Best grounding practices for audio

[@SkunkieDesignsElectronics]

You have to draw the line somewhere? LOL!!!! Seriously this is where you draw the line? Not $21,000 speaker cables?

[@new-kids-on-the-block]

🤣🤣

[@Telemed911]

Putting in a ground stake is trivial - I have done this with many of my houses, cabins and other lodgings. Unfortunately, it seems that Paul only addresses his own specific experience, which can be somewhat limited but I understand why he does this. I would start with some fundamentals, such how grounds work in a home electric circuit, and then at least define and explain the differences between passive versus active grounding circuits. The latter is used in medical imaging equipment, super-computer applications and in industrial hardware, not just "as a lark" or as "snake-oil" in high end audio equipment.

[@iancano]

I would like to have had an explanation of what an active grounding box does in this video.

[@doowopper1951]

I think there are various ways used, but even if they were all the same circuit, explaining it would probably take too long for these videos, as Paul tries to keep them in the 7-8 minute length.

[@andydelle4509]

First, there is no such thing as an "active ground" If that box has a power cord and lights, it is snake oil. All the ground "fixers" do is to either equalize or swamp the voltage and current between the different chassis grounds. They can be effective in some cases. But then so can a screw terminal and a length of heavy wire.

[@imqqmi]

Shield ground, earth ground, common and shielding are 4 different things that are often confused with each other.

[@0x07AF]

^ ^ The most correct comment in this entire thread.

[@biketech60]

I am one of those apartment dwellers and what I have is a balanced AC power supply from Equitech and all my gear is powered by it and the center tap of the transformer's secondary is the singular ground for everything . Absolutely no hum or noise , dynamic sound . I did replace the duplex wall outlet with an audiophile unit for a small , but noticeable improvement .

[@alextang66]

Hopefully you have bonded the center tap to your service ground either directly or via bond from an isolated rod to service rod. If not, you are asking for serious trouble in the event of a fault! Your breaker will not trip!

[@garysmith8455]

As a licensed amateur radio operator, grounding and BONDING are A number 1 important because of RF ! You always want to have ONE ground 'potential'. I chose to isolate my radio station from the HOUSE ground. My power distro is 'floated' from the wall ground and the radio gear uses that one power source. All equipment is bonded to a 1/4 inch thick 2x18" solid copper bar that runs out via 1" copper strap to 3 ground rods all bonded TOGETHER! Spark surpression for all the antennas, and so on. I have NO RF problems getting back into the station. The same should apply to audio grounding, ONE potential = NO ground loops.

[@LuxAudio389]

I actively grounded my son today. He didn't swear by it😀

[@TECHNDJ]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@antonio1681]

He's probably shocked!

[@stephenstevens6573]

Hahahahahaha

[@hugobloemers4425]

And did you not experience more dynamic sounds?

[@LuxAudio389]

@@hugobloemers4425 Just grumbles and rumbles. Made my hairs stand and ears ring. Just bad energy overall. 😀

[@michaelwhitby7423]

Imagine if someone said the same about PS regenerator. Come on Paul you have to try!

[@GregoryGuay]

I had a dedicated circuit added to my home studio with five outlets in series - the electrician did not home, runs for each outlet. Is it an acceptable practice to simply run a new bare ground conductor for each outlet to a jbox near the panel star grounding)? I would leave the unused ground in the Romex.

[@scottkasper6378]

The rod outside your house that physically goes into the dirt has no current on it. It’s merely there as a path for lightning or static electricity to go safely. The electricity in your outlet is trying to back to its source which is through the neutral wire to the center tap of the transformer on the pole outside. The third prong on an American outlet is there in case a hot wire touches a metal cabinet it causes the breaker to immediately trip. Dressing up this system would have 0 effect on audio quality. Also don’t confuse neutral with ground.

[@rebelwriteruk]

Absolutely spot on (From an Engineer in the UK)

[@craigsummerville8823]

Perhaps you could take that “conductive slush” and package, brand, and sell it as Snake Oil.

[@rd264]

I think a separate ground is a waste of time or at least was in my specific case. I tried it. I went to alot of effort to put in a separate 'dedicated' isolated ground for my fancy stereo as Paul described, except the ground rod I buried in my yard was not copper, it was iron, purchased at home depot, and it was only about 3 ft deep, not more. I thought there was immediately a 'relaxation' but then after this initial effect, the effect was gone or not noticeable, and I never since noticed any difference from pre separate grounding. So now I use the ground that is on my dedicated AC hospital grade receptacle to a 30 amp romex to the 30 amp breaker at the house fuse box.

