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38.116.2.4
I braided them. No change.1. Has anybody else had this problem with anticables speaker wire?
2. Is there a quick fix? Maybe could somebody point me to a copper laced something that you drape over the wires to stop it?
Follow Ups:
hi
has anyone tried the carbon fibre treatment for RF interference yet? I have definite RF interference on my speaker wires (living just down the hill from a big transmitter) and would interested to hear if it works. Interestingly it only gets picked up by my Cyrus amp, on an old NAIM NAIT2 there is none - as NAIMs are famous for strange inductance setups, there is no doubt something like this going on. Cheers
Some hopefully-useful advice from from SL's Orion FAQ page:"Speaker cables can act as antennas in the AM frequency band and may cause distortion in the output stage of a solid-state amplifier, if strong radio frequency signals are present. In particular, the cable capacitance in conjunction with the inductance of a driver voice coil may form a resonant circuit for these frequencies. The resonance can be suppressed by placing a series R-C circuit of 10 ohm/2 W and 0.33 uF/100 V across the cable terminals at the speaker end.
Coaxial interconnects with phono (RCA) plugs tend to pick up radio frequencies in the FM band. The currents that are induced in the cable shield must not be allowed to enter the inside of the coax. This requires a very low resistance connection between the outer conductor of the phono connector and the chassis (signal ground) of the equipment that it plugs into. The continuity and low resistance of the shield is also very important for hum and buzz currents, so that they will not induce a voltage on the center conductor. The technical description for this is the Transfer Impedance of the cable and connectors, which must be in the low milli-ohm range. Unfortunately I have not seen this specification used by the audio industry. An excellent description of the theory and treatment of hum and buzz problems in equipment setups with mixed two and three prong AC plugs is given in AN-004 by Jensen Transformers, Inc. I have not found balanced interconnections to be necessary for the high level circuits past the preamplifier. But sometimes it requires to experiment with AC outlets in different locations to reduce to insignificant level the buzz that one may hear with the ear close to the speaker cone. So, when choosing a coaxial audio interconnect look for good mechanical construction, direct contact between shield and connector, and well plated contact surfaces."
My reading on this subject suggests that speaker cables are an unlikely source of RFI.More likely it appears, is that the IC's are allowing RFI.
for strong RF signals that "break through" and are audible on your audio system. Power amps are not designed to block RF that enters through their output terminals, and the stray capacitances and inductances inside allow RF to go anywhere it pleases.The way to resolve this problem is to start with the amp connected to the speaker and no input cables. Do you hear the radio station? If not, the speaker cables are OK. If you do, experiment with the speaker cables, and be sure you have clean connections at both ends. Dirty or corroded connections act as rectifiers for RF. Some speakers are excellent radio antennas in themselves.
Proceed to add the interconnect cables and repeat the test. Work your way back upstream until you identify the component or set of cables that are allowing the RF to get in.
Even though you eliminate breakthrough, the strong RF field in your house will create problems with your audio signal. You have my sympathy, because it will take a lot of work to remove the effects of the RF.
With my situation its definitely the speaker cables. Since i can flip back & forth between sp cables or IC's to do the same thing i threw in an anti-IC as well. its as quiet as the Blue Jeans cable LC-1. there's no way i can/want to buy a 10' pair of anti-IC's though!!
If you figure this out please let us know...asking paul speltz might help too.
It absolutely could be the interconnects, but it is would be faulty to conclude that speaker cables cannot be responsible for RFI problems. The ability for speaker cables to act as antennae for RFI garbage that is then rectified into audible noise by your amplifier has been well documented by many including the American Radio Relay League.However, if you twisted/braided the speaker cables with NO effect, then they may not be your problem. The suggestion of running a couple coils of each wire through an inductor put forth in the previous post would almost certainly eliminate any RFI interference that existed on your speaker cables. Of course, once this test had been done to verify the noise source, I would recommend removing the inductor for sound quality purposes.
