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Help with Nearfield Monitors ... Ground Loop Isolator?

post #1 of 11
1/18/10 at 6:24pm
Thread Starter 
So I recently purchased a pair of Mackie MR5 active monitors and so far, I am reasonably satisfied. However, at first, I had them plugged into the same power strip as my computer, screen, hard drive, etc etc (I have a lot of electronics to say the least), and with this set up, there was a noticeable hum/buzz from the MR5s. After doing a bit of research, I plugged the MR5s into another power outlet on the other side of the room with an extension cord, and this noticeably reduced the hum/buzz. However, the set up is a bit awkward and the hum/buzz is not 100% eliminated ...

So my question, is a power conditioner the answer? Would something like this be what I am looking for: Amazon.com: Furman M-8x Standard Level Power Conditioning, 15 Amp, 9 Outlets with Wall Wart Spacing: Musical Instruments? If a power conditioner is the answer, could you please give me some recommendations of what to get, given say a <$75 budget (the less the better, but I don't want a piece of crap that doesn't actually do anything!).

Thanks in advance for all the help.

EDIT: Hmmm, it seems the above power conditioner doesn't fix ground loop noise, which I think is the problem. Any suggestions?
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post #2 of 11
1/18/10 at 9:36pm
ebtech hum x
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post #3 of 11
1/18/10 at 11:05pm
Web search for "ground loop breaker" will turn up some "how to" info.
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post #4 of 11
1/19/10 at 5:42am
Do you know for sure if it's a ground loop? It could be a noisy component as well. Try plugging in a dap to the speakers and see if they're silent or not. Or try different components to narrow it down.

An essential piece of equipment that I always use is a $20 ground loop isolator from radio shack.
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post #5 of 11
1/19/10 at 4:04pm
I was going to suggest plugging them into an iPod or something and eliminate hum coming from the music source.

If you are using a computer, be sure to leave it running during the test.
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post #6 of 11
1/20/10 at 8:09pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you everyone for the advice. From trying different sources, cables, etc. it is a bit of both the source but more the ground loop (it seems like 20% source, 80% ground loop). If I can eliminate the ground loop, I think I will be a happy camper.

In fact, I am heading to RadioShack now to check out the ground loop isolator, thank you Armaegis.

Will report back with results.
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post #7 of 11
1/20/10 at 8:45pm
Thread Starter 
@Armaegis, the radioshack ground loop isolator works like a charm, thank you so much. I owe you a beer!

So the radio shack ground loop isolator solves the problem of the noise from the source ... so now I think the last piece of the puzzle is the power for the amplifier. Anetode's suggestion looks like the solution, however, it is quite expensive, especially since I'm going to need one for each monitor. Any other ideas?

Thanks a lot guys.
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post #8 of 11
1/21/10 at 4:17am
You could also look into a DI box (wiki). A dual DI box should run you $50-100 for an entry level one.
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post #9 of 11
1/21/10 at 12:15pm
i fixed that by connecting PC, lcd monitor, DAC, both monitors and sub to the same power strip.
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post #10 of 11
1/21/10 at 1:45pm
Use an isolation transformer. You can find adequate ones for $20-$50 on eBay.
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post #11 of 11
1/25/10 at 3:05am
Thread Starter 
Thank you Uncle Erik for the suggestion. Is there one in particular I should try to get?
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