Question for those powering their QC with Cioks, did it solve weird grounding issues?
I’m playing with headphones. I experienced a significant reduction in noise once I kept the machine plugged into a computer, but the QC itself is still plugged into the wall via the manufacturer wall wart.
I’m starting to suspect that there is still a weird grounding problem because I’m getting static buildup on the plastic pickguard on my Tele. I can’t touch it without crackles and pops. The wiring has been inspected. The guitar is grounded within itself properly, and I have the same problem on another Tele. If I put a metal pickguard on either of them, I get tone suck on each, which shouldn’t be happening. It was suggested to me that this could be a capacitance issue caused by weird grounding. Since the guitars have been confirmed as problem free, I’m wondering if the issue is coming from the QC.
The QC grounding, in my humble opinion, is faulty.
I have to permanently connect it to a PC via a 5 metre cable purely to reduce hum 'n buzz: I can’t find any other way. This isn’t right - my Helix and Kemper are hum 'n buzz free without having to do this sh*t.
If you power the QC with the Cioks DC7, the headphone ground noise is gone.
With the original wall-wart, if you just connect guitar and headphones, you’ll hear ground noise.
If you connect to your audio interface via balanced cables (I tried TRS), the ground noise is gone.
I got the DC7 to power both the QC and a handful of pedals.
Not cheap… but it is a solution.
I agree. This is a premium unit that shipped without a ground. That’s not okay. And they’ve been promising a grounded supply for, what, eight months?
I personally feel that the grounding is still faulty with the unit plugged into the computer. The noise is much diminished, but I have weird things happening that don’t happen otherwise. It’s weird.
Did you find any other weird problems even with the unit plugged into an interface? I have it into the USB of my computer, which got rid of a bunch of noise, but I’m still having anomalies that I suspect might still be related…
Which anomalies? My qc is connected to my computer and I don’t have noise issues but when touching the casing of the qc I sometimes feel a slight fizz (probanly wrong word but you know what I mean). No electrical shock but just slightly feeling there is some electricity on it.
I have heard good results with those that purchased the GlobTek (Part: 1939-1233-ND) grounded power supply (less than $25 shipped in the US). Note, it does not come with the IEC power cable which you need to purchase or probably have laying around anywhere (standard 3 prong computer cable).
I personally never had any power related noise issues since day one (even with just headphones plugged in etc.) but for the owners that do have odd power issues in their homes etc., this resolved those noise anomalies. The PS comes with multiple barrel tips and I believe the largest yellow tip was the winner. If you get that PS, just ensure you verify correct polarity with a DMM prior to snapping it in all the way etc. I purchased mine from Digi-Key as I wanted a more robust PS and it came highly recommended. Good luck!
The extreme hum problem when turning the QC off, is more like a floating ground problem than a ground loop.
“For smoother switching, the XLR Outs use optical switches to lift the ground, and the default mode when these are not powered is open, so the grounds are lifted when the power is turned off.”
But I suspect that the implementation of the balanced outputs feeds current to the outputs from the PSU when turned off.
I have some ideas for solving it, ranging from cheap resistors to isolation transformers.
But I must first try what works without destroying common mode rejection (CMR) on the outputs.
Hi, I am using cioks dc7 permanently or will run off the cioks expander 4 and power supply. All grounding issues resolved. I still think someone needs to commission an isolated power supply which solves this problem. I guess there would be calls for it to be free… I do not agree and would happily pay for an improved isolated power supply that cleans up dirty electric to the quad. The power supply that comes with the unit is sub standard it would be great if we could start finding a solution and move on … many other products supply upgraded aftermarket parts after release. It is not a big deal . If you don’t want to buy it and are happy with what you have then leave it on the shelf.
Model: TR9CE3000T00-IMR6B
It comes with several barrel tips and I believe you would use the largest yellow tip.
If you purchase, it does not come with the IEC (normal computer type power cable) you should push the tip in half way and ensure the polarity is correct (center negative) with a digital multimeter first before pushing the tip in all the way etc. It will make sense when you see the plug tips etc. Hope that helps!
Yes, you can affect the hum problem when QC is turned off by replacing the PSU but to fully resolv it, you have to do something about the floating ground when the QC is in the off state.
I think that all kinds of isolation transformers (1:1) will do the trick. But I have to do some tests to confirm that it works.
Hey I just ordered one, thanks for the link. Did it take care of any noise issues? The Globtek is out of stock with no indication of when they’ll have stock again. Thanks.
The way I understand it, the floating ground was done on purpose to avoid ground loops when connected to other equipment.
And for me, it works very well so far, I had no issues at all when connected, i.e. when rehearsing with my band or playing live.
The downside is that you may face noise issues when you’re not connected to other equipment, like when practising with headphones at home.
I personnally prefer to have a bit of noise when playing with headphones (which I seldomly do, admittantly) than when playing live.
So from my point of view, the design choice was good…
That’s exactly what I also read somewhere officially from NDSP. QC gets its ground from other gear. Not from the supplied PSU. The DC7 does a good job when the QC is not connected to anything else but guitar and headphones.
I just ordered one, thanks for the link. Did it take care of any noise issues? The Globtek is out of stock with no indication of when they’ll have stock again. Thanks.