Klipschguy Posted December 2, 2020 Author Share Posted December 2, 2020 Yes, that is it, except mine has the walnut cabinet with the slant legs. And yes, I recently moved and my current listening room is almost as quiet as a recording studio; it is really quite remarkable. What you said originally is resonating with me: "all transformers hum" - especially in dead silent rooms. BillyBob, I will try the cheater and see what happens. Islander, I will try your grounding trick as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebse2a3 Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 If you are experiencing transformer hum/vibration you might want to check into this unit from Emotive. I had a friend with a Pass Labs amplifier that experienced transformer hum/vibration (that even varied in intensity at times) and it eliminated his issues completely. If you have multiple equipment with transformer/vibration I would suggest plugging them all into a AC strip and then into this unit since it only has 2 outlets itself. Looks like they are having a 20% discount and free shipping at this time also. https://emotiva.com/products/cmx-2 miketn 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 Make sure nothing has dropped through the rear mesh cage. All it would take is something small and then you would have possible magnetic field going on 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschguy Posted December 2, 2020 Author Share Posted December 2, 2020 Thanks, Mike. I just bought the Emotiva unit. I will report back back to let you all know how it works. Max, I will check for any foreign objects; thanks for the tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebse2a3 Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 2 hours ago, Klipschguy said: Thanks, Mike. I just bought the Emotiva unit. I will report back back to let you all know how it works. I really hope it provides the solution to your problem and yes please update us on your results. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 If you plug EVERYTHING into the same strip it can cause issues. I spent a day experimenting. This is what reduced my hum to nada. I use two power strips. On one I put my tv, music server, turntable, my cd transport, turntable light, and on the other strip amplifier, sub amp, preamp, phono preamp, DAC. This system went from hum to silent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 A 20db room is pretty freaky I bet. Would love to hear your setup. Im in a second story room in my home and have mine down in the lower 30 db range with around 150sq foot of panels on the walls. Nothing like a well treated room to hear every bit of the content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebse2a3 Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 44 minutes ago, seti said: If you plug EVERYTHING into the same strip it can cause issues. I spent a day experimenting. This is what reduced my hum to nada. I use two power strips. On one I put my tv, music server, turntable, my cd transport, turntable light, and on the other strip amplifier, sub amp, preamp, phono preamp, DAC. This system went from hum to silent. my understanding is the op doesn’t have hum coming through the speakers but is a mechanical hum/vibration in the power transformer themselves. This is different from a ground loop issue if I have understood the situation correctly and is why I suggested the Emotive unit as a possible solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 2 minutes ago, mikebse2a3 said: my understanding is the op doesn’t have hum coming through the speakers but is a mechanical hum/vibration in the power transformer themselves. This is different from a ground loop issue if I have understood the situation correctly and is why I suggested the Emotive unit as a possible solution. I heard hum and went down the rabbit hole.. All transformers hum or have potential to hum as they all vibrate.. I made a jig to clamp down transformers. I've cured it sometimes with my funky clamps but also with putting rubber washers under the transformers and really clamping them down.. This can be a bugger. I work on one amp that it was so bad I couldn't get it to go away no matter what I did to it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 27 minutes ago, seti said: All transformers hum or have potential to hum as they all vibrate.. I made a jig to clamp down transformers. I've cured it sometimes with my funky clamps but also with putting rubber washers under the transformers and really clamping them down.. This can be a bugger. I work on one amp that it was so bad I couldn't get it to go away no matter what I did to it.. If one has the end-bells detached, you can sometimes get away with using a small piece of wood tapped into the winding/core area...depending on the transformer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschguy Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 OK, I bought and tried the Emotiva unit. Although the unit is very nicely built and packaged, it did nothing to change my hum issue. Conclusion: my hum problem is not due to DC offset. So...I opened up my Mac equipment to take a look for mechanical issues causing the hum. In the preamp, I noticed if I put pressure on the main transformer cover plate, the hum would stop. After a little experimentation, a 3/4” strip of rubberized cork gasket material down the center of the cover (held firmly by the cover and 2 screws) dropped the hum to almost inaudible. You cannot hear it unless your ear is closer than a few inches. Warning: beware of electric shock when dealing with an open component that is plugged into the wall! We all know what happened to Marvin in the movie Home Alone 2. In my power amp it took another solution. Manipulation of the transformer cover yielded nothing, BUT loosening and retightening the main transformer mounting bolts did the trick. Again, the transformer is inaudible unless your ear is closer than a few inches. BTW, the mounting nuts were loosened and retightened with the unit unplugged. These transformers are quiet. Thank you for all you help! Andy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang_flht Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Super ✌️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.