Will it ever end

[barona]

Well I did it, I did all the research I could (thanks to various threads on this site) and came up with either the HTS3600 or HTS5100. Both fit my power and hook-up needs and decided if I'm going to make the purchase I might as well think of the future and go bigger so I ended up with the 5100 (and I liked that added amp reading disply).

Anyway, even though many online companies say they honor manufacturers warranties my local guy said "don't trust them, Monster won't keep a lifetime warranty from online purchases because they are not authorized dealers"

So, I took his word for it and said "I'll take one, they only had a floor model left so I did save a few bucks and get it for $658.00 with tax and full dealer warranty.

Now I get this thing home, take 2 hours to rearrange the components and hook everything back up, power the system on and I hear a low "hummmm" from the speakers. Just my luck, so I bust out the manual and there it says in the troubleshooting my exact problem and that something on that circuit must not be grounded properly. Well crap, I unplug everything around the house I could think of on that circuit and that annoying "humm" still eminates from the speakers. I guess it's time to call that friendly neighborhood electrician to run a designated outlet.

[SteveG]

Does your system include cable TV or a grounded antenna? If so, try disconnecting them, and try connecting them through the 5100 f-connectors, which lift the ground. Often, the biggest problem with an old, ungrounded electrical system comes when you try to integrate it with a cable tv system that was properly grounded by the installer. There is a big enough ground potential between my old electrical system and my cable TV feed to really zap you. I finally ran some modern three-wire 20 amp circuits to my home theater and computer, but before that I eliminated the hum by disconnecting the cable TV from my system.




Steve Goff

[barona]

It is a new townhouse built in 2001. I'm running satellite and I followed the specific instructions for grounding so that in case I get zapped Monster will honor the warranty. I am running a powered signal splitter that I bought from Radio Shack. It takes the two LNB lines and splits into four. So the connection is from dish to Monster 5100 to splitter to satellite box. Could that be a problem??

[David Meek]

Possibly. Satellite (and cable) installers are notorious for setting a separate ground for their systems instead of using the already existing house ground. If you have two grounds, that is a very likely cause for your hum. If so, switch your satellite ground over to the house ground and see if the problem persists.




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[barona]

Well this past weekend I took some time to trace the lines in the basement because I did have a ground loop (the problem went away as soon as I unhooked the satellite feed) I found the incoming ground from outside and it runs accross the basement to the incoming water line. So I thought "bingo", I run a 10gauge wire as directed from that connection to the dish and problem solved.......WRONG....still a humm.

I went back to the store I bought the Monster from because I had to drop off the Rotel upgrade cable and was talking to the salesman and he said 9 times out of 10 if you buy that $.39 adapter from 3 prong to 2 it will clear it up....WRONG...still a humm.

It has reached the point of comical...I'm going to call an electrician since there are a few in my area who do free estimates, I'll keep checking back to any advice on this thread and will keep you all posted as to the outcome. Maybe it could help someone in the future.........

[David Meek]

Good luck. I hope the resolution doesn't cost too much.

[barona]

Problem has been solved.....
It turned out to be the powered satellite splitter from Radio Shack. When I was troubleshooting before I unplugged both LNB lines AND the splitter power at the same time instead of individually. For now I just plugged the splitter into the wall by itself, I'll get another strip surge suppressor for that.

By the way, I really got motivated to find the problem on my own when a few of the electricians told me a $150 service call would have to be honored for my type of problem....YIKES......