[@mikenoble8517]

Grounding the most boring yet important aspect of household power. Word of caution a single point grounding system is the way to go. Check that the cable providing internet is tied to the same point. HIFI streamers this can reduce noise and save your equipment in case of a lightning strike

[@paulstubbs7678]

Slightly off subject, I had a bad ground/hum loop problem between a computer and an amplifier, so I did a bit of a lateral thought type solution and ran a great thick (6mm?) earth cable between the two chassis, totally overriding the wimpy earth wires in the power cords etc. - no more hum. I bought a pair of those big chunky all metal speaker terminals, threw away the little insulating bushes, and bolted them straight onto the two offending chassis then ran the thick copper between the two terminals/boxes, all fixed.

[@That_Handle]

Thanks for the tip.

[@Harald_Reindl]

the smart solution would have been a USB soundcard and a optical digital cable because it is idiotic running a DAC on the computer side to begin with

[@mennims]

​@@Harald_Reindl why would a USB sound card be any better? DAC on modern PCs are more than fine. Now for the other guy, you don't need huge ground cables. I you probably just made a better connection with lower resistance

[@Harald_Reindl]

@@mennims what exactly did you not understand in "and a optical digital cable because it is idiotic running a DAC on the computer side to begin with"? why would you want DAC that early when a proper amplifier has DIGITAL INPUTS? in my case that would mean DAC->ADC->DSP->DAC instead of DSP->DAC (and yes you need a DSP for room correction becasue a 100% perfect room don't exist no matter how much money you throw into room acoustics) - when you don't understand the benefits of an optical connection nobody can help you

[@Harald_Reindl]

@@mennims "I you probably just made a better connection with lower resistance" - jesus you don't make a copper connection to begin with - all problems solved - period - and no matter how good the DAC inside your PC is on paper - it's the dumbest location for it because noise on the ANALOG side you can completly avoid with 30 dollars (soundcard inckduing 15 meters optical cable)

[@bingdong8571]

Ahh, got it. I always figured the answer would have something to do with conductive slush. Thanks for afferming.

[@SilverAudiophile]

I recently bought the Telos Macro G (active grounding device). Wow! Warmer, richer fuller mid range. No way am I sending it back.

[@irod23]

I started by first adding the isoacoustics gaia lll to both my main and sub, my component rack sets on spikes and once I added the monster conditioner hrs 3600 MKll it was night and day. It went from 1356 millivolts out from the wall receptacle to 119 from the unit, I could only imagine with the puritans series.

[@birgerolovsson5203]

I'm curious about those boxes also but they're too expensive for me.

[@tubefreeeasy]

Put a obsidian rock near the outlet. Incredible grounding properties that works in practice.

[@ZEN_X999]

How did u do it ? With the osidian stone?

[@tubefreeeasy]

@@ZEN_X999 I also use a Tripp Lite Isobar (no cable) plug-in unit for surge protection and line signal noise suppression. I bluetack a 20mm obsidian pyramid on top. You may want to try bluetacking on the sides of the Tripp Lite as well. I bluetack those pyramids on my negative terminals of my speakers as well. I hear differences. Try one on your tv outlet and see it work.

[@TheReal1953]

Watch Amir on AudioScienceReview. He discusses the myths and misconception of grounding from a scientific point of view. Paul is mostly clueless in this. You don't drain hum & feedback into separate dedicated grounds rods outside.

[@JohnC-fx4ue]

The only purpose of the ground rod is to keep the audio equipment from acting as an antenna. Try connecting a guitar to a vintage tube guitar amp and lifting the AC ground, you'll notice more noise, of which is minimized when touching the metal parts of the guitar. This is due to your body 'earthing' the guitar, but far less well than a copper rod and wire. This has nothing to do with the electrical circuit, fact that the ground is bonded to neutral at the panel, or anything else.

[@TheReal1953]

@@JohnC-fx4ue No, you're breaking the current 'pixie' path back to your main disconnect box. Instead, it goes straight to your new ground in a fault situation. This is potentially dangerous. Even with a subpanel, the neutral/ground path is supposed to return back to the main disconnect.

[@DesmosediciDav]

Off topic here did anybody notice the time and date stamp on the video screen behind Paul‘s head saying Saturday, May 29, 2021 so he’s in there working on a Saturday doing these videos God bless you Paul keep up the good work I’ve been watching your videos for several years I to have a very high reference system Martin Logan Statement Evo 2’s speaker system all with massive Krell amplification circa 2002 and PS audio front and direct stream perfect wave DAC, transport, BHK preamp, and Three P 20 to handle these large amps love your equipment Cheers,David

[@ericbrammer3845]

He has expressed many times that he conducts these Q&A videos on Saturdays. And yes, commendable.

