AES Los Angeles 2014
Tutorial T3
Thursday, October 9, 9:00 am — 11:00 am (Room 408 B)
T3 - An Overview of Audio System Grounding and Signal Interfacing—A Master Class
Presenter:Bill Whitlock, Whitlock Consulting - Oxnard, CA, USA
Abstract:
Equipment makers like to pretend noise problems don't exist, but this tutorial replaces myth and hype with insight and knowledge, revealing their true causes. Unbalanced interfaces are exquisitely vulnerable to noise due to an intrinsic problem. Although balanced interfaces are theoretically noise-free, they're widely misunderstood by equipment designers, resulting in equipment with inadequate noise rejection in real-world systems. Another widespread design error gives some equipment a built-in noise problem. Simple, no-test-equipment troubleshooting methods can not only identify this equipment but pinpoint the exact location and cause of hum and buzz. Signal-path ground isolators are generally the best solution. Optimum interfaces between unbalanced and balanced connections, RF interference, and power-line treatments are also discussed as well as why some widely-used "cures" are both illegal and deadly.
