figure this one out...a new pop


Recently bought an Outlaw 950 to upgrade from my Denon receiver which I was using as a pre-pro. Amps are Odyssey Stratos running fronts, Chiro C-500 running center and surrounds. When I hookeed up the Outlaw, the speakers connected to the Chiro started to pop, and quite often - pops from surround mode changes, mute activation, source changes, tuner station changes and sometimes when changing chapters or jumping to a menu on a DVD. I pulled out the Chiro and tried the Outlaw with the Odyssey on each channel - no pop. I tried the receiver again, with the Chiro - no pop. Any ideas as to what is causing this to occur? I'm guessing its the auto-mute function in teh Outlaw and sensitivity of the Chiro. Any other tests to narrow it down? The Chiro is fine, and the Outlaw is fine - put them together and it's like an entire bowl of rice crispies popping in unison. Any help would be appreciated.

- Dan
dklap
Strangely enough, I think you might have some kind of grounding problem. Perhaps the chassis ground on the Outlaw is the ground/external contact on its output RCA socket. If it is not buffered, any switching in the control functions could generate a small voltage spike on the chassis which then gets transmitted through the interconnect to the input circuit on the Chiro. Maybe the Denon is buffered or dedicated to the signal path, so this doesn't happen. By the way, are all your components grounded through the power plug? (Versus defeated ground plugs?)

I'm not sure what to do about it. Obviously, you could send the Outlaw and Chiro back to their respective manufacturers for a check up and rewiring to buffer the grounds. This is clearly a last resort.

One thought is to try carefully to ground the Outlaw and Chiro chassis together. I mean like, wrap a wire around a chassis screw on one, then attach the wire to the other. There shouldn't be any real voltage difference between the two chassis, but it's not without some risk if we suspect grounding issues. I would check to see if there is any meaningful voltage by putting my hand on one chassis and my other hand on the other chassis. If I feel a little vibration under my fingers, then there may be a voltage difference and I would think twice about wiring them together. If not, I would continue and check to see if there is any little spark to the wire before completing the attachment. This procedure might help mitigate the switching voltage spiking.

Good luck.
I tried plugging them into different outlets on different circuits - still popped. Defeated the ground on the chiro - still popped. Will try your test and let you know the results..

I also found Fred Pham through a fellow Chiro owner, who apparently was head technician for Chiro back in the day. Hopefull, he'll have a suggestion as well. Will keep you posted.

Thanks!

-Dan

-dan
OK - i actually tried wiring them together by chassis screw. No change. Someone else suggested a leak in the DC power supply of the processor. My other amp might be protected from such a situation, and the Chiro is not. Possible? If so, how do I stop the DC leakage?

- Dan
Fred Pham did not return my emails.

I think I may have to sell this wonderful sounding amp.

Can anybody help me?

- Dan