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AudioComponentGroundingandInterconnection

DaveDavenport Version1.11 June17,2010


ThisarticlefocusesonaudiosystemdesignfortheDIYenthusiastimplementingastereosystemfor homeuse.Thereisalotofinformationavailablefordesigningaudiocircuits,butpreciouslittleon interconnectingthosecircuitsintoatotalaudiosystemtoachievemaximumperformance. Interconnectingcircuitstocreateanaudiosysteminvolvesconnectingsignalsandgrounds,bothwithin asinglecomponentaswellasbetweencomponents.Thisarticlehasthemostbenefitfortheperson constructinghisorherownequipment,ratherthanmerelyinterconnectingfinishedcomponents. Althoughmuchoftheinformationpresentedisapplicableforprofessionalinstallations,those installationsfaceamyriadofproblemsduetophysicalsize,numberofcomponentsanddifferenttypes ofcomponents,whicharenotaddresseshere. AlthoughIuseelectrontubecircuitsformanyexamplesinthisarticle,theconceptspresentedarevalid forsolidstatecircuitsaswell.Most,ifnotalldigitalcircuitswilluseintegratedcircuitsandIcover interconnectingdigitalelectronicswithanalogelectronics.

TableofContents
Chapter1Ground......................................................................................................................................4 Chapter2Noise..........................................................................................................................................8 Chapter3InterconnectingComponents .................................................................................................13 . 3.1BalancedInterconnections:Grounding..........................................................................................13 3.2SingleendedInterconnections:Grounding....................................................................................16 3.3BalancedInterconnections:Signal..................................................................................................21 AudioTransformer..............................................................................................................................22 3.4SingleendedInterconnections:Signal...........................................................................................23 3.5MixedInterconnections..................................................................................................................25 SingleendedtoBalancedInterconnection ........................................................................................25 . BalancedtoSingleendedInterconnection ........................................................................................27 . CompositeInterfaces..........................................................................................................................28 3.6Pin1ProblemRemedy....................................................................................................................29 3.7EffectiveInterconnectionSchemes................................................................................................30 3.8Cables..............................................................................................................................................38 3.9OtherInterconnections ..................................................................................................................38 . 3.10InterconnectionSummary............................................................................................................39 Chapter4GroundStructurewithinaComponent ..................................................................................40 . 4.1GroundingRules .............................................................................................................................40 . 4.2GroundingExamples.......................................................................................................................41 4.3PowerSupplyChassis......................................................................................................................44 4.4InputSwitching...............................................................................................................................45 4.5InputJacks.......................................................................................................................................45 4.6VolumeControls.............................................................................................................................45 4.7GroundingTransformers ................................................................................................................46 . 4.8GroundIsolation.............................................................................................................................47 GroundLoopSuppression...................................................................................................................48 SafetyLoopBreakerCircuit ................................................................................................................50 . MultipleGroundLoops.......................................................................................................................52 MultipleNoiseSources.......................................................................................................................54 4.9ConstructionSummary...................................................................................................................58 2

Chapter5Conclusions .............................................................................................................................59 . AudioComponentGrounding.................................................................................................................59 AudioComponentInterconnection........................................................................................................60 BibliographyandReferences......................................................................................................................62 Books.......................................................................................................................................................62 Publications.............................................................................................................................................62 ArticlesontheInternet...........................................................................................................................63 RevisionHistory..........................................................................................................................................64

Chapter1Ground
Thetermgroundisproblematicbecauseitcanmeansomanydifferentthings.Oftenadesignerwill lumpallofthemeaningstogetherandinanindiscriminatingmanner,connecteverythingthatneedsto begroundedtogether.Lumpingallofthemeaningstogetherandtreatingthemallthesamecauses problemsthatwouldnthappenifthedifferentusesofgroundwerekeptseparateandeachtreatedina mannerappropriateforitsuse.Thereforeagoodplacetostartwouldbetoteaseallofthemeanings apartsowecanaddressthemseparately. Thefirstgroundweencounteredwasplayinginthedirtasachild:wecalltheplacewherethegrassand treesgrowground.However,consideringtheelectronicsinanairplaneoracellphone,thisgroundis notnecessaryforelectroniccircuitstofunctionitsonlyinterestinelectronicsisasasinkforlightning strikes.Illrefertothisgroundasearth. Recognizingthathighvoltageislethal,thevariousstandardsorganizationsaroundtheglobehave institutedsafetystandardsformainsattachedelectricalequipment.Thefirstassumptioninthese standardsisthatahumanbodyinthevicinityisatearthpotential.Thereforethestandardsrequirethat ametalchassisandanyexposedmetalpartsbeatearthpotentialbyspecifyingawirebeconnected betweenthechassisandaconnectiontoearthatthecircuitbreakerpanel.Thisensuresthatany electricalfaultwithintheequipmentwillnotbeahazardtoanyonethatcomesincontactwiththe chassis.Asecondbenefitofthisearthconnectionisthatitprovidesalowimpedancepathtoearthfora lightningstrike.Thisminimizespotentialcircuitcomponentdamageaswellasprovidingprotectionfrom electrocution.Athirdfacetofthestandardsisthemeansbywhichafusewillbeblownoracircuit breakertrippedintheeventofafaultwherethemainsvoltageisconnectedtothechassis.Asshownin figure11,intheeventofafault,alargecurrentwillflowfromthecircuitbreakerpanel,throughthe electricalwiringtotheequipment,throughthefaulttothechassis,andthenthroughthesafetywire backtothecircuitbreakerpanel.Ifthereisanappropriatelysizedfuseintheequipment,itwillblow; otherwisethecircuitbreakerwilltrip.Itisagoodideatoprovideanappropriatelysizedfuseinthe equipmentbecauseitwillblowalotsoonerthanthecircuitbreaker,therebyquicklyeliminatingthe largecurrentwhichmaydamageexpensivecomponents.Notethattheconnectiontoearthatthe circuitbreakerpaneldoesnotcomeintoplayforafusetobloworbreakertotrip.Also,nocurrent flowsinthesafetywirewhenthereisnofaultpresent.Illrefertothisgroundassafetyground.

Figure11,Safetyground:showingthecurrentfromafaultbetweenthepowerlineandthechassis. 4

Adheringtothesafetystandardsbyprovidingasafetygroundprovidessomeprotectionforequipment manufacturersfromexpensiveliabilitylawsuits.Whileyoumaynotbeworriedaboutlawsuitsyou areliableforanydamage,injuryordeathcausedbytheequipmentthatyoubuildyoushouldbevery concernedaboutyourpersonalhealthandwellbeingaswellasthatofyourlovedones.Equipment lackingasafetygroundhascausedfires,injuryanddeath.Donotunderanycircumstance,forany reason,disconnectordisableanexistingsafetyground,orfailtoincludeasafetygroundinany equipmentthatyoubuild.But,yousay,whataboutmyCDplayer,ithasatwowirepowercord withoutasafetyground?Consumercomponentmanufactureshaveengineerswiththeskillstodesign adoubleinsulatedproductwhichisinherentlysafewithoutasafetyground.Thisisnotatrivialtaskand shouldnotbeattemptedbyamateursthatdonothavethenecessaryskills.Doubleinsulatedproducts aredesignedsuchthatanysinglefaultcannotcausepowerlinevoltagetobepresentonanyexposed part,includingthechassis.Specialprovisionsmustbemadetoprecludeawindingtowindingfault withinthepowertransformer. Thegoodnewsisthat,inaproperlydesignedaudiosystem,asafetygroundwillnothurtandmay actuallyhelpproduceoptimalsoundquality.Wellseehowthisworksalittlelater. Mostaudiocomponentswillhaveoneormorepowersupplies.Ithinkofthepurposeofapowersupply istoprovidetheoperatingenvironmentfortheaudiocircuitry.Thatistosay,itprovidesthenecessary voltagesandcurrentstoestablishanidlestateseparatefromanyfunctionthatthecircuitisintendedto produce.Forexample,inatriodevacuumtubeamplifier,thepowersupplysuppliesplatecurrent,plate voltageandabiasvoltage.Itwillalsosupplyscreengridvoltageforapentodeamplifier.Currentwill flowfromthepositiveterminalofthesupply,throughtheloadandbackintothenegativeterminalof thesupply.Forconvenienceinmakingvoltagemeasurements,understandingandusingthepower supply,adesignerwillusuallydesignatesomepointinthepowersupplyasground.Thisisusuallythe negativeterminalofapositivesupply,orthepositiveterminalofanegativesupply.Iwillrefertothis groundaspowercommon.

Figure12,PowerCommon:Inthisexamplethenegativeterminalofthepowersupplyischosentobe powercommon. Whatwouldhappenifsomenodewithvoltagefromthepowersupplyweretobecomeshortedtothe chassis?Thechassisisatearthpotential(throughthesafetyground)sotheshortednodewouldbeat earthpotentialsofar,sogood.Wewouldliketodetectthefaultandcausethefusetoblow,which requiresacompletepathforthefaultcurrenttoflowfromthepowersupply,throughthefaulttothe 5

chassisandbacktothepowersupply.Althoughitdoesnthavetobe,toavoidconfusionmostdesigners choosepowercommonasthepointtoconnecttothechassisforthereturnpath.Notethatunder normal,nonfault,conditions,nocurrentwillflowintheconnectionbetweenpowercommonandthe chassis.Theonlypurposeforthisconnectionistodirectfaultcurrent.

Figure13,PowerCommonandafault Figure13showsthatafaultcausesalargecurrenttoflowinthesecondaryofthepowertransformer, whichinturninducesalargecurrentintheprimaryofthetransformer.Notethatnocurrentflowsinthe safetygroundforthisfault. Powercommonshouldalsobeusedasthegroundreferenceforanyvacuumtubefilaments.Thismay bebyadirectconnectionorbyabiasvoltage. Itgoeswithoutsaying,thatinorderforanaudiocomponenttobeworthwhile,itmustprocessanaudio signalinsomemanner.Forasignalvoltagetobemeaningful,itmustbereferencedtosomething.In somecases,asinadifferentialamplifier,thesignalispresentedtothepositiveinputandthereference isthenegativeinput.Inothercases,asinasingleendedamplifier,thesignalispresentedtotheinput andthereferenceisground.Iwillcallthisgroundsignalreference.Atriodeisathreeterminal device:theinputsignalispresentedtothegridwiththecathodeasthereference,andtheoutputis takenfromtheplatewiththecathodeasthereference.Thecathodeisusuallyconnectedtopower common,eitherdirectlyorthroughabiasresistor.Thus,signalreferenceisconnectedtopower common;howevernocurrentflowsintheconnectionbetweenpowercommonandthesignal reference.Eachcircuithasasignalreferenceandsomecircuitsmaybeanalogwhileothercircuitsare digital.Itisagoodideatokeepthedigitalreferencesseparatedfromtheanalogreferences. ThelastuseofthetermgroundthatIwilladdressisshields.Therearebasicallytwodifferentshields inanaudiosystemchassisandcableshields.Therearetwoimportantcharacteristicsofashield:the continuityoftheenclosureandthematerialitismadeof.Bycontinuity,Imeanthatforashieldtobe maximallyeffectivetheremustbenoholesorgapsinthechassisorintheconnectionbetweenthe cableshieldandchassis.Thismaynotbepracticalinanaudiosystem,butitisgoodtokeepinmindasa goal.Ofcourse,plasticorwoodwilloffernoshielding,whilecopperoraluminumwillprovide electrostaticshieldingandsteelormumetalwillprovidebothelectrostaticandmagneticshielding. Rule1.InMorrison(page39)states,Anelectrostaticshieldenclosure,tobeeffective,shouldbe connectedtothezerosignalreferencepotentialofanycircuitrycontainedwithintheshield. 6

ItisImportanttonothaveachassisisolateditmusthavesomeground.Everythinghasapotentialto everythingelse.Eithercontrolitoryouhavenoisepotential.Thusachassisorcableshieldmustbe connectedtosignalreference;however,nocurrentflowsintheconnectionbetweentheshieldandthe signalreference. Iusethetermsgroundbussandstargroundinthisarticle.Agroundbussisapieceofwireat groundpotential.Astargroundistwoormoregroundsconnectedtoonephysicalpoint.Astarofstars isjustthatseveralstargroundsinturnallconnectedtoasinglepoint. Soinanaudiosystemwehaveearthandpossiblymultiplesafetygrounds,powercommons,signal referencesandshields;allinterconnected.Ihavesaidthatundernormal,nonfault,conditionsthatno currentwillflowintheseinterconnections.Thisisnotentirelytrueforthereisnoiseinthesystemwhich mayflowbetweenthedifferentgroundsandcausedegradationofthesonicperformanceoftheaudio system.Thereforethegoalistominimizethenoisetrafficinasystembyfirstreducingthenoiseand second,byreducingthepropensityfortheremainingnoisetomovearound;oralternativelytocontrol thepathssoastominimizetheeffect.Letsstartbytakingalookatnoise.

