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Dimmers and Speaker Hum


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I know that dimmer switches can create speaker hum. My house is full of them. I was curious if anyone has experience or knowledge about if it would make a difference if I replaced the dimmers with new dimmers. Obviously the ideal solution would be to get rid of all dimmers, but it's not possible (wife *ahem*). The dimmers are pretty old. I haven't seen any articles online about if there are "good" dimmers and "bad" dimmers. 

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I know isolation transformers help with this. Much like leds, dimmers won't allow the circuit to be charged constantly. The isolation xformer creates its own circuit. They're used in medical applications too to ensure that equipment isn't afflicted by shaky power circuits

Thanks for this suggestion. That worked perfectly.

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which isolation transformer did you end up using? did you just plug the entire system into it as a closed loop?

I used this from Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LP4RMG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

 

BOSS Audio B25N Ground Loop Isolator Noise Filter

 

I have a turntable (Uturn) with a pre-amp (Pluto) and powered speakers (MICCA PB42X). In my various tests to isolate the problem, it was when the the RCA jacks in the speakers were used. The hum had nothing to do with my components because I also tried an old Pioneer turntable with a built in pre-amp and still had the hum. A few months ago I assumed b/c of this it was a problem with the speakers so I went through a rather painful process to return the speakers and get a replacement. No difference. This filter was exactly what I needed. 

 

I placed it between the pre-amp and the speakers and the hum was greatly reduced. I also haven't noticed any affect on the output either. My records still sound crisp. Best 7 bucks I spent. 

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