@roberttdid; sorry but I disagree with your assessment regarding the cause of ground loops. Since it is physically impossible to connect all equipment to the same outlet, and most people actually have dedicated lines installed directly to the panel, that negates that argument.
My experience has been that each and every ground loop I have found/diagnosed and cured was caused by poorly designed equipment that had poor internal ground schemes or poorly designed cables.
Isolating each piece until the actual culprit for the ground loop is found has been successful. And it had absolutely nothing to do with the outlets or how many. If ground loops were caused by connecting equipment to different outlets, then everyone would have ground loops all the time and that just isn't the case.
voltage differential on the ground path is the textbook reason. However, what is causing the voltage difference in the first place? That is what I was discussing earlier.
Also, there is a balance where companies become the 800 pound gorilla. most companies try hard to protect their patents or "brand". laws are written and enforced based on the country. Some are more open than others. Some companies try hard to force you to use only their products and try to kill competition leaving only themselves as a monopoly.
Sony, Phillips, and many others tried and failed. Mostly because technology doesn't sit and wait and other's develop newer technology.
Now CDs are phasing out and streaming is taking over slowly. But with streaming, you don't own the material anymore. I'm not sure I like that. I'm trying to get away from have a monthly payment for everything.
As I said, Monster made decent products for the money. I wouldn't consider it high end, but they were okay.
enjoy
