Help! Cure for transformer hum?


I've had a 1987 vintage NAD 7600 Monitor Series receiver that I've loved for 30+ years. It finally began to show various signs of age and, at just that moment, another that had been stored for most of its life, in the original packaging no less, came available on eBay. It wasn't cheap, but it seemed to be in "like new" condition, so I bought it. 

Well, it's pretty all right, "like new" in appearance, all the circuits work as they should, even the pots are quiet--but the transformer makes a 60 Hz mechanical hum. As I understand it, transformers contain plates that are stabilized with glue which becomes brittle over time and can crack or loosen. In any case, my old, semi-functional but otherwise identical unit, didn't hum. So, after consulting various knowledgable friends, I contacted an authorized NAD service dealer about 200 miles away, took both units to him, and he swapped out the "old" transformer for the "new" one. 

Maybe it was the 400 mile round trip in the car that caused some kind of break in the old, brittle glue bonds of the previously silent transformer, but installed in the "new" 7600, the unit still hums; not as loud as before, but we audiophiles are perfectionists, and it bugs me. It is, fortunately, a mechanical hum, as I mentioned, so I don't hear it in the speakers--although it does get picked up by the tuner.

Is there anything I can do to solve this problem? The transformer is securely mounted to the chassis, and I've tried putting additional damping materials under the feet of the unit. No improvement. I've tried different wall plugs, both with and without a power conditioner. No improvement. 

Of course, it seems likely that the only solution is to replace the transformer with one that doesn't hum. But where would I be able to find that? And is it even worth doing, given what I was told about the time-degraded glue that keeps new transformers quiet?

The repair guy told me (and showed me) higher-cost transformers that are entirely encased in metal; those will never develop a hum, he says. Is it possible to encase one of these original transformers in some way in order to silence it? If so, who can do that?

Sorry for this probably futile plea. Obviously, one solution is to eat the $1,000 I've already spent on the "new" unit and just buy something else that's really new. But I don't want more than two-channel stereo, I don't stream, there are various smart features of the NAD that I would not want to sacrifice--and, best of all, it sounds great in every way except for this damn hum! I've had the option to replace it with a couple of different, and presumably better, devices, most recently a Primare A30.1 integrated amp, which a friend owns and is willing to sell. I had the Primare in my listening room for a month, and liked the sound of the NAD better. Plus, of course, it has a great phono circuit, a tuner, very useful semi-parametric tone controls, a powered balance control, and several other wonderful features. 

Thanks for any advice you can give me.
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Showing 2 responses by millercarbon

You had no hum before simply for the same reason most don't notice, a combination of low level and solid construction. Lots of times there's background noise that can be there sometimes for a very long time, until something happens you notice and then OMG that noise is killing me! One person watching a movie is so engrossed they don't even notice the popcorn muncher beside them, while another can think of nothing else. Same noise. Completely different response.

The amp is the same way, you should know better than anyone, you had one that made no noise, then another same one that did, then the first one comes back makes noise but in between the other two. Perfect example.  

Hum Buster is the name PSAudio sold theirs under. I forget the exact circuit, it ain't much. If they don't make it any more someone does. Just one of those names like Thermos people use even though a lot of insulated containers aren't actually Thermos name brand.

PSAudio may no longer make it. Here's another one called Hum Dinger. No idea if this is made either! I use a step-down transformer, which is another option.
https://avahifi.com/products/humdinger-dc-line-blocker
Another one
https://emotiva.com/products/cmx-2
Then you can get into stuff like this that will be more of an improvement
https://www.decware.com/newsite/ZLC.html
The sort of mechanical vibration hum you have is caused by DC offset. Our homes are run off 240V but instead of running everything at 240V like they do in a lot of countries someone here decided that was way too dangerous for us fraidy cat Americans and so all our electrical panels are split right down the middle with only 120V going to each circuit. Except for water heaters, ovens, stuff like that, they still use 240V which explains why those breakers are twice as wide, they get the full 240V by connecting across both bus bars.

All the other stuff however - like your stereo - comes off just one of these legs. Now if everything is nice and even then this 120V goes perfectly evenly to both legs and there is no offset. But it is real easy to have something plugged into one leg that causes an offset and that is your DC offset.

Probably made all sorts of technical faux pas there but so what, this is a perfectly clear understanding more than adequate to our needs. You just need to know what it is, in order to figure out what to do about it.

First you can try going around flipping various breakers until you hopefully get lucky and find the offending circuit. Then if you do, try and figure out what is plugged in that is causing the problem. Unfortunately this is like tracking down other noise sources, you just have to try one after another until you get lucky or run out of things to try, or run out of patience. I usually run out of patience. A little noise doesn't bother me as long as the sound quality is high. Mine is sky high. (So is my noise level, I am sure someone will say you can barely hear the music over it.) YMMV.

Sometimes this works and there are stories of guys who find the culprit and live happily ever after. Lots more never do. Then you go to Plan B, which if your patience is like mine may in fact be Plan A. Either way: Hum Buster! This is an inexpensive power strip designed to eliminate DC offset hum.

It is a shame you’re only finding this out now. Because if I had seen it earlier I would have told you to not waste your time and money shipping. The DC offset was there the whole time, you were just lucky in having a tight mechanically solid component. Which after being bounced around on a truck a few days straight is one of the first things to go. Oh well. Hum Buster!