Chapter2Noise
Allelectricalnoise,withtheexceptionoflightninginducednoise,isproducedbymanmadeelectricalor electronicdevices,includingallofthoseinyourhome.Ofcoursewecantexcludetheaudiosystem itselffromproducingnoise;eachcomponentaffectingitselfaswellasalloftheothersinthesystem. Thenoiseiseitherradiatedthroughspaceorconductedthroughwiringintotheaudiosystemaswellas betweenthecomponentsinthesystem. Wethinkofthemainspowerasasolid120V,60HZ(or230V,50HZ)butinrealityitisntveryclean.It harborsnoisefromDC,toharmonicsofthepowerlinefrequency,tospuriousjunkintothemegahertz range.Allofthisnoisecangetintotheaudiocircuitryandproducereadilyidentifiablenoiseintheform ofhumsandbuzzes,oraberrationsinthesound,whichwhilenotsomethingyoucanputyourfingeron, messesupthesound. Thenoiseisrunningonatwowaystreetwithpowerlinenoiseprojectedintothepowersupplyand powersupplynoiseprojectedintothepowerline.Additionally,noisefrombothsourcesisprojectedinto thechassis,andthusthesystemofgrounds.ThisisdiscussedindetailbyEricJuanedahereandbyBill WhitlockinJensenAN004. Powerlinenoisecomesintwoflavors,differentialnoiseandcommonmodenoise.Withdifferential noise,thenoisevoltageisimpressedbetweenthetwopowerlineshotandneutral.Withcommon modenoise,thereisnonoisevoltagedifferencebetweenthetwopowerlines;rather,thenoisevoltage isimpressedbetweensafetygroundandthetwopowerlines. So,whatcanwedotoamelioratethenoisefromthepowerline? 1. Cleanupthepowerline.Anyelectricaldeviceinyourhomethatcontainsaswitchingpower supplyisdumpingtonsofelectricalgarbageintothepowerandsafetygroundwires.Of particularinterestareTVsandDVDplayersthatareinterconnectedwithyouraudiosystemor pluggedintothesameACpowerbranchcircuit.InanAudioAsylumposthere,CharlesHansen identifiestheproblemandrecommendsdisconnectingandunpluggingallsuchcomponents. Merelyturningthemoffdoesntcutiteventhoughyouthinkthattheyareoff,theirpower suppliesarestillonandareinjectingnoiseintothepowersystem.Theproblemisnotlimitedto TVsandDVDplayers;rather,devicessuchascomputersandmicrowavesanywhereinthe home,andparticularlyinthesamebranchcircuitastheaudiosystem,arealsoculprits. 2. Cleanupthesafetyground.Safetygroundisreallytheflipsideofthepowerlinebecausethe powerisreferencedtotheground.Bycleaningupone,youcanthelpbutcleanuptheother. Eventhoughsafetygroundisconnectedtoearth,itisalongwirethatisroutedaroundthe house,pickingupallsortsofelectricalnoisebecauseitisanRFIantenna.Somefolkshave suggestedaddingasecondearthgrounddirectlyfromtheaudiosystem,whileothersadvise thatanadditionalgroundmayactuallycausemoreproblemsthanitsolves.Asingle,dedicated 8

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safetygroundalongwithadedicatedpowerbranchmaybeagoodidea;howeverthisis expensivebecauseitmustbeinstalledbyalicensedelectrician.Muchthesameresultcanbe achievedbydedicatingoneofyourexistingbranchestoyouraudiosystem.Thisbranchshould ideallyhavenootherequipmentconnectedtoit,oratmost,onlywhatIcallbenevolentloads forexample,ordinaryincandescentlightbulbswithoutadimmercontrol.Athorough explanationofaTechnicalGroundiscontainedinJimBrownsgroundingarticlehere. Class2devicessidesteptheissueofanoisysafetygroundbecausethey,ofcourse,donothave asafetyground.However,itisimportanttonotethatthissolvestheproblemonlyaslongasall powereddevicesintheaudiosystemareClass2devices.Thatis,therecanbenoconnectionto earthanywhereintheaudiosystem,orinanyattachedcomponent,forexample,acomputer thatisnotgalvanicallyisolated.TheproblemofinterconnectingClass2devices(withouta safetyground)withClass1devices(withasafetyground)isshowninfigure5oftheJuaneda articleanddiscussedindetailintheJensenAN004. EliminateDConthepowerline.Wenormallythinkofnoiseassomesortofalternatingcurrent phenomena;howeverdirectcurrentontheprimaryofapowertransformerisalsonoise.A thoroughdiscussionoftheproblemandasolutionispresentedinRodElliottsarticle. Choosetheproperpowerlinepolarityoneachcomponent.Noisefromthepowerlineinthe formofACleakagecurrentwillbetransferredtothecoreandframeofthepowertransformer throughtheparasiticcapacitorsasshownintheJuanedaarticle.Becauseofthewayapower transformerisconstructed,theparasiticcapacitorsaredifferentvalues;andbecausethe neutralpowerlineisconnectedtothesafetyground,theamountofnoiseonthetwosidesof thepowerlineisdifferent.Thesetwofactorsworktogethertocausetheamountofleakage currenttobedifferentdependingonthepolarityoftheconnectionofthepowertothe transformer.Theresultisavoltage,withrespecttoearth,impressedonthechassis.Itismost unlikelythatthisimpressedvoltagewillbethesameontwodifferentchassisintheaudio systemandwhenthosechassisareconnectedtogether,noisevoltagewillflowinthe interconnection.ThisisdiscussedinCharlesHansensAudioAsylumposthereandawaytotest thepolarityisshownhere.Remember,thefinalpolaritychangeshouldbedonewherethe powerlineconnectstothepowertransformersoastokeepthefuseandpowerswitchonthe hotsideoftheline.Notethatthisproblemexistsinclass2devices(withoutasafetyground)as wellasclass1devices(withasafetyground.)ThisisdiscussedindetailinJensenAN004. Includealinefilteronequipmentthatyoubuild.Thebestkindtouseisonethathasthefilter integratedintothepowerentrymodule,likethatshownhere.Unfortunately,apowerlinefilter isatwoedgedsword;althoughitdoesfilterthenoise,itdumpscommonmodenoiseintothe safetyground(whichwewanttocleanup.) Useapowerconditioner.Byitsverynatureapowerconditionerisolatesitsattached componentsfromthepowerline.Theconditionercanbeusedtwoways:First,forisolating 9

sensitiveaudiocomponentsfromthenoisypowerline,andsecond,forisolatingnoisydevices thatcontainswitchingpowersuppliesfromthepowerline.Ofcourse,theaudiocomponents andnoisydevicesshouldnotbothbeconnectedtothesamepowerconditioner.Althoughthe powerconditionerdoesagoodjobofcleaningupthepowerline,thesafetygroundispassed directlythroughthepowerconditioner.Therefore,thesuggestionsforcleaningupthesafety grounddiscussedabovemaystillprovebeneficial. 7. Useashieldedpowertransformer.Ashieldedtransformerhasashieldthateliminatesthe parasiticcapacitorsbetweentheprimaryandsecondarywindings,thuseliminatingtheAC leakagecurrentsbetweenthosewindings.Itisntoftenthatashieldedpowertransformeris neededbutitisgoodtoknowthatitisavailableforthatrarecase. Aswellasminimizingthenoisecomingfromthepowerline,itisimportanttominimizethenoisethata componentinjectsbackintothepowerline.Wewillseewhythisissolaterwhenwetalkabout interconnectingcomponents. PowerSupplynoisecanbeminimizedbycarefuldesignofthepowersupply,payingattentiontothe choiceofrectifiers,snubbersandfilternetworks.Whatcanwedotominimizethenoiseinjectedback intothepowerline? 1. Dontincludeswitchingpowersuppliesinanyequipmentthatyoubuild. 2. Provideamoreconstantload.Becauseaudiocomponentsarenotresistiveloads,themannerin whichtheydrawcurrentfromthepowerlineisnotconstant.Thisirregularloadpresentedto thepowerlinecontributestothenoiseonthepowerline.Somethingsyoucandohereare regulatedsupplies,classAcircuits,chokeinputpowersuppliesandMinimalReactancePower Supplies. 3. Uselownoiserectifiers.Differentkindsofrectifiersusedinapowersupplyconveydifferent characteristicstothesoundofanaudiocircuit.Somesoundbetterforonecircuitandworsein anothercircuit.Whicheveroneyouchoosetouseforaparticularcircuit,lownoiseisan importantcriterion.Tuberectifiers,SchottkydiodesandFastRecoveryEpitaxialDiodes(FRED) aregoodchoices. 4. Useasnubberontherectifiersifneeded. 5. Includealinefilteronequipmentthatyoubuild.Sincethenoiseisonatwowaystreet,the filterwillhelpbothways. 6. Shieldedpowertransformer.Again,rarelyneededbutgoodtohaveavailable.

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Wehavetalkedaboutelectricalnoiseandwhatcanbedonetominimizethenoise.Alltheelectrical noiseintheworlddoesntmatterabitunlessitaffectsthesignal.Ontheotherhand,justatinybitof electricalnoisecanwreakhavocifitshowsupinthewrongplace.Inorderforthenoisetoaffectthe signalitmustberoutedinsuchawayastointeractwiththesignal.Carelessmixingandinteractionof groundsisthebiggestcauseofaudibledegradationofthemusicinanaudiosystem,soletstakealook athowthisworks. TounderstandwhatcangowrongweneedtounderstandsomethingcalledCommonImpedance Coupling.Simplystated,CommonImpedanceCouplingisthewaythatnoisegetsmixedinwithasignal. Noisecangetmixedwiththesignalinacoupleofways:first,conductivecoupling,whentwocircuits sharethesamepath,andsecond,radiatedcoupling,whennoisefromonecircuitisradiatedinto anothercircuitcarryingthesignal.[12]

Figure21,TwoformsofCommonImpedanceCoupling. Thecircuitontheleftoffigure21showstwocurrentloops,oneloopwiththesignalandasecondnoisy loop.ImpedanceZ1isasensitivespotinthecircuit,perhapsasignalreferencebuss,whichiscommon tobothloops.Thesignalcurrent,I1,andthenoisecurrent,I2,bothpassthroughZ1creatingavoltage thatistheproductoftheimpedanceandthesumofthetwocurrents.Thecircuitontherightoffigure 21alsoshowstwocurrentloops,onewiththesignalandtheotherwithnoise.Inthiscasethesensitive impedance,Z2,isnotcommontobothcircuits.Howeverthetwoloopsaresituatedsuchthatthereis capacitiveorinductivecouplingbetweenthemandthenoisevoltageiscoupledintothesignalloop.The resultantcurrentisacompositeofthesignalcurrentandthenoisecurrentwhichcreatesavoltage acrossZ2thatcontainsamixofthesignalandnoise.Therearetwoloopsineachoftheseexamples,but inrealitytheCommonImpedanceCouplingcouldbetheresultofseveralloopsoracombinationof conductivecouplingandradiatedcoupling. Anexampleofaproblemcausedbyradiatedcouplingiswiththeorientationoftransformersina vacuumtubeamplifier.Dependingontheorientationofthetransformerswithrespecttoeachother, theoutputtransformermaypickuptheradiatedfieldfromthepowertransformer,causinganaudible hum.Simplyrotatingoneofthetransformersmaybesufficienttoremedytheproblem.Otherwise, increasingthedistancebetweenthemwilleliminatetheproblem. Carelessorpoorlychosenroutingofwiringcanalsocauseproblemswithradiatedcoupling.Itis importanttokeepfilamentwiringtightlytwistedandlaidclosetothechassis.Lowlevelsignalwiring 11

shouldbekeptasfaraspossiblefrompowerandfilamentwiring.Itisagoodideatouseatwistedpair forsignalwiring,thesignalwiretwistedwithitssignalreference.Whensignalwiringmustcrosspower orfilamentwiring,theyshoulddosoatrightangles.

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Chapter3InterconnectingComponents
Therearetwoaspectstoanaudioconnection:thesignalandtheground.Whilebothareequally important,designershavefocusedonthesignalandleftthegroundingtochance.Thuspoorlychosen groundingisthelargestcauseofaudiblehumandbuzzesinanaudiosystem.Wewillcoverbothaspects ofanaudioconnection. Audiocomponentshaveeitherbalancedorunbalancedinterfaces.Thoseinterfacesaresimilarinthat theybothhavetwowiresasignalandareference.Thedifferenceis:onabalancedinterfacethe impedancetogroundisthesameforthesignalandreference;whileonanunbalancedinterfacethe impedancetogroundforthesignalisdifferentthantheimpedancetogroundforthereference.Usually thereferenceofanunbalancedinterfaceisconnectedtogroundandtheinterfaceiscalledsingle ended.Thistermisunfortunatebecauseitcanobscurethefactthatitisstillatwowireinterfaceand leaddesignerstoindiscriminatelychooseanyconvenientgroundasareference.Notethatthekindof connecterusedfortheinterfacehasnothingtodowithifitisbalancedorunbalanced;howevermost balancedinterfacesuseanXLRconnectorandmostsingleendedinterfacesuseanRCAconnector.Why wouldyouwanttouseoneovertheother?Theubiquitoussingleendedinterfaceischeapertobuild; whilethebalancedinterfacegivesbetternoiseperformance.Thatbeingsaid,ifyouareusing commercialcomponents,itreallycomesdowntowhatthosecomponentshandyou. Letsstartbylookingatthegroundaspectofinterconnections.

3.1BalancedInterconnections:Grounding
Thegoodnewsis,comparedtoasingleendedconnection,itisrelativelyeasytogetabalanced interconnectionright;thebadnewsis,itisalsoeasytogetitwrong.Infactmany,ifnotmost,ofthe balancedinterfacesavailableonbothcommercialandprofessionalaudioequipmentgotitwrong.[12] Toseewhatcouldgowrongletstakeasidetripintopowersupplies.Itgoeswithoutsayingthatthe largestcontributorofnoisewithinanaudiocomponentisitspowersupply.Iwontgointopowersupply designherebutIwillcoveroneimportantarearipplenoiseonaninternalpowersupplygroundbuss. Figure3.11showsaschematicdiagramofasimplepowersupplywithaninternalgroundbuss.Ripple currentflowsthroughthisbussfromthefiltercapacitorstothecentertapofthepowertransformer. Thereismoreripplecurrentinthecapacitorclosesttothetransformer,withprogressivelylessasthe filterprogresses.Eventhoughthebussmaybeashortwireorprintedcircuittrace,ithasfinite resistancesoanoisevoltageisdevelopedbytheripplecurrentflowingthroughthebuss.Ifsignal referencecurrentisroutedthroughthepowersupplybuss,thisnoisevoltagewillbeimpressedontothe signalbyCommonImpedanceCoupling.

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Figure3.11,Atypicalpowersupply. Nowletsseewhathappenswhenwecombinethispowersupplywithapoorlychosengrounding system,whichisemployedinmanycomponents.Figure3.12showsanexampleofapieceof equipmentthathasaseveregroundloopproblem.Knowingthatthecentertapofthepower transformeristhenoisiestpointinthedevice,thecircuitdesignerconnectsthispointtothechassisat thesamepointthatthesafetygroundconnectstothechassis.Hethinksthatsomehowthiswilldrainall ofthenoisetoearth.Unfortunately,theearthisnotahugeelectronvacuumcleanerinorderfor currenttoflowanywhere,theremustbeareturnpathandavoltagedifferencebetweentheinputand returnoftheloop.Ofcoursethepowersupplymustbeconnectedtotheaudiocircuitsothedesigner dutifullyconnectsthequietestpointonthepowersupplygroundbusstotheaudiocircuitground.Come timetoconnecttheinputXLRconnectortothecircuit,thesignalonpin2andthereferenceonpin3is connectedtothe+andinputsofthedifferentialamplifier.Whattodowithpin1ontheconnector? Well,pin1istheshieldandtheshieldshouldbegrounded,andtheshieldisonthesamecablewiththe signal,sowhynotconnectpin1togroundofthecircuitwherepins2and3areconnected?Okay,done. Thedesignershouldhavebeenthinkingoutsideofthebox(hisownbox)whenhedesignedthis groundingarraignment.Ifhehad,hewouldhaveseenthathehadcreatedagroundloopwiththe attachedcomponent.Theattachedcomponentconnectsthesafetygroundtothecableshield,either directlybythechassis(asitshouldbe),orworse,indirectlythroughalamegroundingarrangementlike theoneinthefirstdevice.Theloopcontainsthepowersupplygroundbussandthesignalreference. Thenoisecurrentonthegroundbusstogetherwiththefiniteresistanceofthebuss,providesavoltage acrossthebusswhichwilldrivenoisecurrentthroughtheloop.Thenoisecurrentthroughtheloop togetherwiththefiniteresistanceofthesignalreferencewilldevelopanoisevoltageinthesignal reference.Nowthatthesignalreferenceisdirtythereisnohopeinachievingacleansignal.

