2. misc-audio
  3. 1167277489

REL subwoofer hum

I own a REL stadium III, and have owned it for some time now. Just recently I noticed that it will produce an audible (although low level) hum when I turn my system’s amplifier off. I have the Stadium hooked up in the recommended manner: I have it hooked up with the neutrik cable to the Speaker B terminals of my amplifier. Speaker A terminals are occupied by my Sonus Faber concertos. When both sets of speaker terminals are on, the sub is quiet. When I turn off the B speaker terminals, or turn off the amp altogether, a low level Hum is output by the REL. I have not noticed this hum before and believe it to be a new occurrence. However, I guess it could be a ground hum. My main amplifier, and the REL are plugged into two different outlets, both outlets have quality AC filters/surge protectors, and I use the stock power cords for the amp and REL. Should I alter my hookup method? Would better power cables help? I really don’t want to have the REL serviced as, I’m sure you know, it weighs 110 pounds, and I don’t want to have to move it. If it is a so-called "ground hum", how do I alleviate it?

phoenix469

Showing 1 response by chrisautosound

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chrisautosound
7 posts
 
We had enough clients with this humm problem and others like; distorted audio, static noise.

Unresolved by REL we recently traced out and examined the schematic and found several simple mistakes.

About the humm. The balanced speaker level input is simply miss designed. As a result it does not reject noise or hum. Solved

If using the high level input, there is distortion at anything above watt. A second design flaw, solved.

At high levels using any input the sub sounds like the amp is clipping or the woofer is bad. It can even sound like a flimsy cabinet. A third design flaw limits undistorted ouput to few watts. Again solved.

The woofer, amp and enclosure are fabulous. Once the electronics are overhauled the sound is too.
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