[@Smashmilk]

It may sound like a dumb question but artificial ground unit like mfj , can it work for record player ? I didn't reloze it was for ham when I found it at good will

[@randallfawc7501]

will not grounding vintage audio equipment cause a slight buzz in the output to speakers?

[@danmarjenka6361]

Doesn't simply turning vintage stereo equipment "on" cause it to buzz?

[@randallfawc7501]

@@danmarjenka6361 @randallfawc7501 32 seconds ago Don't think so. Possibly outside interference causes it. I found this out when an aftermarket power brick was too close to one of my recievers. Moved the brick away from the reciever and fm antennae cured the problem. Absolutely no buzz or hum from any of my 3 recievers or my intergrated amplifier now. And I am also running things through a Sony SQD 2020 4 channel decoder! Problem solved!

[@tahiro1121]

I have a 2ch power amplifier on which there are two XLR/TRS balanced inputs placed at least a foot apart. While attempting to connect the amplifier with an analog mixer that has a stereo balanced output in two XLRs, I have issues resolving ground-looping issues. Should I leave GND on both of two channels lifted? Or should I connect both two GNDs using 100ohm or so of resistors?

[@technicalman]

Loving your videos. Glad I found them.

[@billdenton5774]

Thanks Paul, can always count on you !!

[@irawardmusic]

My professor always used to tell me. "If it ain't broken, don't try to fix it". Grounding is a basic universal principle but when it becomes a problem, all problem causes and solutions are common. After that it's all snake oil LOL. I use modified SR4728A's as satellites and Yamaha 18"' subs and in idling, at full volume, there is no audible white-noise, hums or any type of audible noise. @12,000 watts rms, you couldn't even consider listening that loud. I am using profession audio cables across the board but not audiophile cables. Nothing special really. Where I put my time and money is in the heart of the system, the crossovers, cabinets and tunings. The JBL 75676 crossovers are amazing with a few tweaks... My system reveals so much detail that ever song sounds different. That's the key to reference audio, hearing music the way it is recorded. Music that is poorly recorded and mixed should sound bad and music that has been recorded and mixed well should sound great :). And even songs that sound great should all sound different because no two records are exactly alike.

[@chrisbooth2712]

I have an Audio-Technica AT-LP120XBT-USB turntable connected to a soundbar system (which includes a subwoofer) by Bluetooth. I have no receiver and/or pre-amp. Just the turntable and Bluetooth soundbar system. If I turn the volume up on the soundbar above about 60% I begin getting a very bad humming sound. If I turn the subwoofer off it stops. I've tried placing the subwoofer on a foam pad to isolate vibrations thru the floor and that didn't help. I move the subwoofer as far away from the turntable as possible (approx. 20') and that didn't help. If I turn the subwoofer off while playing a record the humming stops. I checked the turntable cartridge and it seems fine. Listening to the TV through the soundbar produces no hum. Just the turntable. I've read that this could be a grounding issue (ground loop) and the fix is to ground it to your receiver or pre-amp but I am using neither. Also, the turntable and the soundbar are around 10' apart from one another. Can you give me any suggestions on how to fix this issue? It's very annoying.

[@robertmorgan6394]

🙋‍♂️Paul Question? I have a Meridian 568 (DSP) going into balanced output NAD mono blocks, Speakers etc. How do I get the best HiFi sound quality from my IPad device (ITunes, You tube music, XM) going into rca analog inputs of 568 preamp? Dragonfly, DAC etc. ??? Appreciate your advice sir. Bob

[@Paulmcgowanpsaudio]

The trick is not streaming from the iPad but rather using the iPad a controller of another program like Roon or Audirvana, or if not those, then at least use Airplay to a DAC that can accept it. And yes, a separate DAC is a great idea. To get Airplay into a DAC, however, you'll need a streamer. Consider something like the BluSound.

[@richardt3371]

I was so hopeful from the first couple of minutes of this that Paul would smack the idea of an "active" ground clear out of the park. Then, sadly, he gave up on engineering and went down the route of being wowed by "conductive slush" - sigh. Of course "active ground boxes" are hokum.

[@crventura]

Are they ? (Hokum) ? Have you tried one ? Paul at least had the good sense of admitting on not having tried one... Try one your self and get back to us. I suggest you try the Synergistic Research, I know this one well. PS: you can thank me later ...

