Topic: Newbie question on loud thump when lights are switched on/off

[rustyns]

Hello,

Patulong naman. Baka meron ditong pareho ang naging experience?

Meron kasi akong stereo setup (from pier lahat - sony cdp, pioneer amp, sansui speakers). OK naman ang tunog. Ang problema ko, whenever someone turns off/on a flourescent light anywhere in the house, the speakers emit a very loud thump. It doesn't matter kung mahina o malakas ang volume setting. Medyo hassle to pag nakikinig ako at low volume at 1 or 2am. Atsaka posible din na masira in the long run yung speakers at amp.

[JojoD818]

try to relocate your main ac plugs to a different outlet in the house. or better yet, use an ac mains line conditioner.

HTH

[rustyns]

try to relocate your main ac plugs to a different outlet in the house. or better yet, use an ac mains line conditioner.

HTH

thanks for the quick reply.
Susubukan ko in the following order
- iplug sa ibang outlet
- provide a dedicated supply straight from the main switch
- buy a line conditioner

Tanong ulit -  ngayon ko lang naisip na this happens only with my and my brother's vintage equipment. Does this happen only with 70's receivers and amps? Yun kasing promac receiver na pang-karaoke ko, as well as the pioneer minicompo sa sala, walang ganitong reaction to light switches. 

[rustyns]

Dapat pala nabasa ko muna ang topic na to about line conditioners and avrs.

http://pinoydvd.com/board/index.php?topic=1823.0

Anyway, plugging into different outlets did not work.

There was a spare socket in the main switch and I had some spare solid wire so sinubukan kong mag-run ng wire all the way from the house mains hanggang sa tabi ng audio setup.  4 hours na and wala pa ring thump.  I hope this solves the problem (for now). Wala pa akong budget para sa AVR and line conditioners(Itong surge suppressor strip na gamit ko di ko naman sure kung effective).  Ito rin ang reason kaya pier ang source ng audio setup ko 

-sony cdp-333esd
-pioneer sa-9800 (japanese ver. ng sa-9500)
-sansui sp-z770

[rustyns]

Hello ulit,

Eto yung resulta ng experiment ko after binigyan ko ng sariling linya from the mains ang audio setup ko.
- light switches - hindi na thump ang epekto, audible click na lang pero hindi loud
- aircon - when it comes out of and goes into energy saving mode,  very loud thump pa din

Any other suggestions? (aside from the very expensive line conditioner/online ups route)

Here's the current setup:
100v cdp plugged in to amp's unswitched socket
100v integ amp plugged in to 1000va 220v/100v stepdown transformer
transformer plugged in to power strip w/surge protection
power strip to wall outlet

Would putting a servo avr like Yaden between the power strip and the transformer solve this problem?
Do I need to have the whole house rewired? (it's an old 60's house) 

[JojoD818]

some technical observations on your experiments in layman's terms... medyo "marumi" yun ac mains mo sa wall outlet that is why nadidinig ito sa gears mo. sudden fluctuations/spikes in your lines are easily amplified in which case it shouldn't be.

as some maybe aware of, switching a simple lighting fixture on or off can cause a back emf which travels along the ac mains and is essentially considered as line noise, sa malamang ito ang dahilan kung bakit may thump sa gears mo. yun mga minicompo at ibang gears mo probably has some protection for this ac noise kaya hindi nadidinig.

a line conditioner or an avr can probably remedy your problem but as you said hindi feseable sa budget mo ngayon, and besides, some of our friends here swear that an avr can make or break your audio experience. 

scratch mo na muna yun idea about the avr/line conditioner, check mo yun stepdown transformer mo, or try to separate/isolate the cdp from the amp by using a separate stepdown tranny.

don't worry, kaya mo yan. 

 

[RU9]

I also had a problem with the thump on my rotel rb-03 when the electric fan is turned on, but no problem with flourescent light.

With an integrated Pioneer amp and AMX tube amp in the same setup, no problem whatsoever. Baka sa design ng particular brand.

Louie

[rustyns]

Sir Jojo,

Sinubukan ko yung suggestion mo na separate transformers for cdp and amp. Didn't work.

