will a low 60Hz harmonic hum wear out my speakers?


Hi everyone,
I have what is most likely a noob question: I have a nice sounding system consisting of a digital source (newly acquired Oppo BDP 95), a Quad 99 and Quad 909 pre-amp/amp set and Usher tower speakers. The amp generates a continuous, low hum audible in the tweeters. It is only audible with the ear next to the driver, and not an issue in listening. I like to keep everything always on, which is the recommendation I got from Quad and makes sense (it also sounds a lot better to my ears then when turned on fresh and cold). All would be good, but I wonder: in time, will that constant hum wear out or age my tweeters? It is after all the equivalent of constantly playing them but at a very, very low volume. Is this a real concern, or am I being paranoid here?
The issue of what causes the hum and how to get rid of it has been discussed and explored at length without a solution. It is probably the fact that the Quad does not have much in the way of insulation and signal cleaning (built that way) and no amount of power conditioning (I tried) or outlet-plugged signal cleaners etc etc (tried them all) gets rid of it.
Thank you in advance for any advice.
roc_doc
I owned the Quad 99 and 909 also. You should have the quad link hooked up and the interconnects hooked up at the same time if you don't already. However, it is not uncommon to have a little sound,his hum etc,coming from the tweeter with your ear up close to it so nothing to worry about.
hi,
Thanks all again. Geared4me, that is an interesting thought - I did talk to the Quad folks about this, and they actually said NOT to do that - they said there is a risk that the amp would get overloaded. It was one of the solutions I entertained, and I tried it briefly. While the buzz did not disappear it seemed to get lower. Are you using both the quad link and interconnects without a problem, I gather?
Make sure all your stuff is plugged into the same household circuit. Sometimes by plugging something in from across the room from a plug wired from another circuit of the house will cause this. Have you tried orienting plugs 180 degrees? If you use 3 wire plugs get a cheater from Home Depot, cut/saw off the grounding plug and try turning (one at a time) the plugs of the stereo. If you come across the culprit, change the wires going into the plug behind the wall and get rid of the just bought "cheater".
There's something Roc said that ought to be a clue, "the buzz is a lot louder if the amp is on with no interconnects hooked up." A ground loop should go away, not get worse when the amp isn't connected to the pre—no connection, no loop. And, a 60 cycle hum should be audible from the other drivers too.

Have you tried another amp? Does it produce the same buzz?