I don’t recall ever hearing it before. When I moved into a new home, the right surround was dead. I took it to an authorized Anthem service center, the only one in the USA, they couldn’t find any problem so as a preventative measure, they disassembled it and reseated everything. When I powered it up is when I noticed. Note this home was built in 1941 and still has "knob and wire" electrical. It looks like everything is grounded but electrical is not my specialty. I’m purchasing a Torus TOT MAX tomorrow so I wonder if that will help. I'm not sure if everything is sharing the same ground. If it were a grounding issue, wouldn't I hear it in the speakers? This is not coming from the speakers, only the amp. |
Thank you everyone for the great intell. I bought a Torus TOT MAX yesterday at a killer price and the dreaded hum is still there. I'm convinced its internal in the amp and something isn't right. This morning real early I powered it up with no input. Nothing else was on and I could hear a ver faint hum from 10 ft away.
I've sent an email to the local Anthem authorized service center, who told me this is normal, and we'll see what they say. As I mentioned before, there has never been a detectable noise (hum) from this unit until they disassembled and re assembled it. Worst case, I bite the bullet and ship it to Anthem factory at a hefty shipping cost. |
jc4659, my guess is either you hit the nail on the head or it's a faulty component. Your suggestion is about the most logical given the history. Another thing I'd like to add, this unit replaced an Integra 50.3 AVR that was dead quiet. I don't believe this "hum" is normal and definitely not acceptable. I'll report the service centers response tomorrow. I believe they are a top notch shop however it's my assumption the tech may have missed something. Whatever the case it's gonna be fixed even at the cost of shipping from Los Angeles to Anthem in Canada and back. |
dhal,
I like the concept of what you and wolf_garcia suggest. Here is Los Angeles we typically don't have the same power issues one would have in other parts of the country however it couldn't hurt. Reviewing the chain of events, I seriously think it's a component issue and I know it's in the amp as it is not coming through the speakers. I'm going to exhaust that possibility first and then add the Emotiva. I like Emotiva products. I have one of their HDMI cables, a couple interconnects, and a power cable (AWG 12).
Here is a more detailed description of the events leading up to my evaluation. I posted this in another forum explaining its wording: Yesterday I purchased a Torus TOT MAX. WOW, what an improvement it made to audio quality however, the "hum" is still there. This morning I got up extra early as it was very quiet in the room and outside so I figured it would be a great time to see to what degree this "hum" was. As luck would have it, I could hear the "hum" in my seating position 10 ft away from the A5, and it was running through the Torus. Correct me if I'm wrong but the Torus should have corrected the problem if it were a grounding issue. Here are the sequence of events leading to this problem. -Bought as a used unit, damaged in shipping -Took it to the only authorized Anthem repair facility in the US here in Los Angeles -Repaired successfully and ran beautifully until -Moved to a new home and the right surround was dead -Brought it back to the service center and they found no issues -Then they completely dismantled it and re assembled finding no issues -As soon as I got it home, I noticed the dreaded "hum" -I returned to the service center the following week and they plugged it in with no interconnects, only the AC power. We heard the hum. Of course we had to put our ears relatively close to the unit to hear. Problem was, there was ambient noise in the room so it wasn't as easy to hear. They said what I was hearing was perfectly normal. The skeptic that I am and never hearing this before, I had my doubts. Now that I've tested it with the Torus, heard the same hum as before at home and at the service center and the fact I never heard it before, tells me there's something not right. Today I sent an email to the service center asking what he suggests. Worst case scenario, I send it to Anthem Canada and get it corrected once and for all. They can expect a telephone call from me tomorrow discussing this and their suggestions. I know they are going to suggest sending it in, of course! They like the business. I don't mind the service bill, it's the shipping I have an issue with since its not exactly small or light weight. |
Today I dropped it off at the local authorized service center who has been the only company to work on my amp. Interesting thing, without opening the cover, I put my ear real close to the vents adjacent to the transformers, there are two, one on the left and one on the right just behind the front panel. I could swear the hum sounds slightly louder from the right side making the right side transformer suspect. I used an analog decibel meter using fast and slow response, and it's hard to tell with the slightest ambient sound pressure. It measured approximately 55 dB with the right side maybe 1/2 - 1 dB higher. Are my ears that good? the proof will be in the pudden when the shop gets into it. The owner said he would get in early when it's dead quiet and listen for the hum.
I told him today that the hum is loudest when power is initially applied then quiets down however, I can still hear the hum from 10 ft away when the room is quiet. Of course when a program is playing, the speakers drown it out so It's inaudible. My Integra DTR-50.3 AVR, $700.00 retail has always been dead quiet. Certainly a $4000.00 retail Anthem A5 amp should be as well.
