rickriley Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 I have a pair of Klipschorns that I purchased in 1978. I upgraded the drivers and crossovers in 1988. They've been working great up until recently. Lately they have developed a hum, the left speaker hums louder than the right. It sounds like an electronic hum as there is no distortion in the sound. I'm wondering where the hum may be coming from and if it' s time to upgrade / replace componants and if so, which ones. The speakers sound great, but the hum is audible and shouldn't be there. Any help is appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrestonTom Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 I would rule out the most likely culprits first. Usually hum and hiss will be at the elctronics side (pre-amp, amp, source). Typically, it is a grounding problem (and do NOT get talked into a fancy line conditioner etc) and this is frequently resolved (I do not know the specifics in your case) by swapping the polarity of the plug or using a "cheater" or making sure that a proper ground is present. Have you recently added a power strip? Or have you changed the way things get plugged in? The second possibilty is that the interconnects are no longer routed the way they used to be. Are the conections clean and secure? Are the cables draped over power cords? Tidy these up a bit (and I am not advocating purchasing fancy cables). This is frequently a problem since the impedance is high (unlike what is going to the speaker) and is suspectible to picking up noise. Since the impedance of the signal going from the amp to the speaker is relatively low, it is typically not a source of hiss and hum. The definitive test is to unplug various components (sources, pre-amp etc) and see when the hum disappears. If you are using tubes you may want to connect the + & - together to "short" the input to the amp or preamp (do not short the outputs) and you can add a 10 to 30k resistor btween the + & - of the input to be even safer. Other possibilites: are you using phono or are you using tube equipment? If the answer is yes, then there other possibilities to follow up on after you have ruled out the grounding and cabling issues. The good news is that this is typically something simple. I have been very deliberate about not recommending fancy cables and power conditioners to solve a problem that usually has a much simpler solution. Good luck, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 Your speakers DO NOT hum. Something has changed in yourelectronics, most likely some corrosion on an interconnect, unless youhave changed out a component, recently. If you have tubes,a bad tube can cause a hum. K-horns' extreme efficiency allows you to hear the hum where a lesser speaker would not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 This has come up before... and the culprit turned out to be high voltage / high amperage wiring for an elevator in a condo, right near the corner where the k-horn or belle was. The crossover coils acted like a secondary winding in a transformer, picking up the 60 hz hum. DJK was the one to figure that one out if I recall correctly. Has anything else changed in the area, can you give us a little more info??? If it is only one channel, possibly you moved an extension cord or a power cord near one interconnect. It is less likely that a power cord near the speaker wire can produce hum, but it is possible. Keep us posted on what you find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 rick, the other posters are right on the money. there is nothing in the speakers that hum, it comes from elsewhere. start with your electronics, swap out components to see if one of them is a trouble maker, also check all wiring for firm fit and that they are not running paralell to a/c lines. lastly try simply reversing the polarity of your a/c connecitons on the electronic components. let us know what you find out, regards, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 MH- I witnessed something like that, used a stack of excess Klipsch for a projector stand for the SUperbowl- you should have heard that Heresy WHINE as the PJ fans revved up- sounded like one of those RC cars in the room! Transformers going south on older TV's can induce the same thing- noise picked up in speakers through the atmosphere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 more details on your equipment..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catbo Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 If you have a light that is on a dimmer switch, it can cause hum sometimes I think, I had a dimmer in the living room and noticed some hum in my Klipschorn's and finally found out why it did, as soon as I turned off the light dimmer in that room, the hum disappeared. Now when I listem to music, I have to make sure that light is off. I don't know why it does it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickriley Posted March 5, 2007 Author Share Posted March 5, 2007 After unplugging components one by one, it turned out to be some poorly shielded cables that were to close to some AC lines. Moving the cables was not enough, but moving and replacing the lines with ones that had better shielding solved the problem. It's nice to see such an active forum. I've had my K-horns since 1978. Updated them with drivers and crossovers once. Have never heard speakers that I like more so while I've changed out other components a few times, the K-horns remain.Thanks for all the posts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 rickriley good for you...this rattles my cage as I hear folks say all wires are the same as they quote a particular DC resistance article. The better the wires...the less noise...better the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrestonTom Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Rick, I am glad it got resolved. Believe me you are not the first person who has had this very same problem. Unfortunately, many would have "fixed" the problem by throwing a ton of cash at; fancy cables, extraordinarily expensive power conditioners, voltage regulators, transformers, etc. Good Luck, -Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 So many transformers...so little time. I presently have a 5000 watt medical isolation balanced transformer with farady sheild and decided to furthur isolate by adding 6 1000watt medical isolation balanced transformer with farady sheilds, one for each componet. That should do it for this month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 ..this rattles my cage as I hear folks say all wires are the same as they quote a particular DC resistance article. The better the wires...the less noise...better the sound. Ah come on! Since when has ANYONE ever implied by that statement or article that poorly shielded interconnects or 'improperly' located wires allowing RF/EMI are 'the same'!? Context does play a role! Gee, I guess thinking about it that I have failed to take into consideration how appropriate my speaker cables are for tying up a partner of for using them for off-road self rescue with a winch! My bad. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Have never heard speakers that I like more so while I've changed out other components a few times, the K-horns remain.Thanks for all the posts! Rick, where do you live and...uh... never mind [A] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 "Gee, I guess thinking about it that I have failed to take into consideration how appropriate my speaker cables are for tying up a partner of for using them for off-road self rescue with a winch! " Balanced or shielded? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRBILL Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 After all is said and done, it is a matter of efficiency. Klipschorns will reveal hum when lesser speakers are totally silent. I run Klipschorns in what used to be a small bedroom. It took me months to get rid of the last of the line noise. DRBILL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBryan Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 After all is said and done, it is a matter of efficiency. Klipschorns will reveal hum when lesser speakers are totally silent. I run Klipschorns in what used to be a small bedroom. It took me months to get rid of the last of the line noise. DRBILL Amen! That's one of the banes of efficient-speaker owners everywhere. Its not enough to find a piece of equipment that does job and complements the other gear - it also has to be deathly silent or its all for naught. I have moved lots of gear through my system and some wonderfully musical pieces were quickly removed and sent packing because of the noise. I wish more designers and builders would listen to their equipment through efficient speakers - maybe some would spend a bit more time getting the "real-world" noise level down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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