2. home-theater
  3. 1274585428

Signs of poor electricity in home...?

Ok folks I know pretty much that all homes have crappy power for electronic gear. However my dilemna is that I have continued to have a buzz type sound come from my spkrs whenever amp is powered on. This is the same case with three different amps and a recvr. I just completely disconnected everything and have all the gear everywhere in the living room. This was no small task.
Nht Controller
Nht Power 5
Nht Power 2
Oppo 83
Toshi HDDvd
AudioControl Bijou EQ
Panamax 5500ex
Nht A1 x 2 for bi-amping mains.
Nht X2

I use Signal pwr cables and my own custom made.
Signal, Bluejeans, monster ic's
PS Audio powerport

I have eliminated any cable combo as the culprit and have it narrowed down to the fact that with an amp plugged in, powered on, and just spkr cable connected to a spkr I get this slight buzz/hiss type noise. I mean nothing connectected to amp but what I said...electricity...and spkr cable direct to spkr. It is not the hmmmmmmmm of 60hz...it's a hiss like white noise makes when a tv channel would sign off-air if you are old enough to know what I mean. Anywho...it's bugging me to pieces. I have went to the breaker box in garage and eliminated it being the fridge in neighboring room, etc. Even with the Panamax it still gets noise to the spkrs mid/twtr...mainly mid. Volume has little or no effect on it if you are wondering.

So????? Dirty house power and what do I do. Would having a seperate/dedicated line help? I don't have dimmer lamps or any other of the typical buggers in the ac chain. No tv either as I have a Pj setup which plugs in where I use to have a ceiling fan and installed box/receptacle to pwr it.

I don't hear it if source is playing but sitting idle all 5 spkrs doing this is annoying. Suggestions please.
mnnc
mnnc OP
175 posts
 
Unplugged modem/router and no difference.

I am going to contact the pwr co tmrw and have things looked at to chk if all is within spec. Our pwr, phone, cable lines are undergnd though we don't have cable tv and junction boxes are every few houses or so.

I am going to turn off all brkrs except one used for powering rig and see what happens. I'll post with a follow up.

mnnc OP
175 posts
 
Mlsstl...I have unplugged/seperated all gear. It's lying all around the lvng rm. Wife is giving me weird stares while I promise a quick fix...sshhhhh.

Anywho, No tv as stated in initial post. Don't have a tv in rig...those are reserved for bedroom and son's room. I use a pj with no tv/sat connected...dvd/br only. I don't watch tv personally...occasional news/weather.

Noise is definitely high freq pitch like a shortwave radio band when out of tune...a whining noise.
jeff_jones
418 posts
 
%JJones...what would foil do or more important what would it prove? Again, excuse my ignorance, what would the plugging lamp into same plug/receptacle prove? What am I looking for during experiment/troubleshooting? %
The foil is hard for radio wave like stuff to penetrate, if it had an effect on the noise that would be a good clue. The lamp with a high wattage (low resistance) bulb gives you a drain path for grunge on the ac line, again it would be a good clue if this made any difference. Just looking for something that would effect the problem & narrow down the possibilities. Good luck.
sop1
12 posts
 
I have reread your posts describing the noise and, I am not writing this to be funny or rude, but it sounds like it could be early tinnitus. Can you hear this sound in a completely quiet room or with unplugged noise canceling headphones on with no music? I have tinnitus which is exactly what you described... "Noise is definitely high freq pitch like a shortwave radio band when out of tune...a whining noise" , and it is very annoying. When there are other sounds I don't notice but when I am listening critically to quiet things or going to sleep it drives me nuts.
hifihvn
943 posts
 
>>Btw...amp plugged in alone is dead quiet as I suppose it should be as it uses B&O ice power class D.<< Is this statement an error?The more you describe the noise the less
chances of it being A/C power hum or bad power connection is less likely.A lot of power utilities will check for a poor connection in your breaker box as a courtesy.If it is not anything in your gear causing it,it still sounds like something electronic causing the problem,especially different gear doing the same.A fan speed control,even in heat/ac system,microwave oven timer clock,and on and on.A lot of appliances always have something electronic running when you think they are totaly off.Even sprinkler system timers.
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