Popping and Buzz problem, with a Twist (1 Viewer)

[Ron Duca]

I've read many threads concerning popping, buzzing and hissing sounds introduced into systems with the addition of an amplifier. I regret to say that I have joined that club.

I just added the Sherbourn 5/1500A amplifier to my system and am now using my Yamaha RX-V995 as a pre/pro. I connected the amp to the receiver using unbalanced interconnects from Markertek.com (Canare GS-6 cable). I powered the amplifer up and all was well. I then powered up the receiver, and after the Yamaha finished its little safety check and sent a signal to the amp, there was pop in all five speakers. This was accompanied by an annoying buzzing sound. After a few minutes the buzzing diminished to a tolerable level.

The amplifier has a sleep mode that it goes into after five minutes of not receiving a signal, so I leave it powered on. This morning I went into the living room, where the system is, and when I flipped the light switch in the room it woke up the amplifier, which caused the speakers to pop. Also, I discovered that turning on light switches that have built-in dimmer switches creates an even louder buzz.

The house is less than one year old. I would love to hear that I could resolve the popping and especially the buzzing with the addition of a non-current limiting power conditioner or something. Re-wiring the house is out of the question, although adding a dedicated line and outlet for the audio/video equipment could be a possibility if I could be guaranteed that would solve the problem.

Other than the usual approach of unplugging and re-plugging all components in my system, does anyone have any suggestions that might address this electrical interference issue?

Thanks,

Ron Duca

 

[Mike Matheson]

Ron,

The buzzing/popping caused by devices (such as lights) on the same circuit should be greatly reduced to entirely eliminated by the addition of a dedicated circuit--this is one of the primary reasons for doing such. I did it myself, and it worked.

The popping (not hissing) when you turn on your receiver is not uncommon, given your amp is already powered-up. One solution is to simply leave the amp off, and turn it on AFTER turning on the receiver (and after giving the receiver time to get through it's wake-up/diagnostics). You may be able to find devices that will power-up your amp automatically (including a delay) once power is sensed flowing to your receiver.

The initial hissing when the receiver is turned on may be due to its components warming up, storing energy, stabilizing, etc. I know my amps buzz (literally, the amp itself, not the speakers) for a few moments when they power up--which indicates to me that there are things getting "settled in" as the amp wakes up and warms up.

My $.02.

 

[JackS]

Concerning the amp buzz. It's my experience that this is common with many amps, and can be considered normal as long as the buzz is inaudible while enjoying music or a movie. Also adding an amp to a setup with an existing amp doesn't add any volumn to the buzz. The popping sound you hear, as I understand it ,is common when connecting an amp to a receiver. The advise given to power up receiver and source before the amp should solve this problem. Good Luck Jack

 

[Ron Duca]

Update: I haven't quite figured out the popping problem yet, but I found the source for the buzzing and hissing noise coming from all speakers. It is definitely a ground problem. I put a cheater plug on the amplifier's power cord and it eliminated all buzzing and static, including that which had been caused by using a dimmer switch on a light in the same room. I talked to an electrician about this situation and have decided to have him come out and install a dedicated circuit for my AV system.

Thanks for the advice. Now, back to the "popping" testing.

Ron