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Figure3.12,ThePin1Problem. NeilMuncyidentifiedthisproblemanddubbeditthePin1ProbleminhisAESJarticle[12]becausepin 1oftheXLRconnectorwasconnectedtothewrongplace.Theshieldandpin1shouldhavebeen connectedtothechassisasshowninfigure3.13ratherthanthesignalreference.

Figure3.13,ThePin1ProblemFix. Byconnectingtheshieldtothechassisratherthanthesignalreference,thereisnolongeraloopfor noisecurrenttoflowinthusthesignalreferenceisclean.Theinternalgroundstructureisstillnotright andIlladdressthatwhenIcoverunbalancedinterconnections. Itisimportantfortheshieldtobeconnectedtothechassisatbothendsforseveralreasons:improved shielding,improvedheadroomandmaximumCMRRasisdiscussedhere.Galvanicisolationprovidesthe possibilityofeliminatingaPin1Problem,itdoesnotguaranteeit.Noticethatthecableshieldprovides asecondpath(withthesafetyground)betweenthegroundsinthetwochassis.Ifeithercomponenthas poorlychosengrounding,aPin1Problemwillsurface.Thereiscontroversyintheproaudiocommunity whethertheshieldofabalancedconnectionshouldbeconnectedatbothendsoronlyatthedriverend. Thereareprosandconstoeachwiththebiggestfactorbeingthecomplexityofinterconnectingalarge 15

professionalsystem.This,togetherwiththelargenumberofdevicessufferingfromaPin1Problemhas ledmanyinstallerstofavorthedriverendonlysolution.Thetechnicalaspectsofthequestionare discussedinasidebarinBillWhitlocksarticleonaudiointerfaces.Ahomestereosystemisalotsimpler thanaproinstillationandthecablesarealotshortertherebygreatlyreducingthecommonmodenoise problem.AssumingthatyoucaneliminateanyPin1Problems,theadvantagesofconnectingtheshield atbothendswinoutinahomestereosystem.However,ifyoucannoteliminateaPin1Probleminan attachedcomponent,thedriverendonlyisaneasysolution.Notethatofftheshelfcableshavethe shieldconnectedtopin1atbothends,soyouwillneedtomodifythecabletoimplementthedriver endonlyconnection.Iprefermodifyingthecableratherthanthewiringofacomponentbecauseat somelaterdateyoumaywanttoattachadifferentcomponentanddontwanttohavetorememberto rewiretheinterface.Itisaloteasiertokeepapairofdriverendonlycablesinyourstashofcables butremembertolabelthemassuch. BeforeIgointosingleendedinterconnectionsIwanttoclarifyonethingaboutsafetygroundinthe figures.Thefiguresshowsafetygrounddirectlyconnectingthetwochassis.Ofcoursethisisnot accurate;ratherbothchassisareconnectedtosafetygroundatthepoweroutlet.Iamassumingthat bothdevicesarepluggedintothesamepoweroutlet,thustheirsafetygroundwiresaredirectly connectedintheoutlet.Ihavedroppedthepoweroutletfromthepicturestosimplifythem.The absolutevalueofthevoltagewithrespecttoearthofthesafetygroundatthepoweroutletisnot germanetothediscussionbecauseitiscommonmodetobothdevices;rememberearthisnota vacuumcleaner.

3.2SingleendedInterconnections:Grounding
Asshowninfigure3.21,asingleendedconnectioncansufferfromanoisygroundloop.Eventhough thereisnoXLRconnectortohaveapin1inasingleendedconnection,theproblemisstillcalledthePin 1Problembecauseitisthesamestructureasthatinabalancedconnection.

Figure3.21,ThePin1Probleminasingleendedconnection. Theproblemisworseinthesingleendedcasethanthebalancedcasebecausetheshieldisalsothe signalreference.Thenoisecurrentthroughtheshielddevelopsavoltageacrossthefiniteresistanceof 16

theshieldandtheresultantnoisevoltageonthereferenceisimpressedonthesignalintheamplifier. Consequently,theproblemishardertofixinthesingleendedcasethanforthebalancedcase.However sinceconnectingtheshieldtothechassissolvedtheproblemforthebalancedconnection;letstakea lookatthat.

Figure3.22,Connectingtheshieldtothechassis. Connectingtheshieldtothechassismayhelpalittlebecauseitshortsouttheloopthatincludesthe cableshield.Howeveritdoesnotsolvetheproblembecauseitcausesanothernoisyloopwithinthe device,thatis:chassissignalreference,noisypowersupplybuss,chassis.Wellhowaboutifwe weretoconnecttheshieldjusttothechassisandnottothesignalreference?Nope,thereisstilla problem;nowthesignalreferenceoftheamplifierisconnectedtothesignalreferenceofthecable throughthenoisypowersupply.Hmmmokay,istheresomethingthatwecandotoreducethenoise currentintheloop?Sure,wecanaddsomeresistancetothelooplikeshowninfigure3.23.

Figure3.23,SafetyLoopBreakerCircuit. TheSafetyLoopBreakerCircuit,asexplainedinRodElliottsarticle,isaclevercircuitthatinsertsahigh impedanceintheloopforlowvoltages,andalowimpedanceintheloopforhigh(fault)voltages.Itis 17

effective;howeveritattemptstoamelioratethesymptomratherthaneliminatetheproblem.The problemistwofoldtheloopandthenoisegenerator;soletsaddressthem.Figure3.24showsa betterpowersupplysolution.

Figure3.24,Acleanpowersupply. Infigure3.24,theinternalgroundbussiscollapsedintoapoint,formingalocalstarground.Bringing everythingtoapointforcesustomakeaconnectiontothatpointnomoremultiplepointconnection overwhichanoisevoltagecouldform.Before,wehadtwoconnections:ahighnoiseoneconnectedto safetygroundandalownoiseoneconnectedtosignalreference.Notethatnowthehighnoisepointis directlyconnectedtothepowercommonwhereitcanbeconnectedtosafetygroundtodraintheAC leakagecurrent,andthelownoisepointisdirectlyconnectedtothepowercommonwhereitcanbe connectedtosignalreference. Apowersupplyisatwoterminaloutputdeviceavoltageandpowercommon.Donotmakeany externalconnectionstointernalpointsinthepowersupply.Ofcourse,ifthepowersupplyproduces bothapositiveandnegativevoltageoutputwithasharedpowercommonthenitisathreeterminal outputdevice.

Figure3.25,Acleanpowersupplyattachedtotheloop. WehavesolvedonesourceofCommonImpedanceCouplingbutthereisstillanotherlurking.Thenext noisegeneratoristheACleakagecurrentfromthepowertransformerthoroughthepowersupplyto powercommon.InthiscasetheSafetyLoopBreakerCircuitmaybedetrimental.TheSafetyLoop BreakerCircuitwillinhibitthiscurrentfromreachingsafetyground,andthecurrentwilltakethepathof leastresistancethroughthesignalreferenceandshieldtofindsafetygroundthroughtheattaching 18

device.Anotherproblemisthatthesignalreferenceisnotdirectlyattachedtothechassissothechassis isnotasaneffectiveshieldasitcouldbe.IllcomebacktotheappropriateuseofaSafetyLoopBreaker Circuitlaterbutfornowletsgetridofitandattachthesignalreferencedirectlytothechassis. UpuntilnowwehavelookedatthePin1Problemonlyonaninputconnection.Letsnowlookatthe problemfromanoutputconnectionperspective.

Figure3.26,Pin1Problemonanoutput. APin1ProblemonanoutputreallyisntanydifferentthanaPin1Problemonaninput.Asweare gettingclosetoafinalsolutionontheinputside,letsapplywhatwehavefoundtotheoutputsideas well.

Figure3.27,Acleanpowersupplyinbothcomponents. Okay,theloopisshrinkingandthereisnolongeranyreasonfortheACleakagecurrenttochoosethe shieldratherthantheSafetyground.Wehaveamelioratedtheconductivecouplingproblembutwestill havearadiatedcouplingproblemsoletstakealookatthatnext.Westillhavetheshieldcurrentgoing tothechassisthroughthesignalreference.Figure3.28showsallofthedifferentgroundsconnected togetherinastarofstarsconfiguration.

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Figure3.28,Starofstars. Itisnowclearthattheshieldandsafetygroundnolongerformaproblematicgroundloopandarenow merelyparallelpaths. Loopsarentbaditdependsonwhatisontheloop.Unlessthereisavoltagegeneratortodrivea currentaroundtheloop,orradiatedcurrentintotheloop,itismerelyaparallelpath.Considerthe parallelshieldsofaleftandrightchannelstereocable.However,parallelpathsdoformaloopantenna andcanpickupRFIbyradiatedcoupling.Thereforeminimizetheuseofparallelpathstoonlywhere necessaryandthenminimizetheareaoftheloop. SpeakingofRFIradiatedcoupling,itispossibleforaudiocablingandinputcircuitrytopickupRFnoise. Inextremecases,shieldingwontresolvetheproblemandmoreaggressivetechniqueslikeRFfilterson theaudioinputsmustbeemployed.AHamsGuidetoRFI,Ferrites,Baluns,andAudioInterfacingbyJim BrownisaparticularlygoodcoverageoffilteringRFI. Thereisstillonethinglefttoaddress:SinceitiscertainthatACleakagecurrentwillflowthroughsafety groundandtheshieldfrombothcomponents,thetwochassisandthusthetwosignalreferenceswillbe atdifferentACpotentials.Thisresultsinsignalnoise:muchlessthanwehadwiththePin1Problem,but stillsomenoise.Wecanreducethevoltagedifferencebetweenthetwochassisbyreducingthe impedancebetweenthem.Firstweusealargersafetygroundwireinthepowercordthelarger,the better.Andofcourseyoucouldevengotoaheftysilverwirepowercord.Second,useashielded twistedpairfortheinterconnectcable,withoneofthewiresinthepair(aswellastheshield)beingthe signalreference.Ifallofthisisnotenough,youcouldconsideraParallelEarthConductor(PEC)APECis simplyaheavywireconnectingthetwochassis.JimBrowncallsthislocalbondinginthisarticle. Figure3.28showsthestargroundsonthechassiswherethesafetygroundcomesin.Thestardoesnot havetobethereanditmaybemoreconvenienttomovethestarontoaPCboard.Acoupleof examplesofthisareshowninfigure3.29.

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Figure3.29,Someoptionsforstargrounding. LetsmoveontothesignalaspectofInterconnections.

3.3BalancedInterconnections:Signal
Asignalinterfaceiscomprisesofasignalandanassociatedreference.Bydefinition,onabalanced interfacetheimpedancetogroundisthesameforthesignalandreference.Mostbalancedinterfaces thesedaysareimplementedwithelectroniccircuits,usuallyopampsorsimilarintegratedcircuits. Classicalbalancedinterfaceswereimplementedwithaudiotransformers,andafewaudiocomponents stillusetransformersontheirinterfaces.Noticethatthetwolinesontheinterfacearecalledsignal andreference.Thesearedifferentfromthesignalreferencegroundwithinthecomponent.

Figure3.31,Balanceinterconnectionwithactivecircuits.Acursorysearchwillprovidemanyavailable activechipsforabalancedinterface.BillWhitlockgoesintosomeofthecircuitsinhisarticlehere. Thereisoneotherissuetobeawareofwithabalancedinterfacewhenbothendshaveelectronic circuitsratherthanatransformerononeorbothends.Eventhoughabalancedinputtakesthesignal betweenthetwoinputswithoutreferencetoaground,itisimportantthatthetwoinputshavea reasonablyclosepotentialtoground,otherwisetheCMRRwillsuffer.Considerforamomentatube differentialamplifierwithbothitsinputstothegridsatplusorminus50volts.Inthisextremecasethe tubeswouldbeeithersaturatedorcutoff.Thus,itisimportanttohaveanestablishedgroundreference betweenthesendingandreceivingcomponents.

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AudioTransformer Atransformer?Yes,atransformer.Transformershavereceivedabadrapforuseinhighquality consumeraudioequipment.Theyaresaidtobelargeandheavy,exhibitpoorfrequencyresponseand distortion,andareexpensive.Astothesizeandweight,wearetalkinglineinputandoutput transformershere,nottubeamplifieroutputtransformers.TheLundahlLL1690lineinputtransformeris PCboardmountedandislighterandsmallerthanmanyhighqualityfilmandfoilcapacitorsthatIuse forcoupling.Asforfrequencyresponseanddistortion,takealookattheJensenJT10KBDwhichis down3dBat0.5Hz(lessthan1Hzfolks!)and180kHz,withlessthan0.001%THDat1kHz.Thesearejust acoupleofexamples;bothLundahlandJensenhaveseverallinetransformersavailabletomeetyour specificneeds.Highqualitytransformersareexpensive;thereisnogettingaroundthat.Yougetwhat youpayforandIsuspectthatmostofthebadreputationhasbeengeneratedbytheuseofcheap transformers.BillWhitlockwrotetheaudiotransformerchapteroftheHandbookforSoundEngineers thatwillgiveyouanopportunitytounderstandaudiotransformers.

Figure3.32,Balancedinterconnectionwithtransformers.Okay,sowhatdoyougetwithatransformer? Galvanicisolationandanexcellentcommonmoderejectionratio(CMRR)arethemainthings,butyou canalsogetfreegainorattenuationandalongwiththatanopportunityforaloweroutputimpedance. Theprimaryadvantageofabalancedtransformerinputversusabalancedactivecircuitinputisavastly improvedCMRR.Thisisexplainedinsection3.2ofBillWhitlocksUnderstanding,Finding,&Eliminating GroundLoopsinAudio&VideoSystems. AgoodintroductiontotheadvantagesofbalancedcircuitsandtransformerinterfacesispresentedinSo YouThoughtYourAmplifierWasBalanced?byAndyGroveandPeterQvortrup.

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Figure3.33,Itdoesntmakeanydifferenceifoneendoftheconnectionhasatransformerwhilethe otherendhasanelectroniccircuit.Theinterconnectionisthesameforallvarietiesofbalanced interfaces.

3.4SingleendedInterconnections:Signal
Theubiquitoussingleendedcircuitisavailableonmostaudiocomponents.

Figure3.41Asingleendedinterconnectionusingelectroniccircuits. Most,ifnotall,singleendedoutputcircuitswillexhibitaDCvoltageoffset,meaningthatthequiescent interfacewillbeatavoltageleveldifferentfromthereference,orshield.Thisvoltageoffsetwillproduce aloudaudiblethumpwhenthecomponentispoweredon.Atbest,thethumpisstartlingandatworst itmaydamageaspeaker.Also,some(notall)volumecontrolscanbedamagedbyDCcurrentovera 23

longperiod.ThereforethedesigneroftheoutputcircuitwillincludeacapacitortoblockDCoffseton theoutput.Becausetherearenostandardsaddressingtheinterface,nottrustingthatthedesignerof theoutputcircuitincludedacapacitor,thedesigneroftheinputcircuitwillalsoincludeacapacitor there.Beinginseries,theeffectivevalueofthecombinationofthetwocapacitorswillbelessthan eitheralone.Therefore,unlessthedesignersgreatlyoversizedthecapacitors,bassresponsemaysuffer. Also,thecapacitorswillinteractwithotherimpedancesinthecircuit,creatingalowpassfilter;thereby affectingthehighfrequencyresponse.Andofcourse,unlessthecapacitorsareofthebestquality,they willdegradethequalityoftheaudiosignal.Thereisawaytoeliminatethecapacitors.