[@ptg01]

I have some audiophile friends in Manila and electrical standards there do not have GROUNDS on their electrical systems. I had this very discussion with them and they gave me a puzzled look. They don't use three prong plugs at all.

[@Harald_Reindl]

breaking news: most hifi hardware isn't grounded at all, nowhere!

[@laurentzduba1298]

Meralco will literally charge you up the nose if you want them to wire your home in a true three phase configuration - akin to those Marcos era Elisco machine shops that manufacture M-16 rifles by the thousands.

[@ptg01]

@@laurentzduba1298 I am referring to having GROUND in addition to the two prongs. My understanding is all plugs there are two prong. You need a third prong to get ground. You can make your own ground by having a metal "GROUND ROD" driven into earth and tap the ground wire from it...

[@danmarjenka6361]

@@Harald_Reindl Very true! Most hi-fi gear is two-prong from the factory.

[@stefankoopmans5161]

I know this comment is late, but I find this very strange, isn't ground mandatory on your house or every building one can live in? Atleast here in the Netherlands I've never come across anything like you are pointing out, as if grounding your house is a DIY thing. I came here to learn about properly grounding a power amp. Not on the outside, but on the inside. I'm building a dual mono amp in one case. At first I thought let's build it perfectly symmetrical and also wire everything symmetrical, but I read it's better to route the earth from the input signal from one channel through the amplifier circuit to the other channel. How are your thoughts about properly grounding an amplifier like this?

[@stephensmith3111]

In certain environments, that copper rod that you use may be subject to oxidation and the build up of an oxide/hydroxide /carbonate* layer which will eventually diminish its effectiveness. If you haven't already done so, consulting a local civil /electrical engineer may provide information if this is a problem in your area. *I love the colors of malachite (monoclinic Cu2CO3(OH)2) and azurite (monoclinic Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2). As to any metaphysical properties claimed, well . . .

[@laurentzduba1298]

Back in 1998, I asked our power company how much it would cost to wire our house in a true three phase configuration. They said it is not advisable because our house is in a residential area - not an industrial zone. 😕

[@tomterrific9459]

In Ontario, Canada, it is not code compliant to put three phase power in a single family residence.

[@billfrancis5025]

I have 5 “home runs” in my movie/listening room. So, 5 AC outlets that each run directly back to separate breakers in the service panel. I still sometimes get ground loop hum, so I currently have everything plugged into just one of them. How can I tie these 5 outlets together to eliminate possible ground loops? I sure would like to be able to use those other outlets!

[@bayard1332]

HDMI is very good at making ground loops/issues. I don’t know if it helps, but I tied the grounds together at the outlets for my room… (used a cheater plug / ground lifter and ran the ground contact over to the other outlet. Probably not the right thing, but I break rules…) when I was trying to beat the HDMI created ground issue in my rig.

[@billfrancis5025]

Thanks Bayard. I have 3 duplex outlets in one box and two more outlets together a short distance away, so would probably be easy to tie the grounds together. Not sure if that conforms to code or if it is dangerous, so I am a little cautious.

[@0x07AF]

@@bayard1332 Yeah, it's probably frowned on as far as electrical code goes, but the method you described is a very practical and effective way to minimize or eliminate your ground loops inside a single room - just make damn sure that the one AC ground connection you have is very solid and cannot come out accidently. I'd use both of the grounds in that same outlet if feasible with your setup. The connection between the two ground plugs inside that outlet space will be super short and should not contribute to your ground loop problems (unless it's wired super goofy). It's the long wires going up the wall into the attic and back down the wall between each outlet that cause the noisey ground loop grief. Often people use those ground lifters to completely isolate from ground, which is dangerous and rarely ever (some argue never) a good idea.

[@petie40]

If you live in a place with no water table then how does one get reliable ground? Does a metal water pipe provide a good ground?

[@hugobloemers4425]

With conductive slush, Duh! ;)

[@qazxswedcxzaqws]

The ground in your power socket is your ground no?

[@petie40]

@@qazxswedcxzaqws Yes, but if there is no water table in the city then do houses there have a good ground in socket?

[@qazxswedcxzaqws]

@@petie40 No, the presence of a water table does not hold significant relevance to the quality of ground. Rest assured that there are very strict regulations in place especially when it comes to installing ground in a building that goes above and beyond any kind of potentially dangerous alternative DIY solution.

[@Paulmcgowanpsaudio]

Yes, typically. Works great,

[@Snolferd]

I live in an old student home without grounded sockets, is there a way to ground my setup?

