How to ground an AV receiver

[Daneurys]

I am having a humming noise issue in my system. Talked to pioneer customer service and the rep told me to ground the receiver. When I asked the rep how to ground the receiver he told me that he does not know how. Can any body tell me how to properly ground a Pioneer Elite VSX-92TXH.

 

[agarwalro]

Disconnect all sources from the receiver and plug them back individually cycling through all of them. The source that causes the hum to return is the one that needs to be isolated. There may be multiple that causes the hum.

http://www.audioholics.com/home-theater-connection/ground-loops-eliminating-system-hum-and-buzz

 

[markw]

Dunno, but I would doubt the veracity of any so called "tech support" that would tell you to do something they don't know how to do themselves.

Now, are you saying that if NOTHING is plugged into the receiver, aside from speakers, it still hums? That's a problem with the receiver and it needs servicing.

Or does it hum with certain sources. If that's the case, do a search on "ground loops". That subject pops up frequently here and should be easy to find.

 

[Daneurys]

thank you guys. I went home and I played around disconnecting and connecting all of my equipment. After 30 minutes of plugging out and in, I think that I finally found the issue. I think what is causing the humming noise is the connection between the Pioneer Elite AV receiver and the Parasound amplifier. Everytime that I disconnect the RCA cables the send the signal from the AV receiver to the amp, the humming noise seems to disappear. So it this is the cause, what is my next step in this process to get rid out of the humming noise.

 

[highfigh]

thank you guys. I went home and I played around disconnecting and connecting all of my equipment. After 30 minutes of plugging out and in, I think that I finally found the issue. I think what is causing the humming noise is the connection between the Pioneer Elite AV receiver and the Parasound amplifier. Everytime that I disconnect the RCA cables the send the signal from the AV receiver to the amp, the humming noise seems to disappear. So it this is the cause, what is my next step in this process to get rid out of the humming noise.

Are they plugged into the same receptacle and/or power strip? Is one of them directly over the other? Sometimes, a transformer will cause noise in another piece or a cable and changing the distance between them is a relatively easy way to determine this. Is the cable bundled with power cords? That should never be done. Which Parasound amp is it?

 

[agarwalro]

Ideally (to remove the cause of hum) you want the receiver and amp to be on different circuits. If that is not an option, put the receiver on this device,

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002E4YI8/

 

[Daneurys]

Are they plugged into the same receptacle and/or power strip? Is one of them directly over the other? Sometimes, a transformer will cause noise in another piece or a cable and changing the distance between them is a relatively easy way to determine this. Is the cable bundled with power cords? That should never be done. Which Parasound amp is it?

Yes, they are both connected to a Panamax surge protector. No, they are right next to each other about 6 inches apart. As far as cable bundled, video and audio are as best as possible separated from the power cords of any electronics. As far as the amp, I have a A23. I have tried to connected the AV receiver to a different part of the house using a power cord extention, but that did not eliminate the humming noise. Tried different RCA cables, and the humming noise is still there. I have been looking at Jensen transformers and Ebtech for possible solutions. Please advice.

 

[Daneurys]

Ideally (to remove the cause of hum) you want the receiver and amp to be on different circuits. If that is not an option, put the receiver on this device,

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002E4YI8/

As far as having them in different circuits, It going to be impossible because where I live. I have tried plugging in the AV receiver to a different part of my home using a power cord extension, but that did not help getting rid of the humming noise. Thanks so much for this link. This device looks very promising, but I been playing more around with my system, and every time that I disconnect the RCA's out of my AV receiver to the amp, the humming goes away. So at this point, do you think that the receiver needs to be grounded using the Ebtech hum woltage filter or a 2 channel stereo hum eliminator.

 

[PENG]

As far as having them in different circuits, It going to be impossible because where I live. I have tried plugging in the AV receiver to a different part of my home using a power cord extension, but that did not help getting rid of the humming noise. Thanks so much for this link. This device looks very promising, but I been playing more around with my system, and every time that I disconnect the RCA's out of my AV receiver to the amp, the humming goes away. So at this point, do you think that the receiver needs to be grounded using the Ebtech hum woltage filter or a 2 channel stereo hum eliminator.

You should contact Parasound about this. The humX device seems to be rated 6A maximum and I am not sure if it has UL approval so be careful if you go with that solution. My parasound amp also seems sensitive to certain kind of power line noise but 99.99% of the time it is not an issue for me. Yours do not seem normal. Those Halo amps are equipped with a ground lift switch, have you try it yet?

 

[highfigh]

Ideally (to remove the cause of hum) you want the receiver and amp to be on different circuits. If that is not an option, put the receiver on this device,

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002E4YI8/

No, you want EVERYTHING in the AV system and anything that connects to it on the same circuit. Ground loops are caused by the DIFFERENCE in voltage between the pieces and causing current to flow on the interconnects. In a rack, all equipment is required to be grounded together, at a common point (electrically).

