2. home-theater
  3. 180030-149900

Slight buzz through speakers

Hello All,

I posted this in Amp/Preamp section as well;

Need some serious help here. So I just (upgraded?) from a Marantz AV8802A to a McIntosh MX122 preamp. I also just got brand new Revel Performa3 speaks all around (5 channel setup). I disconnect everything from the Marantz and then into the McIntosh, connect the speaks and I have a faint buzzing through all 5 speakers (that was not there previously). I have everything plugged into a Furman Elite 20pfi power conditioner which is plugged into a dedicated 20 amp circuit. My power amp is a Simaudio Titan HT200 5 channel. This is not going through the Furman but directly into the other outlet on the same 20 amp line. I even tried plugging the Sim amp into the Furman to see if that helped-no change faint buzz is still there. I have unplugged just about everything, and the buzz is still there. It is very faint and does not get louder when I turn up the volume. Again it is faint and you have to put your ear up to the speaks to hear but it is definitely there. I have tried so many things and nothing gets rid of it. It is not my cable box (I did have that issue previously with the Marantz but as soon as I unplugged the coax from the box it went away so I just bought a coax loop eliminator connected the cable to that and noise was all gone) as I unplugged that and started there.

 

I am getting the buzz through all 5 speakers.

 

Any help would be so sincerely appreciated????

kingbr

Showing 2 responses by spatialking

spatialking's avatar
spatialking
610 posts
 

So let me understand your minimum setup.  You have your McIntosh preamp plugged into your Simaudio power amp and your speakers are connected, but nothing else, right?  Does the McIntosh or Simaudio amp have a three prong plug on the power cord?  If so, use a ground cheater adapter that converts three prong to two prong.  If the buzz goes away, then the problem is line leakage and bleed in.  There are two ways to fix this - first, the ground cheater is not a solution, as it leaves the chassis ungrounded, which could become an electrical hazard.  Jensen makes a galvanic isolator that will eliminate the problem, see this link:  

They make it in mono and another one in stereo and mono for subwoofers, too.  Another option is building your own by putting two RCA connectors in a plastic box, connecting a capacitor from center pin to center pin and another one from ground to ground. The caps need to be at least 2 uFd and polyproplyene.  If you use a metal box, then the input RCA jacks must be isolated from the chassis but it is okay to ground the output RCA.  

spatialking's avatar
spatialking
610 posts
 

Based on what you said, I believe the Mac is instrumental in the problem, but not exactly the source.  This sort of problem is cumulative and system dependent, so it is more of a system problem than a particular component.  

In general, plugging a component into a separate outlet will usually make things worse, not better.   This is especially true if the other outlet is on the other leg of your distribution box. 

You are on the right track, you do want to eliminate that buzz, as it will muddy the sound significantly.  I am not sure the Hum-X will do the job you need but it won't hurt to try.  Do note it is only rated for 6A, that may have an impact on your system. 

Post your results here, I will follow up.

More to discover