Is it normal to have a small amount of buzz coming from your monitors?

[darkecho]

hmm... ok thats what I will do. Ill exchange the KRKs for another pair of KRKs... I really hope the noise goes away with a new pair but I have a feeling that it wont... it seems like it is the speaker since I plugged it in to several different outlets, but then again, both of my monitors seem to exhibit this sound... I will test the other monitor today, if they both exhibit the same noise... then either its a coincidence or there really is soemthing going on with my power/grounding.... hmm

If the problem happens again with my new speakers, I will try lifting the ground to see if that helps. thanks everyone.

 

[warble]

I use an ART SP 4x4 for power, but nothing in the price range of this unit is really a conditioner (as stated already). The unit I have has a voltage meter on it which kinda gives me an idea what I'm dealing with - which is usually between 115 and 120v. Fire up the central air conditioning, and that goes out the window. Usually drops to a dirty 110-115v tops. When that puppy is on, I experience intermittent buzzes that are purely AC related coming from my Hafler power amp. Switching the amps power to another area of the house helps, but without the air, I experience zero issues regarding hums, buzzes, etc.

I also experience AC loop issues with my Yamaha S80 synth, which has occurred here since I got the thing, but I alleviated that with an Ebtech Hum Eliminator - that worked great for that issue.

 

[boingoman]

I've used those things in real world professional situations (mainly live sound), and been asked to use them by other engineers with a lot more experience than I have. Maybe it's different a different thing when you're working off of you're own isolated system. I'm definetly not an electrician though.

Using them at a gig only widens the potential victim pool. There is always a solution that doesn't involve lifting the safety ground.

 

[boingoman]

I will test the other monitor today, if they both exhibit the same noise... then either its a coincidence or there really is soemthing going on with my power/grounding.... hmm.

You should try them at the store, too.

 

[RAK]

Using them at a gig only widens the potential victim pool. There is always a solution that doesn't involve lifting the safety ground.

Well, I was the house audio engineer for a 1200 seat theater, that certainly would have made things interesting. haha. But we usually used iso-transformers for power issues if they came up. It was usually the rentals coming in that had noise in their systems and tried to blame it on us.

As an example, what about plugging in a guitar amp into an AC lift and then plugging that into a quad box or something like that, isn't that a useful application for it? (assuming you think there's ground loop noise coming out of the amp) Am I way off base here?

Also, I have the KRK RP8s and have been very pleased with them.

 

[boingoman]

Well, I was the house audio engineer for a 1200 seat theater, that certainly would have made things interesting. haha. But we usually used iso-transformers for power issues if they came up. It was usually the rentals coming in that had noise in their systems and tried to blame it on us.

As an example, what about plugging in a guitar amp into an AC lift and then plugging that into a quad box or something like that, isn't that a useful application for it? (assuming you think there's ground loop noise coming out of the amp) Am I way off base here?

Also, I have the KRK RP8s and have been very pleased with them.

It's always the outside gear that causes the problems . I feel your pain. I've spent a lot of time making sure my system is right, and learning how to interface whatever pieces of shit come through the door without noise. Real PITA sometimes, especially when signal ground lifts refuse to work.

The thing to realize is that those little 3-2 dealies are NOT ground lifts. They have a ground connector that is supposed to be hooked to ground with the center screw in the outlet, which is supposed to be grounded. That way you can plug a three-prong plug which needs that connection to be safe into a two-prong outlet.

There is always a solution which doesn't involve lifting the AC safety ground. Iso transformers or DI's with ground lifts. Better cables. Better/redesigned gear. And so on. All things that don't kill.

You might be able to be safer if a GFI is used with a ground lift, but I don't know if it's legal to lift a safety ground and use a GFI instead. I would doubt it, though. And GFIs have their own hassles.

So, to recap, those 3-2 things are:

Dangerous if not hooked up right
Void warranties if not hooked up right
Illegal if used to lift the safety ground- that means you and your business in trouble if something goes wrong.

 

[Minion]

Everything that has a fair sized Transformer in it will make some sort of Noise...Actually pretty much every single appliance inside my house makes some sort of Electrical hum...My PC monitor hums ,my Fridge hums, my TV hums ,my stereo hums ,My coffee machine hums and I"m sure every one elses does also,......

I"m not saying that the hum is comeing from the Speaker of the Monitor but it could be comeing from the Transformer that is powering the Amp in the Monitors....

Maybe my hearing is really good but I can"t be the only person why hears a hum from allmost every electrical device???

 

[travelin travis]

Maybe my hearing is really good but I can"t be the only person why hears a hum from allmost every electrical device???

you're not alone. i remember when i got my first condenser mic. all the noise from everything in my apartment drove me nuts. at one point i was sitting in the dark with everything off except my recording gear. then i noticed a hum in my mic signal. there was a big flourescent light in the shop below my apartment positioned perfectly under my little recording area causing the hum.

my point is, you really notice how noisy everything around you is when you want complete silence.

 

[darkecho]

ok, I just listened to both monitors through 2 differnt cables and two outlets each, they both have the same exact noise coming out, it sounds like white noise "shhhhhhhh" if i sit in a dead quiet room, and line my ear up with the tweeter, I can hear it from about 3 feet away, i cannot hear it at 3.5 feet. it sounds kinda like a radio station static "shhhhhhhhhh".

I am going to take them back to GC and listen to their pair that are on display and see if i hear the same thing.....

I am thinking maybe thats just how these monitors are, it isnt that loud but barely audible from where I sit, and I dont want to be able to hear "silence".

 

[dgatwood]

As an example, what about plugging in a guitar amp into an AC lift and then plugging that into a quad box or something like that, isn't that a useful application for it? (assuming you think there's ground loop noise coming out of the amp) Am I way off base here?

I was going to say that the right fix is usually to lift the cable ground between the devices in that case. That said, after further thought....

Technically the right fix is to smash the guitar amp with a baseball bat and insist that the guitarist get an amp that doesn't suck. The "will work well enough" fix is to lift the signal ground in the cable.

Please don't lift the mains ground. It makes baby Jesus cry....

 

[darkecho]

I went to guitar center today and brought my speakers... I went inside to their little display booth and listened to their V6s and i heard the same white noise... so I assume that its just normal noise. I guess its really nothing to be worried about but I am new to everything so I dont know what is normal and whats broken.. guess I just learned what normal monitor noise sounds like

thanks you guys.

 

[RAK]

The thing to realize is that those little 3-2 dealies are NOT ground lifts. They have a ground connector that is supposed to be hooked to ground with the center screw in the outlet, which is supposed to be grounded. That way you can plug a three-prong plug which needs that connection to be safe into a two-prong outlet.

I'm not going to disagree with what you're getting at, and using that to go from 3 prong male into a 2 prong outlet is a lot better than just pulling out the ground pin (as also happens a lot in professional situations). I'm just saying I've worked with plenty of engineers (with many big name credits, if that helps) in real world location recording/sound reinforcement situations who refer to those little guys as ground lifts, and sometimes use them in a pinch when noise is a problem.

But I suppose that doesn't mean it's not dangerous, like I said, I'm not an electrician.

 

[RAK]

I was going to say that the right fix is usually to lift the cable ground between the devices in that case. That said, after further thought....

By cable ground do you mean the electrical cable, or the 1/4" cable?

Technically the right fix is to smash the guitar amp with a baseball bat and insist that the guitarist get an amp that doesn't suck. The "will work well enough" fix is to lift the signal ground in the cable.

True that, now if only all backline companies felt that way too.


Please don't lift the mains ground. It makes baby Jesus cry....[/QUOTE]