I'll explain the bolded part. I left the buck converter connected to the power circuit as before, but powered a different pi with it. I then hooked a wall wart up to the Pi that is supposed to go to the amp. When I connected the RCA of the Main pi to the amp, there was no noise, even with the buck converter still in the power supply circuit, just not powering the Main Pi. I then plugged my headphones into the other pi, the one that was connected to the buck converter. There was no noise on it. Then I connected the other pi to the amp. The hum came back. So it only occurs when ANY pi and the amp are connected to the same power circuit AND connected to each other. Each on their own is fine with the same power circuit. It's only when I try to connect one to the other that the ground issue surfaces.
I could bring another power supply for the Pi into the amp enclosure, but I feel that would be a little silly. I could also (potentially) bring in 120 VAC and include separate internal/external (top of the enclosure) transformers for both the 5 VDC and the 24 VAC.Seems like a little overkill, but I really want to use this design. I might just say screw it and buy or make a nice enclosure for the pi that matches the amp enclosure. Just frustrating as this should work.
I spent some time taking a bunch of voltage measurements. Some of them won't matter at all, as I'm sure they are effectively the same measurement. But maybe you can draw more from them than I can. If you need clarification, let me know, I was just jotting them down in a way that made sense to me. Maybe not so much to others.
One thing I didn't try, and I don't know if it would be a good idea or not, was to connect the amp output ground to the star ground. Not sure what effect that would have, but I don't think it would be good.
The biggest potential measurement issues that I see are:
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from pi output to amp star with music playing from phone and headphones connected to pi and amp (NOTE: Amp and Pi are NOT connected at this point)[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]453-463 mV DC[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from pi output to amp input with music playing from phone and headphones connected to pi and amp (NOTE: Amp and Pi are NOT connected at this point)[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]453-463 [/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]mV DC[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from amp input/phone output to amp OUTPUT ground with music playing, amp set to phone channel and headphones connected (NOTE: Amp and Pi are NOT connected at this point)[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]0.2 [/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]mV DC[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from amp input/pi output to amp output ground with music playing, amp set to pi channel and headphones connected[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]0.5 [/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]mV DC[/color]
Measurements
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]NOTE: All STAR ground references tests were actually tested using ground reference test point, not the one in the center of the board. "Earth" is using the ground terminal of a wall outlet.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]All measurements in mV DC.[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]-0.3 mV DC to 1.2 in air, 0 when completely still[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Amp[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from star to earth[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]15 - 20[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from input to earth[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]35 - 50[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from star to earth with music playing from phone[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]75 -85[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from amp input/phone output to earth with music playing from phone[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]75-85[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from star to earth with music playing from phone and headphones connected [/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]75-80[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from amp input/phone output to earth with music playing from phone and headphones connected[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]75-80[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from amp input/phone output to STAR with music playing amp set to phone channel and headphones connected[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)](NOTE: Amp and Pi are NOT connected at this point)[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]0.1-0.4[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from star to amp OUTPUT ground with music playing, amp set to phone channel and headphones connected, (NOTE: Amp and Pi are NOT connected at this point)[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]0.1-0.2[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from amp input/phone output to amp OUTPUT ground with music playing, amp set to phone channel and headphones connected (NOTE: Amp and Pi are NOT connected at this point)[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]0.2[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from earth to amp OUTPUT ground with music playing, amp set to phone channel and headphones connected (NOTE: Amp and Pi are NOT connected at this point)[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]135-145[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Pi[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from output to earth[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]73-80 (powered off)[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from output to earth with music playing[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]63-70[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from output to earth with music playing and headphones connected [/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]80-90[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from pi output to star with music playing from phone and headphones connected to pi and amp (NOTE: Amp and Pi are NOT connected at this point)[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]453-463[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from pi output to amp input with music playing from phone and headphones connected to pi and amp (NOTE: Amp and Pi are NOT connected at this point)[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]453-463[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Pi and Amp connected[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from star to earth with music playing, amp set to pi channel and headphones connected[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]73-80[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from amp input/pi output to earth with music playing, amp set to pi channel and headphones connected[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]75-83[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from amp input/pi output to STAR with music playing amp set to pi channel and headphones connected[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]0.6[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from star to amp output ground with music playing, amp set to pi channel and headphones connected[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]0.1[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from amp input/pi output to amp output ground with music playing, amp set to pi channel and headphones connected[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]0.5[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Voltage difference from earth to amp output ground with music playing, amp set to pi channel and headphones connected[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]95-102[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]Sound quality effect when star ground connected to earth ground:[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)]None, still has hum[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
Sound quality effect when output ground connected to earth ground[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
None[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)], still has hum[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588)][/color]