Try using a ferrite ring around each cable. Loop the cable several times through the ring and see if that helps.PS I think you can find these darned anywhere.
well, just about the same thing. I have a-c's on my speakers & just bought a pair of stereo subs & a-c's to go with them. For about a week they worked perfect, then recently an audible HUM came through. last night i had a chance to troubleshoot this and when i removed the a-c's & installed a bluejeans cable lc-1 sub IC the hum disappeared 100%.So, then i went on a tear to see what cables of mine also eliminate the hum...only an old pair of Monster cable IC's worked. However, the a-c's did WAY better than Heartland Cable IC's & every other nice IC i own.
the anti-cable shield is not that affective, but much more effective than nothing at all. I tried an anti-IC in place too, much less hum than the a-c's but nothing at all like the BJC LC-1 or the crappy Monsters.
No clue how to help you, sorry, just venting & spilling my recent findings. Now i need to decide if buy a 2nd LC-1 or look for well shielded speaker cables...i think the sound is better through sp level inputs, but i can't tolerate HUMMMMMMMMM.............
If you find an easy tweak for the a-c's to eliminate this, please let me know. Somewhere here i read about people wrapping cables in CF.
Last, i've had a-c's as speaker cables for year, NO issue with hum in this location. my subs are like antennae's though...
cheaters on your powered subs to see if the hum will go away? Those Anti-Cable speaker wires are pretty damn good, hate to see them go if the hum problem could be solved another way. Report back, like to know.
Hey Athanos,what are cheaters??
I have jumpers made of a-c that go from one Positive speaker post to the other...this made a big change. The sound solidified but then the hum began. With just a normal stereo connection to each sub there isn't much hummmm.
A Cheater has to be something difft, please fill me in. i'd like to keep the a-c connection if possible.
I only listened for 30 minutes last night, but with just a single IC connected to each sub the volume/output sucks. According to the maker, Y cables are needed so that each RCA input jack on each sub is loaded with a signal. Off to Rat Shack after work.... amazing how difft the sp level & IC level connections sound.
On one hand i'd like to incorporate a Behringer EQ..this would mean an IC connection only. On the other is the fact that i think speaker level connections integrate & sound really cool.
i'll probably just get a 2nd LC-1 IC and hunt for a used Behringer DEQX 2496 but still, it'd be great to get this hum issue resolved.
matt
I will try this. I'm only using a length of Flavor 2 unshielded cord & Furu fi-11 plugs as the power cord (no ground cable). the plugs are 3 prong but no ground cable is attached.The issue sounds just like ground loop hum, but it can be turned up & down with the volume...its not constant.
Also, by adding shielded interconnects the hum disapears 100%, so i figure its not a ground loop thing.
at this point i've settled into the idea of using Interconnects rather than speaker level connections...then adding the Behringer DEQX just to equalize the subs.
Hukk
it stands for carbon fibre, sorry! there's a post just a few inches down from here where someone suggested this.i don't think raw CF is very expensive. If you find a source & want to try this, i'll split some with you.
from what i've read heree & elsewhere CF is supposed to do well to reduce or absorb or remove EMI/RFI...even a few outlet covers are being made of it in the aftermarket: oyaide & Furu.
CF aside, what about ferrite rings or something else more traditional??
Audible hum is not caused by RF resonances, so don't install carbon fiber to cure hum.Carbon fiber sleeve material is sold for people who make their own golf club shafts and the like by Soller Composites at very reasonable prices. Look for the carbon fiber, not similar sleeving made of Kevlar or Fiberglas. Carbon fiber is a resistive material that dissipates the energy in standing RF waves on cables.
Ferrite sleeves, clamps, rings, etc. typically have their own sonic behaviors that make them worse than the RF noise.
RF noise causes resonances on most audio cables. These resonances are strong tones at particular frequencies that mix with the audio signal and produce spurious overtones. The artifacts are typically perceived as a brightness or harshness, but affect all audio frequencies. Reducing the RF resonances should clean up the treble, make the midrange warmer, and the bass more palpable.
Hukk
It might help, but is not going to attenuate the magnetic component of the local radio waves. These will pass through and induce voltages in your cables and equipment.The engineers at the radio station causing the problem might have some ideas. Shielding your room could get quite expensive. If you can narrow down the cables or components that are most sensitive, perhaps shielding these would give relief.
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