3.42,Asingleendedinterfaceusingtransformers.Atransformerisinherentlyabalanceddevice; howeveritcanbeusedinasingleendedcircuitbyjustgroundingonesideofawinding.

Figure3.43,Singleendedinterconnectionwithtransformerinput. Figure3.43showstwocomponentsinterconnectedwithasingleendedinterface.Thecomponenton therighthasatransformerinputandnoticethattheshield,orreference,isconnectedtoonlythe transformerandspecificallyisnotconnectedtogroundinthatcomponent.Theonlyconnection betweenthegroundsinthetwocomponentsisthroughthesafetyground.Thesignalandshieldthatare connectedtotheprimarywindingofthetransformerareconnectedtothedriverandgroundintheleft handcomponent.Thus,eventhoughthetransformerisphysicallylocatedintherighthandcomponent, itsprimarywindingandthecablearepartoftheoutputcircuitoftheoutputcircuitinthelefthand component.Thesignalconnectionbetweenthecomponentsresidesinthefluxofthetransformerand notinanywires.Thisiswhatismeantbygalvanicisolation.Sincethereisonlyasingleconnection 24

betweenthegroundsinthetwocomponents(bythesafetyground,)galvanicisolationprecludesthe possibilityofanygroundloopsbetweenthecomponents.ThiscompletelyeliminatesthePin1Problem. Thecapacitorontheoutputofthecomponentontheleftinthefigureisstillneededbecause,even thoughthetransformerwillblockanyDCoffset,aDCoffsetmaysaturateasmallinputtransformer. YoumayprovideanRFconnectionbetweenthecableshieldandthechassisontherighthand componentbyconnectinga10nFceramiccapacitorbetweenthechassisandtheshelloftheRCAjack. Keeptheleadsasshortaspossible. Thissameinterconnectionschemecouldbeusedifbothcomponentshadtransformersontheir interfaces;however,inthatcaseitwouldmakemoresensetoimplementabalancedinterface.

Figure3.44,Singleendedinterconnectionwithtransformeroutput. Thetransformeroutputshowninfigure3.44isthemirrorimageofthesingleendedtransformerinput showninfigure3.43.Howeverthereisoneimportantdifferencebetweenthetwoconfigurations:the outputamplifierinfigure3.43hasalowoutputimpedance,whiletheinputamplifierinfigure3.44has ahighinputimpedance.Withahighinputimpedance,theattachedcableandtransformerprimary windingisanantennawhichpicksupRFInoise.Groundingtheshieldatthesourceprovidesalow impedanceandeliminatestheproblem.Thereforeinthiscase,bothendsoftheinterfacemustbe grounded.Dependingonthebiasrequirementoftheinputcircuit,theinputcapacitormaynotbe needed.

3.5MixedInterconnections
Sometimesyouwillhavetwocomponents,onewithabalancedinterfaceandtheotherwithasingle endedinterface;andyouwonderifthereisawayyoucouldinterconnectthem.Yesthereisandwellgo intothatnow. SingleendedtoBalancedInterconnection Thesingleendedtobalancedinterconnectionisprettystraightforward,requiringthatyouonlymakea specialcable.Illskipthecaseswherebothcomponentshavetransformersontheirinterfacesbecause inthesecasesitwouldbebesttouseabalancedinterconnection. 25

Figure3.51,Singleendedtobalancedinterconnections.Inbothofthesecasesthecomponentonthe lefthasasingleendedinterfaceandthecomponentontherighthasabalancedinterface.Theonly differenceisthatwithatransformerintherighthandcomponent,ablockingcapacitorisneededinthe lefthandcomponent.Thecapacitorisoptionalinthecaseofbothcomponentshavingelectroniccircuits ontheirinterfaces.Eventhoughthecomponentontherighthasabalancedinput,theinterconnectionis unbalancedbecauseitisreferencedtoground.

Figure3.52Singleendedtobalancedinterconnectioncable. YouwillneedtomakeaspecialcablefromashieldedtwistedpairwithanXLRconnectorononeend andanRCAconnectorontheotherend.Pin2oftheXLRconnectorisconnectedtothecenterpinofthe RCAconnector,andbothpins1and3oftheXLRconnectorisconnectedtotheshelloftheRCA connector.Thisisimportant;ifpins1and3areconnectedtogetherattheXLRconnectorendinsteadof attheRCAend,thenoiserejectionwillbepoorer. 26

BalancedtoSingleendedInterconnection Thebalancedtosingleendedinterconnectionismorecomplexthanthesingleendedtobalanced interconnection.

Figure3.53,Balancedtosingleendedinterconnectionwithtransformeroutput.Withtheinterconnect schemeshowninfigure3.53wehaveabalancedoutputontheleft,asingleendedinputontheright withthetwointerconnected.Eventhoughthecomponentonthelefthasabalancedinterface,the interconnectionisunbalancedbecauseitisreferencedtoground. Inthiscase,withatransformeroutputonthebalancedinterface,youcanuseaninterconnectcable similartothatshowninfigure3.52.ThiscableiswiredthesamebutthegenderoftheXLRconnectoris oppositeofthecableshowninfigure3.52. Mostequipmentthatprovidebalancedoutputsdosowithdifferentialamplifiersratherthan transformers.Thedifferentialamplifierismostoftentwosingleendedamplifiers,onewithitssignal inverted.Whenasingleendedoutputisdesired,thenegativeoutputisnotused,therebyloosingone halfofthesignal,resultingina6dBdifferenceintheoutputlevelbetweensingleendedversusbalanced operation.Atransformeroutputdoesnotexhibitthis6dBdifferenceinsignallevelbecausethewhole outputsignalisusedforbothbalancedandsingleendedoperation. Nowletsconsiderthecasewherebothcomponentshaveactivecircuitsontheirinterfaces.Thisis wherethecomplexitylies.Agoodexplanationoftheinterconnectionforbalancedandsingleended componentsisgiveninJensensAN003,andIwillpresentasummaryhere. Ihavepurposelyshiedawayfromshowingspecificcircuitsinordertosimplifytheillustrationsandalso tosuggestthattheexamplesaregeneric.Howeveritisimportanttoknowthetypeofcircuitusedfora balancedoutputdriverifyouwanttoconnectittoasingleendedinput.Somecircuitswanttohavethe unusedoutputgroundedwhileothercircuitswanttheunusedoutputleftfloating.Somecircuitswant theunusedoutputgroundedatthedriverendwhileotherswanttheunusedoutputgroundedatthefar end.Thewrongchoicecandegradethesoundorevendamagethecircuit.Ratherthansortoutallofthe possibilities,Iamgoingtosidesteptheissueandgiveyouthebestqualitysolution.Weknowthata transformerinputwillacceptanybalancedoutputcircuitandweknowthatatransformercanbeused

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forasingleendedoutput,soletsputthosetwotogetheranduseatransformerforbalancedtosingle endedconversion.

Figure3.54,Balancedtosingleendedinterconnection. AnofftheshelfversionofthissolutionistheJensenISOMAXPC2XR.Thisunitisspecificallydesigned tointerfacebetweenprofessionalandconsumerequipment.Professionalequipmentusuallyoperatesat a12dBhigherlevelthandoesconsumerequipment,sothePC2XRprovides12dBofattenuationto bettermatchthedevices. Wellcomebacktothis,andsimilardevicesforsomesolutionstothePin1Problem. CompositeInterfaces Wecanseethatthereisnotawholelotofdifferencebetweentheconfigurationsofasingleended transformerinputversusabalancedtransformerinput;likewiseforasingleendedtransformeroutput versusabalancedtransformeroutput.Therefore,forthecostofanadditionalconnectorandaswitch youcanhaveboth.

Figure3.55,Balancedconnectionwithsingleendedconnection. TheinputtransformerisconnectedtobothanRCAjackandanXLRconnectorinparallelandthesignalis providedthroughoneortheotherconnector.Iftheinputissingleended,thegroundfortheshieldis providedbytheattachingcomponent.Theoutputtransformerisalsoconnectedinparalleltobothan XLRconnectorandRCAjack,providingthesignalthroughoneortheotherconnector.Ifasingleended outputisdesired,acableisconnectedtotheRCAjackandagroundprovidedforitsshieldbyclosingthe RCA/XLRswitch.TheswitchisleftopeniftheXLRconnectorisusedtoprovideabalancedconnection. 28

3.6Pin1ProblemRemedy
Eventhoughyouemployallofthepropergroundingpracticesinaudiocomponentsthatyoubuild,you canstillhaveahumifyouattachtoapieceofcommercialequipmentthathasaPin1Problem.You havesomechoicesinhandlingtheproblem. First,youcouldmodifytheoffendingdevicesothatithasapropergroundingscheme.Sometimesthisis notpracticalbecauseofthewaythedeviceisconstructedsothenextbestthingwouldbetoadda SafetyLoopBreakerCircuittotheproblemdevice. Butwhatifyouhaveapieceofvintageclassicequipmentthatyoudontwanttomodifyinanywaysoas nottoimpactitsresalevalue?Thesolutionissimpleiftheequipmenthasabalancedinterfacemerely opentheshieldatthereceiveendoftheinterconnectcable.Asshownonpage27ofthisarticle,itis importanttoopentheshieldatthereceivingendratherthanthesendingendtomaximizeCMRR.You mightwanttoexperimentwithplacinga10nFcapacitorfromtheshieldtothechassis.Keeptheleadsas shortaspossible. Iftheoffendingequipmenthasasingleendedinterfaceyoucanturntoatransformertosolvethe problem.Asdiscussedhere,JensenhasacompletelineofisolatorssimilartotheISOMAXPC2XRthat caninterfaceanytypeofconnectiontoanytypeofconnectionwhilebreakingtheproblematicloop. Itisalwaysbettertosolvetheproblemintheoffendingdevice(bymodifyingit)oronitsinterface(with transformerisolation)ratherthantocompensatefortheproblemintheequipmentthattheoffending deviceisattachedto.WellseewhythisiswhenwecoverinterconnectingequipmentthatuseaSafety LoopBreakercircuitforisolationandalsointhesectionongroundisolation.

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3.7EffectiveInterconnectionSchemes
InthissectionIwillpresentfourinterconnectionschemesthatshouldcoverjustabouteverysituation. IllbeusingsometermsratherlooselysoIlldefinemyusagehere: Class1deviceThisisananalogcomponentthathasitschassisconnectedtosafetygroundand doesnothaveaSafetyLoopBreakerCircuitoraPin1Problem.Itdoeshavesingleendednon galvanicallyisolatedinterfaces. Class2deviceThisisacommercialanalogcomponentthatisdesignedtobesafewithno connectiontosafetyground.Ithassingleendednongalvanicallyisolatedinterfaces.An exampleofaClass2deviceisanycomponentthathasatwoprongpowerplug,orisbattery powered,likealaptopcomputer. SLBdeviceThisisananalogcomponentthathasitschassisconnectedtosafetygroundand hasitssystemstargroundisolatedfromthesafetygroundbyaSafetyLoopBreakerCircuit. Pin1ProblemdeviceThisisananalogcomponentthathasitschassisconnectedtosafety groundanddoeshaveaPin1Problem.Thatis,ithasapoorlychosengroundingsystemthat injectsnoiseintothegroundsystem.Most,ifnotall,towercomputer(notlaptop)soundcards haveaPin1Problem. ComputerThisisacatchallforanykindofdigitalaudiodevicethathasdigitalpowersupplies dumpingalotofnoiseintoitsgroundsystem.AnexampleisanSPDIFinterfacefromacomputer orasatelliteTVsystem.

ThefirsteffectivegroundingschemeisasystemwithallClass1componentsshowninfigure3.71.This isthegroundingschemethatwedevelopedinsection3.2.Thisinterconnectionschemehasasingle levelgroundsystemwithallofthesignalshieldsandsafetygroundsconnectedtothesystemstar grounds. ThisschemeistheonlyoneofthefourthatallowsnoisefromthepowerlineintheformofACleakage currenttoflowinthesignalgroundsystem.Thatnoisewillbetransferredfromtheprimaryofthe powertransformerthroughtheparasiticcapacitorstoboththecoreandframeofthepower transformeraswellaspowercommonasshownintheJuanedaarticleandalsoJensenAN004.However, sincethewholegroundsystemhasalowimpedance,thelevelofthenoisewillbelowandshouldnotbe aproblem.Ifitisaproblem,theimpedancecanbereducedusingParallelEarthConductors(PEC)or localbondingasdescribedbyJimBrownhere.

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Figure3.71,SimplesystemofClass1components. ThesecondeffectivegroundingschemeisasystemwithallClass2componentsasshowninfigure3.72. Thisinterconnectionschemehasasinglelevelgroundsystemwithallofthesignalshieldsconnectedto thesystemstargrounds.

Figure3.72,SymplesystemofClass2components. ThisschemedoesnothaveaproblemofnoisefromthepowerlineintheformofACleakagecurrent becausethegroundsystemisnotconnectedtosafetygroundandthusthereisnoreturnpathforthe leakagecurrent.Withoutapath,therecanbenocurrent.Andofcourse,becausethereisonlyone connectionbetweenthecomponentstheshields,therecanbenogroundloops. ThethirdeffectivegroundingschemeisasystemwithallthecomponentshavingSafetyLoopBreaker Circuitsasshowninfigure3.73.Thisinterconnectionschemehasatwolevelgroundsystemwithallof thesignalshieldsconnectedtothesystemstargroundsformingthefirstlevel.Allofthesafetygrounds areconnectedtothechassisformingthesecondlevel.Thetwogroundlevelsareisolatedfromeach otherbySafetyLoopBreakerCircuits.

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Figure3.73,SimplesystemofSLBcomponents. ThisschemedoesnothaveaproblemofnoisefromthepowerlineintheformofACleakagecurrent becausethefirstlevelgroundsystemisisolatedfromsafetygroundandthusthereisnoreturnpathfor theleakagecurrent.Withoutapath,therecanbenocurrent.Youcanthinkofthefirstlevelground systemasthesameasthegroundsystemintheClass2groundscheme.However,ACleakagecurrent thathasbeeninjectedontothechassisfromthetransformerdoesflowinthesafetygroundcircuit. Ofcourse,nogroundingschemeisveryusefulifitisrestrictedtohavingonlyonetypeofcomponentin thesystem.Soletsseehowwecanmixdifferenttypesofcomponentsinagroundsystem.Wellstart simplywithjusttwointerconnectedcomponentsandthenexpandthegroundingtocoverseveral components.

Figure3.74,InterconnectionofaClass2devicewithanSLBdevice.Asmentionedabove,thefirstlevel groundofanSLBdeviceisthesameasthegroundinaClass2devicesotheyinterconnectwithoutany problem.

