Ground Loop Solutions?

[Dynamic Turtle]

Gents,

Had an amp change recently and managed to introduce a mild ground loop between the pre/power. There was a mild but audible buzz emanating from the speakers, which was eliminated after I installed an isolator between them. However, it is a cheap component and not exactly a sophisticated audiophile solution and I was wondering what else I could do, other than have a 20p transformer between two expensive components? Is it dangerous to use a two-prong "cheater" IEC cable to the preamp, thereby removing the ground? What happens to the integrated phono stage ground in this instance? Does it even work?

I haven't tried moving the components away from each other - apparently proximity related magnetic fields can also be an issue...

Thanks,
DT

 

[zanash]

does the power amp have attenuators ? I've heard hum generated if the pre and power both essentially have volume pots ....in my case it was two pre amps to a power amp

 

[bottleneck]

DT

Have you tried running them from seperate wall sockets? (with an extension cable of course). I've had success with this before.

 

[RobHolt]

An interconnect with resistance of around 10-100 ohms in the ground/return line can help and sometimes eliminate the problem entirely.

Two ways to do this:

- Spend £200 on a VDH carbon cable.

- Spend 10p on a resistor and solder it in series with the input.

 

[Dynamic Turtle]

Thanks for the posts guys - I'll take the suggestions into consideration.