[@LuxAudio389]

Old student home that's yours or a dorm?.....Depends if you have Conduit or Romex and if you can find where in the structure its grounded. No grounded sockets anywhere?? Some older structures used to solely use plumbing to ground to the main water pipe that's coming in to the structure by the watermeter, or if you are in Chicago; just the water main pipe. Sometimes if the panel has been changed to comply with newer codes a separate rebar rod or rods are outside with a thick piece of wire and a clamp; usually by the electric meter which is code. I 'd tell you to call an electrician if you can't find it, but if it turns out the building/home isn't grounded, it can cost you a lot in having this done, and the electrician may be required to report to your minicipality that your home is not grounded or up to code which is a considerable saftey hazard. At that point it would have to be done with in a certain time window or you could incur fines. Totally aside from audio, you definitely for saftey sake need good grounding.

[@Snolferd]

@@LuxAudio389 It's a regular house in a row, I believe the 2 sockets for the washing machine and dishwasher are grounded but nothing else is. Getting it rewired probably won't happen since everyone here only stays for a few years, I was hoping there is an alternative like attaching the ground of my record player to the metal of the central heating elements.

[@LuxAudio389]

@@Snolferdare you currently experiencing noise or hum because it's not grounded? If not don't worry about it too much. Or If you or someone you know is expierenced in properly testing or changing just the outlet to a grounded one, and know what to look for, It's simple a simple fix. Then you can use a piece of green stranded 20 gauge wire or so with small spades on each end, and run it to the wall plates small face plate cover screw and to your turn table. Or try attaching it to the screw on a vent and see if that works 1st. Anyhow, that's what the green tab on the cheater/ground lift plugs are supposed to be attached to if the box in the wall socket itself is grounded. But if something isn't grounded in your home or other units correctly, then it can create an anoying ground loop. That's what happened in my case when I had an apartment and Hi-Fi. Lol Ground issues stink in the audio world and can send you on a wild goose chase. You can try to find cheap products online to help before you do all this. Goodluck

[@Snolferd]

There's not a hum present anymore, there was in my previous place (an appartment instead of a room in a house) so I guess I won't have to worry about it then.

[@imLastFirst]

Maybe you should know that without ground a surge protector is worthless.

[@alextang66]

Very irresponsible to not emphasize the importance of bonding your isolated grounding electrode(s) to your service grounding electrode(s). Without this bond, ground fault currents have no direct path to your service neutral, thus the breakers that feed those isolated circuits will not be able to clear a fault event. Very dangerous and violation of any and every electrical code in the country.

[@paulmarcdugre]

Yes, unfortunately the only way to get rid of power noise is to use a balanced power system, they are code compliant in most places and you still use the main power ground, it just puts all the noise a the center tap of the isolation transformer and is cancelled out through common mode rejection. True the neutral must be bonded with the ground but noise still gets into anything with a lot of gainIt comes from all your neighbors sharing that ground with you. Personally I have isolated power in my studio, I use three 4KVA transformers that step 220v down to 120v The neutral of the secondaries are are bonded to ground about a foot from the ground rod, all sockets are isolated ground. I record in DSD and I have a roughly 120 db down noise floor with preamps shunted. If I was building a studio today I'd use a balanced power system.

[@mmgee]

Maybe a telephone company central office switching ground, 4 or 5 tons of buried copper lol

[@andydelle4509]

And I guarantee you all grounds inside that switching center are heavily bonded together including the utility electrical service. See my post about dangerous isolated ground rods.

[@almightytreegod]

If your separate ground isn’t going to a breaker before it goes outside to the ground, that is unsafe. The rod is just for lightning, by the way. Has nothing to do with the audio and there won’t be any current on your ground wires unless there’s a ground fault. “As an engineer” you should know this.

[@michaelbeckerman7532]