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Figure3.75,interconnectionofaClass1devicewitheitheraClass2deviceoranSLBdevice.Thereisno groundloopineitherofthesecases;howeverACleakagecurrentfromthepowertransformersinthe Class2andSLBdevicesisdirectedtoearththroughtheshieldandsafetygroundintheClass1device.If thisisaproblem,theonlyrecourseistoisolatethesafetygroundintheClass1devicefromtheclass2 orSLBdevice.ThismaybeachievedbyeitheraddinganSLBcircuittotheClass1device(therebymaking itanSLBdevice)orgalvanicallyisolatingtheinterconnectionwithatransformer.

Figure3.76,InterconnectionofaPin1ProblemdevicewitheitheraClass2deviceoranSLBdevice. ThereisnogroundloopineitherofthesecasessothePin1Problemisremedied;however,justaswith theClass1caseabove,ACleakagecurrentwillflowthroughtheshield.Thismaypresentmoreofa problemwithaPin1ProblemdevicethanwithaClass1devicebecausetheACleakagecurrentwillflow throughthesignalreferencebeforebeingdirectedtothesafetyground.Thesolutionisthesameasthat oftheClass1deviceabove.

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Figure3.77,InterconnectionofaPin1ProblemdevicewitheitheraClass1deviceoranotherPin1 Problemdevice.ThisistheclassiccaseofaPin1Problemthatwasdiscussedindetailinchapter3.2.The solutionistoeither:modifythePin1ProblemdevicessothattheynolongerexhibitaPin1Problem,or addanSLBcircuittothePin1Problemdevice,orgalvanicallyisolatetheinterfacewithatransformer. Thisisillustratedinfigure3.78.

Figure3.78,SolutionforthePin1Problemdeviceinterconnection. SincethePin1Probleminjectsnoiseintothegroundsystem,themosteffectivewaytoincludesucha componentistogalvanicallyisolateitfromtherestofthegroundsystem.Thesamesolutioneffectively allowsacomputersoundcardtobeattachedtoanaudiosystem.Thegalvanicisolationforthese devicescanbeincorporatedintothecomponentsorprovidedasseparate,externaldevices,suchasthe JensenISOMAX. Inthecaseofthecomputer,sinceacomputersoundcardisnotintherealmofthehighestqualityaudio devices,thereisnoneedtospendthemoneyonthehighestqualitylinetransformertoprovidegalvanic isolation.EDCORhasalineofverygoodlineinputandoutputtransformersthatwillservewellinthis application. AttachingacomputersoundcardtotheSLBgroundingschemepresentsthesameproblemsasin attachingacomputersoundcardtotheClass1groundingscheme.Thebestandtotalsolutionis 34

galvanicisolation.However,foraverysimplesystemasshowninfigure3.79,directlyattachingthe computersoundcardtotheSLBisolatedamplifiermayprovideanacceptablesolution.TheSLBwill inhibitthegroundloop.YouwillstillhavetheproblemofACleakagecurrentfromtheamplifierflowing throughthecomputerbut,sincethecomputersoundcardasapoorlychosengroundstructure,itmay notmatter.

Figure3.79AsimpleSLBsystem. However,ifthecomputerisalaptopthenthereisnoneedforthegalvanicisolationbecausethelaptop doesnothaveaconnectiontothemainspowerandthereforenogroundloop. Thereisoneadditionalproblemtotakecareofherethedirtysafetygroundonthecomputer.Wedo notwanttomixthisdirtysafetygroundwiththerelativelycleansafetygroundoftheaudiosystemso provideaseparateACmainsbranchcircuitforthecomputer. Okay,letssummarizewherewearewiththeinterconnectionsoftwodevices: Letsmoveontointerconnectingthreeormoredevices.Again,aslongasallofthedevicesareofthe sametype:Class1,Class2orSLB,threeormorecanbeinterconnectedwithoutaproblem.Amixof Class2andSLBdevicesmaybeinterconnectedwithoutaproblem.ProblemsarisewhenClass1orPin1 35 Thereisnoprobleminterconnectingdevicesofthesametype:Class1,Class2,orSLB. ThereisnoprobleminterconnectingaClass2devicewithanSLBdevice. ThereisaminorproblemofACleakagecurrentwheninterconnectingaClass1devicewith eitheraClass2deviceorSLBdevice. ThereisaminorproblemofACleakagecurrentwheninterconnectingaPin1Problemdevice witheitheraClass2deviceorSLBdevice.ThemajorPin1Problemisremedied. ThereisamajorPin1ProblemwheninterconnectingaPin1Problemdevicewitheithera Class1deviceoranotherPin1Problemdevice. ASafetyLoopBreakercircuithelpsalotandmayprovideanadequatesolution. Atransformerwillprovideisolation,solvingthePin1ProblemandtheACleakageproblem.

ProblemdevicesareintroducedintoaClass2orSLBgroundingsystem.WhenthereisonlyasingleClass 1orPin1Problemdeviceinthesystem,thesituationisthesameasforinterconnectingtwodevicesas discussedabove.ItgetsinterestingwhentwoormoreClass1orPin1Problemdevicesareintroduced intotheClass2orSLBgroundingsystem. WhenwedirectlyattachaClass1devicetoaClass2groundsystemwecausethewholegroundsystem tobeconnectedtosafetyground,therebyloosingtheinheritgroundisolationinaClass2system. WhenwedirectlyattachaClass1devicetotheSLBfirstlevelgroundsystem,wecausethefirstlevel groundsystemtobedirectlyconnectedtothesecondlevelgroundsystem.Thisnullifiesthebenefitof alloftheSafetyLoopBreakerCircuitsinthesystem.WenowhavewhatamountstoaClass1grounding system.Wedonthaveanimmediateproblembecausewedonthaveanoisegeneratorinanyloop.We dohaveaproblemwaitingtohappenwhenaPin1Problemdeviceisaddedtothesystem.Thisisshown infigure3.710.

Figure3.710,AgroundloopbypassingtheSLBcircuit. ThegroundloopflowsbetweenthePin1ProblemdeviceandtheClass1device,bypassingtheSLB circuit.ThenoisevoltageisimpressedonboththeshieldfromthePin1Problemdeviceaswellasthe shieldtotheClass1device.Thingscangetprettycomplexandthisfiguredoesntevenhintatthe complexity.TheSLBdevicecanactuallybeseveralinterconnectedSLBdevicesandtheClass1devicecan beanywhereinthesystemaninputoranoutput.Thegroundloopproblemcanbehardtodiagnose. Forexample,sayyouhadasystemcomprisedofallSLBdevicesexceptforasinglePin1Problemdevice. ThereisnoproblembecausetheSLBisolationisintactandthegroundloopisbroken.Now,youbuya newcomponentthathappenstobeaClass1deviceandinstallitinthesystem.Nowyouhavehumthat youdidnthavebefore.Youtakethenewcomponentoutofthesystemandthehumgoesaway.You wouldhavereasontosuspectthatsomethingwaswrongwithyournewcomponent,whiletheproblem isreallycausedbythatPin1Problemdevicethathadbeeninyoursystemallalong.BillWhitlocks articleUnderstanding,Finding,&EliminatingGroundLoopsinAudio&VideoSystemscontainssome greattechniquesthatyouwillneedtoisolatetheproblemdevice. ThinkingthatifoneSafetyLoopGroundingcircuitisgood,twowouldbebetter,somedesigners separatelyisolatethecomponentinputandoutput,eachwithitsownSLBcircuit.Thisdoesisolatethe

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inputfromtheoutputbutunfortunatelycomeswiththecostofincreasingthegroundnoisewithinthe component.WellseehowthishappensinthesectiononGroundIsolation. Oftenthepreamplifieristhecentralcomponentintheaudiosystem,withasingleoutputandmany inputs.IfboththepreamplifierandamplifierareSLBdevices,youcanensurethattherecanbeonlyone Class1orPin1Problemdeviceinthesystematanytimebyswitchingtheinputgroundsalongwiththeir associatedsignals. Otherthanthat,wearebacktogalvanicallyisolatingtheproblemcomponentwithatransformer. Iknowthatyouhavebeenwonderingabouttheforthschemeandthinkingthattherearethreekindsof peoplethosethatcancountandthosethatcantcount.Welltherereallyisaforthsystemanditisthe ultimatesolutionforsystemgrounding.Thissolution,whichisshowninfigure3.711,iscenteredona preamplifierthathasallofitsinputandoutputsgalvanicallyisolated.Sinceeverythingisgalvanically isolated,itdoesntmatterwhatisconnectedtothepreamplifier.YoucanmixClass1,Class2,SLB,Pin1 Problems,andcomputersnoneofthegroundsareinterconnected.ThepreamplifiermaybeaClass1 oraClass2oranSLBdevice,althoughitreallydoesntmakeanysensetomakeitanSLBdevicebecause thereisnoreasontobreakthesafetygroundcircuit.Noticethatthecomputerispluggedintoa separatebranchofthemainspowertoreducetheearthnoiseinthesystem.

Figure3.711,Agroundingschemecenteredonanisolatedpreamplifier. DidIsaythattherewerefourschemes?Wellthereisreallyafifth.Thatisaschemewheretheisolated preamplifierschemeisturnedinsideoutwithalloftheattachingcomponentshavinggalvanically isolatedinterfaces.Inthiscase,thepreamplifierdoesnotneedtohaveisolatedinterfaces.The attachingdevicesmaybeClass1,Class2,orcomputers.TheycannothaveaPin1Problembecauseof theirgalvanicisolation.Again,itdoesntmakeanysensetohaveagalvanicallyisolateddevicefurther 37

isolatedwithaSafetyLoopBreakerCircuit.Icurrentlyusethisgroundingschemeinmypersonalaudio system.Thisschemeisshowninfigure3.712.

Figure3.712,Agroundingschemeinvolvingisolateddevices.

3.8Cables
Cablesareascienceofthemselvesandtogetanideaofsomeofthecomplexityinvolved,youcanread Pin1RevisitedbyJimBrown,SCIN,alsobyJimBrownandchapter9ofMorrison.Howeverthegood newsisthatintherelativelybenignenvironmentofthehomeandwithshortcablesusedinhomeaudio installations,cablesdonotneedtobeacriticalfactor.Iwilltouchonafewimportantfactorsthough. CablesbothradiateenergyandareaffectedbyEMIfromotherdevices.EMIhastwocomponents,an electricfieldandamagneticfield,andtherearedifferentaspectsofacablethatwilleffectively counteractbothofthesefields.Electricfieldsareblockedbythecableshieldandagoodshieldforthat isthewovencoppertypethetightertheweave,thebetter.Atwistedpairofwiresisrelativelyimmune fromamagneticfield,soyouwillwanttouseshieldedtwistedpairforallofyourcables.Thisiseven goodforthepowercable,althoughyouwillwantheaverwireforthisapplication.Anotherimportant factoristheDCresistance,orlowfrequencyimpedanceofthegroundwireswewantthataslowas possible.Wesawwhythisisimportantbackinchapter3.2whenweinterconnectedthecomponents.

3.9OtherInterconnections
Mymotherusedtosay,gesturingatsomethingIhadfound,Donttouchthat,youdontknowwhereit hasbeen!Digitalaudiosignalsarekindoflikethatyoudontknowwheretheyhavebeen.Oftenthe sourceofthesignalwillhaveaswitchingpowersupplythatisdumpingtonsofnoiseintotheground system.Exampleswouldbeacomputerorvideosystem.Forbestresults,thedigitalsystemshouldbe isolatedfromtheaudiosystemasmuchaspossibleforbothpowerandsignal.Eachshouldbepowered fromseparatepowerlinebranches.Theisolationforthesignalwilldependonwhattheinterfaceis.As poorasaToslinkisformanyreasons,itdoesprovidegalvanicisolation.AnSPDIForAESinterfaceshould 38

beisolatedwithapulsetransformer.AUSBinterfaceisalittletougher.Ifyouaredesigningyourown interface,youcanuseoptoisolatorsorGMRisolators,orconverttheinterfacetoSPDIFanduseapulse transformer.Ihaventusedany,butthereareplentyofexternalUSBisolationdevicesavailable.Thomas Kugelstadtsarticle,Whengoodgroundsturnbad!isagoodoverviewoftheproblemofinterfacing withdigitaldevicesandwhatyoucandotoalleviatetheproblem.AlthoughthearticleusesanRS485 datalinkforanexample,theconceptsarevalidforanydigitalinterconnectionscheme. Eventheanalogsignalshaveproblems:accordingtoJimBrowninhisRFIarticleVirtuallyallcomputer soundcardshavePin1Problems. CableTVisanotherproblemareaforcausinghuminanaudiosystem.Almostallcablegroundsareata differentlevelthanthemainssafetygroundandneedtobeisolatedwithanRFisolator.SatelliteTV systemscanalsocauseaproblemandneedtobeisolated,howevertheseneedadifferenttypeof isolatorfromtheCATVisolator.Asearchoftheinternetwillturnuplotsofoptions.

3.10InterconnectionSummary
1. Provideadedicatedbranchpowerline,oratleastabenevolentlyloadedone,foraudio components. 2. Plugallaudiocomponentsintothesamepowerstriporpoweroutlet. 3. Provideaseparatebranchpowerlineforcomputers,TVsoranyotherdeviceshavingswitching powersupplies. 4. Provideisolatedinterfacesforconnectionsbetween: a. Theaudiosystemandotherdevices,likecomputersorTVs. b. Pin1Problemdevicesandanyotheraudiocomponent. c. Class1componentandaclass2component. Isolationmaynotbeneededforthiscase. d. Class1componentandanSLBisolatedcomponent. Isolationmaynotbeneededforthiscase. 5. Loopsarentbaditdependsonwhatisontheloop. 6. Useshieldedheavygaugetwistedpairinterconnectcables. 7. Makeamapofyoursystemgrounds. Understanding,Finding,&EliminatingGroundLoopsinAudio&VideoSystemsbyBillWhitlockhasalot ofgreatinformationonsolvinginterconnectionproblemsinaudiosystems.

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Chapter4GroundStructurewithinaComponent
Sofar,forsimplicityIhaveincludedonlyasinglesignalreferenceandpowersupplyineachdevice. However,mostcomponentsarecomprisedofseveralcircuitboards,eachwithitsowngrounding schemeincorporatingbussesorstarsonthem.Thesearetheninterconnected,togetherwithoneor morepowersuppliesandthechassis.Thiscangetquitecomplexanditisagoodideatomakeamapof thegroundstructureandpowerstructurewhendesigningapieceofaudioequipment.Individual groundsandpowerlinesshouldberoutedascarefullyandpurposelyastheaudiosignals. Inanutshell,aproblemcanoccurwhentwogroundssharethesameconductor(perhapsbynecessity) orsomethingisconnectedtothewrongground.Systemgroundingmaybeestablishedusingastar structure,astarofstars,abussarraignmentoracombinationofthose.Manyproblemsareeliminated wheneverygroundisconnectedtoasinglepointstargrounding.However,thisisoftenimpracticable: Thebestwecanhopeforisastarofstarsapproachwithindividualstarsconnected. Itsallaboutcontrollingthepathsgroundcurrent(ofanykind)shouldgoonlywhereitisneeded. Likewise,powercurrentshouldgoonlywhereitisneeded.