Lets see what they say in a couple days. Stay tuned! |
My amp has been at the shop since Wednesday and the owner called me this morning at 7:00 am when the shop was dead quiet. Said he did agree the transformer on the right was a bit louder than the left however it was a normal hum. I explained again that it was loudest when you first power it up then the hum diminishes after a few seconds but is still audible. He wants to keep power applied to it and observe.
Another thing I just remembered and haven't mentioned, since the hum began, it has been running a bit warm even at low listening levels when it was in my system. Another thing is this whole thing only began when I moved into this house with knob & wire electrical. It is on a 20 amp circuit.
All of these things suggest DC in the line. Just to review; all of the problems began when I moved in this house. First thing was the surround right channel was dead. The shop found no malfunction indicating a loose connection that suddenly worked when I delivered it to the shop. As a precautionary measure, they disassembled it reseated everything. When I brought it home is when I noticed the hum. After bringing it back to the shop, being told it was normal, brought it home and noticed it running warmer than normal and of course the hum was still there. Since I refuse to accept that its operating normally, its back to the shop.
Again with everything I've read, this smells of DC. Even a Torus TOT MAX made no difference. I just ordered an Emotiva CMX-2. I plan to call the shop tomorrow for status.
Anyone care to guess what the problem is?
My guess is; 1- there's a bad connection, 2- a faulty component (transformer), or 3- DC in the line. |
Picked up my amp today and at the shop it seemed dead quiet however, there's ambient noise in the shop. According to the owner, early in the morning he heard nothing. It was dead quiet. After getting it home I spent the evening re configuring all my wiring taking care no power came in contact with any signal wire. here are my results as I emailed the shop owner:
Hello Morris,
It’s about 10:20 pm and everything sounds great however….
Remember I said that the “hum” could be heard from 10 ft away? Well I just unplugged and powered everything off one thing at a time and here’s my findings; What I can hear from 10 ft away is coming from the speakers. Yes there is a very slight “hum” in the amp and it’s also coming from the speakers. If I disconnected the interconnects from the preamp, no change. Of course since the power is off on the preamp and no signal feeding to the amp. Then I disconnected all the speaker cables and yes there is a “hum” or “buzz” in the amp. It has to be very quiet in the room to hear it.
This “hum” or “buzz” is not only in the amp but sending it through to all 5 channels. this explains why I can hear it from my listening position. I have a surround sound “hum” or “buzz”. So yes, the “hum” or “buzz” is in the amp and the amp also sends this noise to the speakers, all 5 channels. Could it be a bad ground causing this? Again if its the ONLY component with power connected, how could that be? Btw, there is no other electrical device on in the house other than an incandescent lamp for light. I tried powering it straight from the wall, using the Torus TOT MAX, and straight from the wall with a Emotiva CMX-2 Precision AC Line Restoration and Common Mode Filter System without the Torus.
I can only suspect it’s a component in the amp that is defective common to all 5 channels.
Any ideas anyone?
As a last resort, I will send it to Anthem in Canada. Being a current item, they will have all the components to trouble shoot with. It's just expensive to ship from California to Ontario, Canada. May be my last and only option. |
I tried a different power cord. If it were a ground issue, wouldn’t running it through a power conditioner such as the Torus correct it? Also, the Torus is plugged into the outlet by the left channel and I tried plugging directly to the outlet by the right channel. And the electrical connection is a two wire AC connection to the power source. |
After all this, my problem isn't a ground loop, bad ground, or anything external. Reading my email to the repair shop will explain;
Hi Morris,
Ok, I’ve exhausted my resources and have isolated the problem. I have a dedicated AC line I tapped from that powers my tankless water heater. This is a new line installed about 4 weeks ago and the water heater is the only thing powered by it so I ran an extension cord to the Anthem. The only connection after the Anthem is speakers. No input connections what so ever. The “hum” is in the amp AND audible through the speakers, all 5 channels.
I still have my Integra DTR 50.3 and for giggles, unboxed it and connected it. Again, AC line into the Integra and speaker wires to the corresponding speaker. Result, DEAD QUIET! I went a step further and connected the Integra to the wall (not the dedicated line), same result. Another step further and connected the AC line to the Torus, Torus to the Integra, Oppo BDP-103 Blue Ray to the Integra, speakers connected. Again, DEAD QUIET!!
My comparison is a $700.00 Integra AVR to a $4,000.00 Anthem amplifier.
Conclusion; there is something going on internal to the Anthem. No question about it. It’s something common to all 5 channels.
Lets review the chain of events….
When I lived in my condo, you serviced the Anthem and it worked beautifully! Had there been a “buzz”, I would have noticed. I’m POSITIVE of this!