Sinubukan ko naman yung suggestion mo na i-test yung transformer.  Sinukat ko yung voltage dun sa 100v, ang reading 108. Dun sa 110v na socket, 117.  Nagtaka ako so sinukat ko yung voltage galing sa mains, 235v! Inisip ko, may problema nga kung masyadong mataas ang pumapasok na voltage. Pero ito ba ang cause nung thump? Nag-isip ulit ako (dangerous?), di ba merong tolerance sa voltage variations ang mga equipment?(nabasa ko yon sa kabilang thread) Kung sobra ang voltage, ibig sabihin malapit na siya sa upper limit nung tolerance niya. So, baka ito yung dahilan kung bakit sensitive na masyado yung amp sa maliit na fluctuation ng voltage. So I tried to put theory into practice.

wall outlet->surge protector->avr ng computer->transformer->amp->cdp

pero moderate lang ang volume para di masunog yung avr ng computer ko

Ok na! Wala nang effect kahit yung aircon! Also, di ko alam kung imagination ko lang dahil puyat ako, parang mas mababa at malinaw yung bass nung speakers ko and mas clear pero less bright yung treble.

I think pwede ko nang bilhin yung yaden avr (next sweldo) without fear na hindi masosolve ang problema ko.

Sir Jojo, maraming salamat ulit for bearing with me.  RU9 thanks din for replying.  Atsaka hello nga pala sa lahat ng members

[JojoD818]

aha! since yun last experiment mo ay success, parang ang kailangan mo ay isang isolation transformer, ito ay isang tranny na 220v input and 220v din ang output. para isolated sa mains yun system mo. 

wag masyado matakot kung medyo mataas yun readings mo sa tester, kasi most testers read peak and not rms voltages. pero pag mga 250-260 na ang readings sa mains medyo tignan mo na at di na normal yan kahit na sa madaling araw na walang masyadong gumagamit ng kuryente.

yun mga stepdown transformers mo na 108 and 117 ang readings ok lang yun kasi under no-load conditions yun readings mo. 

ang totoo nyan bro ikaw ang naka-solve ng problem mo, taga bigay lang kami ng suggestions. kaya congrats to you sir!

happy listening 

[levi]

Pa check mo grounding ng circuit breaker.

[rustyns]

Pa check mo grounding ng circuit breaker.

Hello Sir Levi,

Tiningnan ko yung circuit breaker. Mukha namang solid ang pagkakakabit nung grounding wire sa chassis nung circuit box. The wire is connected to a grounding rod thingy which it shares with the PLDT box. Is that ok?

[Audionuts]

Do not connect a ground same as the pldt ground, pldt has flood of rfi
if you still want a ground connection make isolated or separate ground rod
outside your house.

[rustyns]

Do not connect a ground same as the pldt ground, pldt has flood of rfi
if you still want a ground connection make isolated or separate ground rod
outside your house.

About a foot away from the pldt rod, a few feet from the front door, there is another rod which used to belong to a bayantel connection. I will have the meralco ground wire moved to that. Thanks for the info.

[aaron1274]

I'm experiencing the same problem too. Whenever someone turns on light on the other roomor when i turn on mine at my room, my speakers would have those clipping sound. I hope you can remedy yours and maybe I can benefit from it also. I'd say goodluck to both of us, hehe.

Ron

[rustyns]

I'm experiencing the same problem too. Whenever someone turns on light on the other roomor when i turn on mine at my room, my speakers would have those clipping sound. I hope you can remedy yours and maybe I can benefit from it also. I'd say goodluck to both of us, hehe.

Ron

Hello Ron,

I'm not sure if this will work for you but it has worked for me.

List of suggestions which I implemented:
1. Laid out new wiring for the audio equipment and connected it to an unused circuit box socket
2. Changed connections to:
 wall outlet->surge protector strip->avr->stepdown transformer->amp->cdp

-after these 2, nawala na yung clicks and thumps

3. Provided dedicated grounding for circuit box

(1 and 3 should be done by an electrician)

Other suggestions:
1. isolation transformer
2. line conditioner
3. online ups

Maganda ring basahin yung avr and line conditioner thread

HTH

Rusty

[aaron1274]

Rusty,

Thanks a lot for sharing the info. I don't think such remedy is applicable for me now. First, we own a small house and we only have the man switch with no breakers. Got an AVR in my room and a power strip, the former connected first to the outlet. Maybe, line conditioners will do but don't have the budget for it now. Anyway, I do appreciate your sharing of how you have remedied your problem. Ahppy Listening. 

Ron