Some helpful ground loop info for those suffering

[SuBXeRo]

Friday night i spoke with Bill, the owner of Jensen Transformers because i was looking to see what they suggested for my 5 channel setup. I was fortunate that Bills number was handed out to me as i prefer to talk to an actual engineer when it comes to issues with equipment in general. After my conversation with VInce at Emotiva about my XPA-5 hum/buzz and then having Bill explain to me more about ground loops, this is what i believe is going on. My entire setup is perfect and should not have a ground loop, so you may ask, Ian...wheres the issue then? It lies within the rca cables between the pre/pro and the power amp. Bill says that even the slighest mv droppage in voltage will cause a ground loop issue. Vince says that sometimes cords have a connection that just isnt solid enoughin the RCA cord or it gets worn and this can cause a voltage drop. Bill says that with a 6ft cord, its a length where voltage drops will begin to occur more easily.

I tested this idea out with a different RCA cord, swapping out my emo x series 6ft cord with a 6ft monoprice shielded coaxial and the hum was gone but the tweeter was a bit more staticy than with the emo cord. Its a brutal conclsion to come to that cords are this sensitive, even shielded that this makes and issues with hum buzz. I guess in a way though, it is nice to know that the amp is not the issue and i can officially rule out the XPA-5 for being "noisy" in the hum/buzz kind of way.

In the future, i am going to try and go with the shortest possible RCA cords of a quality type to prevent this last leg of the journey ground loop. Its hard when you are used to pulling components out to get to the rear of the equipment but i will just have to make it so that i can go around the furniture to access it. Overall it will be better for the equipment to not be moved and shorter runs should help to decrease the ground loop opportunities.

I hope this helps those who are battling issues like this. If not, those jensen transformer isolaters have pretty kool tech in them. They magenticaaly copy and transfer via magnetics an exact duplicate of the audio signal and have that break so the ground loop is broken. In a way, its great but you could still have bad grounds on either side of the isolater

[Youthman]

I guess in a way though, it is nice to know that the amp is not the issue and i can officially rule the XPA-5 for being "noisy" in the hum/buzz kind of way.

[:^)] I think you meant to say "I can officially rule out the XPA-5 for being "noisy" in the hum/buzz kind of way". Leaving out one word changes the entire meaning. []

[SuBXeRo]

you are so right, fixed...haha

[JasonJCarney]

So are we also pointing the finger at the emotiva cables as being the culprit?

[SuBXeRo]

in a way yes. I dont think that its a bad design or anything, i just thubk with use and unplugging and moving things around and this and that that it may have put wear on them to create a voltage loss in the shielding and/or that its 6 feet and the length isnt helping any.

I did sell the xpa-5 today and i am going to be buying an outlaw audio one tonight or tomorrow and some different rca cables too, just dont know what kind/brand yet.

[JasonJCarney]

Why did'nt you just try xlr cables?

[mustang guy]

I guess this is why pro setups use XLR as they typically have very long runs, and more prone to this type of noise. Makes more sence now...

[SuBXeRo]

i cant use xlr, only for the subs. I had xlr-rca and i had more static noise in the tweeters so it wasnt worth keeping it like that, it was much quieter with RCAs

[ldl01031]

I'm glad I saw this so I can keep my eye out for it (my XPA should be delivered this week). I had hoped <sigh> to avoid any more insane/obscene cable costs. I found some 'monster thx' rca cables I had and had planned to use those. I think they were no more than $15 a cable. Can I expect those to be sufficient?

[elitedemo]

Why did'nt you just try xlr cables?

umc sadly doesnt offer xlr connections with exception to the sub....the xmc looks to have them though

[nezff]

Friday night i spoke with Bill, the owner of Jensen Transformers because i was looking to see what they suggested for my 5 channel setup. I was fortunate that Bills number was handed out to me as i prefer to talk to an actual engineer when it comes to issues with equipment in general. After my conversation with VInce at Emotiva about my XPA-5 hum/buzz and then having Bill explain to me more about ground loops, this is what i believe is going on. My entire setup is perfect and should not have a ground loop, so you may ask, Ian...wheres the issue then? It lies within the rca cables between the pre/pro and the power amp. Bill says that even the slighest mv droppage in voltage will cause a ground loop issue. Vince says that sometimes cords have a connection that just isnt solid enoughin the RCA cord or it gets worn and this can cause a voltage drop. Bill says that with a 6ft cord, its a length where voltage drops will begin to occur more easily.

I tested this idea out with a different RCA cord, swapping out my emo x series 6ft cord with a 6ft monoprice shielded coaxial and the hum was gone but the tweeter was a bit more staticy than with the emo cord. Its a brutal conclsion to come to that cords are this sensitive, even shielded that this makes and issues with hum buzz. I guess in a way though, it is nice to know that the amp is not the issue and i can officially rule out the XPA-5 for being "noisy" in the hum/buzz kind of way.

In the future, i am going to try and go with the shortest possible RCA cords of a quality type to prevent this last leg of the journey ground loop. Its hard when you are used to pulling components out to get to the rear of the equipment but i will just have to make it so that i can go around the furniture to access it. Overall it will be better for the equipment to not be moved and shorter runs should help to decrease the ground loop opportunities.

I hope this helps those who are battling issues like this. If not, those jensen transformer isolaters have pretty kool tech in them. They magenticaaly copy and transfer via magnetics an exact duplicate of the audio signal and have that break so the ground loop is broken. In a way, its great but you could still have bad grounds on either side of the isolater

Im not going to agree or disagree with your statements. I understand that "feedback" can enter the sytem through a number of ways.

When I bought my first emotiva amp about 4 years ago(XPA3), I placed it in my old house which of course had old wiring and no ground. I called emotiva because I was getting a buzzing noise out of my speakers that wasnt there before with my ONKYO 876. I tried different power cables, RCA cables, I even ran a dedicated line underground outiside with a ground rod attached. None of this worked. I ended up returning the amp and keeping my 876 to run everything.

I sold that house and built a new home about a year and a half ago. I bought a new xpa 3 which had more of a very very faint hiss when turned on. I knew I had a new house, new wiring, new breakers etc.... I didnt expect to have a buzz at all. Well I was sorda wrong. I had a somewhat form of the buzz but you would have to put your ear all the way against the horn of my RF63 to hear it. I have all brand new blue jeans RCAs between my XPA5 and Onkyo 5508. I have tried xlrs and RCAs with no luck. Granted the hiss or small buzz is so small that it wouldnt bother anyone because no one would know of it unless I told them.

Three XPA amps(xpa3, xpa3, xpa5) multiple cables(xlrs monoprice, blue jeans RCAs), three different avr/prepros(Pioneer, 876, 5508), and two different house, all had the the buzz or hiss.

The buzz or hiss I hear now in my new house is so faint it is almost inaudible. I have talked to numerous people with this same problem. Klipsch, emotiva, audioholics, AVS, Home theater shack forums all are riddled with the same problem. i have also talked to many people that say they dont hear a hiss or buzz at all even with their ears up to the speakers.

One more thing, when swapping back to just a AVR eliminated the buzz from me hearing it, but honestly I think the amp just amplified the buzz is all. I think it is there no matter what sometimes.