Creek 4240SE has buzzing sound.


I have a Creek 4240SE Int. Amp that is generating a buzzing sound from within the unit (not through the speakers). It is plugged into a line conditioner/surge suppressor (more of a PC type than audio). I turned off everything else in my condo and it was still doing it. Thanks for any help!!!
bday0000

Showing 1 response by redkiwi

The buzzing will be the transformer and the common reason in this case is that the transformer was probably designed for UK power supply, but with a 120V primary tap for selling in the US. Very few manufacturers use a different transformer for the different mains supply. So being a British piece of gear the transformer is probably optimised for 50Hz operation, yet in the States you use 60Hz. Usually this does not present much of a problem and the situation is usually worse the other way around - because 60Hz operation is usually easier on a transformer than 50 Hz is. My local mains is 240V 50Hz, and my Theta Gen Va DAC buzzes badly because the transformer does not like working at 50Hz. But I would not fret about it unless the noise is intrusive, or the unit is getting unusually hot. I have found that using better isolation devices such as seismic sinks or BDR cones reduces the buzz markedly. You could also apply some damping directly to the transformer.