The problem is the wall wart...at least in my case.
I had the same issues...annoying hum if the gain was turned near half way, radio stations being picked up, loud clicks coming through when I switched on a nearby light, etc.
I spoke to Bellari, i.e. Rolls, tech support yesterday (1/30/09) and a guy named Justin said they "had a run of bad power adapters". He asked for my adapter model number, then said he would mail an upgraded one right out and gave me an RA number to return my current one. Turns out, I had one at home that matched the same specs, and tried it and all problems solved! |
Wow what a coincidence that I googled for this topic and it brought up my old thread, only to find that there have been some recent responses. I am still getting this buzz every now and then. The weird thing is that it's not consistent, and I can't determine what makes it come and go. I may try another power adapater and see what that does. But when listening to classical music that has quiet passages, this buzz can become VERY annoying. |
I have the same problem. I sent it to Bellari, and they could not find any problem . They asked if I live near Electrical lines. I do. They said this was the problem. Also depending on how close it is to your speakers, the magnets will create a buzz. |
I have been using one for six months now with no problems, and it sounds great. Nice to know there is a fix if there is a problem, though! |
Hi. In case you haven't fixed your problem, I have another solution.
I bought the VP130 and had a horrible hum. I had 4 ground wires running too and fro, and even bound the RCA cables tightly together. That, combined with running the turntable and Bellari to two different outlets made the device usable.
Then on a hunch, I bought a new power adapter from RadioShack, and everything was cool. Disconnected all that junk, just left the regular ground wire from the TT to the Bellari and everything was dead quiet.
I'm going to send the original back this week for a replacement, just so they can see what a crappy plug it is. |
I had this exact same problem for awhile. I lived with it for about a year but was recently prompted to investigate further.
I found a solution here-
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=86591
"The preamp is fixed. I found that there was a ground loop between the case and the two screws that hold the circuit board to the case. So I removed the ground connection to the PC board near the power indicator LED and the hum stopped. Also I put a star washer between the top and bottom case to insure there is a good ground as the top was not grounding well to the bottom. IMHO the preamp sounds very clear and open."
I simply opened the unit and placed a small piece of electrical tape between the PCB and the place where the screw fixes it to the case nearest the LED. I then left that screw out, the other screw and the screw at the rear hold it all together well enough.
The hum is gone and I noticed an immense improvement in sound. |
i have been using the bellari and have been loving it. it was only when i got the grado gold that i noticed any hum. |
I'm noticing that the hum comes and goes. There is no consistentcy here. It may happen for 5 minutes at a time, then I won't hear it for a good hour or so, then it will come back. Very frustrating. |
This is a very common problem, from what my dealer told me, and that it depends on how well isolated you have the Bellari, and other external factors. |
Wasn't this a problem with certain (read: older) versions of the Bellari? I believe it's a quick fix courtesy of Bellari and something that was taken care of in later versions. Perhaps someone here has more info, but I would definitely try contacting Bellari/Rolls. Good luck. |
I also enjoy the sound. I either didn't notice the hum until last night, or it just started. I may try using a ground adapter that plugs into the wall and has only a single wire coming out for a ground connection. I'll leave the ground wire between the Bellari and turntable, but add another wire between the Bellari and the ground adapter. I'm also going to try moving the Bellari around, because it may be picking up some kind of interference from the amps; I can only move it so far though...I don't have super long interconnects. |
I had that problem and worse. I would get hum in the speakers, it would pick up some sort of music broadcasts that were very faint, I would get this loud thump when shutting off the motor on my Scout...it was a mess. I grounded everything, ungrounded everything...nothing worked. I swapped in a Cambridge phone pre amp, it was quiet. I swapped in a Sutherland Ph3D, it too was quiet. So, either the Bellari was bad or the other two were better isolated. Sad, because I loved the sound of the Bellari. |
