Strange ground loop...?


Hey,

I just hooked up a new amp and I'm having a strange noise issue. Only in my right channel, I get this high-pitched whine... maybe around 2khz. My left channel is dead silent.

The problem seems to be an interaction between my DAC and my amp. If the DAC is off, the amp is silent.

The amp is an 84' yamaha, so the cord has no ground. There is a ground screw, though, and I have connected that to my power conditioner, hoping this would solve it... nope.

I've tried plugging the amp straight into the same outlet that the power conditioner is plugged into (into which the DAC is plugged in). That actually did work... but I don't want to run my amp straight into the wall.

I suspect I just need to find a proper place to run that ground wire...

Any ideas?
djembeplay

Showing 2 responses by jea48

I just hooked up a new amp and I'm having a strange noise issue. Only in my right channel, I get this high-pitched whine... maybe around 2khz. My left channel is dead silent.

The problem seems to be an interaction between my DAC and my amp. If the DAC is off, the amp is silent.
At some point in your trial and error testing did switch, cross, the ics at the amp? (Switch the right with the left at the Amp, one end only of the ics.) See if the buzz then goes to the other channel of the amp. This will kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, the Dac as well as the ics.

The amp is an 84' yamaha, so the cord has no ground. There is a ground screw, though, and I have connected that to my power conditioner, hoping this would solve it... nope.
The amp, I assume, has a built-in phono preamp. The ground screw is for the ground wire of a TT, not to connect the amp to earth ground.

Is the plug on the cord of the amp polarized? One blade wider than the other? Can you plug the plug into the wall receptacle in either direction?

I suspect I just need to find a proper place to run that ground wire...
I would not recommend connecting the chassis of the amp to earth ground.... It can cause more harm than good.


03-11-09: Djembeplay
I just wanted to add... this distortion, again, completely goes away with my pre-amp turned all the way up.
That rules out ground loop hum imo.....

Humor me and try another source other than the DAC.
I think the problem is the DAC