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Can't tell,if my house is properly grounded

Hey guys, I have a low level hi/low buzz that is coming through my speakers, not dependent on the integrated tube amps volume. It is amplified when I turn on my Parasound JC3+ Phono preamp, but only slightly. I have the power cords going to the same outlet. I tried running their power through my Furman Elite Power conditioner but that changed nothing. I ran an independent ground wire and checked all the components in various configurations to no avail. I disconnected all the tv cable to make sure it wasn't coming from there and that solved nothing either. I turned off everything in the house I could' no change. I checked my ground outside at the rod and it is all solidly connected, however the depth of the rod is unknown.

any other thoughts before I call out an electrician?
last_lemming
jea48
4,313 posts
 
GOOD NEWS!!!

So I found a proper cheater plug and tried putting it on the tube amp only - buzz completely gone whether the phono pre was on or off. So it appears the amp was to blame and the phono preamp just amplified the problem.
The cheater plug on the amp did break the ground loop circuit, but that does not prove the amp is at fault. It could still be the preamp causing the problem.

So now, hopefully, when my new Decware integrated tube amp comes in it wont exhibit this buzz/hum, if it does at least I know its not the AC line.

Time will tell.

Good luck,
Jim
last_lemming OP
632 posts
 
Jea48,

i did get the hum with the preamp turned completely off - though barely audible, it
was there, just not as loud. 
rwwear
2,850 posts
 
It's a good idea to have the amp and preamp on the same circuit to eliminate too many paths to ground. A cheater plug is usually safe as long as you have the interconnects plugged in though.
This is also the reason most of us use balanced cables now.
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