Speaker Hum Question


I'm fairly new to the high-end audio scene, and just took delivery of my new system last night. I set up the system myself, and it sounds fantastic, and I expect it will get better as everything settles in. Here's my question: there is a very slight hum/buzz (very VERY slight) from the right speaker's tweeter that is present when the source component isn't playinhg, even when the preamp is in standby mode. The noise is not audible or distracting when music is playing. there is no corresponding noise from the left speaker. I do know that the electric line is not a s clean as it could be -- it is not grounded properly. This will be remedied soon, as I am having a dedicated line installed. Could this be the culprit? Is the noise anything to be concerned about, or is it just me being overly paranoid?

System:

Sonic Frontiers Line 1 Preamplifier
Thorens TTA 2300 Amplifier (dual mono, 120 WPC)
Joseph Audio RM25Si Loudspeakers
Sony SCD-1 SACD Player
Jolida Tube Tuner
Audio Quest Viper interconnects
Transparent Plus Biwire Speaker Cables
Monster Power 2000 Power Conditioner
andrewbuck

Showing 1 response by marakanetz

...it's quite unusual that just only one speaker produces hum.
Try to switch all of the sources off or switch between each other and hear if there will be the noise
If the noise is being produced from any of the source you can contact your dealer and explain the situation
Less likely it will be a "tube break-in" in your tuner nor break-in of your SCD-1
The hum could be 60Hz from the power line and it's audiable from base-midrange driver. The tweeter can produce a 60hz claps that sound like a motorcycle if you will put your ear firmly to the tweeter. In this situation only both speakers can be affected. So if you place an ear firmly to the other speaker's tweeter -- you'll know for sure.
Sometimes the digital source components have very high output signal that can overload the input of the preamp (escpcially tube) and cause an offset violation of the input circuit of it. In this case you should try to use tape input instead of dedicated CD.