Electronics question about monitors.

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guitar zero

guitar zero

c = b#
I have a pair of Yamaha HS80m monitors. We have been battling a loud hum from the monitors ever since we bought them. With the Mac book pro, we were finally able to get rid of it by unplugging the power cord from the mac, AND we had to unplug the presonus firestudio projects firewire cable from the mac and the hum went away.

Now we have a new imac, and the hum is back louder than ever, only now it won't go away.

The question is, can I make a TRS cable and leave the ground unsoldered at the speaker end to eliminate any possibility of a ground loop hum? Would this be safe to do with these monitors? Any electronics wizzards out there know?

Thanks,

GZ
 
try isolating your monitors from your power source by running them into something else. i.e. mac+monitors on one strip, everything else (guitar amps, processors, etc.) on another.

ive battled hum and noise from external firewire drives before, and that ain't pretty sounding noise. that may or may not help. i'd def. suggest some kind of line conditioner, though...in my experience (i'm using cardas cables to tie the monitors in) they don't really combat noise in the power, only external noise. like if you dropped the cable on the floor while playing an instrument. once noise in present, it's hard to isolate it further.
 
playsguitars said:
try isolating your monitors from your power source by running them into something else. i.e. mac+monitors on one strip, everything else (guitar amps, processors, etc.) on another.

ive battled hum and noise from external firewire drives before, and that ain't pretty sounding noise. that may or may not help. i'd def. suggest some kind of line conditioner, though...in my experience (i'm using cardas cables to tie the monitors in) they don't really combat noise in the power, only external noise. like if you dropped the cable on the floor while playing an instrument. once noise in present, it's hard to isolate it further.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion. Actually everything is plugged into a Monster Pro 2500 Power center. I've tried isolating the mac, the monitors, you name it. I haven't found the right combo yet.
 
I wouldn't recommend leaving the ground unsoldered, personally. Are your monitors running from the presonus? I have had problems with hum when my cables run past a power adapter (such as that for the presonus).
 
playsguitars said:
try isolating your monitors from your power source by running them into something else. i.e. mac+monitors on one strip, everything else (guitar amps, processors, etc.) on another.

ive battled hum and noise from external firewire drives before, and that ain't pretty sounding noise. that may or may not help. i'd def. suggest some kind of line conditioner, though...in my experience (i'm using cardas cables to tie the monitors in) they don't really combat noise in the power, only external noise. like if you dropped the cable on the floor while playing an instrument. once noise in present, it's hard to isolate it further.
Click to expand...

I finally got rid of it. Thanks for the help. What it finally took was plugging the monitors alone into a power strip and running an extension cord all over the house until I found an outlet that was isolated enough to eliminate the hum. It took four tries, but the fourth one worked perfectly. Now I can finally put together a good mix with quiet monitors. Yeeeeeeehah!!
 
So I guess it was a problem with the house, huh? It's no wonder pro studios take so much time and money.
 
That seems like such an odd way of a solution. You went from 'hum with everything on the same power source, to quiet' on one plug somewhere else(?) Almost makes me wonder if that plug is missing the ground terminal connection and it did a lift' for you.
 
mixsit said:
That seems like such an odd way of a solution. You went from 'hum with everything on the same power source, to quiet' on one plug somewhere else(?) Almost makes me wonder if that plug is missing the ground terminal connection and it did a lift' for you.
Click to expand...
Hmmmmm, interesting theory. No matter why, I'd like to thank the electrician who screwed it up for me.
 
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