Grounding has (almost) nothing at all to do with audio quality in a system. The ground is there for one reason and one reason alone: for YOUR safety! This is why it is often referred to as "safety ground". If there is a lightning strike in your area that grounding rod on the outside of your house will help direct that strike away from your home and down into the ground. Additionally, that ground wire is connected to your system through your outlets and power cords so that IF you ever get a short inside of a component, that current will immediately be sent out to ground rather than remaining in the housing/case of your equipment where it would pose an electrical shock risk to anyone that touches the device. There is no draining of noise out to ground. Sorry, but it just doesn't work that way. And you should NEVER even THINK of installing a second ground in your home - EVER! It is literally dangerous to do that - and may very well be illegal as well as it could violate your local electrical code. DO NOT DO THIS! Installing a second ground (that is separate and disconnected from the one already installed in your home from its original construction) can prevent your circuit breaker in your breaker box from properly tripping as it is designed to if there is a short in your system - you could literally DIE as a result! Now, if you have a noticeable buzz or hum on your audio system, that is likely the result of a ground loop where the voltage potential at ground is slightly different from one outlet in your room to another. This is perfectly normal and happens in almost EVERY home out there in the world today. You can either move all of your equipment over to running off one set of outlets in the room (with the SAME ground voltage potential) or you can purchase inexpensive ground loop eliminator devices on-line for $50 to $90. Long story short: leave the original grounding in your home ALONE! Do NOT mess with it - at all. Don't try and replace it. Don't add to it and DON'T try and improve it. You won't and you can't.

[@hintoninstruments2369]

This is the only comment here that is correct, everyone else is confused. Safety ground (aka Protective Earth) should not be part of any audio signal circuit and if it is, by accident or bad design, you will have problems. Safety ground only works because it is bonded to Neutral and if it isn't the resistance to a ground rod is too high to guarantee blowing a fuse or trip, you need an RCD in that case. Proper audio grounding is described in AES48 and if you can't understand that (it's a bit terse) watch one of Bill Whitlock's videos.

[@armandocamorra2488]

How planes can not have that ground ?

[@0x07AF]

This is a good observation. The word 'ground' is used to describe way too many different things in electrical and electronics. People tend to get them mixed up and they build fallacious theories because of it. Aircraft work just fine without burying a piece of metal in the dirt.

[@andydelle4509]

Hmmm, satellites and spacecraft as well. Like the probes with very sensitive electronics on board relaying back minuscule measurements from other planets. Should tell you something right there.

[@0x07AF]

@@andydelle4509 Looks like we're on the same page again :)

[@danmarjenka6361]

@@0x07AF In fact, planes fly much better without being connected to a stake in the ground. LOL

[@Right_in2]

You have to try now paul

[@danmarjenka6361]

I'd be concerned that lightning would be ATTRACTED to that copper ground rod outside the house. Electricity always chooses the easiest (lowest resistance) path.

[@almightytreegod]

Even though that’s not necessarily true with lightning (the science is fascinating, I saw a video on it recently with a very high powered Tesla coil), even so, wouldn’t you prefer it hit the rod and not your house?

[@spacemissing]

The trouble is that a "grounding box", whether active or passive, is as worthless as a $900 power cord... and vice versa.

[@entity279]

Nope. Powercords make a significant difference. At least according to my experiences so far. And is besides the point, Paul will be the first to approve the use of a fancy power cord. Now obviously, not saying it's all that wise to have a $ 900 power chord on a piece of equipment that say goes for $5000 or under

[@Harald_Reindl]

@@entity279 bullshit! the last 50 cm on the power chain don't do anything - common sense

[@LunarLightLtd1]

@@Harald_Reindl i would like to counter your statement. I have had personal experience with power cords and they do matter in regards to dynamics in my experience. But don't ask me, ask my closet door, which started rattling due to more powerful bass in the room and all i did was swap the power cords. Gain was the same, speaker replacement was the same, everything was the same; it was a controlled test. So i lowered the subs output by 3 db and now all is well; no more rattling and i can tell everything has more dynamic and is presented more naturally than before; less is blurred together. Now, if you wanna make the argument that power cords shouldn't cost ridiculous amounts of money, I'm going to stand right by your side. If you don't want to pay the money, and still want performance, DIY is your friend. Cheers.

[@Harald_Reindl]

@@LunarLightLtd1 if the power cords made a hearable difference your hardware was shit no matter the price label!

[@spacemissing]

@@entity279 Paul is right on most things, but like many high-end audio people tend to be, just plain full of it on others. I have a positive opinion of him in general and agree with him much more often than not; however, when I smell cattle droppings I tend to mention it regardless of the source. He and you and others are free to believe that a power cord can affect how a system sounds, just as I am free to believe, as I do, that it can't.

[@thevindictive6145]

Completely agree, my av receiver has lost two hdmi ports due to poor grounding. They just shorted. Eveytime i touch it, i will get a very tiny shock. So i just stuck a wire to the chassis and ground it to my metal framed desk. Dont know why they make a powerfull surround amp with no ground? Really bad engineering.

[@danmarjenka6361]

I'm being serious here: Is your metal framed desk grounded? It's not helpful to simply connect your gear to "something metal."

