Battery-Powered Audio System Buzzing?
I’ve seen many people proclaim the merits of powering one’s audio system with a battery, rather than from the wall AC power. I purchased an Anker SOLIX BP1000 battery as a household backup in case of power outages. I figured why not give it a shot on the audio system.
Well, it powers the system just fine, however, there is a buzzing that comes through the speakers when using the battery as the power source. When plugged directly into the wall (or rather through a Zero Surge unit), there is no buzz. It is silent as can be.
Does anyone have any ideas as to why the buzz might be happening when powered by the battery? Any insights would be much appreciated! For reference, I am running a Macbook -> Schiit Yggdrasil OG ->Don Sachs preamp -> Schiit Tyr monoblocks -> Tekton Encore towers.
Glad I could help. :) As far as I remember these issues arise due to the generator neutral and the house neutral not being bonded to the same reference point setting up a neutral/ground differential which causes current flow through the ground... or something like that. At least this will point you in the right direction of explaining why. The solution besides putting everything on the battery would be to use transformer based isolators to anything not on the battery. |
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@sid-hoff-frenchman I'm not sure if I'm tracking. Are you testing or horsing around with the battery? Or will you be integrating with your system for mid-term or long-term use? If it's a mid- or long-term route, I would advise against taking that road. No matter what benefit or perceived benefit you are getting from using it, forgo it. There may be unknown or unseen risks that could emerge later, potentially damaging your audio gear. I'm sure the designers of battery manufacturers do not have home audio gear in mind. Based on my experiences and observations, even the most well-planned designs and tested products can still fail at some point. Nuclear power plants, aircraft, vehicles, motors, and batteries are good examples.
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@immatthewj After A/B-ing with the upstairs system (Schiit Tyrs/Tekton Encores) I've come to the conclusion that while there is a difference between battery and wall power, it is very slight. One is not better than the other. Not worth the annoyance of dealing with the batteries. I will A/B more extensively with the downstairs system (Schiit Aegir/Tekton Impacts) and report back. It was on that system that I originally noticed the big difference I described above. We'll see if that holds under more scrutiny. @goldenways I definitely don't want to harm my equipment. I'll reach out to the manufacturers of all my gear and see what they think about powering their stuff with batteries. |
