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awful humming in speakers (ground loop related?)

edith headedith head 5,106 Posts
edited March 2007 in Strut Central
i have everything hooked up through my receiver: computer, turntable, cd player and tv/dvd. everything had been copacetic until yesterday. it was hot as hell in my room due to big windows + big sun = greenhouse heat. i fell asleep with my computer and receiver on. when i wake up, there is a loud low humming in my speakers. what happened? i never messed with any of the connectors and it was fine when i was awake. i tired turning it off for a while and unplugging it. that loud hum was still there and i even hear it through my headphones. is it at all possible that this has nothing to do with my connections and that my receiver has possibly overheated/fried? this is really bumming me out. last night i tried to watch lost highway through the tinny tv speakers

  Comments

  • HairyBelafonteHairyBelafonte 1,202 Posts

    sorry, cant really help with the hummin, did you double check all your grounds?

    i just wanted to chime in on your location, i feel honored. you ride ?
  • GnatGnat 1,183 Posts
    This may be an obvious question, but are your power cords next to your speaker wire? That's pretty crucial other than the grounds. edith head, who are you? you a name-changer? I have my suspicions...why must you play these mind games?
  • edith headedith head 5,106 Posts
    This may be an obvious question, but are your power cords next to your speaker wire?

    yes, it's nagly behind the receiver and tv.



    it's never been a problem before. maybe one of these days i will spend 3 hours straightening it out (and dusting behind there). i did actually figure out that the hum only occurs if i have the computer and dvd connected to the receiver at the same time which is weird, because it's not a problem when the dreamcast and mixer are connected. so for now, i am just going to switch out the rca cable manually when i want either the dvd or the computer which kinda sucks, but at least that noise is gone.
  • edith headedith head 5,106 Posts

    sorry, cant really help with the hummin, did you double check all your grounds?

    i just wanted to chime in on your location, i feel honored. you ride ?

    yeah i have a bike. it's just for getting around in my hood really and not super practical. i'm not very hardcore about riding
  • Skip DrinkwaterSkip Drinkwater 1,694 Posts
    I'm also getting a low hum from these new speakers I bought. When I hook them up directly to my mixer, there's no hum, but once it's into the interface for my computer, there it is again. I made sure the cables weren't touching the power chord. Any other suggestions??
  • bthavbthav 1,538 Posts
    may seem obvious, but i would first isolate the hum ie disconnect one thing at a time. as soon as you find out what is humming, swap cables to see if its the unit or the cable. 90% of the time its a cable thing, especially if your using janky hosa joints.

    hope this helps.


    actually, the first thing i would do is crak open a bur.
  • Skip DrinkwaterSkip Drinkwater 1,694 Posts
    Ok I found the problem - I have my speakers hooked up into the 2 outputs on my m-audio interface. I also have a keyboard hooked up into the 2 input jacks on the interface. When I remove the keyboard cables from the input, the hum goes away. But I would still very much like to have my keyboard hooked up to my setup, so is there any way to combat this problem?
  • djdepositdjdeposit 224 Posts
    do u have a mixer, if so what kind?
  • Skip DrinkwaterSkip Drinkwater 1,694 Posts
    Yeah, a Numark

    I also have my mixer hooked up to the inputs, and noticed that the keyboard itself doesnt cause hum, but as soon as I hook my mixer up is when it hums.
  • edith headedith head 5,106 Posts

    I also have my mixer hooked up to the inputs, and noticed that the keyboard itself doesnt cause hum, but as soon as I hook my mixer up is when it hums.

    that sounds very similar to my prob. i realized that the humming stopped when i didn't have the computer and dvd rca cables connected at the same time.
  • bthavbthav 1,538 Posts
    try new kables for your keyboard... if that doesnt work, try and plug your keyboard to a new input on your mixer.
  • bthavbthav 1,538 Posts

    I also have my mixer hooked up to the inputs, and noticed that the keyboard itself doesnt cause hum, but as soon as I hook my mixer up is when it hums.

    that sounds very similar to my prob. i realized that the humming stopped when i didn't have the computer and dvd rca cables connected at the same time.

    edith, are you sure it only happens when both of them are plugged in at the sametime? if so, you should get ahold of these dudes
  • ElectrodeElectrode Los Angeles 3,126 Posts
    I have no advice to help, but this reminds me of the time as an 8 year old when my mother was trying to get some tape to work through one of those old 80s pre amps. It probably was Barbara Streisand or something like that. The tape deck was hooked up to a lead which was causing some irritating feedback. My mom quickly unplugged the system from the sockets to cut off the noise and exited the room to get something. In my helpful, youthful wisdom, I picked up the detachable antenna from the amp radio and jammed that thing into the wall outlet. I saw a flash of light and blacked out for what I think was 10 minutes. 15 years later, I'm training to be an electrician. Fate kicks ass.
  • KidKKidK 119 Posts

    actually, the first thing i would do is take a shit[/b].
  • pjl2000xlpjl2000xl 1,795 Posts
    try this
    put this joint on all your gear that is causing the electrical feedback noise. It should take care of it. You can get them for like 50 cents at radio shack. 3 to 2 prong adapter or called a ground lift.
  • bthavbthav 1,538 Posts
  • edith headedith head 5,106 Posts
    try this
    put this joint on all your gear that is causing the electrical feedback noise. It should take care of it. You can get them for like 50 cents at radio shack. 3 to 2 prong adapter or called a ground lift.

    this actually worked! the only thing connected to my receiver that had a grounded plug was my computer and the 3 to 2 adapter worked to eliminate that hum. thanks dude
  • mylatencymylatency 10,475 Posts
    Their gameshows are really advanced
  • Skip DrinkwaterSkip Drinkwater 1,694 Posts
    try this
    put this joint on all your gear that is causing the electrical feedback noise. It should take care of it. You can get them for like 50 cents at radio shack. 3 to 2 prong adapter or called a ground lift.

    this actually worked! the only thing connected to my receiver that had a grounded plug was my computer and the 3 to 2 adapter worked to eliminate that hum. thanks dude
    Sweet. I hope it can solve my problem as well, as i'm off to Radio Shack...
  • djdepositdjdeposit 224 Posts
    I just had a similar issue with my mixer. I have a vestax 05 pro that had a humming problem. I ended up gutting it and finding out that I blew up an IC chip in the power supply circuit. The best thing I can suggest is to isolate which device this noise is coming from (if you already haven't). Just take everything apart and then start adding each device one at a time.

    sorry this post requires a late pass
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