wildstar
New member
This is driving me crazy. What amount of hum or buzz, if any, is normal or acceptable from a power amp? And I mean from the amp itself, not the speakers connected to it.
I've got a Carvin DCM150 power amp in my rack. When powered up, it emits fairly strong hum. Doesn't matter if anything is connected or not, it's there if the amp is on. So I figure it's the power supply or power transformer.
It's normal for power supplies to emit a small level of hum, isn't it? Like if you get up real close, tilt your head, and everything is quiet in the room. Right?
But I can hear this across the room - about 15 feet away. It's not loud, but it's strong enough to carry that far. You can't hear it if people are talking or music is playing.
I called Carvin, described the hum, and they took it back and sent me a new unit. Which is now doing exactly the same thing. I haven't found out from them if they found a fault in the first amp or not, but plan to call and ask.
I moved the first amp around the apartment, to different outlets and circuits, and the hum was always there. I haven't done that with this new one yet, but I will soon.
I just don't know if the problem is me, or the amp. Is this normal, or malfunction? I could record and post a clip with a reference level of some kind, if anyone is that curious and benevolent. :laugh2:
Thanks for any tips. I really need this little problem out of my life so I can move on to more important things!
Cheers
I've got a Carvin DCM150 power amp in my rack. When powered up, it emits fairly strong hum. Doesn't matter if anything is connected or not, it's there if the amp is on. So I figure it's the power supply or power transformer.
It's normal for power supplies to emit a small level of hum, isn't it? Like if you get up real close, tilt your head, and everything is quiet in the room. Right?
But I can hear this across the room - about 15 feet away. It's not loud, but it's strong enough to carry that far. You can't hear it if people are talking or music is playing.
I called Carvin, described the hum, and they took it back and sent me a new unit. Which is now doing exactly the same thing. I haven't found out from them if they found a fault in the first amp or not, but plan to call and ask.
I moved the first amp around the apartment, to different outlets and circuits, and the hum was always there. I haven't done that with this new one yet, but I will soon.
I just don't know if the problem is me, or the amp. Is this normal, or malfunction? I could record and post a clip with a reference level of some kind, if anyone is that curious and benevolent. :laugh2:
Thanks for any tips. I really need this little problem out of my life so I can move on to more important things!
Cheers
