My amp's buzzing

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

My amp started emitting a low frequency buzz just now, at the end of an Albert Collins CD - but I don't think it was his fault. It does it even when there's nothing on. It's coming out of both speakers, so I assume it's an amp problem.

I tried jiggling the wires at the back, to no effect.

Anyone got any ideas about what usually causes this sort of thing? It's pretty old and gets used a lot. Is it dying?

MG

[porcy62]

It seems some kind of ground/mains electric problem. Have you got some new electric stuff like halogen lamps hooked in the house? Did you try another wall socket? Try to exclude the ground pin of the amp's power chord.

A few tries you could do also: switch the cables and channels, (inputs and outputs), disconnect sources at once (first TT, then CD player or viceversa).

After that, and I presume you already did most of it, if your amp still buzz on both channels with both TT AND CD player's inputs, your amp has a problem.

[Chuck Nessa]

Have you tried playing the Collins cd backwards?

[porcy62]

Have you tried playing the Collins cd backwards?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

It seems some kind of ground/mains electric problem. Have you got some new electric stuff like halogen lamps hooked in the house? Did you try another wall socket? Try to exclude the ground pin of the amp's power chord.

A few tries you could do also: switch the cables and channels, (inputs and outputs), disconnect sources at once (first TT, then CD player or viceversa).

After that, and I presume you already did most of it, if your amp still buzz on both channels with both TT AND CD player's inputs, your amp has a problem.

Thanks Porcy. Didn't think of switching the wall sockets - tried that but no good. Looks like I'm in the market for a new amp. And one of the K7 decks bust a year ago, so I'm now looking to replace that at the same time.

MG

[porcy62]

It seems some kind of ground/mains electric problem. Have you got some new electric stuff like halogen lamps hooked in the house? Did you try another wall socket? Try to exclude the ground pin of the amp's power chord.

A few tries you could do also: switch the cables and channels, (inputs and outputs), disconnect sources at once (first TT, then CD player or viceversa).

After that, and I presume you already did most of it, if your amp still buzz on both channels with both TT AND CD player's inputs, your amp has a problem.

Thanks Porcy. Didn't think of switching the wall sockets - tried that but no good. Looks like I'm in the market for a new amp. And one of the K7 decks bust a year ago, so I'm now looking to replace that at the same time.

MG

If I understood the buzz is there even if there is no imput (TT or CD) hooked on the amp, even if the volume knob is on 0?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

It seems some kind of ground/mains electric problem. Have you got some new electric stuff like halogen lamps hooked in the house? Did you try another wall socket? Try to exclude the ground pin of the amp's power chord.

A few tries you could do also: switch the cables and channels, (inputs and outputs), disconnect sources at once (first TT, then CD player or viceversa).

After that, and I presume you already did most of it, if your amp still buzz on both channels with both TT AND CD player's inputs, your amp has a problem.

Thanks Porcy. Didn't think of switching the wall sockets - tried that but no good. Looks like I'm in the market for a new amp. And one of the K7 decks bust a year ago, so I'm now looking to replace that at the same time.

MG

If I understood the buzz is there even if there is no imput (TT or CD) hooked on the amp, even if the volume knob is on 0?

That's right.

MG

[AllenLowe]

tube amp? if so, change the tubes - swap 'em one at a time -

[porcy62]

tube amp? if so, change the tubes - swap 'em one at a time -

Of course, I presumed MG hasn't a tube amp.

[AllenLowe]

well, if it's solid state, he should get a tube amp -

[jazzbo]

My sentiments exactly.

I had a similar sonic situation in an old EICO integrated tube amp I have. A bad solder on a connection to the rectifier tube. It did this for a spell than started blowing fuses. Once the solder weld was corrected, back to normal.

Edited April 30, 2008 by jazzbo

[aparxa]

Even shutdown, my computer is doing a little buzz for the last months. It's a problem due to the Power Supply Unit and I should change it before it

get worse. Plus it might be harmful for ears.Or Maybe I just caught tinnitus...

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I used to have a tube amp in the sixties But nowadays, I just get a cheap black box. If, in forty years of listening, I hadn't (consciously) noticed that "Sunkenfoal" on "All the gin is gone" is the same tune as "Mad lad" on "Space flight"...

MG

[sidewinder]

Possibly a transistor stage on the way out, by the sound of it. Or possibly a duff filter.

Edited April 30, 2008 by sidewinder

[porcy62]

Possibly a transistor stage on the way out, by the sound of it. Or possibly a duff filter.

Ah, yes, at last a TRUE engineer...

Edited April 30, 2008 by porcy62

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

At the price of a new amp, and given its twelve year (I worked out) age, I can't be asked to think about having it repaired. I'm hoping to pick up a Cambridge A5 on Saturday - the shop's having a couple delivered on Friday. Until then, it's the PC, the walkman or the little portable downstairs. No LPs or K7s, though.

MG

[porcy62]

At the price of a new amp, and given its twelve year (I worked out) age, I can't be asked to think about having it repaired. I'm hoping to pick up a Cambridge A5 on Saturday - the shop's having a couple delivered on Friday. Until then, it's the PC, the walkman or the little portable downstairs. No LPs or K7s, though.