I moved to this house and upon installation, I found the Surround Right channel dead, so I brought it to you. Then technicians finding was everything was good. Considering the contradiction, you recommended the technician disassemble and reassemble the amp.
Up to this time, I never heard a “hum” from the amp. Again, I would have noticed it.
As soon as I got it home, connected everything, I heard the “hum” immediately and brought it back. You called me and said there were no problems and I took a leap of faith doubting my own observations. I’ve never heard a “hum” from an amp before. You stated all amps have a little bit of noise if you put your ear close enough. I wondered why I could hear it from my seating position. Were my ears that good? Possibly but, thats when I put my ear close to each and every speaker and discovered the same “hum” from the amp, I heard coming from each and every speaker.
This is when I brought it back to your shop. In addition to the “hum”, the right side front panel ear was loose which got fixed.
Immediately when I put it back in the system, the “hum” was apparent and I tried to describe it best I could. Again, doubting my own judgement, I gave it a day or so. I came to the realization that what I was hearing was not normal.
It all became real to me today when I put the Integra in the system! To add icing on the cake, the technician neglected to install one of the housing screws and your office lady, had to mail it to me. It arrived today and I installed it.
Morris, I’m at a loss on what to do at this point. It’s clear the amp is not functioning properly. A piece of gear of this caliber should be light years better than the Integra it replaced in my system, and it was, until the technician disassembled and re assembled its innards.
I need to know how we are going to address this. I’m very upset and exhausted at this point and ready to send it to Anthem in Canada. Before I do, I need to know what you can offer for a solution. I know this will get resolved, the question being by who and at what cost. I’ve thrown a lot of $$ at this already.
Thank you and I look forward to resolving this expeditiously.
|
For those who have offered advice, education, and information, I am very thankful. I've tried everything almost imaginable to find the source of the "hum". I've deduced the problem to it's source being my original assumption. Doubting myself provided a lot of experience and I'm sure useful education for myself or someone else one day. I decided to send the amp to the factory where the technicians who will repair my amp work on only one brand, the one they specialize in, their own!
The shop did not reply to my email. I became more upset by the hour and decided to send it back to its creator who will surely find and fix the problem. Stay tuned as I will surely post again when my Anthem amp returns and is functional again.
Lesson to learn here; don't take a Ferrari to a Chevy mechanic!
|
Thank you blindjim,
I’ve done every test I could come up with. The best isolation scheme was to only have the Anthem A5 connected to the speakers with no other component connected or plugged into house power. The hum was audible from the amp and coming through the speakers. The the Anthem was replaced with it’s predecessor, an Integra 50.3. With the Integra, no hum what so ever!
why does a $4000.00 amp hum yet a "consumer" grade amp is dead quiet?
the Anthem A5 is currently en route to Canada. I'll have a report in 2weeks or sooner. In the mean time, I'm having two 20 amp dedicated circuits installed so the amp will have plenty of power available. |
***UPDATE***
Well, my Anthem A5 made it to its birthplace safely and today I had a conversation with one of the customer service reps. Sure enough, there WAS a problem. Replace a couple bad capacitors. I don't have the hard copy report yet but I'm glad they DID find a problem, confirming I wasn't imagining the "buzz", "hum", or whatever!
As soon as I get the full report, I will list the problems here.
Also, I located an Anthem P5 for a killer price that will be replacing this A5 so it will be going up for sale if the P5 checks out healthy upon arrival. STAY TUNED !....... |
Just received the service report. All of the power supply capacitors (they look like long C-cell size batteries) needed replacing. It's like a new amplifier now. I understand the caps are what fails soonest in most cases. Funny thing, I just purchased an Anthem P5 that will probably replace this A5 and if so, will be up for sale.... |
***UPDATE***
My Anthem A5 will be here Friday but one caveat, just picked up my (new to me) Anthem P5 from UPS. OMG is it a BEAST! Holy crap, it's 130 lbs and just connected it up. This may not be the place for a review and I cannot articulate like the pros, just sharing my latest events. The Integra 50.3, my spare unit had to pacify me while the A5 was traveling from Los Angeles to Ontario Canada, it's birthplace. Sure it didn't sound anywhere as good as the A5 and as I yearned for it's return, fond this P5. Of all places, Craigslist. It came with 4 Audioquest Diamondback XLR cables. Why not 5 is a mystery. I'm not crazy about the Diamondbacks because they look like very early versions with choke type strain reliefs that clamp/screw together. In addition, a pair of Transparent Musicwave Super speaker cables, 12 ft length. These things are HUGE! Im curious to how they will sound compared to my Audioquest Type II speaker cables. I think I'll keep the Integra as a spare and put the A5 up for sale. I hate to since it's in near mint condition however, I'd say the P5 is a nice concession. Wouldn't you?
|
