How deadly is transformer hummm...


Hello Folks,

I recently collected a lightly used (less than 50 hours) Dennis Had - Inspire - "Fire-Bottle." Within some few days, I noticed a humm emerging from somewhere within the chassis of the unit. As the unit was sold in "perfect" condition, I found the humm startling. Mind you, I've discovered absolutely no evidence confirming the sound is compromised; I mostly hear the sound within a couple feet of the amp, when the surrounding environment is silent.

This amp truly is a work of art. Nevertheless, I am now dealing with this 'humm' sound. I bought an Emotiva CMX-2 as a way to deal with DC offset, and this has not impacted the situation to any detectable improvement. Perhaps there is a slight improvement, but negligible. What to do?? Should I just relax, shake it off, and assume the amp will live well, or a down-the-road transformer replacement will simply become part of my experience with this amp? Should I put pressure on the seller to "right" the situation? He claimed, as I asked him, that it was the quietest amp he's ever owned. His add boasted that the fire-bottle exceeded amps from Pass Labs, a Cherry Amp, and one other that escapes memory. The seller has presented all of his communication in the manner of friendly professional etiquette. 

Your thoughts are appreciated. 
listening99

Showing 4 responses by wolf_garcia

I have a very quiet Firebottle amp as my main workhorse...I mean really quiet, and although it's plugged into a Humbuster III (2 amps are plugged in to the thing...one SS used only rarely for outdoor stuff that had some transformer hum, hence buying the Humbuster) it's quiet without it. I'm seriously sensitive to amp hum and say NO NO NO. Note also that the output transformers do also get hot. I wouldn't put any rubbery thing anywhere near those transformers. If all else fails send Dennis an email via Ebay...he has another guy who works on his amps who is on AudioAficianado.org although his name escapes me.
If you place your ear near the transformer of a Firebottle you could burn yer face off. 
There is a sense that the amp is on if you listen very close to the transformers, but any hum is at such a low lever as to be virtually inaudible unless maybe you listened to it with a heat resisting stethoscope. Note that relative to any other amp I've owned, either transistor or tube, there is nearly zero noise even if you put your ear on a driver...the the Firebottle is by far the quietest amp I've ever owned.