4.1GroundingRules
Herearesomerulestohelpyouplanyourgroundingstructure.Thefirstfourrulesarefromwhatwe learnedaboutinterconnectingequipment. Rule1:Eachofthefollowingmustbeconnectedtothesystemstargroundbyoneandonlyoneroute. Allsignalreferences Allpowercommons Shieldsofnongalvanicallyisolatedsingleendedinputsandoutputs Safetygroundandchassis.Thesafetygroundandchassisshouldbethoughtofasasingleentity.

Theconnectionmaybedirect,orindirectthroughastarofstarsorbuss.Thisisexpandedupon below. ThesafetygroundandchassismaybeconnectedtothesystemstargroundthroughaSafetyLoop BreakerCircuit. Theoneandonlyonepartofthisruleprecludesgroundloops.Thereisnoexcuseforaground loopwithinasinglecomponent. Rule2:Theshieldofabalancedinputoroutput(XLRpin1)mustbeconnectedtothechassisatoras closeasispossibletotheconnector. Rule3:Theshieldofasingleendedinputoroutputthatisnotgalvanicallyisolatedmustbedirectly connectedtothesystemstarground. Theshieldisthesignalreferenceinthecable 40

Rule4:Anycircuitassociatedwithaninputoroutputthatisnotgalvanicallyisolatedmusthaveits signalreferencedirectlyconnectedtothesystemstarground. Rule5:Themainssafetygroundmustbedirectlyconnectedtothechassis.FromIEC60950,Thewireis terminatedwithaclosedloopconnectorwhichisfixedtotheearthingstudorscrewwithastarorlock washerandanut.Otherpartsoftheproductthatneedtobeearthedareconnectedbyclosedloop connectorstothesamestudandlockedwithanadditionalnut.Itisimportantthattheearthwirefrom thepowersupplycordislocatedatthebottomofthestudandlockedwithitsownnut.Theearthing studmustnotbeusedforanypurposeotherthanearthing.Itcannotbeused,forexample,forthe mechanicalfixingofpartsotherthantheearthconductors.Itsmechanicalstructuremustalsobesuch thatitcannotbeloosenedfromoutsidethedevice.Forexample,itcannotbeapostfixedwithascrew fromoutsidetheproduct. Rule6:Eachsignalreferencemustbedirectlyconnectedtoitspowerreference. Thatis,nocircuitmayhaveitssignalreferenceconnectedtoitspowercommonthrough anothercircuitssignalreferenceorpowercommon.Thisruleallowsforastarofstarswiththe signalreferenceandpowercommondirectlyconnectedtogetherinastarandthatstar connectedtothesystemstar(eitherdirectlyorthroughabuss). Rule7:Circuitsmaybegroupedtogetherwiththeirsignalreferencesformingabuss. Theorderofthegroupingisnotarbitrary.Justasthesignalisroutedalong,stagetostage,the associatedsignalreferencecanberoutedwiththesignalbetweenstages.Keepthesignalandits associatedsignalreferenceelectricallyclosetogether;theyshouldbetreatedasapair.This minimizestheriskofnoisebeinginjectedintothesignalreference. Oneendofthebussshouldbeconnectedtothesystemstarground,eitherdirectlyorbyastar ofstars.

4.2GroundingExamples
Nowletstakealookatsomeexamples.

Figure4.21,Anexampleofpropergroundroutingwithagroundbuss. 41

Figure4.21showsaDigitaltoAnalogConverter(DAC)withanSPDIFinputandsingleendedanalog output.Eachofthepowersupplieshasasinglepowercommonoutputandeachofthecircuitshasa singlesignalreferenceoutput;allconnectedtoagroundbuss.Thuswehaveabussofstarswhichin turnisconnectedtothesystemstarground.Theordertowhicheachattachmentismadetothebussis important,flowingalongwiththesignalfrominputtooutput.NoticethatnoneoftheGroundingRules areviolated.Inanimplementationofthisexample,theremaynotbeaseparatephysicalbussthatcan beidentified.Rather,thebussisformedfromordinaryprintedcircuittracesandregularhookupwire betweenPCboards.Itisthestructurethatcreatesthebuss. Figure4.21alsoshowsseparatepowersuppliesfortheDACandtheamplifier.TheDACismostlydigital electronicsthattendstoreflectdigitalswitchingnoisebackintoitspowersupply,particularlyonthe powercommon.Thereforeitisagoodideatokeepthispowercommonseparatefromanalogsignal referencesorthepowercommonofanalogsupplies. Nowletschangeonethingandseewhathappens.IamnotanadvocateforanSPDIFinterfacewithout apulsetransformer,butthereareplentyofthemouttheresoforthisexampleIwillremovethe transformerandbringtheSPDIFinterfacedirectlyintotheDAC.

Figure4.22,Apoorlychosengroundingscheme. ImsurethatyouseethatwenowhaveaPin1Problem.Rule3isbrokenbyconnectingtheinputshield tothebussratherthantothesystemstarground.Rule4isbrokenbyconnectingtheDACcircuitsignal referencetothebussratherthandirectlytothesystemstarground.Okay,letsfixthegroundingsothat thoserulesarenotviolated.

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Figure4.23,Awellchosengroundingscheme. Infixingthosetwothingswehavetransformedthegroundingstructureintoastarofstars.This illustratesanimportantconceptanydevicethathasbothsingleendedinputsandoutputs(thatare notgalvanicallyisolated)cannotuseagroundbussstructure.Thisisbecausethesignalreferencesfor boththeinputcircuitandoutputcircuitmustbedirectlyconnectedtothesystemstargroundand addingagroundbussbetweenthemwouldformagroundloop.Anotherexampleofsuchacomponent istheubiquitoussingleendedpreamplifier.Groundingproblemswithapreamplifiermaywellbethe sourceofthemyththatastarofstarsistheonlyacceptablegroundingscheme. Letstakealookatanotherexample,thistimeapoweramplifier.Usingagroundbussstructureina poweramplifierhasbeenaroundforalongtimeandispopularwithJapaneseamplifierconstructors.

Figure4.24,apoweramplifierusingagroundbuss. ThefirstthingtonoticeisthattheshelloftheinputRCAjackisnotisolatedfromthechassis.Rather,itis effectivelythesystemstarground.Theorderofattachmenttothebussisimportantwiththebuss startingattheinputjackandendingatthenegativespeakerjack.Thequietestcircuitsareconnected closesttotheinputjack,withtheprogressivelynoisiercircuitstowardsthespeakerjack.An implementationofthisexamplewillhaveareadilyidentifiablebuss,usuallyaverythickbaresolid copperwire.Anexampleofthistechniquecanbeseenhere.

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Allofthisisnottoarguethatagroundbussissuperiortoastargroundorviceversa,ratherbothare toolsthatcanbeeffectivelyusedinanappropriatesituation.Starsareeasiertoimplementbecauseyou donthavetoworryabouttheorderofconnectionslikeyoumustonabuss.Furtherinformationon implementingstargroundsandgroundbussesisinRandallAikensarticlehere.

4.3PowerSupplyChassis
Whenshouldyouputthepowersupplyandamplifierinseparatechassis?Firstofcourseisiftheunitis physicallytoolargeforasinglechassis.Thesecondreasonisfornoiseimmunityforexample,aphono preamplifierwithasensitiveinputstage.Orperhapsyouhaveahugepowertransformerthatis radiatingalargemagneticfieldandyouneedtophysicallyseparateitfromtheamplifier.Thereisno groundingreasontohaveseparatechassis. Thenextquestionishowshouldtheybeseparated?Theanswerissimple;andobviousifyouthink aboutit.Eventhoughthetwodevicesarephysicallyintwochassis,theyshouldbethoughtofastwo partsofasinglechassisinterconnectedwithacable.Designyourgroundingandmakeamapofthe groundingandpoweronapieceofpaper.Thendrawalinearoundwhatyouwantinthepowersupply chassis(orviceverse,whatyouwantintheamplifierchassis).Anythingthatcrossesthelineisinthe cable.Thisisshowninfigure4.31.Thecableshieldextendsthechassisshieldbetweenthetwochassis andshouldbeconnectedtoeachchassisatorascloseaspossibletotheconnector.Thesafetyground wireinthecableisconnectedtoeachchassisatitssystemstarground,therebyextendingthesafety groundfunctiontothesecondchassis.Becarefuloftheroutingofthesafetygroundwirethatconnects thetwochassisitshouldtakeasdirectarouteaspossibleandlieclosetothechassis.Useaconnector withapinthatmakesfirstandbreakslastforthesafetyground.Itwouldbeagoodideatouseatwisted pairforthewirescontainingpowerandpowercommontocutdownthesusceptibilitytoradiated magneticEMI.

Figure4.31Aseparatepowersupplychassis. Thepowersupplychassismaycontainmorethanonepowersupply.Eachpowersupplyshouldhave individualpowerandpowercommonlineswitheachpowercommonconnectedtoitsdestinationinthe amplifierchassis.Thedestinationmaybeastarground,agroundbussoranindividualsignalreference. Thealternativeofconnectingallofthepowercommonlinestothestargroundinthepowersupply 44

chassisandthenrunningasinglesharedpowercommonwiretotheamplifiersuffersfromCommon ImpedanceCoupling.Also,youmaywantthedifferentpowercommonwirestogotoseparateplacesin theamplifier. Apowersupplychassiscanservicemorethanoneamplifierchassis.Inthiscaseacablewiththe completesetofpower,powercommon,safetygroundandshield,shouldrunbetweenthepowersupply chassisandeachamplifierchassis.Ifapowersupplyinthepowersupplychassisservestwo(ormore) amplifierchassis,itspowercommonshouldbeconnectedtothedestinationineachamplifierchassis.

4.4InputSwitching
Therewasatimewhenitwasthevoguetoswitchbothwires,signalandground,ofsingleendedinputs. Idontknowwherethiscamefromperhapsitwasjustacopycatofswitchingbalancedinputs.Or perhapsitwasanattempttokeepamyriadofdirtygroundsfromcorruptingthesignalreference.In anyevent,nowthatwehavecleanedupthegrounds,itmaynotnecessarytoswitchthegrounds. Howevertherestillareacoupleofcaseswhereswitchingboththegroundandsignalmayhelp: Switchingthegroundshelpswithcrosstalkandbleedthroughbetweentheinputs.Cleaningup thegroundsshouldhelpthis.Ifthereisstillaproblemyoucanconnect(witharelay)a50 resistorbetweenthesignalandsignalreferenceofallinputsexceptthatwhichisselected. ACleakagecurrentflowingthroughtheinterconnectshieldmayposeaproblem,particularlyin Class2andSLBdevices.Remember,whentheinterconnectshieldsarenotswitched,allofthe groundsinthesystemareconnectedtogetherinamesh.

4.5InputJacks
TheRCAjackofasingleendedconnectionisusuallyisolatedfromthechassisandtheshieldis connectedtothestarground.Itmaybebeneficialtoconnecta10nFceramiccapacitorfromtheshellof theRCAconnector(shield)tothechassis.ThisprovidesadirectpathforRFnoisefromtheshieldtothe chassisrightwheretheshieldentersthechassis.

4.6VolumeControls
Volumecontrolsarepotentiallyasourceofhumandnoisefromtwocauses:first,byradiatedcoupling intotheresistiveelement,andsecond,byinappropriatechoiceofcircuitconnections.Theradiated couplingiseasilysolvedbyensuringthatthebodyofthecontrolisgroundedtothechassisthroughits metalmountingbushing. Volumecontrolsonnongalvanicallyisolatedinterfacesareuniqueinthattheyareintheoutputcircuit ofonecomponentandalsointheinputcircuitofanothercomponent.Theyworkbycommon impedancecouplingbetweenthetwocircuits.Thereforekeepinmindthattherearetwoseparatesignal loops,aninputsignalloopandanoutputsignalloop.Itisimportanttokeepthetwoloopsseparatein thegroundingsystem.Thisisbestaccomplishedbyconnectingthereferenceendofthevolumecontrol potentiometertothesystemstarground.

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Figure4.61,Volumecontrolsonanonisolatedinput. Whentheinputisgalvanicallyisolateditisnolongernecessarytoconnectthevolumecontroltothe systemstarground.Itshouldbeconsideredaspartoftheamplifiercircuitandreferencedtothesignal referenceofthatamplifier.

Figure4.62,Volumecontrolsonisolatedinputs.

4.7GroundingTransformers
Differentkindsoftransformershavedifferentgroundingrequirements.Sometimesatransformerwill haveaninternalshieldbetweenthewindingsandthiswillgiveyouahinthowthetransformershould begrounded.TheshieldistoinhibitcapacitivelycoupledACleakagecurrentbetweenwindingsand betweenwindingsandtheframe.Sometimestheshieldisconnectedtotheframeandothertimesithas aseparatewire.Whatisonthewindingbeingshieldedwilltellyouwheretogroundtheframeandthe shield.TheideaistogettheACleakagecurrentnoisebacktowhereitcamefrominasshortapathas possible.So,forexample,theACleakagecurrentfromtheprimaryofapowertransformercamefrom themainspowerlineandshouldbereturnedtoearth,sothetransformerframeshouldbeconnectedto thesafetyground. Theframeofthepowertransformerinaclass1component(withchassisconnectedtosafetyground) mustbeconnectedtosafetygroundjustmakesurethatthereisagoodcontactbetweenthe transformerframeandthechassis.Itdoesntmakesensetogroundthepowertransformersinaclass2 componentbecausesincethereisnoconnectiontosafetyground,thereisnowheretobleedtheAC leakagecurrent.Also,perhapsthetransformerisnotintendedtobegroundedaspartoftheisolation design.Therefore,groundedorungrounded,thepowertransformerinaclass2deviceshouldbeleftas itis. 46

Someaudiooutputtransformercircuitsprovidebetterperformancewiththetransformerframe groundedwhileothersworkbetterwiththetransformerframeungroundedsoyouwillneedto experimenttodeterminewhichisbetterforaparticularcase.Theleakagecurrentinapoweramplifier outputtransformercamefromtheoutputstagepowersupplyandthus,ifthetransformeristobe grounded,theframeshouldbeisolatedfromthechassisandawireattachedtotheframeshouldbe returnedtothepowercommonofthatoutputstage. Speakingofoutputtransformers,thenegativeterminaloftheoutputshouldbeconnectedtothepower commonoftheoutputstage. Theoutputwindingsoflineoutputtransformersandtheinputwindingsoflineinputtransformersdont needtobegrounded.Lookingbackonthechapterontransformercoupledinterfaces;youwill rememberthatgroundingonesideoftheinterfacecreatesasingleendedinterfaceandthegrounding schemesarecoveredthere. Somelineinterfacetransformershaveacentertapwhichmaybegroundedforabalancedinterface.I wouldrecommendgroundingthecentertapofonlythesendingendgroundingbothendsmaycreate agroundloop.Eventhoughtheprimarywindingisfromtheoutputdriver,Iwouldnotrecommend groundingthecentertaptotheoutputdrivepowercommonbecausethiswouldallowthepossibilityof aPin1Problemiftheotherendwerealsogrounded.Rather,Iwouldrecommendusingthesystemstar groundinthiscase.