MG

Agree

BTW you could find decent phono stage at human prices. I am using a 100 euros NAD right now and it sounds OK.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

At the price of a new amp, and given its twelve year (I worked out) age, I can't be asked to think about having it repaired. I'm hoping to pick up a Cambridge A5 on Saturday - the shop's having a couple delivered on Friday. Until then, it's the PC, the walkman or the little portable downstairs. No LPs or K7s, though.

MG

Agree

BTW you could find decent phono stage at human prices. I am using a 100 euros NAD right now and it sounds OK.

Does that handle everything - CD, tape, turntable, CD recorder - all in one? I thought NADs were more expensive than that. Perhaps I should do some more looking around before I go firm on this.

MG

[porcy62]

At the price of a new amp, and given its twelve year (I worked out) age, I can't be asked to think about having it repaired. I'm hoping to pick up a Cambridge A5 on Saturday - the shop's having a couple delivered on Friday. Until then, it's the PC, the walkman or the little portable downstairs. No LPs or K7s, though.

MG

Agree

BTW you could find decent phono stage at human prices. I am using a 100 euros NAD right now and it sounds OK.

Does that handle everything - CD, tape, turntable, CD recorder - all in one? I thought NADs were more expensive than that. Perhaps I should do some more looking around before I go firm on this.

MG

Not really, it's a MC/MM phono stage http://nadelectronics.com/products/hifi-am...no-Preamplifier

But I'd have a look at this http://nadelectronics.com/products/hifi-am...eo-Preamplifier,

considering that the Cambridge hasn't a phono imput, make your calculation.

edit: more expensive then the Cambridge AND the Nad phono stage, at least over here. Though it's a Nad, excellent stuff.

Edited April 30, 2008 by porcy62

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

At the price of a new amp, and given its twelve year (I worked out) age, I can't be asked to think about having it repaired. I'm hoping to pick up a Cambridge A5 on Saturday - the shop's having a couple delivered on Friday. Until then, it's the PC, the walkman or the little portable downstairs. No LPs or K7s, though.

MG

Agree

BTW you could find decent phono stage at human prices. I am using a 100 euros NAD right now and it sounds OK.

Does that handle everything - CD, tape, turntable, CD recorder - all in one? I thought NADs were more expensive than that. Perhaps I should do some more looking around before I go firm on this.

MG

Not really, it's a MC/MM phono stage http://nadelectronics.com/products/hifi-am...no-Preamplifier

But I'd have a look at this http://nadelectronics.com/products/hifi-am...eo-Preamplifier,

considering that the Cambridge hasn't a phono imput, make your calculation.

The A5 has a phono input as an optional extra, for an extra twenty quid.

Looked at the NAD page, thanks. What's a preamp, as opposed to an amp?

MG

[porcy62]

At the price of a new amp, and given its twelve year (I worked out) age, I can't be asked to think about having it repaired. I'm hoping to pick up a Cambridge A5 on Saturday - the shop's having a couple delivered on Friday. Until then, it's the PC, the walkman or the little portable downstairs. No LPs or K7s, though.

MG

Agree

BTW you could find decent phono stage at human prices. I am using a 100 euros NAD right now and it sounds OK.

Does that handle everything - CD, tape, turntable, CD recorder - all in one? I thought NADs were more expensive than that. Perhaps I should do some more looking around before I go firm on this.

MG

Not really, it's a MC/MM phono stage http://nadelectronics.com/products/hifi-am...no-Preamplifier

But I'd have a look at this http://nadelectronics.com/products/hifi-am...eo-Preamplifier,

considering that the Cambridge hasn't a phono imput, make your calculation.

The A5 has a phono input as an optional extra, for an extra twenty quid.

Looked at the NAD page, thanks. What's a preamp, as opposed to an amp?

MG

Get the phono imput at twenty quid if you want stay in the budget.

About preamp and amp, well...it will need a long explanation, or a shorter and better one of some english mother tongue fellow members, perhaps THE engineer

Anyway, the signal of a cartdrige is different from cd/tuner/etc (generally called 'line signals'), it needs to be amplificated and equalized by some means, usually called 'phono pre amp' or 'phono section'...

Are you serious?

Edited April 30, 2008 by porcy62

[sidewinder]

perhaps THE engineer

Hey MG, with the number of CDs you have, why not treat yourself to a nice little integrated amp from these guys -

Nait

Not that I'm biassed, or anything...

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

perhaps THE engineer

Hey MG, with the number of CDs you have, why not treat yourself to a nice little integrated amp from these guys -

Nait

Not that I'm biassed, or anything...

Oi! That's seven-twenty-five quid!

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Are you serious?

Yes. So the pre-amps are only useful for turntables. You need to feed the output from a pre-amp into an amp, into which all your other junk - radio, K7s, CDs etc - is also being fed.

I didn't get that feeling looking at the NAD page you referenced. I thought it did all of them.

MG

[sidewinder]

Oi! That's seven-twenty-five quid!

MG

OK - In that case I've got a home made sheet-metalwork box lash-up that I made back in the day in college electronics lab if that one is a bit rich. Full of nice Mosfets and good old Texas Instruments devices and a whopping 25W per channel.

You might have to de-burr the sharp edges on the box though (which would put the Bill Evans Complete Verve WW2 shrapnel box to shame) and get the 'CE' certification for it though ! And add some labels for the knobs on the front panel (and some knobs to the potentiometer spindles, come to think of it)

Edited May 1, 2008 by sidewinder