How to eliminate ground buzzing noise.

[blestin]

Maybe someone can help me out here with a technical problem. I am having a buzzing noise (maybe 120hz) coming out of my BMR tweeter and I figured out it is caused by a ground loop. I finally pinpointed it to my TV, by connecting a ground lift the the power cord which eliminated the the buzzing. (Warren Coleman’s advise)

Obviously a ground lift is a not a safe long term solution, what device do I need to purchase to eliminated this ground noise?

Warren from VTV recommended I try “adding a 100 ohm resistor from outlet ground to the ground tab and see if that breaks it.” Not sure how to go about doing that.

Options: Ebtech Hum X or Furman AC-215A power conditioner

 

[levimax]

Try plugging the TV and the rest of the equipment into the same outlet, if it works it will the easiest and cheapest solution. Using balanced connections between components is the "best practice" way to eliminate ground loops but might not be possible. Not sure about your system but if you can use a "toslink" optical connection to the TV rather cables that can often work. I have a overly complicated DIY tri-amp system with unbalanced connections and the only way I can get rid of ground loops is with an isolator https://www.jensen-transformers.com/home-theater/audiophile/ . There are a lot of thread on this topic you can search for other ideas if these don't help. Good luck

 

[solderdude]

Maybe someone can help me out here with a technical problem. I am having a buzzing noise (maybe 120hz) coming out of my BMR tweeter and I figured out it is caused by a ground loop. I finally pinpointed it to my TV, by connecting a ground lift the the power cord which eliminated the the buzzing. (Warren Coleman’s advise)

Obviously a ground lift is a not a safe long term solution, what device do I need to purchase to eliminated this ground noise?

Warren from VTV recommended I try “adding a 100 ohm resistor from outlet ground to the ground tab and see if that breaks it.” Not sure how to go about doing that.

Options: Ebtech Hum X or Furman AC-215A power conditioner

The ground tab is there for safety and ONLY provides safety when resistance is very, very low.
Best way would be to break the groundloop by doing some isolation in the audio/video path of the TV (how is it connected)

On the other hand... when all equipment stays connected and you break the mains safety ground the TV will still be grounded via the stereo system.

This has nothing to do with power condition.

You can also try to connect all gear to one power strip, sometimes that might help.

 

[JSmith]

Obviously a ground lift is a not a safe long term solution, what device do I need to purchase to eliminated this ground noise?

A ground loop isolator, hum eliminator, inline transformer coupler.

How is the TV audio connected to the amp?

Options: Ebtech Hum X or Furman AC-215A power conditioner

Nah, overkill.



JSmith

 

[Chrispy]

Might see if what's connected to your tv causing it might be fixed......something like a cable box that got installed with the installer not tying into the main ground (I had that in another house, cable guy made his "own" ground apparently, used a lifter for a while but was due to move anyways....).

 

[ShiZo]

Humx will work. But it's not optimal and usually, one of the pieces of gear is susceptible or it is being generated from how your chain is setup.

I had a problem one time with my active speakers and an all in one schiit dac/amp. The problem was that my computer, speakers, the dac inside my amp/dac powered via USB, and the amp were all connected to each other without anything to break the groundloops. Unpulling my computer helped, unplugging the USB from the dac section helped and even unplugging the speakers helped lower the noise created by the ground loop.

If at any point in that chain if the ground loops was broken it would go away (not for me because of my dac section as I'll explain later). That can be balanced connections or a dac that is not as susceptible to ground loops.

Even when I used a hum x for the amp the internal dac that was USB powered would still create a ground loop lol. What dac and amp do you have and how is everything connected and powered? IMO it's usually not worth buying fixes if the problem is your dac or if the chain is creating it. A hum x could technically make it work but I ended up wasting money and getting a way better system in the end that didn't have these issues, and it sounded way better.

 

[blestin]

So the buzz is definitely caused by the TV when it is plugged in. I tried plugging the TV into the same surge protector and the same outlet but this does not fix the issue.

The only thing that has worked so far is a ground lift on the TV plug. As soon as I plug the TV in with a ground lift the buzz disappears.

Currently I have the TV connected by HDMI ARC the my system. There is nothing else connected to the TV except that 1 HDMI cable going to the AVR.
I would prefer to use the HDMI ARC and fix the problem some other way.

How safe is it to connect the TV via a ground lift if it is connected to the rest of the system via only HDMI?

On the other hand... when all equipment stays connected and you break the mains safety ground the TV will still be grounded via the stereo system.
.

My system is a LG TV —> HDMI to Denon 3700x —> Benchmark RCA to XLR cable —> VTV Eval1 amplifier —> Bluejeans speaker cable

Since nothing else in my chain is susceptible to the hum/buzz and my TV is only connected to my AVR via HDMI it is definitely the TV itself that is the issue, since I can eliminate it with a ground lift.

