Deafening hum from new DAC

[MaxwellsEq]

perhaps Dac-amps tend to better prevent ground loop between the components they're connecting

That is almost certainly true. If you want to avoid ground loops, have only one mains cable, no external connections (unless optical) and passive speakers. An all in one system should have no ground loops. The more mains-powered boxes you have, the more likely it is that there will be a ground loop.

Studios have hundreds of mains powered devices. They avoid ground loops by making everything work balanced/differential.

 

[Jimbob54]

Do you mean the DAC? What would constitute a properly grounded device? Something with a three-prong plug, or something wired properly to avoid grounding issues?

Yes. I connected the spare coax input on my RME to a properly grounded device w/ 3 pin plug and any hum went away, May well not be same circumstances as you- but maybe try it- do you have a TV/ amp/ dvd player you could run an rca cable to the coax of the SMSL. Worth a try

 

[miv]

Hi

Somehow you have quoted me as saying a bunch of stuff I didn't. Please can you correct.

Yes, i see that. Seems like every time I started a new paragraph, it defined it as a quote from you. Unexpected!

I can try to edit or delete the post, if that's allowed. Or I can report myself and have a moderator remove it.

 

[miv]

Hi

Somehow you have quoted me as saying a bunch of stuff I didn't. Please can you correct.

I can't seem to edit or delete the post myself, so I've reported myself to the system and asked them to remove it. It was just me jabbering away to no useful purpose anyway, so it's no loss. Sorry for the mess. I'll keep away from the return button in future.

 

[miv]

Yes. I connected the spare coax input on my RME to a properly grounded device w/ 3 pin plug and any hum went away, May well not be same circumstances as you- but maybe try it- do you have a TV/ amp/ dvd player you could run an rca cable to the coax of the SMSL. Worth a try

The only such device I have here (It's my little top-floor office) is the amp I'm using the dac with. I'm guessing that's not a suitable candidate for this exercise..... So I'll look for an old DVD player in the basement - I think we might have one there - plug it in, and give it a try.