My Cary amp - the story of a hum and a bug


Hi,
I have had a problem with my Cary SA200.2 power amp from the time i bought it 3 years ago. There's a hum from both speakers (doesn't increase when the volume is turned up). The hum is there irrespective of the connected preamp or power source and even if i take the amp to another city or location. I was told by the dealer that such a mild hum is normal in such a powerful amp. It was only later that I realized that a solid state amp with a toroidal transformer, however powerful, should not have any audible hum. By then, it was out of warranty.

With the help of the India dealer, I wrote to Cary in the US. From their delayed and intermittent responses, it appears that the hum is a known issue, inherent in the design of the amp, that needs a 'fix', which is taken care of in the newer model of the amp. The 'fix' consists of a cable with caps and a bridge rectifier. Shockingly, they expect that I should pay around $210 + duties for this. To me, it is not a question of money, but one of principle! Why should I pay for them to fix a bug, even if the amp is out of warranty? I even suggested that it will not cost me more than $30 to build the cable here in India if they can send the diagram and component values for this fix. But Cary is adamant that I either pay for the cable or trade in my amp for a new +1 model!! In desperation, I requested that they send me the service manual of the amp, hoping to address the bug with the help of the manual. Back comes the reply that it is proprietary and that they cannot share it with customers. The dealer has been unable to exert any real pressure on Cary to resolve this issue.

I would like to know, from fellow FMs:
1. Is Cary justified in it's stand?
2. Role of local distributors/dealers?
3. Does any other FM own a Cary SA 200.2 and how he has fixed this issue.
4. Can the electronic experts suggest the specs to filter out the hum?
5. Will adding this filter adversely affect the sound quality?

CUT TO CHINA:
I have a Chinese made integrated amp (Kinki Studio). It is no slouch, having been awarded the Blue Moon award by none other than Srajen of 6moons. I blew the amp some time ago by an incorrect connection. It was my fault. But within minutes of sending an email, the dealer in Singapore was on whatsapp chatting with me, asking for photographs, communicating with the manufacturer, suggesting diagnostic checks. Within 24 hours, they realized it could not be fixed via distance communication with a non-electronics-trained user like me. Within a week, a pair of new power amp boards arrived by DHL, shipped at the dealer's cost, with detailed instructions on how to replace the boards. The only cost I incurred was the cost of shipping the old boards back to them for diagnosis. So I guess Xi Jinping wins this round :) 

Thanks for reading
fiftyfifty

Showing 3 responses by jea48

@ fiftyfifty 

Your thread and posts to your thread are unclear. You say the hum is coming from the speakers and not mechanical hum/buzz/vibrating noise from the amp itself.
But then you post this.

fiftyfifty OP3 posts07-28-2019 6:51am
Sounds more like a ground loop issue.
No, it's most likely a DC offset issue. Like this:
https://sound-au.com/articles/xfmr-dc.htm

The article addresses DC offset on the AC mains. DC on the AC mains can cause large toroidal transformer, as found in a power amp to hum/buzz/vibrate, which produces an audible sound from the amp.  

The 'fix' consists of a cable with caps and a bridge rectifier.

Sounds like an AC mains DC blocker circuit to me.



.
But i do know that it is a design issue with the amp, for which Cary has a fix and they have fixed it in their newer version. Cary is not asking me to ship the amp back to them. They want to ship the harness/cable to me and they want me to pay for the cable.

Cary should send the harness/cable to you free of charge. PERIOD!
The problem is a design flaw, which according to you, they admit.
Stupid move on Cary's part. You should try going higher up in the Cary company chain of command.


bigkidz   

1,928 posts  

07-29-2019 9:27am   

Trying powering up the amp with no interconnects connected to see if there is hum. Sometimes unshielded cables can cause the noise. If you are local to me New Jersey and can get the amp to me with their part to fix the issue, I will install it for you.

For a true test he would need to install shorting plugs on the input jacks of the amp for the test. Otherwise airborne RFI would enter through the unported inputs and cause a hum/buzz.