# Speaker noise problem -- solved with a power conditioner?



## Conor (Feb 9, 2008)

I've been having occasional problems with noise coming through my speaker system (Bose Companion 3, for what it's worth). It is a kind of static/"popping" noise. At first I thought this was a problem with the speaker system, because I didn't notice this noise when listening through headphones (Grado SR-80s) instead.

Then I noticed that the noise starts up when I turn on the dishwasher, and gets better or worse as the dishwasher goes through its various cycles. Sometimes, when the dishwasher makes that cyclical "pulsing" sound, the speaker noise will pulse in a similar way. It would actually be pretty funny if I weren't trying to work... :roll: 

Is this the sort of problem that a power conditioner can solve? If so, what would you guys recommend?

At the moment my system is quite simple, based around a single Mac Pro that's powerful enough to handle everything I've asked of it. I haven't found a need for much outboard gear, and therefore don't have any kind of "rack" set up. So ideally I'd be looking for something with a small footprint (perhaps something that presents itself as a rather high-end power strip?), as opposed to a something designed to occupy rack space.

Cheers,
Conor


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## synthetic (Feb 9, 2008)

Yes, that sounds like dirty power. Check out some of the Furman power conditioners.


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## ComposerDude (Feb 9, 2008)

Other possible solutions:

1) http://www.zerosurge.com

Their conditioners are inductive, avoiding eventual wearing-out of typical MOV (metal-oxide varistor) surge protection components.

2) Use paper plates. 8)


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## PolarBear (Feb 9, 2008)

I had my LCD display power supply introducing some high frequent noise into my signal chain. Tried a hell lot of combinations to plug in all the tools into different sockets and now it's just a tiny amount of the PC fan which is barely audible. So try to see if you could plug your speakers power cables into another socket in your room, which should even better have an individual circuit with its own fuse (word?) - or at least sit in another circuit and not on the same as your dishwasher...

All the best,
PolarBaer


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## Conor (Feb 17, 2008)

Thanks for the tips, guys. (Except the paper-plate one. :wink

Went out yesterday and bought a Furman M8. The static/popping sound is noticeably reduced now (maybe -8 to -10 DB from what is was), but is still there.

Does this mean there's some other force of evil at work in my system? :evil: Or is it just that the filtering on the M8 (which I got for under $60) isn't strong enough? Should I try one of the higher-end models?

Thanks,
Conor


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 17, 2008)

That's still unacceptable.

If the noise is reduced then it's definitely a power problem. But it sounds like that Furman box is the wrong tool; what you might need is something with a 1:1 isolation transformer to isolate your audio path from whatever it is that's spewing noise into your system.

I'd suggest turning off things one at a time to figure out which device is the culprit. You may be able to do something about that device.

Also, there are some basic things like not running AC lines right next to audio ones (if they have to touch, have them intersect at right angles). Make sure the power supply from one unit isn't inducing noise into audio lines adjacent to it in a rack. And so on.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 17, 2008)

What Polar Bear says is also important - it's a good idea to have a different circuit for your audio equipment. I had one run in here when we had an electrician over after the 1994 earthquake, and it's been well worth the minimal expense.

However, the only way to isolate your studio completely from the power grid is to use an isolation transformer. I have a box that's not made anymore, called the MIDI Motor Humbuster, that has just that. Furman may make something like that. Another approach is balanced power (from Furman or Equi=tech), but whether that helps depends on how bad your power is to start with. Power equipment isn't cheap, however.

And again, it sounds like something in your set-up or your house is causing the problem. I'd start there and then figure out the best solution.


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## ComposerDude (Feb 18, 2008)

Per the Furman M-8 description:

M-Series conditioners protect your delicate electronic equipment by combining high voltage varistor (MOV) surge and transient suppressors. The fast-acting supression circuit quickly responds and clamps transient voltages to safe levels. *An RFI/EMI interference filter works to prevent noise from fluorescent lights, certain dimmers, radio transmitters, and similar sources of "electronic pollution" from contaminating the AC line and from there, leaking into sensitive audio, video, or computer circuits.*

I think the above feature is what's improving matters for you. But it's evidently not enough yet - so you need to investigate further isolation...either more filtering, or a AC-DC-AC converter (certain UPSs might do this), and certainly if you can get cleaner power by an extra branch circuit off the main panel as Nick said, that's worth doing.


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