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Hi,you were a great help last time,I have the Dynakit Amp and the thrift store Sony speakers which sound great,best $70 ever spent,I have noticed a slight hum from the speakers when amp is on,and my system is hooked up to a Monster HTS 1000 power center it is a line filter and surge protector but somehow there is a ground problem that is causing hum to get in,it isn't too noticable unless you sit 4 or less feet from speakers ,I have tried my best to keep the interconnect/speaker cables seperate from the power cords,at least a foot or two away especially the runs from amp,preamp and CD player which I use the most,could it be an internal problem with the nature of the tube amp.also the power cord on the amp has no polarity identity,one blade on the plug is not larger than the other.What do you think and hey,do you think I would be wasting my time if I could try out a good interconnect from Kimber or Audioquest! positive there is no truth that cables make any difference!
Answer -
Dear Peter,
Ground problems are the worst. It could be the house current, the surge protector, the amp. And worst of all, they always seem to occur where you're using polarized (three prong) power cords. My electrical theory is too rusty to hazard a guess why.
Try defeating the polarized plug of the surge protector where it connects to the house outlet. Use one of those three-to-two adapters from the hardware store. I did this a while ago when my rig was configured differently, and it worked. Although the instructions say to ground the adapters to the face plate screw, I never do, and it doesn't seem to make a difference.
Point of fact is that very, very few pieces of audio equipment actually need polarized power cords. I don't know why the bigger pieces, especially amps and preamps, have been gravitating toward them. Go figure.
Good luck!
Kindest regards,
Kevin Thanks the power cord on the surge protector is large,polarized plus it has a ground pin so it will only plug in the outlet one way,I haven't tried reversing the amp cord yet,been busy,plus I want to know what precautions need to be taken as far as seperating speaker cable/interconnects from power cords when you have tons of wires it is difficult to route them more than half a foot or so apart,my PS audio preamp has a seperate power supply with a 6 foot or so cord and putting that away from the equipment eliminates hum on that end.I will try what you said but it isn't major noise I just hear it during quiet passages 3 feet from the speakers but not much when I sit 10 feet away,just been reading the less noise,the purer the sound.
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Dear Peter,
IMHO, both power cords and interconnects, with the exception of Kimber products--but there's a hint there, are so well insulated that taking extraordinary measures to keep them separated is a lot of work for miniscule results. Fact is most rigs have gobs of wire and very little space in which to organize them. I've got the usual, tho' organized, tangle of spaghetti behind my rig, and I've never noticed anything untoward or sounding negative. If you're that concerned, Audio Advisor (www.audioadvisor.com) sells cable organizers, big slitted sleeves into which you can group your cables. Put the power cords in one and your interconnects in the other. Still, I don't think it's necessary.
BTW, Kimber doesn't bother with intricate shielding on its interconnects. Their products, tho' very expensive, work just as well as any others which are usually heavily shielded. My guess is that Kimber has figured it out: 'tain't no big deal.
I still think the hum is in your polarized power cord. Try the defeat mechanism I recommended before.
Kindest regards,
Kevin Thanks,because they sell alot of junk like $400 power cords,all supposed to let more sound come through.I'll forget about the cables and enjoy the music,one more question what is your opinion on the high end table radios particularlly the Tivoli Audio Model One or Two and the Boston Acoustics Receptor,they both have excellent sound but they are $100 and $150 respectivally and only mono,are they both worth it I was just wondering ig you have tried them out which has better sound and?or reception?
Answer -
Dear Peter,
I have the Tivoli Model Two, the stereo version with the outboard 2nd speaker and subwoofer. I think it sounds great; excellent reception. Haven't heard the BA Receptor, but others have said good things about it.
Kindest regards,
Kevin Is it worth that kind of money,honestly? I believe I found the cause of some of the amp on.My kitchen has no windows and I keep the flourescent light on unless it is a bright sunny day,the ballast hums when it is on and somehow gets into the ac of the stereo,(I thought the power conditioner would stop that but I guess not)So if I keep the light off it reduces it a bit.
