Three weeks to figure out a ground loop issue in my backyard studio

Built a little recording shack last spring. Plugged everything in and got this constant hum. Thought it was cheap cables. Replaced them all. Nope. Turns out I ran my power and audio lines in the same trench. Three weeks of swapping gear and googling before a buddy in Austin told me to separate them by at least 3 feet. Anyone else buried their problems literally?

2 comments

2 Comments

river_wright3d ago

Three weeks to figure out a ground loop issue - man, I used to think running cables together was fine, but this definitely changed my mind. Separating power and audio lines by a few feet is now my new religion.

zara_allen2d ago

Ngl a balanced cable setup wouldve saved you a lot of time and headache from the start. A good transformer isolator can kill ground loops without needing to spread everything across the room. Sometimes the simpler fix is just using the right gear rather than rearranging your whole space.