Can we talk some Schiit?

[klettermann]

Background:
Most of my stack is Schiit: Yggy LiM DAC, Modius E DAC and Loki Max equalizer. Previously I was also running a Freya S preamp, though I eliminated that when I went 100% digital and got a MiniDSP Studio, eliminating the need for a preamp. I've been very happy with it all, excellent bang for the buck until a problem arose after I built a very low noise, sealed listening room. This revealed that the Yggy had a mechanical transformer hum loud enough to hear around the room in excitation node locations. My MLP was in a null zone so the hum wasn't overly disturbing and I ignored it. To be clear, it's only the Yggy, nothing else. Now time has passed and I'm addressing the issue. While doing so I discovered that hum seems to be a common issue. Scouring various forums, Reddit etc this pops up repeatedly on a wide range of Schiit products. The problem is almost always described as DC offset, ground loops, etc. It's rarely clear, however, whether such fixes actually solve the problem.

The Question:
I'd like to conduct a little survey. Can any Schiit users here share their experiences with hum? Did you solve it, and if so how? I'm in the process of doing my own work on it which I'll post shortly, so need to make recommendations elaborate descriptions, just looking YES (I have/had hum issues) or NO (never had a problem). Thanks very much for sharing your experience on this. Happy Holidays and cheers,

 

[audio_tony]

Mechanical hum from the device is usually DC on the mains.

Electrical hum noise from the speakers will usually be a ground loop (but not always).

Which do you have?

 

[klettermann]

It's very clearly mechanical hum. But is it DC offset? Perhaps, but there are other factors at play. To be clear, I'm not trying to solve the problem here, just get a read on how widespread it it is on Schiit products.

 

[threni]

It's very clearly mechanical hum. But is it DC offset? Perhaps, but there are other factors at play. To be clear, I'm not trying to solve the problem here, just get a read on how widespread it it is on Schiit products.

My Asgard 3 and Loki Mini don't produce mechanical hum - just hum over headphones if I place the Loki near the Asgard. (I'm in the UK, in case that's relevant).

 

[raif71]

No hum whatsoever from my Asgard 3 and Bifrost 2. Of couse my source of music is the SMSL SD9 playing local files via sdcard.

 

[audio_tony]

It's very clearly mechanical hum. But is it DC offset? Perhaps, but there are other factors at play. To be clear, I'm not trying to solve the problem here, just get a read on how widespread it it is on Schiit products.

The only way to know for sure if it's DC on the mains is to try one of those filter accessories that removes the DC component from the mains.

If it stops humming then you know you've found the root cause of the issue. DC on the mains can also be caused by certain old appliances (if they meet modern regulatory standards it should not happen these days).

 

[Scrivs]

My Magnius if memory serves me correctly, was free of any 60/120Hz noises. Could be because the 16VAC transformer is of the wall-wart type, remotely located, putting strain on my A/C outlet .

 

[Mort]

Ragnorok 2 had no hum. I miss that crazy amp.

 

[SCPB1967]

I currently have an Aegir (v1) hooked up & it has a very low level hum if your ear is within about 12" (30cm).
It's sat on four 50mm Sorbothane® hemispheres which did reduce the hum a bit.
Hope that helps.
I'm in the UK too

 

[izeek]

modi 3e, and now, mimir to saga+. no hums.

 

[klettermann]

Turned out that it was DC offset. Annoying, to me that's basically a bad design. But's gone now due to a nice blocker. Thanks and cheers,

 

[Peterinvan]

I added a ground wire using a banana plug. One end wrapped around my RCA interconnect and the other inserted in the ground of an AC socked. No more hum.

CAUTION WITH AC SOCKETS!