2. amps-preamps
  3. 1053635783

Jolida 1501RC shutdown and system "pops"

We bought our house 3 years ago and assumed that the home inspector had given a green light to the electrical system. However, we seem to have a problem in the back half of the house where the family room/addition is located. I guess we notice it now because we have been upgrading our entertainment system.

Whenever a household appliance switches on/off in nearby rooms a soft pop or click is heard through the stereo system. When one of the components in our entertainment system is switched on/off (DVD, vcr, TV, CD player--this is the loudest of all) a louder pop/click is heard. I have tried three different power conditioners (Monster HTS1000, HTS 2000, and Panamax MAX1000+) and the clicks/pops were still there. The same occurred with an Arcam integrated, a NAD C350 integrated, and a Rotel RX975 receiver that we auditioned (all solid state products)

The problem is really "in our face" now because two weeks ago we purchased a Jolida 1501 RC tube hybrid integrated amp (a beautiful amp) and if we forget to turn the volume on the amp down completely when switching sources, the CD player or DVD will cause the amp to spontaneously shut down. Additionally, when watching a movie the other day, a DVD, at a sound peak during a special effects sequence, the amp shut down. We don't listen at loud volumes so it isn't like we're trying to pump sound through our family room.

Jolida says there is a protection circuit in the amp that detects shorts, but if there are shorts the amp should be doing this all the time. With all the pop/clicks through our wiring, I know that I AT LEAST have to get a power conditioner that will help clean things up--but which do I choose? Just don't know what to do at this point--have the house rewired? Help!
salby6
pmkalby
130 posts
 
A power conditioner is usually just a band-aid unless you spend big bucks on some of the units out there, but we're talking good used CD player money, not the $200 a Panamax costs. BTW, your max 1000 will do nothing to clean up your power. It's just a surge protector. Spend the money on running a dedicated circuit instead.

re: Panamax:: 3 months ago mine gave its life to protect some of my gear and Panamax upgraded me at very little cost to a better and current model at my request so I didn't have to wait for the free repair. If a Panamax goes down, the breaker will trip. Don't turn the breaker back on with the Panamax plugged in after giving it the once over externally and thinking it is OK, or one of the capacitors inside the Panamax will go BOOM and scare the dogs.
stevenoda
3 posts
 
Salby6,

It almost sounds like two different problems. Line noise and too low impedance "seen" by the amp. If your amp is shutting down during transients or heavy bass passages---the impedance of the overall speakers may be too low (close to DC).

Tube amps don't like this. What is the nominal impedance of your speaker system? And do you have, maybe, a pair in parallel on the amp's output?
salby6 OP
7 posts
 
I'm not sure what the "number" is for nominal impedance--my speakers are Paradigm Studio Reference 20 v.2 monitors and I have an Infinity Servo Sub 10. The sub is running off the same binding posts as the monitors (no 2nd set of binding posts and no preamp out for the sub). A well-respected Jolida dealer told me there should be no problem with running the sub and speakers from the same binding posts. More than this I do not know.

In any case, I have decided to cough up the $100 or so to have an electrician come out and check things over.
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