Buzzing in my speakers w/ new amp


I've just introduced a new Odyssey Stratos Amp with a cap upgrade to my system, and I'm getting a nasty buzzing sound in my speakers. It sounds like its definitely an electrical issue. I contacted Klaus at Odyssey (great guy!) and he had me disconnect the interconnects and the buzzing went away. This tells me that the amp is picking up some interference and its not within the amp itself (unless its the interconnect connections, which I doubt). I think I'm dealing with some serious dirty power. I did not have this problem with my previous amp (Marantz MM9000), but that amp did not have the same quality (sensitive) power supply.

I'm hoping that you people have some solutions for me to try, so that I can stop focusing on the buzz, and concentrate on the beautiful music this amp is delivering.

I've already tried isolating the cables, different (dedicated) outlets,different interconnects, a PS Audio UO (did quiet it down a bit), a "cheater plug" (dangerous?), a Monster Cable HTS5000(the high-end one with the "glowing meter") and a PS Audio P300 power re-generator (made it worse!!!). The Stratos Amp has two little blue LED's inside to illuminate the Odyssey logo. I'm wondering if these could possibly be introducing some interference? In the past I've had some experience with this type of wiring introducing problems.

My system consists of the following:

Sunfire TheaterGrand 2 Pre-Pro
Odyssey Stratos 2ch amp
Marantz MM9000 Amp (center, surrounds for theater)
Alisis MasterLink HardDisk Recorder/CD transport
MSB Link DAC3
Sony DVD (high end, forgot model)
PS Audio P300
PS Audio 20 Amp UO
Monster HTS5000
TaraLabs interconnects (high end, forgot model)
TaraLabs speaker cables


Im sure this is a common problem out there, so HELP ME PLEASE!!!!
mhubbard
I have a Adcom 5800 that I bought that has a hum...
I have tried switching interconnects and it still HUMS...
Any ideas???
Any suggestions would be great...
Phil
Just an update.

I receved the replacement amp on Friday just as Klaus said I would (and for my trouble he included some really beautiful adjustable isolation cones!). I hooked the amp up and GONE was the buzz, totsl silence!!!

THEN I heard this terrible ZAP!, ZAP! sound!!! I'm thinking "what the hell is going on!!! Then I notice that there is no sound coming from the right speaker!!! I look behind the componet rack.... and a frickin inner connect that was dissconnected from my other 5ch amp had fallen down and made contact with the right speaker terminal on the back of the Stratos Amp, blowing the two fuses inside the amp!!!

OBVIOUSLY THIS WAS NO FAULT OF ODYSSEY OR KLAUS, JUST ME BEING AN IDIOT WHO WAS TOO EAGER TO SEE IF THE BUZZING HAD GONE AWAY, AND DIDN'T SECURE ALL THE OTHER CABLES SURROUNDING THE AMP. Life can be a real bitch sometimes.

I simply replaced the two fuses inside the amp, and all is good.

The amp is VERY nice indeed!!!
OK, heres the deal. Just for the hell of it I tried disconnecting one interconnect to the back of the amp from the pre-pro (the right channel).......the buzzing went away!!! The buzzing went away!!!!

So naturally I thought I had found the culprit...the right channel on the amp. NOPE, I decided to reverse the hook up and connected the right and disconnected the left.... the buzzing stopped.

The buzzing only happens when both interconnects are connected to the amp. I AGAIN tried different IC's and got the same results.

I dont think this is a problem with the pre-pro, I feel that there could be a connection problem within the amp itself. I called Klaus at Odyssey and he was very cool and very concerned about this issue. He never took the tact of "your doing something wrong". Instead he offered to sit down tonight and MAKE ME A NEW AMP, then take it home with him to hook up to his own system to make sure its in working order. I only hope this is the problem and Klaus isn't waisting his valuble time to help me out.

Although I wish this was never an issue in the first place, I understand that sometimes this stuff happens. I'm just glad I'm dealing with a company that is willing to go the extra mile to help out a customer.

Thanks Klaus!
Mhubbard, the ground design in each amp is different. Some is more sensitive than the other.
The same cable will not make hum noise in my second system.

