Weird crackling from speakers when preamp connected


I've got an MC275 hooked up to a VTL 2.5 preamp, when I reconnected it after some maintenance, whenever I turn the preamp on then the amp, once they both warm up, the crackling starts.

I hooked up the amp to my DAC and had no issues with crackling, swapped tubes, interconnects and power cord, different inputs/outputs, same crackling issue when using preamp but no issue when connected to the DAC as a preamp.

Sonus Faber Olymica !, MC275 Amp, VTL 2.5 preamp, Auralic Vega DAC, nordost interconnects/speaker cables, panamax power conditioner.

My last step is to see if I can either borrow a tube preamp or buy a cheap one to test it.

Any suggestions are welcome as I'm running out of ideas.

 

maddog66blue

Showing 1 response by johnss

@maddog66blue how long are you waiting to power up the amp after turning on the 2.5? You may need to increase that time a bit. Flip on the 2.5. Wait 2-3 min then flip on the MAC power amp. 

Also may not hurt to inspect the bottom of the preamp board with some magnification and look for cracked solder joints. Cracked joints will cause the symptoms you are describing.