own system with all the components identified including earthing or none, and post it here.
Look at Bonzai's paper again, use it as a template, draw you own system with all the components identified including earthing or none, and post it here.
Dirty trick for ground loops in single ended gear (That is actually safe)...
Run a massively thick wire in parallel (and right next to) each signal conductor in parallel with the cable screen, connect it solidly to the chassis or cable screen connection at each end.
The noise stems from the voltage dropped across the signal cable screen so by paralleling it with a reasonably butch conductor you reduce the voltage and hence the hum. This parallel earth conductor is a huge win when you cannot fix it by removing the bulk of the loop area or common impedance.
Run a massively thick wire in parallel (and right next to) each signal conductor in parallel with the cable screen, connect it solidly to the chassis or cable screen connection at each end.
The noise stems from the voltage dropped across the signal cable screen so by paralleling it with a reasonably butch conductor you reduce the voltage and hence the hum. This parallel earth conductor is a huge win when you cannot fix it by removing the bulk of the loop area or common impedance.
Please see the last few slides in the presentation Inlinked to earlier. This provides a debug sequence that will slow you to determine whether the issue is an AC ground loop, a cross channel ground loop or a common impedance coupling issue. Once you know which it is (and it can be a combo in some cases), you can start to find the root cause.
Also to the rear of the presentation are some guidelines about how to run mains and interconnect cabling between gear in order to minimize loop areas and hence noise pickup.