Do you have a hum or buzz in your system you cant get rid of?

[Tony V.]

Do you have a hum or buzz in your system that won’t go away?

Here are 3 quick tips on what to look for when trouble shooting this issue.


1) Make sure all of the equipment is plugged into the same circuit or at least sharing the same phase of the electrical panel.

2) Make sure there are no old style fluorescent lights or things like fridges or A/C on the same circuit.

3) Check to see that the ground circuit is actually grounded properly at both ends at the plug and at the panel (inexpensive testers are made that will show if it is or is not).


Another common cause is check the network and cable feeds, if you unplug them does this make the hum go away? If so you may need to get the cable or network company to look over their feeds to ensure they are grounded. You can also get grounding straps for coax and ground them to an incoming water line.


By unplugging one device at a time does that solve the issue? Often swapping out cheap analog or digital cables with better shielded ones will help as well but they don’t have to break the bank to buy. Monoprice.com or Partsexpress.com have great pricing as do many others .


Another cause to this issue can be traced back to a bad ground at the municipality’s incoming service. Particularly in older neiborhoods in large cities where things probably have not been inspected in 50 or more years the ground spike will have literally rusted or disinagrated to a point that its not contacting earth any more. Often a call to the city will not get any response unless you can show them there is an issue. So going for a walk to the pole where the power comes from may be needed.


I hope this is a good help to get the issue at least partially solved.

Others will certainly post here with other options as well.

 

[AudiocRaver]

First I have heard someone advise putting the sound system all on the same phase of the home wiring system. I learned that one long ago by frying the inputs on an old computer serial board. Keeping it all on the same circuit is also good advice for noise reduction.

Good advice, Tony.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Thanks Tony... all really informative advise.

 

[Asere]

Thanks. I once had that issue with the sub. Turned out it was the RCA cable.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

This HE18 Hum Eliminator has pretty decent reviews and might be considered if all else fails. If it doesn't work, you can send it back within 30 days.

I have also found that many times a cable/satellite connection needs grounding to the receiver or processor... or you can also use this inline isolator.

 

[FargateOne]

I once had a humm issue and it was a bad hdmi cable. One month of trials and errors to hunt it down!

 

[Nakdoc]

A few other things can hum. Vintage stuff has non-polarized AC plugs - you can plug them in two different polarities. Always check for lowest or no hum and maybe mark the plug for future reference.
Turntables can hum. Never extend the RCA cables, unless your modern table has an internal preamp. One meter is about all the length you get. Cartridges can hum. Get the color code wrong on the cartridge wires and the metal shield is no longer grounded. A black, blue, or green wire should connect to the cartridge terminal with a visible copper tab (not found on all cartridges). Grado cartridges hum with certain turntables - do an internet search on this issue.
Electronics can hum. Anything from the 1950s and 60s may have failing filter capacitors. This is a normal part of aging. In some cases the hum may diminish if the unit is powered for 5 or 10 minutes before use. In all cases, none of the troubleshooting advice above will help. A trip to the service shop for new capacitors will clean it up nicely.
Sub woofers can buzz with no audio input at all. The trick is to trigger the sub on by playing music, then turn the sub volume all the way down and unplug the input wire(s). If the buzz persists, the sub needs to go to the service shop.
The last issue isn't exactly hum, but it is common enough to mention. When playing a record, and raising the volume, you hear a continuous hum tone that builds in intensity until you turn your amp off in a panic, then you have acoustic feedback. Your speakers are vibrating the turntable. Experiment with different speaker placement, move the turntable, or set the turntable on a cushion. Audio technica isolators may help. Never put your speakers on the same shelf as the turntable!

 

[leecreek]

Also along those lines above, I never coil my cables. Any of them. If there is enough length, figure eight them. But not smaller than 6-10 times the cable diameter. Every little bit can help. And don't be afraid to use the B speakers.....

 

[Matthew J Poes]

A few other things to consider. Hum can often be barely audible but in fact be killing your systems noise floor.

Look at these measurements of a Teac dac direct and then run through a receiver with a display connected that is causing a ground loop.

And for reference here is the original article I pulled those form.

http://archimago.blogspot.com/2013/10/measurements-separate-vs-av-receivers.html?m=1

 

[Matthew J Poes]

Muxable HDMI Optical Fiber Cable HDMI2.0 4K at 60Hz 10m
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075NZKLCK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_tYi9zbK13EWKN
Here is a way to break a ground loop caused by an HDMI connection.