A slight buzz when using a no-Naim Power amp
Posted by: yairf on 18 January 2003
Hi all
My system is CDX+PSX, 82+2xHiCap and a no-Naim power amp (literally speaking
)
The power amp has RCA inputs, about 25cm apart from one another.
The wiring scheme is as follows:
82 -> HiCap using black snaic
HiCap -> power amp using two Chord Cobra 2 interconnects, having Din-4 plugs at the HiCap end, each carrying one channel (same as connecting two 135 monoblocks)
In normal connection, the sound is shut in and rather sluggish, having null top end and a rather boring presentation.
Knowing Naim's susceptibility to ground loops, I disconnected the ground at the RCA plug entering the right channel of the power amp - nothing happened. Then I tried the same trick with the left channel and suddenly the sound opened and became the outstandingly musical sound I had anticipated at the first place.
The major drawback to this configuration is a very slight buzz I get at the left speaker, which bothers in quiet passages.
I tried using a 4.5 and 9 ohm resistors at the ground posts of the left channel cable but without any positive results.
Any ideas?
I was thinking about two options:
(1) use a cable between the 82 output (normally going to a 180 power amp, with DIN 5 plug) - this was dropped as the Hi-Cap is the ground source so I guess I must use it to carry the signal.
(2) use a single Snaic-type cable and separate it to 2 RCA cables as close to the power amp as possible (anyone tried something like that? will it make a difference?)
The power amp was tested in other systems and functioned faultlessly.
Thanks for any comments.
Yair
My system is CDX+PSX, 82+2xHiCap and a no-Naim power amp (literally speaking
)The power amp has RCA inputs, about 25cm apart from one another.
The wiring scheme is as follows:
82 -> HiCap using black snaic
HiCap -> power amp using two Chord Cobra 2 interconnects, having Din-4 plugs at the HiCap end, each carrying one channel (same as connecting two 135 monoblocks)
In normal connection, the sound is shut in and rather sluggish, having null top end and a rather boring presentation.
Knowing Naim's susceptibility to ground loops, I disconnected the ground at the RCA plug entering the right channel of the power amp - nothing happened. Then I tried the same trick with the left channel and suddenly the sound opened and became the outstandingly musical sound I had anticipated at the first place.
The major drawback to this configuration is a very slight buzz I get at the left speaker, which bothers in quiet passages.
I tried using a 4.5 and 9 ohm resistors at the ground posts of the left channel cable but without any positive results.
Any ideas?
I was thinking about two options:
(1) use a cable between the 82 output (normally going to a 180 power amp, with DIN 5 plug) - this was dropped as the Hi-Cap is the ground source so I guess I must use it to carry the signal.
(2) use a single Snaic-type cable and separate it to 2 RCA cables as close to the power amp as possible (anyone tried something like that? will it make a difference?)
The power amp was tested in other systems and functioned faultlessly.
Thanks for any comments.
Yair