2. amps-preamps
  3. 1236409165

Strange ground loop...?

Hey,

I just hooked up a new amp and I'm having a strange noise issue. Only in my right channel, I get this high-pitched whine... maybe around 2khz. My left channel is dead silent.

The problem seems to be an interaction between my DAC and my amp. If the DAC is off, the amp is silent.

The amp is an 84' yamaha, so the cord has no ground. There is a ground screw, though, and I have connected that to my power conditioner, hoping this would solve it... nope.

I've tried plugging the amp straight into the same outlet that the power conditioner is plugged into (into which the DAC is plugged in). That actually did work... but I don't want to run my amp straight into the wall.

I suspect I just need to find a proper place to run that ground wire...

Any ideas?
djembeplay
djembeplay OP
179 posts
 
WAIT! NO! I was mistaken. Upon closer listening, I do still have some distortion in my right channel... right channel only. And this is only with lower frequencies.

The 'whine' sound is certainly gone though.
djembeplay OP
179 posts
 
Ok, so... now I'm going to bypass my pre-amp all together and run straight into my amp from my DAC via a 2ft LC-1 cable.
djembeplay OP
179 posts
 
I just wanted to add... this distortion, again, completely goes away with my pre-amp turned all the way up.
djembeplay OP
179 posts
 
Sooo... actually there is no need for me to run straight into the amp from my DAC... I know it will be perfect. It has been that way for a few days and it was fine. Also, the fact that it goes away with my pre-amp turned up all the way indicates that something is awry in that area of the chain.
djembeplay OP
179 posts
 
Sorry for all the posts -

Ok, what I'm going to do is try a different amplifier and see if the same thing happens.
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