ok.. well im pretty sure i have a ground loop problem. But I've been reading that most of the ground loop comes from cable tv and you can test it by unpugging the cable from teh tv and if the "hum" goes away then thats where the problem is coming from. Well mine is the opposite, when I unplug the cable from the tv it gets a lot worse and actually starts to go crazy. What does this mean? And how can i resolve this.

MM, welcome. From what you describe it appears that, contrary to the usual situation, the difference in electrical potential at different grounding points(which is what causes the ground-loop hum/buzz)is even greater when the cable feed isn't in the circuit. Mysterious, but it indicates that putting an isolation transformer on the cable feed likely won't help. The outer ground shield on the coaxial cable should be isolated from the input on the sub so that only the center signal cable is connected to the sub. With the sub volume low, it can be tested by slowly pulling out the RCA plug to see if the center can remain in contact(to feed the signal)while the outer shield is no longer in contact, which should stop the hum. If it does, you can try covering the sub input contact with a piece of plastic film or strip of paper so that the outside shield doesn't make metal-to-metal contact, even when the RCA plug is fully inserted. If this works, it's free; items called ground loop isolators are available for $10-$20(such as this )which connect between the sub out on the receiver and the input on the sub. Note that in either case the sub is still safely grounded through its 3-prong power cord. With the shield on the coaxial sub cable connected at only one end, it's slightly less effective at shielding outside interference but is still generally good enough.

I've tried the putting a piece of plastic between the cable ground and it still has the same problem. I'm going to go and buy the line filter tomorrow and try it. Also I have 2 subs running. When i connnect the second sub from the line out of the 350 i have the same problem with the other sub as well. But if i connect the other sub direcly eliminating the 350 it doesnt hum. Is this normal?

Thanks again

MM, if before you tried using plastic to insulate the outer shield on the cable from making metal-to-metal contact with the sub input, a significant point would be if the hum stopped when you pulled the connector part way off, or even all the way off. If it didn't stop, then it wouldn't be a ground loop. I'd suppose that the hum did stop, but you weren't able to insulate it well enough when you tried the plastic and put the RCA all the way in. If so, the ground loop isolator should help.

No, it certainly isn't normal for a second sub not to affected by the ground loop, unless that sub wasn't grounded, i.e. didn't have a 3-prong plug into a 3-prong outlet. One thing to keep in mind is that only God completely understands the mysteries of the ground loop and these things can be hard to trace.

Well the second sub doesnt have a 3 prong ground plug and the cable is hardwired into the amp. Any ideas there? HaHa.. Your telling me about ground loop being a pain in the ass.... But thanks again for all the help.

Well, that was the point: if the second sub wasn't grounded, that's why there was no ground loop hum with it. Using a "cheater" plug to defeat the grounding on a grounded sub stops the hum, but also has disadvantages, i.e. electrocution.

Ever since adding the 500 to my setup I have been battling a ground loop issue as well. I resolved it by adding an in-line isolator to my sub connection. I first tried one on the cable-tv but that didn't help. No more ground loop but I've always felt I was robbing my subs potential. Don't get me wrong, it performed wonderfully but it just nagged me.

Either yesterday or the day before, I was reading someone elses solution. He ran a 14 gage wire between the sub and his receiver. This morning I tried it. I took off the isolator, connected the wire to chassis screws on the sub and receiver then powered everything on. Although hum was still there, it was far lower than before. Next I unscrewed the ground loop screw on the back of the 500 and that took care of the hum completely. Prior to the isolator, unscrewing it would have made the hum twice as loud.

Excited with the results played an SACD disc but had to stop it after a couple of minutes. The bass was much to strong. I had to recalibrate the sub to compensate for the increased signal reaching it.

If you can, try it. Maybe you won't have to add an isolator after all.