Overview

The SNI-1 preamp noise filter plugs in between your receiver's preamp outputs and your amplifier. Warranty: 60 days.

What's in the box:

PAC SNI-1 owner's manual

Noise filter w/ 11" RCA input leads
Instructions

MFR #SNI-1/50

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Features

Use when noise is caused by ground loop through patch cords
Brown wires are optional grounds if you are not getting an audio signal
Plugs in at head unit end of RCA cables
Provides 1.3dB of signal gain to compensate for any signal loss that may occur due to additional connections in the signal path
20-20,000 Hz +/-0.5 dB

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22 questions already asked

I recently added the JL MX280.4 and the JL MX300.1 to my car stereo. I now have a whining noise that increases with engine rpm. Will these filters help me? And how many will I need? Does the 4 channel amp require 2 filters?

michael d Mar 03, 2023

1 answer

It is possible that the SNI-1 could help, though engine whine can be tricky to diagnose. If you were to use this product, you would want one for every two RCA connections (in your case, three of them).

zachary Mar 08, 2023 (Staff)

Can I use only one of the RCAs for a mono subwoofer in my home?

ryan Feb 06, 2023

1 answer

I would not use this PAC SNI-1 if you are having home troubles, Ryan. For any noise (especially ground loop) in a home setup I would advise using a grounded cable first like the AudioQuest Black Lab in the link below. The cable can be purchased in anywhere from 6-50 plus feet in length to cover any install. The integrated grounding strap can solve noise and hum issues, and the AudioQuest quality can even tighten up the sound! https://www.crutchfield.com/p_703BLAB5M/AudioQuest-Black-Lab-5-meters-16-4-feet.html

bo Feb 06, 2023 (Staff)

Do I need male to male adapter cables to connect between the amp and the head unit?

angel-ivan Mar 23, 2022

2 answers

yes

william Mar 25, 2022

You should have male pigtails on the wiring harness. That's how mine was setup on a 2000 Lexus ES.

matthew Mar 24, 2022

Is this necessary without an external amp? Or only for use with an amp?

derek Sep 15, 2021

1 answer

Im not sure. My truck has the factory Rockford Fosgate amp and I needed these to eliminate a loud pop upon power on and off with the vehicle.

clifford Sep 18, 2021

im running a preamp EQ.with 2 inputs from HU. An 6 outputs. All going to one 5 channel amp. Do i need just one between HU an EQ or do i need three,one for each set of outputs?

martin Nov 17, 2020

1 answer

Do the speakers wine when the head unit RCA's are not plugged into the amp? If yes, re-ground your amplifier. If that doesn't work and you can't return it, you'll need it for all six outputs. If no, you'll need to install these inline from head unit to amplifier.

bolt Nov 29, 2020

Does this need to be plugged into the head unit end to work? I have it plugged into amp side and no change. I have not used optional ground wires, did anyone have any success after grounding them out?

jordan Sep 22, 2020

3 answers

i believe it is designed to plug into head unit end. The instructions tells you to plug male RCA's into head unit. An plug RCA's coming from amp into female end of device. An if needed Gnd wires go to source(head unit) chassis.

martin Nov 17, 2020

Yes grounding out worked for me!

drew Sep 22, 2020

I plugged mine to amp side, I also grounded it, that helped alot. If that doesnt help, Id try plugging into stereo side to find out if it makes a difference. Dont forget to ground the wire. I believe you can use one noise suppressor at both ends. Check with tech support on that one. Good luck.

jerry Sep 22, 2020

Just installed a new car stereo and itâ??s whining while Iâ??m accelerating, also sort of a static sound while parked. Will this loop isolater help? And does it plug directly into the back of the stereo?

jacob wesley Sep 01, 2020

2 answers

Unknown. It was suggested I install these to stop a loud popping noise when I changed sources.

patrick Sep 04, 2020

It worked for me but it's not perfect. I still plan on doing it right and running ground wire from amp to battery. Overall, though, it has got rid of 85% of the whine.

michael Sep 01, 2020

Installed a new car stereo and now I am getting a whining from speakers when accelerating, also sort of a static sound when parked. Will this help? And does it plug in right into the back of the stereo?

