Preamp Turned Down/Amplifer Noise


When I turn down my preamp all the way (doesnt have a mute) I can hear what sounds like a hum through my amplifier. This could be transformer hum I am not sure. With the preamp volume all the way down should there be dead silence through the speaker. Is this a ground loop issue?
autodexr

Showing 1 response by mitch2

Sounds like it, but you do not provide enough information. Is this a new development or has the hum always been there in this system? Is there a television, cable or satellite connected to this system? Did this condition start after adding a new component? Is your power from dedicated lines or are you in an area of known "dirty" ac from the wall? Have you added any household appliances or flourescent lighting recently?

You can start by lifting the ground off your components with a cheater plug. If the hum goes away, you should be able to isolate which component is causing it, then you will be faced with a decision of trying an alternate grounding method, lifting the ground from that component, or replacing that component. If the problem is from video, there are ground isolation devices for video that are relatively inexpensive. Also check your cable management and keep power cables away from IC's, speaker cables, and video cables. Search some more here and at Audio Asylum since there has been much posted on this subject. Good luck.