"white noise" from the speakers

[Daniel75]

Hiya

Is tiny amount of "white noise"/gentle hum coming out of the speakers normal? In my case it happens when power amp is on. Its very quiet and in order to hear it one would have to be literally millimeters away from the tweeter.

I would assume that it is but thought that I will double check. After fixing transformer hum by simply moving cables around Im on the quest of making sure that there is no uneccesary noises coming out of my system:)

Thanks!

[YNWaN]

Yes, it is quite normal.

[nat8808]

Normal as in common in a well functioning amp.. I'm sure it can be eliminated somehow though..

I find white-noise often is worse with age of the amp - I wonder if it's down to capacitors (disregarding sensitivity mis-matches throughout the system)

I get ground-loop hum simply by plugging into different sockets around the room - pre in one socket, power in another. So I use a long power strip (some old, German made, metal server type thing to go up the side of a large server rack).

As I live in a big block of flats, I also get different switching noises; white noise more prominent, then less prominent, then more prominent in few-minute cycles and then different at different times of day.. I have a Power Inspired regeneration unit purchased cheap off eBay but yet to set it up (damned female IEC connections creating a mental barrier!)

[Macca]

[QUOTE=nat8808;519932]).

As I live in a big block of flats, I also get different switching noises; white noise more prominent, then less prominent, then more prominent in few-minute cycles and then different at different times of day.QUOTE]

At least you should get good immunity from RFI as you are surrounded by a steel-reinforced concrete cage. Remember how the old mobile phones wouldn't work in multi-storey car parks?

[YNWaN]

I'm sure it can be eliminated somehow though..

It can't with present technology, unless one mutes the output that is. All valves and output transistors produce some self noise.

[Radford Revival]

Absolutely normal, like Mark said, all valves and transistors produce noise, and in fact any resistance/resistor, almost by definition, produces noise. Careful engineering can reduce this noise inherent in any circuit to a minimum, but the laws of physics dictate a theoretical limit that can be achieved. Thankfully for most audio applications, acceptable noise levels are perfectly achievable.

[sumday]

as above, perfectly normal at the distance you quote.
your worst enemy will be using the same loop as a fridge or microwave oven.

my old crt tv used to be on the same loop as the microwave resulting in pretty lines on the screen when both were in use and a fridge kicking in or out can result in nasty audiable spikes through the speakers

nige.

[Daniel75]

Thanks guys! :)

D

[synsei]

You would have hated my old Classé DR5 pre-amp Dan, it hissed like a python but it did sound good though. No such issues now I've moved over to a passive pre and there's barely a whisper from my Quad 306, apart from music of course (before some wag asks if it is plugged in) :lol: To be honest I wouldn't worry about a little noise from your system, especially if you have to be virtually on top of the speakers to hear it ;)

[Daniel75]

You would have hated my old Classé DR5 pre-amp Dan, it hissed like a python but it did sound good though. No such issues now I've moved over to a passive pre and there's barely a whisper from my Quad 306, apart from music of course (before some wag asks if it is plugged in) :lol: To be honest I wouldn't worry about a little noise from your system, especially if you have to be virtually on top of the speakers to hear it ;)

Absolutely agree:) I am dreaming about owning my own mancave thoough - with dedicated power lines and so on and on. Living in a very old building can be incredibly frustrating - you should hear transformers in my power amp when my flatmate is using her hair dryer:)

[synsei]

Absolutely agree:) I am dreaming about owning my own mancave thoough - with dedicated power lines and so on and on. Living in a very old building can be incredibly frustrating - you should hear transformers in my power amp when my flatmate is using her hair dryer:)

Sounds to me as if you are in dire need of some mains conditioning or regeneration equipment, there's plenty of info about this on the forum in various threads. Below are a couple of examples to get you started :)

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?25085-Power-Inspired-AG500&highlight=mains+conditioner

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?26471-Balanced-Mains-Transformer-WOW!-Hardwired-Installation-log-(Pic-Heavy!)&highlight=mains+conditioner

[istari_knight]

Aye, sounds like DC on the mains... Hairdryers are a PITA for that ! http://www.hificollective.co.uk/components/diyhifisupply_dcblokker.html or for big amps http://www.lcaudio.com/index.php?page=316