jacob wesley Sep 01, 2020

3 answers

Yes this item will eliminate the static winning noise. It grounds out the noise from the alternator. The whining sounds come from the alternator. Good product....Your alternator is not the problem.

ken Sep 01, 2020

Yes it will help out alot and yes rigjt back of the deck and add to ground of the deck

lee Sep 01, 2020

good ground check all I installed this & the other inline suppressor, it quit for a while reduced more then quit , now is back best thing is to isolate the alternator, your stereo should only draw power from the battery, yes depending on the back of the stereo, rca connection

jeffrey Sep 01, 2020

Subwoofer hum when splitter is used to dual subs. Will this fix it?

new user Mar 18, 2020

1 answer

Hi Nicholas in my case it worked perfect for my problem,good recommendation by the customer support team the humming when away good luck

ricardo j Mar 18, 2020

Will this help with the buzz and hum coming from my karaoke laptop to my rca input in my mixer ?

bubba Dec 21, 2019

2 answers

Hi Tommy, thank you for your question. This could solve the problem you're experiencing, but in order for us to be sure that this would be the best product for you, we suggest reaching out to a member of our Pro Audio department. Please chat with us online or by phone at 1-800-324-9695. An Advisor will be able to connect you with that department.

jessica Jan 05, 2020 (Staff)

First, verify that the buzz/hum is indeed coming from the RCA connections. If so, and if your karaoke machine has an external common chassis connection the this should eliminate the buzz/hum being created by the ground loop. Good luck with it.

chris Jan 03, 2020

Will this help with the buzz and hum coming from my karaoke laptop to my rca input in my mixer?

bubba Dec 21, 2019

2 answers

It is common for a laptop to cause hum in audio equipment. Try unplugging the power supply from your karaoke laptop and see if that eliminates the hum. If the hum goes away, one on these should eliminate the hum when the laptop is plugged in. I bought a few of these recently and they worked very well, as well as the more expensive 'hum busters.'

gary Dec 21, 2019

I used this in my Silverado to quiet ignition noise.. it might work for this...???

daniel Dec 21, 2019

will this stop alternator hum?

tate Mar 24, 2019

2 answers

Yes. Had a terrible hum in my boat, and the Crutchfield advisor recommended this for me. I was skeptical, but man, did it do the trick!

john Mar 24, 2019

This helped mine, it does slightly lower overall volume but compared to the hum it was a very acceptable trade off.

mark Mar 24, 2019

This says it works in the range of 20hz-to 20khz...is this going to limit my input then output to my speakers which are rated to 40khz?

andrew Oct 02, 2018

2 answers

Hello, Andrew! My understanding is that 20k is the high end of human hearing, I think the only one who will hear any difference is a dog.....:o) ! This part works great, sounds great. Steve

steve Oct 02, 2018

Yes, it will limit the frequency, but your not going to be able to hear the frequencies that will be filtered out, most people only hear in that 20hz to 20khz range anyway.

coty Oct 02, 2018

How big is this filter? I need to filter my front and rear speakers (only filtered the front and am still getting engine whine from rear doors) but I am running out of space in the dash behind the radio! Are these small or do you have dimensions? What I am hoping is that these are smaller than average--if so I will get 2!

bryant Jun 14, 2017

1 answer

They are about an 1 inch thick and about 1 1/2 long I got two to fit behind the head unit. Good luck.

rigoberto Jun 15, 2017

i installed an aux to my xm radio and can hear alot of engine rpm noise will this fix it? and how would i install it?

connor Oct 11, 2016

1 answer

it worked for me. i installed an after market radio and ended up with alternator whine. this installs between you head unit and the speakers. i put phono plugs on my left. and right speaker outputs and plugged into this unit...

don Oct 13, 2016

can I hook the pac SNI ground loop to my equalizer rca jack instead of the head unit rca jack? would that matter?

goldie Sep 29, 2016

1 answer

Yes, you can also plug the PAC SNI-1 into your equalizer's RCA output instead of the head unit if ground loop noise is occurring from the EQ. I hope that helps! My bio: http://www.crutchfield.com/Support/Bio.aspx?bio=159

david Oct 05, 2016 (Staff)

How to stop these from killing the bass and all of the sound clarity from my speakers?