 

[highfigh]

Yes, they are both connected to a Panamax surge protector. No, they are right next to each other about 6 inches apart. As far as cable bundled, video and audio are as best as possible separated from the power cords of any electronics. As far as the amp, I have a A23. I have tried to connected the AV receiver to a different part of the house using a power cord extention, but that did not eliminate the humming noise. Tried different RCA cables, and the humming noise is still there. I have been looking at Jensen transformers and Ebtech for possible solutions. Please advice.

Your electrical outlets- three prong, right? If you're using a grounding adapter on the Panamax and the green wire or the small metal tab isn't screwed to the center of the wall plate, your Panamax isn't going to work properly and the ground pin on the Parasound isn't connected to anything, which can cause this problem, as well as being a safety issue. Those adapters aren't designed to be used to lift a ground, but they can be used as a diagnostic tool- if the outlets are all grounded and in good condition, unplug the Pioneer and Parasound from the Panamax and unplug the Panamax from the outlet. Plug the AVR and power amp into the outlet and listen for hum. If it doesn't hum, the Panamax is causing this and you'll need to contact them about it.

How old is the A23? If it's more than about a year, it may have a third toggle switch on the rear, marked Ground Lift and Normal. If it has that, put it in the Lift position and listen for hum.

Have you tried different cables? Have you tried moving them apart? Are you using the power cord that came with the Parasound AND the pioneer?

If you have a battery powered boom box or other amplified speaker for an iPod/smart phone, connect the cable from the Pioneer to the amplified speaker, using any adapters necessary. If you hear hum, it's coming from the Pioneer. If you have a test light, disconnect the cable and any other connections, then touch the wire from the test light to either and the tip to the other. If you see the bulb illuminate at all, there's some resistance between them and this needs to be remedied.

 

[agarwalro]

No, you want EVERYTHING in the AV system and anything that connects to it on the same circuit. Ground loops are caused by the DIFFERENCE in voltage between the pieces and causing current to flow on the interconnects. In a rack, all equipment is required to be grounded together, at a common point (electrically).

Yikes! I had it backwards all along! I even linked the AH article that clearly states it. Not good form . Thank you for correcting me.

 

[markw]

Oh, this may be a little late in coming but it's good to put it out there anyway.

When plugging and unplugging interconnects and speaker wire, you really should power down all affected components while doing so.

It's cheap insurance.

 

[Speedskater]

When all else fails, read the instructions. Start at about page 100.

"An Overview of Audio System Grounding & Interfacing"
9/4/2012
by
Bill Whitlock, President
Jensen Transformers, Inc.

http://centralindianaaes.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/indy-aes-2012-seminar-w-notes-v1-0.pdf

 

[highfigh]

Oh, this may be a little late in coming but it's good to put it out there anyway.

When plugging and unplugging interconnects and speaker wire, you really should power down all affected components while doing so.

It's cheap insurance.

Yes- at the very least, switch to a different source input, lower the volume or input sensitivity setting. If there's no input setting, switching the speakers off works and it's still not ideal, but we all know that people do it. Speakers really, really hate this.

 

[highfigh]

When all else fails, read the instructions. Start at about page 100.

"An Overview of Audio System Grounding & Interfacing"
9/4/2012
by
Bill Whitlock, President
Jensen Transformers, Inc.

http://centralindianaaes.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/indy-aes-2012-seminar-w-notes-v1-0.pdf

If possible, anyone who can, should go to hear him speak about this- he's usually at CEDIA and he used to speak at CES.

 

[Daneurys]

Thanks all of you. Very busy day. Came home and played with the system for a while. After a long time of unplugging and plugging cables and equipment, I decided to connect my speaker directly to the AV receiver. Once there the humming noise was gone. I was surprised. Then I connected the speakers back to my Parasound amp and the humming noise came back. I also when in the back of the Parasound amp and raised the ground lift toggle, but that did nothing to help with the problem. To this point in finding out what is causing the humming noise, I would say that the amp is the one causing the issue. I think that my next step is to get in contact with Parasound to see what can be done.

 

[markw]

Just one more question:

If you disconnect the parasound from the receiver (nothing connected to the parasound's inputs), and have the speakers connected to the parasound, do they still hum?

 

[Daneurys]

Just one more question:

If you disconnect the parasound from the receiver (nothing connected to the parasound's inputs), and have the speakers connected to the parasound, do they still hum?

If I disconnect the RCA's from the receiver to the Parasound the speakers would not hum. The speakers will only hum if the RCA's from the receiver to the Parasound is connected. Please advice.

 

[highfigh]

If I disconnect the RCA's from the receiver to the Parasound the speakers would not hum. The speakers will only hum if the RCA's from the receiver to the Parasound is connected. Please advice.

Still need an answer about the power cord plugged into the wall outlet- is the outlet two prong, or three? You also haven't posted about what happens if you eliminate the Panamax. If you don't try it without the Panamax, you're not eliminating all of the possible causes.

Millions of pieces of equipment are operating without a surge protector and they aren't puking, so don't worry about your equipment if it's used without it for a few minutes.

Get an outlet tester- doesn't need to look exactly like this one, but it does need the three lights. If you see anything other than two amber lights, your outlet and/or electric service needs to be repaired.

You have a ground loop.