4.8GroundIsolation
Somepeoplebelievethatitisnecessarytoisolatethesystemstargroundfromthechassisandsafety groundinordertohaveahumfreeaudiosystem.However,ifallofthecomponentsinthesystemhave theirgroundingimplementedproperly,thereisabsolutelynoneedforgroundisolation,Although isolatingthegroundsmayeliminateagroundloop,itdoescomewithtwopenalties:First,sincethe signalreferenceisnotdirectlyconnectedtothechassis,thechassisisnotaneffectiveshieldforthe electronics.Second,sincethepowercommonisisolatedfromthesafetygroundandconnectedtothe signalreference,anyACleakagecurrentfromthepowersupplymayflowthroughthesignalreference togettothesafetygroundinanothercomponent. Ifyoumustisolatethegrounds;never,ever,foranyreason,disconnectasafetygroundorfailtoprovide asafetygroundinanyequipmentthatyoubuild.First,itisunsafeandsecond,thereareequally effectivemethodsofisolatinggroundsthatdonotcomewiththesafetyhazard.Figure4.81showstwo suchmethods.

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Figure4.81,Groundisolation Firstistoprovideagroundliftswitchbetweenthetwogroundstobeisolated.Thisdoessuchagood jobofisolatingthegroundsthatitprecludescurrentfromanelectronicshortcircuitfromblowinga fuse.Thisisillustratedinfigure13. AbettersolutionistoprovideaSafetyLoopBreakerCircuit(SLB).Thiscircuitwillallowthecurrentfrom afaulttoflowtothechassisandalsoprovidegroundisolationundernormal,nonfaultconditions.Inhis article,RodElliottstatesthataSafetyLoopBreakerCircuitmaynotbelegalinsomeplacessoyou shouldcheckthisoutbeforeyouusethiscircuit. Thebestsolutionforgroundisolationistoemploygalvanicisolationonprobleminterconnections. Acomponentwithaproperlydesignedgroundingsystemwillnothaveanyinternalgroundloops. Therefore,thereisneveranyreasontoisolategroundswithinacomponent. LetstakeacloserlookathowtheSafetyLoopBreakercircuitworkstoseewhyIsayitisathirdchoice, behindfixingthegroundloopproblemorgalvanicallyisolatingthegroundloopwithatransformer.Ill startwithdissectingtheproblemsoastobetterunderstandwhatisgoingon. GroundLoopSuppression

Figure4.82,Theideal,asshowninthelefthandcircuit,istohavethesignaltransferredunchanged 48

fromthesendingcircuittothereceivingcircuit.However,ifthereisnoiseinthesystem,asshowninthe righthandcircuit,thesignalreferenceridesonthenoiseandthesumofthesignalplusnoiseis presentedtothereceivingcircuit.

Figure4.83,Showinghowthenoiseisaddedtothesignalbycommonimpedancecoupling.Letssay, forexample,thattheinterconnectshieldconnectingthetwosignalreferenceshasanimpedanceof1 Ohmandthelevelofthenoiseis1Volt.The1Voltacross1Ohmwillcauseanoisecurrentof1Ampto flow,andthe1Voltofnoisewillbepresentedtothereceivingcircuit.NotethatIrefertotheimpedance intheloopratherthantheresistanceintheloop.Thisisbecausethenoisespectrumisspreadacrossa widefrequencyrangeandtheimpedanceathigherfrequenciesisoftenmoresignificantthanthe resistance.Forsimplicity,Iassumeforalloftheseexamplesthatthenoisesourcehasaninternal impedanceofzeroOhms.Ofcourseitwillhavea(verylow)finiteimpedanceofsomeinternalground wiring.RefertoChapter3.1foranexampleofanoisegenerator.

Figure4.84,Addingimpedancetothenoiseloop.InthisexampleIhaveadded9Ohmsofimpedanceto thenoiseloopforatotalof10Ohmsofimpedance.Theimpedancemaybeaddedinthecomponent withthenoiseorintheattachingcomponent.Thenoisevoltageisstill1Volt;howeverthe1Voltacross 10Ohmsofimpedancecausesonly0.1Ampofnoisecurrentintheloop.The0.1Ampofcurrent throughthe1Ohmimpedanceoftheinterconnectshielddevelopsonly0.1Voltofnoisetobe presentedtothereceivingcircuit.Wehavethusreducedthenoisethatthereceivingcircuitseesbya factoroften.Notethatnoneofthenoisehasdisappeared;theremaining0.9Voltsofnoiseisdropped acrosstheadded9Ohmsofresistance.Thereisanimportantdifferencebetweenthetwocircuitsin figure4.84.Inthelefthandcircuit,theaddedimpedanceisunderthenoisesourcesothatsignal referencesareclosetosafetyground;thereforethenoisevoltageonthegroundsystemislow.One signalreference(beingaclass1device)isatgroundwhiletheotheris0.1Voltsaboveground.Inthe 49

righthandcircuit,theaddedimpedanceisintheattachingcomponentsothatthesignalreferencesare raisedaboveground.Onesignalreferenceis1Voltabovegroundwhiletheotheris0.9Voltsabove ground.Inbothcasesthereis0.1Voltsbetweenthesignalreferencesbutthelefthandcircuithasa muchlowergroundnoise.Thenoiseonthegroundsystemisnotimportanttothisonesignalbecauseit iscommonmode,butnoiseonthegroundsystemmaybecomeaproblemifotherconnectionsinthe systemallowthisnoisetoflowtootherareas.Wellseesomeexamplesofthislater.Althoughitisa tradeoff,itisbestifnoiseontheindividualsignalaswellasnoiseonthegroundsystemarebothkept aslowaspossible.Therefore,whenthereisachoice,itisbettertoinstalltheaddedimpedanceinthe circuitcontainingthenoisesource.Wehavebeentalkingaboutisolatinggrounds;howeverwereallyare isolatingthenoisegeneratorthegroundisolationisanartifactofthat. Thustheconclusionisthattheaddedimpedancehelpsreducethenoisebyinhibitingthenoisecurrent inagroundloop;howeveritdoesnoteliminatetheproblemaswouldgalvanicisolationorfixingthe groundloopproblem.Noneofthenoiseiseliminateditisjustmovedtoapartofthecircuitwhereit willhavelessofanimpactonsignal. Well,if9Ohmsisgood,whynotadd90Ohmsor900Ohmsofimpedance?Thiswouldfurtherreduce thenoiselevel;howeverthereisanother,moreimportant,factortoconsiderthatofsafety.Ifan electricalfaultoccurstherecanbeaveryhighvoltagepresentacrosstheimpedance.Weneedtokeep thegroundimpedancelowsothatmostofthefaultcurrentwillflowthroughthegroundcircuitrather thanthroughanexternalroute,forexample,aperson. SafetyLoopBreakerCircuit TheSafetyLoopBreakercircuitpresentedinRodElliottsarticleaddressesthisissueofgroundnoise differently.Insteadofaddingimpedancetothegroundloop,Rodscircuitsubtractsvoltagefromthe pointinthecircuitwhereitisinserted.Thisisaccomplishedwithapairofdiodes(insideabridge rectifier)inparallelopposition;thatis,theanodeofeachisconnectedtothecathodeoftheother. ThesediodespreventthevoltageacrosstheSafetyLoopBreakercircuitfrombeinggreaterthan1diode voltagedrop(0.6Volts).Aswiththesimpleresisterexampleshownabove,noneofthenoisehas disappeared:thediodeswilldrop0.6Voltsandanyremainingnoise(overthe0.6Volts)isdistributed acrosstheimpedanceinthecircuit.Ifthevoltageacrossthecircuitislessthan0.6Volts,thenthediodes willnotconductandthecircuitworksbyaddingimpedancetotheloopwitha10Ohmresistoracross thecircuit.Thisresistoralsolimitstheimpedancebetweensafetygroundandtheinternalgroundbuss. Also,Intheeventofanelectricalfaultthatplacesahighvoltageontheinternalgroundbuss,thediodes willkeepthevoltageonthebussfromexceeding0.6Volts.Thereisa100nFcapacitoracrossthecircuit toreduceRFIproblems.Letstakealookathowallthisworks.

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Figure4.85,Weneedtothinkintermsofvoltageshere.TheSafetyLoopBreakercircuitdrops0.6Volts ofthe1Voltnoisevoltage,leaving0.4Voltstobedroppedacrosstheimpedanceinthecircuitthe interconnectshield.Inthelefthandcircuit,theSafetyLoopBreakercircuitisunderthenoisesourceso theSafetyLoopBreakercircuitdrops0.6Volts,leaving0.4Voltsonthesignalreference.Theother signalreferenceisat0Volts(ground).Intherighthandcircuit,theSafetyLoopBreakercircuitisinthe attachingcomponentsothatthesignalreferencehasthe0.6Voltsofnoisethatisdroppedbythe circuit.Theothersignalreferencehas1Voltofnoiseonit.Inbothcasesthereis0.4Voltsbetweenthe signalreferencesbutthelefthandcircuithasamuchlowergroundnoise. WhatwouldhappenifweinstalledaSafetyLoopBreakercircuitinboththecomponentwiththenoise aswellastheattachingcomponent?

Figure4.86,HereisanexampleoftherebeingnotenoughvoltagearoundtheloopfortheSafetyLoop Breakercircuitstodrop0.6Voltseach.Thevoltagesandcurrentarenowestablishedbythe impedancesintheloop.Thenoiseontheinterconnectshieldbetweenthetwocomponentshasbeen reducedbyalmostafactoroftenandthenoiseonthegroundsystem,0.48Voltsontherightand0.52 Voltsontheleft,isabouthalfwaybetweenthetwocasesshownabovethateachhaveasingleSafety LoopBreakercircuit. Theseexampleswithasinglenoisesourceandonlytwocomponentsareprettysimple.Morecomplex caseswithmultiplecomponents,multiplenoisesourcesandisolatedSafetyLoopBreakercircuitsare shownbelow. 51

MultipleGroundLoops Now,strangethingshappenwhenweaddadditionalcomponentstothesystem.Thisiswherewesee theeffectofgroundnoiseinthesystem.

Figure4.87,AthirdcomponentwithaSafetyLoopBreakercircuitaddedtothesystem.Thisexampleis anextensionofthatshownaboveinfigure4.86.Component1andcomponent2areexactlythesame with1Voltofnoisebeinggeneratedincomponent1.Thedifferenceisthatathirdcomponent,exactly thesameascomponent2isaddedtothesystem.TheSafetyLoopBreakercircuitsincomponents2and 3areinparallel,effectivelyloweringtheimpedanceintheloopthatispresentedtothenoisegenerator incomponent1.Theresultispoorernoisereduction.Notonlyhasthenoiseontheshieldofthe interconnectcablebetweencomponents1and2increased,butthenoiseonthesignalreferenceof component2ispassedalongontheshieldoftheinterconnectcabletocomponent3.Notethatthe totalnoiseimpactingthesignalacrossthesystemisthesumofthenoisebetweencomponents1and2 plusthenoisebetweencomponents2and3.Sothetotalnoiseis0.09Volts(0.06+0.03)almosttwice theamountpresentwithoutcomponent3.Becausethisnoiseisonthegroundsystem,itisalways presenteverywhereinthesystemevenifadifferentsignalisselectedtobeactive(forexampleina preamp).Okay,sowhatwouldhappeniftheaddeddevicewereaclass1devicewiththereference directlyconnectedtothesafetyground?

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Figure4.88,Athirdcomponent,whichisaclass1device,attachedtothesystem.Thisexampleisthe sameasthatinfigure4.87exceptthatcomponent3isaclass1device.Thenoiseperformanceinevery areaisworsethanifcomponent3hadaSafetyLoopBreakercircuit.Thisisbecausetheclass1device effectivelynullifiestheSafetyLoopBreakercircuitincomponent2.Now,aninterestingthinghappensif weswapcomponent2withcomponent3.Thecomponentsarethesame,justtheirpositionhas changed.

Figure4.89,Thenoiseontheshieldoftheinterconnectcablebetweencomponents1and2isabout twicethatasinthecaseshowninfigure4.88butthetotalnoiseasseenbycomponent3isaboutthe same(0.4Volt+0Voltversus0.21Volt+0.19Volt.)Theimportantdifferenceisthatnowtheground systemisclean.NotethattheSafetyLoopbreakercircuitincomponent3isredundantanditdoesnt makeanydifferenceifitisthereornot.Wearebacktowherewewereinfigure4.85. TheconclusionfromtheaboveisthataddingasecondSafetyLoopBreakercircuitintheattaching componentcanhelpthenoiseonanindividualinterface,butattheexpenseofnoiseontheground system.AddingadditionalSafetyLoopBreakerscircuitstothesystemmayactuallybedetrimental. Includingaclass1deviceinthesystemprovidesacleangroundsystemattheexpenseofincreasingthe noiseontheindividualinterface.

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MultipleNoiseSources Letsnowtakealookatwhathappenswhenthereismultiplenoisesourcesinthesystem.

Figure4.810,Twointerconnectednoisesources.Becausethetwonoisesourcesaresimilarbutnot identical,thenoisevoltageswillsometimesaddandsometimessubtract.Thepowerofthetwonoise signalswilldirectlyadd,whilethevoltageswilladdasthesquarerootofthesumofthesquaresofthe twonoisevoltages.Theresultisthateachnoisesourcecontributes0.7Ampofnoisecurrentandthe combinedeffectproduces1.414Voltsofnoiseacrossthe1Ohmresistor.

Figure4.811,Nothingunusualhere;oneSafetyLoopBreakercircuithelpsalittleandtwocircuitshelpa lotmore. Aswithasinglenoisesource,thingsgetinterestingasweaddadditionalcomponentstothesystem.

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Figure4.812,AsingleSafetyLoopBreakercircuitwithtwonoisesources.Thisexample,aswellasthe followingexampleshowninfigure4.813,isthesameastwocircuitsshowninfigure4.85backtoback. Inthisexamplebothcomponents1and3have1Voltnoisesourcesandcomponent2hasaSafetyLoop Breakercircuitinsertedintobothgroundloops.Thediodesinthiscircuitclampthevoltageacrossitto 0.6Volts;thereforeeachcableshieldhas0.4Voltsofnoise.Notethatthetwonoisevoltagesdonot addinthiscasebecausethetotalvoltageislimitedto0.6Volts. WhatiftheSafetyLoopBreakercircuitswereinthecomponentswiththenoiseratherthaninthe attachingcomponent?

