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Lowering the noise floor

I am coming to the conclusion that success in home audio reproduction is largely about lowering the noise floor. There are so many different types of “noise”, from so many different sources, that we only really “hear” by their absence.

Those components, cables, accessories and tweaks that SUCCEED at lowering the noise floor, can, and do, dramatically increase sound quality. Sometimes the type of “noise” dealt with is controversial, or not (yet) widely recognized as being a problem. Sometimes the explanation of how a product works is dubious. Sometimes the way it is marketed reeks of “snake oil”. Sometimes the reviews singing its praises go over the top. While these things will certainly put off some prospective purchasers, they do not negate the audible results that are there for anyone open to hearing them.
tommylion
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
Proper grounding is another way to lower the noise floor.
That’s a given for LF hum, but for HF noise it’s a bit more complex.

Cheers George
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Here some (uncontroversial) sources of noise or distortion that might not have been mentioned.

1. The induced magnetic field produced by the large transformer that extends outward to all electrical components and wiring in proximity.

2. The mechancal noise produced by the large transformer and direct coupled to the chassis and the circuit boards.

3. Low frequency seismic vibration that is capable of exciting the resonant frequencies of the turntable platter, tone arm and cartridge AND of affecting the laser reading process in CD players, producing jitter.
papafrgog
103 posts
 
I ran a separate power supply from the pole to my house for my audio gear. Separate ground copper pipe 8’ down. I use  Transparent power conditioning & Transparent reference power cables. But I think the real difference was getting the power off the house system with motors EMI & RFI. For me the clean power, high grade panel w superior grounding lowered my noise floor immensely.  At least now I know any noise issues are with my equipment and room. 
rocknss
130 posts
 
Found this thread looking to reduce room background noise.

@ willemj1

Were you ever able to lower below 35dB? Measured yesterday and that is about where I am at. This is making sure the HVAC system is not running, but that is easy enough to accomplish for an hour or two. Didn't do anything special when building our house, though home theater is in the basement (fully buried to about 3/4 buried in back). There are only two of us so running water isn't a big issue, haven't tried unplugging the fridge to see its' effect but it is a fairly new quiet unit.
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,207 posts
 
The noise floor of any components and the sum total of the noise are the most underestimated factor in audio to gain sound quality... The problem is some solutions introduce, limitations of their own, a trade-off, a reframing of the sound, a compression of the sound, an active filtering that ressemble an artificial "framing" of the sound... My solution is passive filtering....  With stones and crystals, I obtain a complete transformation of the system...It is not perfect,nothing is,but there is no relation between before and after that...By the way even my power conditioner benefit from the stones...Cables also...etc
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