Answer -
Dear Peter,
Y'know, if there had been (1) broadband internet with radioparadise.com (highly recommended) and live streamed baseball audio and video or (2) satellite radio when I bought the Tivoli, I probably wouldn't have bought it no matter how good the sound. At the time (2002) I wanted to hear the MLB playoffs on ESPN radio in the worst way at my office, so I went and got the Tivoli. It was worth the money then. It's gathering dust now. I work out of a home office and have radioparadise.com on pretty much all the time, and have XM Satellite radio for out of town baseball. I'll find a use for the Tivoli, perhaps as a vacation radio. Dunno.
Good get on the flourescent ballast. If the offending fixture is on the same circuit as your rig, then the hum will bypass the conditioner. I say this because the hum in my rig certainly bypassed my conditioner (Ad Com 515) because the conditioner only conditions voltage. It doesn't condition polarity or ground effects.
Kindest regards,
Kevin i enjoy talking audio with you,I need to find a club in my area,near Washington DC,I was thinking yesterday you don't see much reviews in audio mags about satelite radio.is it audiophile quality? I know Polk and I believe Denon now make XM recievers for the home that are supposed to have advantages over the more basic ones.What market is there now for high-end tuners by Magnum Dynalab ,I mean NPR stations have some good programing and often sound good and if you are near a big city like NY or Boston there are some good college stations (88.1 to 91.9) usually.Most cities now even large ones have just one full-time classical station the listeners whom I think these tuners would appeal to ,in NYC where I grew up there used to be a few good jazz stations as well but the stations are out for the money and younger crowd.WNCN which used to play classical up to about 1990 won an award for best sonics and programming it is now classic rock.My personal quirk with satelite radio is while the $12 a month that Sirus and Xm charge is not really much would I really listen to such a range of music?it is good because XM has all mjor league baseball games and Siruis the NFL so I guess it all depends on your tastes,However,some of the stations are too narrowly focused ,I like oldies but they have a seperate station for 50s 60's and 70's so if I want to hear the Beatles,Buddy Holly and Chicago I would have to tune to the respective Decades.whereas the oldies station here on AM though ,plays them all,so I am not sure if I want to step up to satelite,I would rather go to the library and take out the many choices in CD,s,OH one more thing how is the original Bose Wave radio? Do you know? Have a Happy New Year.
AnswerDear Peter,
Actually, Sound & Vision Magazine (www.soundandvisionmag.com) has run several articles about both Sirius and XM. You can access them via the archive or search functions on their web site.
Is digital satellite radio sound audiophile grade? What's audiophile grade? It's good sound, a cut above FM. However, keep in mind that any transmitted sound (FM, satellite, web streaming) is not going to deliver the same quality sound that an amp/receiver, CD/DVD player, and speakers will in your listening room. They are limited by all manner of technical issues, not least of which is bandwidth.
Does the fact that gear makers are making satellite an option on some of their products mean that FM is biting the dust? Are old-style, high end FM tuners going the way of dinosaurs? Probably not. The attractions of satellite radio are (1) no commercials, (2) dedicated sports programming, and (3) access to formats that might not be available in your local market. This is especially true of rural markets where programming alternatives are at a premium, especially classical. However, even some urban markets, notably NYC and Washington DC, do not have a commercial-free/NPR classical music station. Keep in mind that so long as FM receivers (i.e., table radios) are relatively inexpensive, both AM and FM will survive handsomely because (1) they're free and (2) advertizers will continue to purchase ad time--ad revenue is the sole source of income to these stations. Pretty simple economic equation: listeners equals survival.
I've listened to the Bose Wave radio. Impressive bass using clever acoustic construction. Too boomy for my tastes. IMHO, too expensive for anyone's wallet. The Tivoli radio costs less and delivers IMHO better quality sound.
Happy New Year!
Kindest regards,
Kevin
