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Bluesound releases 2024 ICON streamer

sapphari said:
I'm experiencing the ground loop buzz/hum issue others have reported. Bit tough to characterize as it's sporadic (sometimes nearly silent, sometimes audible from several feet away from speaker). Buzzing is only coming from one channel.

Amp is Buckeye Purifi, connection via XLR. Using remote trigger between Icon and Purifi does not solve the problem. The Buckeye doesn't have RCA, so I can't link the units that way to resolve the issue (as suggested by Bluesound). Swapping orientation of Icon plug into socket (this is possible since both prongs are the same size) didn't resolve it.

Will continue troubleshooting and decide if I need to make a return. Real shame cause the Icon sounds awesome.
Click to expand...
A couple things to try out:
  1. Do you have anything else plugged into the Icon, like a TV or other source? While my Icon has no loop issues, I had a ground loop issue on my Marantz to my Buckeye amp from my projector's HDMI port that was fixed when I plugged everything into the same circuit.
  2. Does it happen on both channels? You could try swapping L/R to confirm. Is it only during playback or even when idle?
  3. On my Marantz/Buckeye, I use RCA to XLR cables from Benchmark, and they have been really solid. I wonder if that would help. However, I'm pretty sure that balanced XLR is always best.
Hope you can get this figured out.
 
pogo said:
The ICON was tested by STEREO and performed better than the DMP-A10 in terms of measured values.
Click to expand...
Where please / link ? All i could find was a write up of the spec and no actual measurements / comparision. Even on the "detailed" DMP-a10 review there wasn't a measurment in sight !

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scotchrocks said:
A couple things to try out:
  1. Do you have anything else plugged into the Icon, like a TV or other source? While my Icon has no loop issues, I had a ground loop issue on my Marantz to my Buckeye amp from my projector's HDMI port that was fixed when I plugged everything into the same circuit.
  2. Does it happen on both channels? You could try swapping L/R to confirm. Is it only during playback or even when idle?
  3. On my Marantz/Buckeye, I use RCA to XLR cables from Benchmark, and they have been really solid. I wonder if that would help. However, I'm pretty sure that balanced XLR is always best.
Hope you can get this figured out.
Click to expand...
1. I have HDMI and phono plugged in. Right now everything is on the same circuit. Planning to mess around with that a bit though.
2. One channel is very very faint (I'd never mention it). It's mainly in one channel. Was going to try swapping cables and stuff to see how it behaves.
3. Hmm good thought.

The good news is I think it's only during idle, so doesn't affect actual playback. So more of an annoyance than a real performance issue. I'm still trying to decide if I will put up with this or not.
 
sapphari said:
1. I have HDMI and phono plugged in. Right now everything is on the same circuit. Planning to mess around with that a bit though.
2. One channel is very very faint (I'd never mention it). It's mainly in one channel. Was going to try swapping cables and stuff to see how it behaves.
3. Hmm good thought.

The good news is I think it's only during idle, so doesn't affect actual playback. So more of an annoyance than a real performance issue. I'm still trying to decide if I will put up with this or not.
Click to expand...
Another thing I forgot to note was that I encounter some ground loop buzzing from the HDMI connection to the projector (even when on the same circuit) if the projector is off. I assume this is specific to the projector's HDMI implementation, but it might be worth disconnecting and powering on/off different combinations of connected devices (HDMI, phono) to see if it still persists.
 
I disconnected all connections to the Icon (just leaving the xlr to the amp) and still have the buzzing. So it's not an external connection to the Icon causing the issue. Appreciate the help and ideas though, thank you!
 
sapphari said:
I have not. I think that should do the trick, but Bluesound specs the RCA out with an 8dB hit to SNR compared to XLR. Also I do not have that cable on hand. The solution posed by Mahir in this thread worked for me. It's not a tidy solution, but it's very easy to establish and it works.
Click to expand...
I don't care about SINAD at all, I listen and have fun. Good luck with your decision.
 
Centuriaromano said:
@sapphari
Could you explain better what you did and how you did it?
Click to expand...
Yea sorry the pics in the link are fuzzy and not well described. To mimic what I did, you would plug this RCA terminal that GXAlan linked to an RCA output on the Icon. I'm using the RCA audio output (just above the XLR outs), but another user (Ilkka) in the thread shows that using the Coax out works too. You would then connect a wire to the ground of the RCA terminal (leaving the other pin unoccupied). That wire needs to be connected to the chassis of the amp (in my case Buckeye Purifi 2nd gen). Buckeye suggests using one of the silver screws on the bottom of the amp (just not the one near the back corner where the power cord is).

Let me know if that makes sense or if I can describe in further detail.
 
Something like this would work too. You would only use the ground wire and cap or tape off the other wire. Of course you can open up an RCA cable if you have an extra that you don't mind sacrificing.
 
And just to be 100% clear for everyone, you only want the “shell” or the outer part of the RCA connector (any) which is the “negative” or “black wire” on those plugs or repair cables.
 
How hard is it to open the case? It would be so much nicer to make the connection internally. I know... warranty. But geez it should have had that connection by design.
 
I believe that it can not be opened that easy. When I recall correctly there are no screws on the icon. But maybe someone owning the device can confirm.
 
Why open it? The power plug has no earth so it is impossible to connect it.
The only way is external and connect it to an existing ground (device or power outlet).
 
mikematrix said:
Why open it? The power plug has no earth so it is impossible to connect it.
The only way is external and connect it to an existing ground (device or power outlet).
Click to expand...
I thought some were able to solve the problem by connecting XLR pin1 to the node's RCA shield without running a connection to ground. Isn't that what this shows? Is XLR Pin1 connected to the node's chassis or is that connection missing?

(from https://support1.bluesound.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/28993783968151-NODE-Icon-XLR-issues)
1739307220284.png
 
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