[@thevindictive6145]

@@danmarjenka6361 no worries, that thing completed is not working. Just junk now. The grounding did not work and there is no current to the speakers.

[@fctryoffetsh39]

So honest😊 thank you sir

[@hugobloemers4425]

An active ground box sounds like just as much snake oil as an audiophile power cable hooked up to a domestic AC outlet.

[@QoraxAudio]

Probably just a transformer with center tab as ground.

[@Harald_Reindl]

@Taco not in case of power and digital optical cables don't need shields - but hey as an audiophile I guess you don't use superior technology when you can buy snakeoil

[@bayard1332]

@@Harald_Reindl ah, wrong.

[@Harald_Reindl]

@@bayard1332 which impact should have shileds for digital optical cables?

[@bayard1332]

@@Harald_Reindl I don’t know what you mean, but RF and EM noise does degrade a digital signal. Plenty of people have proven it. Some of the biggest improvements in the sound of my rigs has come from eliminating noise in the digital signal. Personally, my rule is all wiring in the rig needs to shielded. I fully understand people not getting this (I didn’t until I did experiments) and there is likely so much introduced noise in your system (system=all equipment, wiring and every single bit of the room and all the stuff in it) that removing one source of noise might not be that audible because of all the noise sources that still remain.

[@ianbigsand7]

Just a copper rod? You need to bury a large mesh of copper several feet down to get a decent earth, just like AM transmitters use to get a decent ground plane.

[@richardt3371]

No, no you don't. A single copper rod - usually in fact a steel rod coated in copper - needs to be about 8 feet in length, and that's it, done. Copper water pipes will do the same job.

[@ianbigsand7]

@@richardt3371 My comment was made in jest, it was meant to gently mock the excesses that some audiophiles will go to.

[@richardt3371]

@@ianbigsand7 Ian - my apologies! I'm just so used to the audiophile nonsense spewed on here I bit!

[@zackk695]

We need to be show WHAT to ground and how to do it. We were told in here to have an unshared ground but if you put a ground rod in the ground and clamp all wires to that rod then that would be shared. Sorry but this is very unclear on what needs to be done

[@randomtube8226]

I've heard it's just a grounding plate inside a box

[@zulumax1]

And the answer to the question is I don't know? Are we just trying to stir the pot here?

[@rickysnit2163]

4:21

[@gamingSlasher]

Americans are just crazy about driving grounding rods into the ground everywhere. Do they have different soil there there than in other countries? I dont know, I think the "code" practice has just gone too far. Lobbied by copper rod companies? :)

[@andydelle4509]

No, this is just an audiophile myth. No competent electrical engineer would ever specify a dedicated ground rod for any signal processing system be it audio, data, RF. And certainly not an isolated, un-bonded ground rod. And no code compliance review would ever approve that either unless overlooked. That said there are some unlicensed hack audio specialty companies that do believe in these grounding myths. I have seen it!

[@OneDamNote]

Slush, salt water.

[@genez429]

Active grounding? Sounds to me like skinny obesity.

[@stephensmith3111]

Old Far Side cartoon: a protest parade by "Oxymorons For Limited Nuclear War"

[@digggerrjones7345]

This clown claims to be an engineer; hilarious! I wouldn't trust him to wire a table lamp.

[@thomasshugar5636]

So you believe in 'conductive slush'? THAT sounds a snake oil, more than anything. Maybe get him on the channel? After watching so many of your videos , I never seem to get the 'big picture' on anything. REAL Solutions would be nice~

[@endrizo]

paul..dont waste valuable paper...3 sheets of paper for that? really?

[@hugobloemers4425]

The whole audiophile hobby is a waste of materials, never mind the 3 sheets of paper.

[@hom2fu]

he does not use a tablet computer. answer series of question and chop into series of video. using a ton of metal just to create a good sound. environmental?

[@caraudiojoe3813]

Hilarious!!!

[@poserwanabe]

"active grounding box" 😆😂🤣

[@Harald_Reindl]

that stuff is why "audiophile" became an insult over the years

[@poserwanabe]

@@Harald_Reindl exactly

[@LunarLightLtd1]

@@Harald_Reindl some stuff is important, other things are silly. But just because some things are BS does not mean everything "audiophile" is. Be skeptical, go in with zero biases, and have fun.

