Good morning,
I have had a bit more of a tinker with this amp.
First I tried Mick's suggestion with CD player only connected - makes no difference.
I then connected amp to second system (just Amazon Echo and on to Celestion 5's. Humming is still there. I found that when amp is on standby thr hum remains at a low level. When powered on with selector set on an empty input (does that make sense?) - low level hum which increases slightly at max volume. When selecting a connected input, the volume of the hum increases quite a lot when the wick is turned up.
I could contact the seller, but I'm not sure if I'm being unreasonable here. I can only really hear it when I get to within a metre or so of the speakers, and with the TV on (sound off) the Plasma's fans cover it. Also it looks like the hum is more noticeable through my Zu speakers than with the Celestions (98dB vs. 88dB if that makes any difference).
I'm doing this secretly while Mrs. Pony is out of the house (if she gets wind of this, my name will be mud) and as far as telling her about it, I'll have to pick my moment. Which is why I was asking if the amp is safe to use in the short term.
I just dropped in, to see what condition my condition was in
T/T: Inspire Monarch, X200 tonearm, Ortofon Quintet Blue. Phono: Project Tube Box CD: Marantz CD6006 (UK Edition); Amp: Musical Fidelity A5 Integrated.
Speakers: Zu Omen Def, REL T9i subwoofer. Cables: Atlas Equator interconnects, Atlas Hyper 3.0 speaker cables
T'other system:
Echo Dot, Amptastic Mini One,Arcam A75 integrated, Celestion 5's, BK XLS-200 DF
A/V:
LG 55" OLED, Panasonic Blu Ray, Sony a/v amp, MA Radius speakers, REL Storm sub
Forget the past, it's gone. And don't worry about the future, it doesn't exist. There is only NOW.
KICKSTARTER: ENABLING SCAMMERS SINCE 2009
Halifax is fairly near to Chorley.
You could have a chat with Nick Gorham http://www.longdogaudio.com/
Chris
Common sense isn't anymore!
If it was like this when you got it then you are not being unreasonable. Any hum at all is completely unacceptable. Obviously in a private sale caveat emptor applies so you've got no real legal comeback but might be worth contacting him, perhaps he is a reasonable man.
Current Lash Up:
TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.
Hi Andrew,
I've just had the amp on with no sources connected, and the hum is the same as it was when an "empty" input was selected before, ie low level and with a slight increase when volume knob is turned fully. The hum increases a lot more at full volume when a source is connected and selected.
As I said before, the hum is less noticeable through the Celestions except when volume knob is turned to full. And that's not going to happen in normal use. So maybe it's normal - perhaps all amps will hum to some degree at full volume. The sensitivity of the Zu's perhaps are just exaggerating this, in which case I'll probably sell the Audion (with a heavy heart) and have the Wazoo checked over in the next few weeks.
I just dropped in, to see what condition my condition was in
T/T: Inspire Monarch, X200 tonearm, Ortofon Quintet Blue. Phono: Project Tube Box CD: Marantz CD6006 (UK Edition); Amp: Musical Fidelity A5 Integrated.
Speakers: Zu Omen Def, REL T9i subwoofer. Cables: Atlas Equator interconnects, Atlas Hyper 3.0 speaker cables
T'other system:
Echo Dot, Amptastic Mini One,Arcam A75 integrated, Celestion 5's, BK XLS-200 DF
A/V:
LG 55" OLED, Panasonic Blu Ray, Sony a/v amp, MA Radius speakers, REL Storm sub
Forget the past, it's gone. And don't worry about the future, it doesn't exist. There is only NOW.
KICKSTARTER: ENABLING SCAMMERS SINCE 2009
Location: London
Posts: 313
I'm David.
Location: North Island New Zealand
Posts: 1,757
I'm Chris.
A well designed amplifier, (applying to separate pre and power amps as well ) will have total silence at all volume levels.
Its not hard to do , where opto coupling, or transformer coupling is used between stages.
A totally silent audio system adds immensely to your enjoyment of music. vs music + noise