Buzz/Hum

[Keith Gentile]

First post. Back in January I wired up my studio with all balanced wiring, patchbays, and etc. I didn't use star grounding because 1. It's kind of a big deal and a pain in the behind and 2. I thought it was unnecessary. Long story short, I got a hum/buzz in my monitors. Needless to say I wanted to pull my hair out and after months of finding a solution, I figured it out and here's a list of what to do from what I learned on how to solve this problem. Most of it is common sense but it works. In addition to trying these things in the control room, the live room is equally important to include.

1. Unplug everything (power cables too) until you find the source.

2. Use different cables if there's still a buzz.

3. Turn off your lights. If the buzz is gone it's an issue with grounding in your 120 volt line outlets or dimmers.

4. Anything that plugs into the wall (powered {mics, headphone amps, amplifiers, etc}) could fall victim to #3. This was my problem, solved by...

5. GROUND SHORTING ADAPTERS!!!! (3 to 2 prong adapters, available everywhere).

So, this is my list of things that will solve hum/buzz dealing with studio wiring. If anyone would like to add anything, knock yourselves out.

[Dan]

Did you try lifting the ground (pin 1) in the audio cabling at all? Those ground pins are there for a reason.

-Dan.

[Keith Gentile]

The only ground lift I have in any of my equipment is on my pair of Smart Research DI boxes, which I tried. In my situation, there's only buzz when I'm using something that's powered in the live room. The only way to get rid of it is with those adapters, or get the whole room rewired electrically ($$$).

[Tomasz]

Was all this on the same circuit?
if not, were the circuits out of phase? ( they should not be adjacent breakers, but every other one)

[Keith Gentile]

Yes, the live room and control room are on seperate circuits. The audio wiring comes in right next to the breaker (30A) in the control room and is connected to the live room patchbay, and that breaker is far away.

[Jeff Shapiro]

I have some of the same issues that at my home studio that i've been slowly sifting through...

and I've been researching balanced power...love to know what people think about going this route

j

[ShinyBox]

For the most part a balanced power system is only going to solve a problem if you have power supply ground leakage causing noise. It's not going to solve any problems with ground loops, or noisy electronics (dimmers on lighting controls are a good example =) )

It does provide an additional isolation transformer from the mains power, but out here in the woods, every feed from the pole is stepped down, which in effect is an isolation transformer already.

So my short conclusion is that it solves a specific problem, but is not a fix all. I haven't experience with it directly(but have read a bit on it), but I've been able to address any noise problems I've encountered by ensuring a good power source, and making sure the equipment is properly grounded

Isolate any specific problems, and address from there.

Regards

[MrJoshua]

The only ground lift I have in any of my equipment is on my pair of Smart Research DI boxes, which I tried. In my situation, there's only buzz when I'm using something that's powered in the live room. The only way to get rid of it is with those adapters, or get the whole room rewired electrically ($$$).

While I understand your frustration with the buzz, the grounding connection is a vital part of your electrical system. I'd recommend speaking to a qualified electrician about this. It may be more expensive than the adapters, but it's also a lot safer.

[Luckystrike0007]

Agreed with MrJoshua. The last thing you want is to fry something cool. Like yourself. :)

You can clip the SIGNAL ground pin on the "equipment" side by clipping it in the connector, or sometimes connect it to the cold pin. New stuff has a standard pin out:

1=ground
2=hot
3=cold

Doesn't always work, but that's the fun in chasing noise. :rolleyes:

[Keith Gentile]

While I understand your frustration with the buzz, the grounding connection is a vital part of your electrical system. I'd recommend speaking to a qualified electrician about this. It may be more expensive than the adapters, but it's also a lot safer.

Luckystrike, if I had the time and patience to modify and trace stuff with cables, I would be all for that but I think the above would be the best solution for me. It makes sense that since I have a professional setup for a home studio, the power/electrical should be on the same level.

[Luckystrike0007]

It makes sense that since I have a professional setup for a home studio, the power/electrical should be on the same level.

Agreed 100%:D