[@Harald_Reindl]

@@LunarLightLtd1 well, in theory! in the reality "audiophile" has no longer to do with good quality and optimizations based on facts! most of that idiots wasting tons of money even don't do anything for their room while at least 50% of what you hear is your room and *nothing* can change that, no amplifier, no cable, no speaker - all worthless at the end of the day my midrange speakers after investing time and money in my living room blow away most setups with expensive speakers and amplifiers with no doubt

[@LunarLightLtd1]

@@Harald_Reindl would love to hear your system. Sounds awesome. I'm a DIY enthusiast. I've built my own speakers, subs, braided my own speaker and interconnect cables, built my own power cables. Yes, room is most important, but other things matter when you have your room dialed in; the difference between components and cables is more obvious with a highly resolving system. Like it or not, those are facts. But cables are NOT worth the price. That's where people lose their minds. Learn from the audiophiles and design your own cables. There is an abundance of info on the internet. ;)

[@grumss9248]

Geez- u saying a separate earth stake is a "quiet ground"? I would have thought that a high end audio manufacturer would know that low resistance direct paths with no alternative paths (ie star grounding) is about as good as it gets.. "Ground lifts" and isolation transformers may be the only way in some circumstances... If you guys want to know real facts and solutions- look at what real audio professionals have been doing for years... AND on stages where ground/ power supply and noise is KAOS! this guy needs to learn his basics before you spend your money.. I'm into him negatively because he is a salesman trying to flog his very overpriced (good but nothing special) equipment! (and for years i have had to explain the sales BS to others when they have come to me for audio advice...) Dont get me started on cables!! Geez

[@cuttinchops]

Moist

[@Roof_Pizza]

Great band

[@ford1546]

Remember that the AC. noise filter in your equipment (RF filter) does not work properly without GND. connect! The less resistance in GND. wire you have the better. Copper corrodes so you should maintain the ground point in your house.

[@Harald_Reindl]

if your hardware isn't crap the power supply could not care less about whatever is on the AC input

[@0x07AF]

Ehh, that filtering is primarily there for EMI compliance to keep noise generated by your system off the AC power lines where it can radiate. In most cases, isolating from AC ground will reduce the incoming noise (or ground loops) in your system, but it's a bad idea for safety reasons. There is other filtering you can do for power conditioning, but it doesn't use the AC ground. Regulatory limits also prevent you from dumping much noise current into the AC safety ground, especially in medical devices.

[@ford1546]

@@0x07AF I have trouble finding the answer to one thing. when making a preamplifier or amplifier inside a metal box. should I connect RCA Gnd to the box or 230v GND to the box? should I connect Both GND together? do you have the answer to this?

[@0x07AF]

​@@ford1546 The metal box of your case itself should be connected solidly to your AC power ground (important for safety). Your RCA conductors should be isolated from your AC power ground and not touching your case (important for audio quality). Your audio should have its own isolated signal ground, and that's where you want to connect your RCA GNDs. Do not connect your case chassis GND to your signal GND directly at any point, instead bridge them right at the same spot that your case chassis and AC mains ground are tied together using an AC voltage rated X2 capacitor (.1uf to .22uF) an usually something like 10 to 200 ohm resistor in parallel. (Optimum values will depend on your design). Make sure that cap has an AC voltage rating well above the mains voltages in your country. Make sure that is the only place the two GNDs are connected in any way. Your signal GND will be the same as your internal power GND, usually starting from your power transformer's secondary center tap. (if using a classic topology) By careful routing you can control the path between power and signal GND return currents, if necessary. This is a good question, a lot of people get it wrong and wonder why they have bad noise and ground loops. I've made these mistakes myself.

[@ford1546]

@@0x07AF Thanks for the explanation. What you are saying is that 230v GND. shall not have contact with RCA GND RCA. Must be connected together with 0v on the transformer or minus on the DC +- transformer Did not fully understand capacitor explanation. do you have a page on the internet with pictures? Explain me two thing? 1. Everything in your desktop computer as minus on all plugs is connected to 230v AC. GND. If you connect your pc to hifi equipment then AC GND and RCA gnd will be connected together? 2. Equipment where you use external DC power supply or AC transformer, is it acceptable to only connect 0v or minus to the box? Then you are not using AC 230v GND.

[@marymitchell4891]

voo.fyi magnificent

[@plenus7392]

And then you threw out the engineering integrity and now sells snake oil 😂

[@artisticproductionsthearti7967]

99% true, so you was lying 1% of the time? Doesn’t sound very genuine.

[@SantanKGhey1234]

first..finally

[@fukiwife2550]

How about if you're hooking up a car amplifier indoors powered by a ac to DC converter charger, my problem was when I play at high volume it would cut out... I changed the gauges in all the components and it helped but it still cuts out.