Not sure if you have any radio shack grade of cheap interconnects but you can try that and see if they make hum.
have you addressed the issue of cable routing. I have found with one of my amps that if the cables pass near the transformers I get a buzz. I have to take the cables straight back. You were going to disassemble your system & start from scratch - did that not point out the offending component? You can try to use the cheater on the Pre as well as the amp - its never worked for me. Some one else mentioned a solder crack in the cable or RCA could cause a problem - YEP. Try using different cables and if you still have it sub in a different amp and see what happens.
There could simply be something wrong with the amplifier. I mean broken, not in design...
I have TaraLabs RSC Prime interconnects. The damn things better be shielded!!! If there not, they should have spent a little less on the fancy (yet beautiful) box they came in, and done it right!!!

However, as I mentioned in the beginning, I did not have this buzz issue with the previous amp, which used the same IC's. How about taking the cheater plug off my amp and trying it on the pre-amp instead? Is there any logic in this?
Many interconnects are only shielded at one end. Not sure if it would help, but try reversing each pair individually and see/hear what happens. A few cables like the Siltech SQ-88 are shielded at both ends.

Mborner...The preamp is grounded through the AC cord. Everything is "plugged" into the preamp, ie, by way of the interconnect cables.
Mhubbard, what interconnect are you using? Does it have shielding? I have the same issue with my amp that it only works with certain interconnects and not all the interconnects. The one that works are NBS and Audio Note.
Many manufacture don't shield their cable or don't shield properly.
Sugarbrie,
I certainly hope that when you say everything should be plugged into the preamp, that youÂ’re not including the power cord as well. You should never connect the power cord from your amp into the power outlet on the back of your preamp. However, there should only be one power cord in the entire system that should be grounded, weather it is the amp or the preamp doesn't really matter. I mentioned the amp because generally it is the amp that has a ground plug.
Actually.....it is the preamp that needs to be grounded, not the amplifier. Everything is plugged into the preamp, including the amplifier..

When someone has a ground loop hum, the first piece of gear that is usually tried with no ground to get rid of the hum is the amplifier..
Make sure that the only thing grounded is the amp. Everything else will ground through the ic's
Then it sounds like it's something else like possibly the interconnects or another problem mentioned by the others...

Sometimes a bad or cracked solder joint can cause a hum also. Either where the RCA plug is connected to the cable, or where the RCA jack is connected inside the piece of equipment.
Hey Sugarbrie,

I already had a cheater plug from the amp to the PS Audio UO. So I added a cheater plug to the UO cord thats plugged into the wall....and I got the same buzzzz.

I think its time to disconnect everything and add componets back in one at a time to isolate the culprit.

Anyone else have any ideas?
Very funny...No, just try a cheater plug (50 cents) on the wall outlet for the AC power cord coming from the amplifier. If that works, then you could always cut the ground off the end of the AC cord.

This assumes it is a ground loop hum through the power. The interconnect hum is also possible...
OK, why don't you try and simplify the system a bit. Try disconnecting everything in the system. Now hook up your DVD player, your preamp, your Stratos and your 2 main speakers. Plug everything straight into the wall and see if you still get the buzzing. I'm not familiar with your I/C's. Are they shielded? If you still get the buzzing at this point you may want to try some shielded I/C's. If this doesn't work, call Klaus. It's not the LED's that 's causing the buzz.
i have odyssey mono's(2 extreme 2 standard)i got a hum when i added the standard monos for my large vmps sub yesterday that wasnt there before(old sub amp didn't have ground-standard 2 prong)have 3 dedicated lines for system.added cheater plugs to do a quick fix-i just wanted to get the tunes going.i'll unhook the cable this weekend and see if its the problem.
STOP!!! Do not go into the amp unless you are bent on killing yourself. Try disconnecting your cable tv first and lets see where that leads us.
if it is your cable tv, then get a rat shack 75ohm to 300ohm and then convert it back to 75ohm and that will break the ground... Cheap fix
Hey Sugarbrie,

Do you mean take the top plate off the amp and "bend" the ground wire upward?

If not can you detail your idea?

Thanks
I had similar problem with my ADCOM 8502. It drove me crazy. I was ready to send it to a repair shop. Then I changed interconnect cables and the buzz went away.
Do you have a cable for TV coming in? If so try disconnecting it and see what happens.