joel Sep 14, 2016

1 answer

This product does not have any audio controls other than weather you connect the brown wires or not. You may want to look into sound processors to help restore the bass. Those are good about reducing the noise floor in the audio itself so they should help with that part too. I recommend calling an advisor on 1-800-324-9695 to discuss those products. HTH! My Bio: http://www.crutchfield.com/Support/Bio.aspx?bio=101

jason Sep 19, 2016 (Staff)

I'm using this with a Bose sound system equipped with a Kicx KAP-29 amplifier. The role of this additional amp is this system is to have a more kicking bass in the trunk. The main problem was the start/stop popping noise which has been eliminated by this stuff. But i'm suffering from a considerable level drop in bass after installing this. What could cause this problem and in which cases do i have to use grounding wire on it?

tamas Mar 11, 2016

1 answer

If you purchased the product from Crutchfield, feel free to contact our Tech Support team. They can walk you through the settings on the product and see if there may be a fix. Our toll-free Tech Support number is printed on your invoice, and is also available under the "My Orders" tab in the "My Account" section of our website. If you did not purchase the unit from Crutchfield, then you may want to contact the manufacturer. You can also post your question in our forums: http://community.crutchfield.com. Or try our online support center: http://crutchfield.custhelp.com/app/answers/list/kw/.

kristina Mar 13, 2016 (Staff)

I had two of these from metra which each had two grounds coming off of it. I use it for the popping noise which is created when my amp turns on from replacing the stereo in my saab 9-5 with the 9 speaker system. However, after a few months of use the speakers always start to have a buzzing noise coming from them, which gets worse and worse. The buzzing isn't constant, however, it picks and chooses when it wants to.. about 60% of the time. Is this one of better quality and will not cause that to happen?

patrick Mar 09, 2016

1 answer

Since we don't carry the Metra noise filter you're referring to, there's no way to know if this PAC noise filter would work better, worse or the same. However if you wanted to try this one out, keep in mind our 60-day money back guarantee that we include with every purchase. You can find more details about our return policy on our site here: http://www.crutchfield.com/support/returns.aspx I hope that helps. My Bio: http://www.crutchfield.com/Support/Bio.aspx?bio=159

david Mar 11, 2016 (Staff)

Will sound quality be affected?

calvis Dec 14, 2015

1 answer

When installed properly, no; not negatively anyway. Sound quality should only improve once the ground loop noise is eliminated. Hope that helps!

ryan Dec 17, 2015 (Staff)

Will this thing address loud popping sound heard from all speakers under the following conditions? 1. changing of audio source 2. changing volume from 1 to 0 or 0 to1 3. forward from one song/folder to next (both in CD and USB) 4. powering HD on and off 5. seeking up or down FM stations

tony May 03, 2015

1 answer

I forwarded your question to an Advisor and they responded with the following: The PAC SNI-1 will eliminate interference and noise of all kinds that is created from a ground loop problem. If you are running an amplifier or amplifiers then this is the best solution in most cases for eliminating the noises that you have mentioned. Some cars with factory amps, like Mustangs for example need a 12V to 5V converter instead. If you would like to discuss further you can contact an Advisor directly by phone (1-800-324-9695) or online chat.

kristina May 11, 2015 (Staff)

If I have two sets of pre amps, can I use only one of these? Thanks for any info. Jon

jonathan Mar 17, 2015

4 answers

I have a monoblock running my 12 and a 4channel running my door and rear deck I started by unplugging the RCAs from the amp to see which pair would eliminate the sound once I found it installed only one and all noise was gone hope this helps I know it helped me

rene Mar 30, 2016

No you need two.

reid Mar 18, 2015

Sorry, I just realized what this was. You need one for each amp. In my case, the amp would sense no signal when I changed channels and would turn off. Then when the stereo started playing the new channel it would turn back on. Huge noise problem changing channels. This filter delays the the signal from disappearing so the amp doesn't turn off and you will want one for each amp. So yes, each amp needs it's own filter. Worth the money!

kenneth Mar 18, 2015

I had only one amp for two sub speakers. I would think you would need one for each amp with a red/white right/left for each amp But you could split it as a low input. My setup was for rear bass only. You may be able to use only one as a low input to two subs. I would refer to the wire diagram that came with your equipment.

kenneth Mar 18, 2015

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