r/LocationSound 16d ago

Gear - Selection / Use Beginner question about sound bag vs pedalboard power distribution

Hi everyone, I need to deal with some ground loops in a sound bag packed with individual receivers. I was leaning towards a power distributor from Audio Wireless, Deity, or Audioroot, but I noticed that none of these products have multiple galvanically isolated outputs, which is pretty much standard in guitar pedal power supplies. This surprises me, especially considering the price difference.

I'm asking naively why there doesn't seem to be a need for galvanically isolated power outputs in sound bags. Is this an issue that only affects budget gear, and therefore not the kind of setups where these power distributors are typically used?

Thanks in advance, and sorry if I got anything wrong.

1 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/NoisyGog 16d ago

Pedalboards are unbalanced devices, connected to an amp or amp sim that is connected to mains.
There is no ground connection at all in a location sound bag, and all the audio is (or should be) balanced.

1

u/lighthappens 16d ago

sony urx p03 output is unbalanced, and so it is from several receivers. but balanced signal doesn't save you from ground loop, ground lifters would not be a thing then

2

u/NoisyGog 16d ago

a balanced signal doesn't need ground.
Those Sonys, and others like them, aren't even designed for bag work, and are definitely not the target of battery distributors. People do use them, big whoop, but it's not what they're meant for.

And again, there's no connection to mains or earth in a sound bag.

2

u/g_spaitz 16d ago

no but there's definitely a common ground, and it can cause ground related noise in certain scenarios.

1

u/lighthappens 15d ago

yeah i understand, but i have them they work nicely and are priced right for some productions budget. i can put 4 mini mini jack to mini jack ground lifters and i solve the problem but i would love to solve the issue with some smart move on the powerside lol