Extreme Audio 1: House Wiring
Here is a five-volume set on improving the sound of your home entertainment system. Each volume is a $2.99 e-book download from Amazon.com. See http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=rastocny&x=16&y=21
Volume 1 - House Wiring. You plug in your system without even giving it a thought: the outlet is fine, right? Well, most likely it is not, even in those dedicated lines you run to the gear. Since electricians bid jobs and the lowest bid usually wins, these folks cut corners to quickly go from one job to the next. Time is money for these people and as a result things get done according to code, but not the best way for your system. Find out what to do and how to have this easily reworked, even without running a dedicated line.
Volume 2 - Line Filtering. You thought you were done in Volume 1 by cleaning up the messy wiring issues. But internal and external noise sources still exist and this tells you how to systematically identify and lower or eliminate their effects. Also covered is one commonly overlooked ground loop.
Volume 3 - Chassis Leakage. So you've changed the power plug from the amp to the wall or added a cheater plug to the system and the noise went away. So what was really going on? This tells you exactly the issue, how to test for it, and how to fix it properly.
Volume 4 - Interconnect Cables. Every cable sounds different. Other than the obvious materials used, every really wonder why? This tells you one reason and how your best cables can potentially be further improved. Also explains what ground loops are, and how to locate and resolve them.
Volume 5 – Speaker Wires. Just as with interconnect cables, speaker wires can sound slightly different from each other. Other than the obvious materials used, every really wonder why? This tells you several reasons and how your best speaker wires can potentially be further improved. Also explains what the three basic reactive components of all wires are, and how to use this information to make wise choices.
Each volume builds on earlier work. Volume 2 assumes Volume 1 tips are done, Volume 3 assumes tips in Volumes 1 and 2 are done, etc.
These five Volumes may tell you more than you want to know about power, grounding, and ground loops in your system. I have seen few articles as in depth as these and none as easy to understand.
One company has gone into business on this subject alone eliminating noise in large home video theaters. Before calling them, you could save thousand dollars by giving these a try.