Star Grounding

puroagave

puroagave

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this weekend i'm going to ground each chassis to a single point and then to the same outlet. I may split it between two outlets that are fairly far apart but on the same circuit (amps are on one end of the room and sources at the other). I have stranded wire in various gauges from 14 to 10 ga, solder/crimp-on ring terminals and misc connectors.

I'm interested in learning about others experiments with this technique for eliminating hum, ground loops and a general reduction in overall system noise. My ground loops are at a minimum now but I'm also using an isolation xfmr for the preamp that i want to eliminate. until very recently my TT began discharging static that's being picked by the phonostage, eliminating it is at the top of the list.

So lets hear it...tips, advice and any good white papers you can point us to on the topic of star grounding.
 
Rob-I have talked about this before on another forum. I use a chunk of copper that has been drilled and tapped and I connect my components to the copper bar and then hook a wire from the copper bar to the ground on the outlet I have my preamp plugged into. I would use the 10ga wire you have to make the connections.
 
For your own sanity, use as long a wire as you have to, but ground everything to the ONE and ONLY ONE ground point.

14 AWG is more than adequate. You don't have to go crazy with 10 AWG, but it may make you feel better.
 
puroagave said:
this weekend i'm going to ground each chassis to a single point and then to the same outlet. I may split it between two outlets that are fairly far apart but on the same circuit (amps are on one end of the room and sources at the other). I have stranded wire in various gauges from 14 to 10 ga, solder/crimp-on ring terminals and misc connectors.

I'm interested in learning about others experiments with this technique for eliminating hum, ground loops and a general reduction in overall system noise. My ground loops are at a minimum now but I'm also using an isolation xfmr for the preamp that i want to eliminate. until very recently my TT began discharging static that's being picked by the phonostage, eliminating it is at the top of the list.

So lets hear it...tips, advice and any good white papers you can point us to on the topic of star grounding.
Click to expand...

I did that years ago and it definitely lowered the noise floor. I feel today that the better PLCs better star grounding but it's certainly a very inexpensive way to improve a systems's sound.

Another inexpensive tweak is picking up one of those AC polarity receptacle testers. One can't always assume their outlets are correctly wired. Then there's the old Namiki (one can also use a DVM) where you can check for lowest system ground potential (again can't always assume the manufacturer installed the power cord correctly).

Perhaps one of the biggest improvements one can make to the system--whether you use Furutech or Porter Ports--is to replace those cheap 50 cent receptacles in the home!!! So many things wrong there!
 
Don't hire an Amish electrician to wire your room.
 
Myles B. Astor said:
Is that an Indiana joke?
Click to expand...

It's sad when you can't trust a licensed electrician to complete a simple task like wiring an outlet with the correct polarity. Having said that, I did buy a polarity checker and checked all of my outlets when I had my room built. I actually had a Mennonite electrician and he did the neatest wiring job in the breaker box I have ever seen (my addition with my stereo room has separate electrical service from the main part of my house). Mennonites are basically Amish with driver's licenses and electricity. And yes, where I live in southern Indiana, there are lots of Amish.
 
mep said:
It's sad when you can't trust a licensed electrician to complete a simple task like wiring an outlet with the correct polarity. Having said that, I did buy a polarity checker and checked all of my outlets when I had my room built. I actually had a Mennonite electrician and he did the neatest wiring job in the breaker box I have ever seen (my addition with my stereo room has separate electrical service from the main part of my house). Mennonites are basically Amish with driver's licenses and electricity. And yes, where I live in southern Indiana, there are lots of Amish.
Click to expand...

Luckily I had a polarity checker because the clown that put my lines in totally miswired the outlets on one line. Worst was he was just ready to leave and I told him no he had to fix it. :(
 
Myles B. Astor said:
Luckily I had a polarity checker because the clown that put my lines in totally miswired the outlets on one line. Worst was he was just ready to leave and I told him no he had to fix it. :(
Click to expand...

Is that what you get for your union money in NY? :lol:
 
GaryProtein said:
For your own sanity, use as long a wire as you have to, but ground everything to the ONE and ONLY ONE ground point.

14 AWG is more than adequate. You don't have to go crazy with 10 AWG, but it may make you feel better.
Click to expand...


+1

Any change in potential at the grounding point leaves you with possible loop problems. Try to use the same length wire to each chassis and a single point not just the same circuit. The electrical potential on two grounds 20 feet apart (even on the same circuit) can be slightly different. You need each component to have the exact same path, resistance and "electrical pull" (potential) to ground or they will try to leak stray current through the interconnects to get to the path of least resistance creating your noise problem.
 
Myles B. Astor said:
I did that years ago and it definitely lowered the noise floor. I feel today that the better PLCs better star grounding but it's certainly a very inexpensive way to improve a systems's sound.

Another inexpensive tweak is picking up one of those AC polarity receptacle testers. One can't always assume their outlets are correctly wired. Then there's the old Namiki (one can also use a DVM) where you can check for lowest system ground potential (again can't always assume the manufacturer installed the power cord correctly).

Perhaps one of the biggest improvements one can make to the system--whether you use Furutech or Porter Ports--is to replace those cheap 50 cent receptacles in the home!!! So many things wrong there!
Click to expand...

great point and i planned on replacing the 40 yr old outlets with hubbell types with the hefty screw down terminals vs the push in claw type that are in there now. if there's enough excess wire i'll strip it back to clean copper when re-installing them.
 
FlexibleAudio said:
+1

Any change in potential at the grounding point leaves you with possible loop problems. Try to use the same length wire to each chassis and a single point not just the same circuit. The electrical potential on two grounds 20 feet apart (even on the same circuit) can be slightly different. You need each component to have the exact same path, resistance and "electrical pull" (potential) to ground or they will try to leak stray current through the interconnects to get to the path of least resistance creating your noise problem.
Click to expand...

check out the big brain on Paul! i believe what you're talking about is addressed in the the granite audio ground zero: Ground Zero ground loop elimination system by Granite Audio. Listen to your music, not your hum.

i thought about buying one but i 'll see how my little experiment takes.
 
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