Anyone know about grounding

revnice1

Member
I've got a home studio and in my headphones I can hear the AC having illicit relations with the ceiling fan. I can hear the computer spin up a disk I just accessed and guitars are noisy.

Is there a universal, foolproof way of properly grounding everything?

Thanks - rev
 
"Is there a universal, foolproof way of properly grounding everything?"

No, not at least in a domestic situation. There are rules and practices used in pro studios that keep noises down but even there it can be thwarted if certain pieces of equipment don't conform to standard internal wiring practice.

"Balance everything" is a good first step but of course, not all gear has balanced ins and outs. Run all audio kit and computers from one power outlet. Ideally have one mains diss' board and run everything from that. The list of devices that cause ground loops are...

Active monitor speakers. These are usually earthed at the mains input and by incoming audio cable. Fix is lift the AUDIO earth, pin 1 in the XLR one end...NEVER THE MAINS EARTH! Or use a transformer isolater.

Monitor screens but this is rare.

Other kit such as guitar amps with a line output.

You can also have a situation these days where NOTHING is actually earthed! A good deal of kit is now safely 'earth free' but needs a ground somewhere in the system to kill noise.

You need to list ALL the gear in the signal path and how it is connected. The problem can only be solved by a systematic approach.

Dave.
 
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