Figure4.813,SafetyLoopBreakercircuitsinthenoisycomponents.Thedifferencebetweenthis exampleandthepreviousisthatcomponent2isnowaclass1componentwithitssignalreferences connectedtosafetyground.Thesignalreferencesofcomponents1and3are0.4Voltsawayfromthis ground.Thus,thegroundsysteminthisexampleisalotquieterthanthatoffigure4.812.Thisismost importantifcomponent2wereapreamplifierwithothercomponentsattached.Thenoiseonthe groundsystemisseenbyandthusaffectsallcomponentsinthesystem. Okay,butwhatifcomponent2alsohadaSafetyLoopBreakercircuit;wouldntthatbeevenbetter? 55

Figure4.814,AnexampleoftheinteractionofthreeSafetyLoopBreakercircuits.Theanalysisofthis getsmessybecausethetwonoisesourcesinteractthroughallthreeoftheSafetyLoopBreakercircuits. Theresultisthatyoutradeoffalittlenoiseontheinterfacesforalotmorenoiseonthegroundsystem. YoucanaddorremoveSafetyLoopBreakercircuitsatdifferentpointsinthesystembuttheproblemis thatbothnoisesourcescontributetoeachotherthroughsharedimpedancesandneedtobeisolated fromeachothersothattherearenosharedimpedances. Theconclusionfromtheaboveisprettymuchthesameaswithasinglenoisesource:AddingaSafety LoopBreakercircuitintheattachingcomponentinadditiontothatinthenoisycomponentcanhelpthe noiseonanindividualinterface,butattheexpenseofnoiseonthegroundsystem.Includingaclass1 deviceinthesystemprovidesacleangroundsystemattheexpenseofincreasingthenoiseonthe individualinterface. Okaythen,wouldithelptoputaseparateSafetyLoopBreakercircuitoneachinterface?

Figure4.815,SeparateSafetyLoopBreakercircuits.Atfirstglancethislooksprettygoodeachcable shieldhasonly0.05Voltsofnoisejustlikethecircuitinfigure4.86.Howeverthereisaproblemlurking internallyincomponent2thatwillbecomeobviousifweredrawthatportionofthecircuit. 56

Figure4.816,Internalgroundstructureofcomponent2.Weseethatalthoughthenoisevoltageon eachsignalreferenceisprettygood,thatwehave0.68Volts(0.48Voltsx1.414noiseadditionfactor)of noisebetweenthetwosignalreferences.ThisisfarworsethanwithasingleSafetyLoopBreakercircuit andisalmostthesameaswithnoSafetyLoopBreakercircuitatall!Bytheway,thisexampleshows whattheresultcanbewhenviolatingGroundingRule4thesignalreferencesmustbothbeconnected tothesystemstarground.Okay,letsjustconnectthetwosignalreferencestogetherthatshouldfix theproblem.Nopewhatwenowhaveisthesameasthecircuitinfigure4.814exceptthatthetwo10 Ohmimpedancesarenowinparallelmaking5Ohms.ThisreducestheeffectivenessoftheSafetyLoop Breakercircuitsuchthatthecombinednoisevoltageonthereferencesisnow0.51Voltsandthenoise voltageacrosseachinterconnectshieldimpedanceis0.28Voltsjustabouttheamountofasingle SafetyLoopBreakercircuit. ThustheconclusionisthatyoucandonobetterthanwithasingleSafetyLoopBreakercircuitina component. TheconclusionsaboutaSafetyLoopBreakercircuitare: Thecircuitdoesnoteliminate,orevenreduce,noiseitmovesthenoise.Thenoisemaybe movedtoaplacewhereitdoesnotaffectthesignal.However,thenoisemaybemovedtoa placewhereitdoesaffectthesignal;wherethenoiseismoveddependsonwherethecircuitis located. Acircuitlocatedinadevicecausingthenoisealwayshelps. Inasystemcontainingonlytwocomponents,thedevicecausingthenoiseandtheattaching device,addingacircuittotheattachingdevicealsohelps. Inasystemcontainingmorethantwocomponents,addingacircuittotheattachingdevicehurts thenoiseperformance.Thisisbecausesomeofthenoiseismovedtothegroundsystem. Ithurtsthenoiseperformancetohavemorethanonecircuitinadevice.Thisisbecausethe noisewillbemovedtotheinternalsignalreferenceinthatdevice. ThustheconclusionisthattheSafetyLoopBreakercircuithelpsreducethenoisebyinhibiting thenoisecurrentinagroundloop;howeveritdoesnoteliminatetheproblemaswouldgalvanic isolationorfixingthegroundloopproblem.Noneofthenoiseiseliminateditisjustmovedto apartofthecircuitwhereitwillhavelessofanimpactonsignal. 57

4.9ConstructionSummary
1. 2. 3. 4. Followthegroundingrulesinsection4.1. Makeagroundmapandcarefullydesignthegroundstructureusingstarsandbusses. Powersuppliesaretwoterminaldevices.Donottapintotheinternalcircuitry. UseSafetyLoopBreakercircuitsonlywheretheyareneeded.

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Chapter5Conclusions
AudioComponentGrounding
Mostgroundingproblemsarecausedbysomethingbeingconnectedtothewronggroundorground currentflowingwhereitisnotneeded.Wronggroundimpliesthatthereismorethanonekindof groundandIdifferentiategroundsasfollows: Safetygroundthisistheseparate(greenorgreen/yellow)wireinthepowerlinegoingbackto thecircuitbreakerpanel.Itisconnectedtoearthatthepanel. ChassisandcableshieldsTheseprovideprotectionfromelectrostaticfields. PowercommonThisisthe0Voltreferencefromthepowersupply. SignalreferenceThisprovidesapointofreferenceforthesignalinacircuit.

Thesegroundsneedtobeconnectedtogetherinaveryspecificmanneraspartofthedesignofa componentgroundingstructure.Groundingshouldbedesignedascarefullyasanyotherpartofthe componentandIencourageyoutomakeamapofthegroundingstructuretoshowupanypotential problems.Herearesomerulestohelpyouplanyourgroundingstructure. Rule1:Eachofthefollowingmustbeconnectedtothesystemstargroundbyoneandonlyoneroute. Allsignalreferences Allpowercommons Shieldsofnongalvanicallyisolatedsingleendedinputsandoutputs Safetygroundandchassis.Thesafetygroundandchassisshouldbethoughtofasasingleentity.

Theconnectionmaybedirect,orindirectthroughastarofstarsorbuss.Thisisexpandedupon below. ThesafetygroundandchassismaybeconnectedtothesystemstargroundthroughaSafetyLoop BreakerCircuit. Theoneandonlyonepartofthisruleprecludesgroundloops.Thereisnoexcuseforaground loopwithinasinglecomponent. Rule2:Theshieldofabalancedinputoroutput(XLRpin1)mustbeconnectedtothechassisatoras closeasispossibletotheconnector. Rule3:Theshieldofasingleendedinputoroutputthatisnotgalvanicallyisolatedmustbedirectly connectedtothesystemstarground. Theshieldisthesignalreferenceinthecable

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Rule4:Anycircuitassociatedwithaninputoroutputthatisnotgalvanicallyisolatedmusthaveits signalreferencedirectlyconnectedtothesystemstarground. Rule5:Themainssafetygroundmustbedirectlyconnectedtothechassis.FromIEC60950,Thewireis terminatedwithaclosedloopconnectorwhichisfixedtotheearthingstudorscrewwithastarorlock washerandanut.Otherpartsoftheproductthatneedtobeearthedareconnectedbyclosedloop connectorstothesamestudandlockedwithanadditionalnut.Itisimportantthattheearthwirefrom thepowersupplycordislocatedatthebottomofthestudandlockedwithitsownnut.Theearthing studmustnotbeusedforanypurposeotherthanearthing.Itcannotbeused,forexample,forthe mechanicalfixingofpartsotherthantheearthconductors.Itsmechanicalstructuremustalsobesuch thatitcannotbeloosenedfromoutsidethedevice.Forexample,itcannotbeapostfixedwithascrew fromoutsidetheproduct. Rule6:Eachsignalreferencemustbedirectlyconnectedtoitspowerreference. Thatis,nocircuitmayhaveitssignalreferenceconnectedtoitspowercommonthrough anothercircuitssignalreferenceorpowercommon.Thisruleallowsforastarofstarswiththe signalreferenceandpowercommondirectlyconnectedtogetherinastarandthatstar connectedtothesystemstar(eitherdirectlyorthroughabuss). Rule7:Circuitsmaybegroupedtogetherwiththeirsignalreferencesformingabuss. Theorderofthegroupingisnotarbitrary.Justasthesignalisroutedalong,stagetostage,the associatedsignalreferencecanberoutedwiththesignalbetweenstages.Keepthesignalandits associatedsignalreferenceelectricallyclosetogether;theyshouldbetreatedasapair.This minimizestheriskofnoisebeinginjectedintothesignalreference. Oneendofthebussshouldbeconnectedtothesystemstarground,eitherdirectlyorbyastar ofstars.

AudioComponentInterconnection
8. Provideadedicatedbranchpowerline,oratleastabenevolentlyloadedone,foraudio components. 9. Plugallaudiocomponentsintothesamepowerstriporpoweroutlet. 10. Provideaseparatebranchpowerlineforcomputers,TVsoranyotherdeviceshavingswitching powersupplies. 11. Provideisolatedinterfacesforconnectionsbetween: a. Theaudiosystemandotherdevices,likecomputersorTVs. b. Pin1Problemdevicesandanyotheraudiocomponent. c. Class1componentandaclass2component. Isolationmaynotbeneededforthiscase. d. Class1componentandanSLBisolatedcomponent. Isolationmaynotbeneededforthiscase. 60

12. Loopsarentbaditdependsonwhatisontheloop. 13. Useshieldedheavygaugetwistedpairinterconnectcables. Understanding,Finding,&EliminatingGroundLoopsinAudio&VideoSystemsbyBillWhitlockhasalot ofgreatinformationonsolvinginterconnectionproblemsinaudiosystems.

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BibliographyandReferences
Books
[1] GroundingandShieldingTechniquesinInstrumentation,RalphMorrison. Thisbookiscompleteandexplicitwithlotsofexamples.Itisverytechnicalandnotacasual readbutisessentialtothoroughlyunderstandthesubject.Itisnowinits5theditionandis expensive,althoughearliereditionsareavailableused.Pagereferencesinthisarticlearefrom the3rdedition. [2] SolvingInterferenceProblemsinElectronics,RalphMorrison. Pagereferencesinthisarticlearefromthe1stedition. [3] NoiseReductionTechniquesinElectronicSystems,HenryW.Ott. LikeMorrison,thisbookisanexcellentreferenceforthesubjectmaterial.Pagereferencesin thisarticlearefromthe1stedition. [4] ElectromagneticCompatibilityEngineering,HenryW.Ott Asignificantupdateandexpansionof[3]Getthisbookevenifyouhavehisearlierone. [5] through Reservedforfutureentries [10]

Publications
[11] JournaloftheAudioEngineeringSociety,Volume43,Number6,June1995. Thiswholeissueisonshieldsandgrounds. [12] SusceptibilityinAnalogandDigitalSignalProcessingSystems,NeilA.Muncy JAES,Volume43,Number6,June1995Pages435453 MuncyintroducedthePin1Probleminthispaper [13] BalancedLinesinAudioSystems:Fact,Fiction,andTransformers,BillWhitlock JAES,Volume43,Number6,June1995Pages454464 [14] AES482005AESstandardoninterconnectionsGroundingandEMCpracticesShieldsof connectorsinaudioequipmentcontainingactivecircuitry. [15] ElectromagneticcompatibilityTheartofgrounding,BrentHertz AESpreprint3041(G1)February,1991 Groundinginthestudioenvironment [16] EN60065Audio,VideoandSimilarElectronicApparatus,SafetyRequirements [17] through Reservedforfutureentries [20]

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ArticlesontheInternet
InterconnectionofBalancedandUnbalancedEquipmentBillWhitlock Hum&BuzzinUnbalancedInterconnectSystems,JensenAN004,BillWhitlock ANewBalancedAudioInputCircuitforMaximumCommonModeRejectioninRealWorldEnvironments BillWhitlock Understanding,Finding,&EliminatingGroundLoopsinAudio&VideoSystemsBillWhitlock SubtletiesCountinWideDynamicRangeAnalogInterfacesBillWhitlock SoundSystemInterconnection,RaneCorp.TechnicalStaff GroundingandShieldingAudioDevices,RaneNote151,StephenMacatee ConsiderationsinGroundingandShieldingComputerControlledAudioDevices,StephenMacatee Pin1Revisited,JimBrown SCIN:ShieldCurrentInducedNoise,JimBrown AHamsGuidetoRFI,Ferrites,Baluns,andAudioInterfacing,JimBrown Adifferentperspectiveontheproblem.AparticularlygoodcoverageoffilteringRFI. PowerandGroundingforAudioandVideoSystems:AWhitePaperfortheRealWorldInternational Version,JimBrown.Anexcellentintroductiontothesubject,fromtheprofessionalaudioperspective, butalotapplicablefortheadvancedhobbyist. GroundLoops,D.Self Groundloopshowtheyworkandhowtodealwiththem. StarGrounding,RandallAiken CommonModeChokeTheory TheTwoPointEarthMethod InsidetheSakumaAmplifier EarthingYourHiFiTricksandTechniques,RodElliott AgooddescriptionoftheSafetyLoopBreakerCircuit. BlockingMainsDCOffset,RodElliott Earthing ShortintroductiontotherequirementsforaClass1device. GroundLoopProblemsandHowToGetRidofThem,TomiEngdahl Groundand(safety)Earth,EricJuaneda Goodcoverageofparasiticcurrents InternationalSafetyStandardforInformationTechnologyEquipment,IEC60950 Whengoodgroundsturnbadisolate!ThomasKugelstadt AnalogApplicationsJournal,3Q2008,page11 RemovingGroundNoiseinDataTransmissionSystems,ThomasKugelstadt SoYouThoughtYourAmplifierWasBalanced?AndyGroveandPeterQvortrup Goodintroductiontotheadvantagestobalancedcircuitry,andparticularlytransformerinterfaces.

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RevisionHistory
Date May29,2009 June1,2009 June13,2009 June29,2009 July3,2009 July9,2009 July20,2009 July30,2009 September7,2009 April23,2010 May1,2010 Version 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 Revision Base ExpandedoncomputerattachmentInEffectiveInterconnection Schemes. RestructuredtheEffectiveInterconnectionSchemessection. Minoreditorialchanges AddedConclusionschapter ChangedInputSwitchingsection. AddedsectiononSafetyLoopBreakercircuit Restructurechapter3forbetterreadability Addreferencetot.i.AnalogApplicationsJournal. Correcttypo Restructurechapter3toeliminateduplicateheadingnumber Updatefigures11,12,13forclarity Generalcleanup Fixtypographicalerrors Fixseveralfigures Updatereferences Updatereferences

June17,2020

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