 

[solderdude]

When you connect a headphone to the Denon do you hear the hum too ? (need to disconnect the Benchmark RCA to XLR cable)

 

[blestin]

When you connect a headphone to the Denon do you hear the hum too ? (need to disconnect the Benchmark RCA to XLR cable)

I will try that later today and let you know.

 

[JSmith]

LG TV —> HDMI to Denon 3700x

Any cable service connected to the TV? If so, does it go away when you disconnect same from the TV?



JSmith

 

[blestin]

Any cable service connected to the TV? If so, does it go away when you disconnect same from the TV?

JSmith

There is no cable service connected to the TV, nothing at all connected except 1 HDMI cable going to AVR. I am streaming content over wifi only.

 

[bigguyca]

So the buzz is definitely caused by the TV when it is plugged in. I tried plugging the TV into the same surge protector and the same outlet but this does not fix the issue.

The only thing that has worked so far is a ground lift on the TV plug. As soon as I plug the TV in with a ground lift the buzz disappears.

Currently I have the TV connected by HDMI ARC the my system. There is nothing else connected to the TV except that 1 HDMI cable going to the AVR.
I would prefer to use the HDMI ARC and fix the problem some other way.

How safe is it to connect the TV via a ground lift if it is connected to the rest of the system via only HDMI?



My system is a LG TV —> HDMI to Denon 3700x —> Benchmark RCA to XLR cable —> VTV Eval1 amplifier —> Bluejeans speaker cable

Since nothing else in my chain is susceptible to the hum/buzz and my TV is only connected to my AVR via HDMI it is definitely the TV itself that is the issue, since I can eliminate it with a ground lift.

This isn't safe! You are trying for a Darwin award. The electric service ground is in place for safety, not for audio quality. You or someone else my get injured or killed if the safety ground connection isn't in place. You may also be subject to criminal or civil action if someone is hurt. You don't have to understand how the safety ground system in your house works, just leave it connected.

The 100 ohm resistor is also a bad idea. This is real-world serious stuff, not audiophile nonsense.

 

[blestin]

This isn't safe! You are trying for a Darwin award. The electric service ground is in place for safety, not for audio quality. You or someone else my get injured or killed if the safety ground connection isn't in place. You may also be subject to criminal or civil action if someone is hurt. You don't have to understand how the safety ground system in your house works, just leave it connected.

The 100 ohm resistor is also a bad idea. This is real-world serious stuff, not audiophile nonsense.

Understood, I will definitely not remove the safety ground. I just removed it temporarily to confirm that the issue was coming from the TV.

 

[levimax]

My system is a LG TV —> HDMI to Denon 3700x —> Benchmark RCA to XLR cable —> VTV Eval1 amplifier —> Bluejeans speaker cable

Since nothing else in my chain is susceptible to the hum/buzz and my TV is only connected to my AVR via HDMI it is definitely the TV itself that is the issue, since I can eliminate it with a ground lift.

I would put one of the Jensen Iso Max transformers between the AVR and your amp. Humx and conditioners don't really get to the root of the problem. Transformers completely galvanically isolate the components and add no noise which is what you need.

 

[Chrispy]

Why not just use an optical connection since it pretty much offers what ARC does audio-wise?

 

[blestin]

Because I have a Kindle 4K that I am using for Amazon HD music, it is connected my AVR and I need HDMI video output to the TV.
Thinking about I could try connecting it directly to the TV and using and optical connection. But this might complicate things with the WAF as it will require 2 remotes or I will need to purchase a universal remote.

Which Jensen Iso Max transformer do I need, they sell a million different ones and their also quite expensive.

 

[Chrispy]

Optical is in addition to hdmi to the tv for video, optical would be for audio from the tv. Shouldn't be any extra work/remotes for the wife....just adjustments in your input assignments perhaps.

 

[blestin]

Optical is in addition to hdmi to the tv for video, optical would be for audio from the tv. Shouldn't be any extra work/remotes for the wife....just adjustments in your input assignments perhaps.

I think I get what you are saying, so just connect an optical cable from TV to AVR and set TV audio to Optical. I can try that but it does not sound like it will get rid of the AC Ground buzz as it is most likely passing the current through the HDMI cable regardless. (maybe i am not understanding this correctly)

 

[Chrispy]

Well the optical wouldn't be subject to the ground loop issue itself, altho I suppose the audio from the tv could be "infected" and pass the noise still thru the optical connection, but I'd try it (and I always have an optical cable handy to try in any case).

 

[blestin]

I should have one, but can’t find it right now, recently moved. Have to open a bunch of boxes, should be somewhere.