more buzzing/humming problems

[agtpunx40]

Well, I thought I had this taken care of. Today, I unplugged my sub to connect it to another outlet so that I could move it around a little, and I once again have a buzzing/humming/fluttering type of problem. It is coming from all speakers and the sub, and is variable with the volume. I have tried disconnecting and reconnecting every combination of components, including going down to the reciever alone, and still have the same sound. It is still present when everything except the reciever is unplugged, but is not present when I switch to an input that is not being used, or when I switch to the input that I am using for my desktop, which is on another outlet. I've tried switching the reciever to separate outlets, and still have the same problem.

Ok, a little more experimenting, and I think the problem may be with my tv. The buzzing sound is still there on the front speakers, even when the cable is disconnected from the TV, the TV is unplugged, and the TV is totally disconnected from the reciever. However, when the TV is on, I can hear faint sounds coming from the speakers through the buzz, even though it is on a different input. I don't know if this is a related problem or not. I'm really lost here, any help, or recommendations would be extremely helpful.

[agtpunx40]

I was trying to figure out why this hum in my sub won't go away. Every time I get rid of it, it suddenly appears a few minutes later. So I keep trying and trying till something dawns on me. It may be the central air. Like I said earlier, the power in my house is awful, no grounded outlets, we actually had to stop using certain outlets because of continuous shorts and sometimes sparks. Nothing in my system is grounded by the time it reaches the surge protector. The only things that would be are the sub and BFD and they're both on cheater plugs at the moment. If this is what the problem is, and I can't find another way out of it, would a power conditioner take care of this? I only plan on living in this house for another 4-6 months, but it's really annoying, and if it's going to be happening all summer, it would be worth it to spend a little money to take care of it. If that's the case, how much will I have to spend? Thanks for any advice.

[edtyct]

This is one the most frustrating situations known to homo audiens/vidiens. Even experts sometimes just throw up their hands. They can tell you how ground noise originates, but tracking it down in a complicated setting with a mass of varying potentials can be incredibly difficult. I take it that you've checked the ground situation for your cable or satellite (#) feed, switched plugs, and tried the cheap Radio Shack isolaters. At the end of that road, I suppose a conditioner is the logical next step. But you definitely need something that isolates the ground of everything plugged into it, either a transformer or a balanced power unit, which works like a balanced cable, cancelling noise by phasing it out--not just a filter, regulator, or surge suppressor. The ones that I know, by Furman and PS Audio (#), are too expensive to buy on speculation. You should check with a dealer online by phone (#) for something appropriate, at the most reasonable price possible, that you can return without charge if it doesn't do the job. Audio Advisor might be a place to look, but a Google might also be in order, unless other people can steer you to better solutions.

Ed

[topspeed]

PS Audio has a new Humbuster that's only $499, but I don't know if this would be the right application. Like Ed said, tracking hum down can be quite a trial. I'd get onto PS Audio's forums and ask Paul what he thinks it is. He's always willing to help.

http://psaudio.com/products/upchb.asp

Hope this helps.

[agtpunx40]

Thanks for the advice. I was sort of hoping for something more in the $100-200 range. Well, even if it was that price range, I was going to do some more trying before I resorted to that. I'll let you know if I can figure out what it is, or what I end up doing. The last ground loop was so much easier, all I did was buy a cheater plug.