My toroids buzz

[catalogguy]

I paid a grand total of $129 from a place called Bloom Audio. Hadn't heard of them before and found them with a Google search. As I mentioned above, I found no other seller in the US; I am supposing it is a new device and more outlets will come in time. I will do some testing... the wiring is mostly original from 1957 so who knows what's going on. Thanks again for the input. I am glad to have what seems to be a solution. But both amps will need a gizmo.

 

[catalogguy]

Great, I'll try it on my amp (already tried the Emotiva CMX-2, which didn't help). It's available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XWHJRZ1.

Oh that's great! I would have bought on Amazon if I had found that. The item has no reviews yet!

Although Bloom Audio did enclose a thank you note and 3 small peppermint patties!

 

[Haflermichi]

Interesting...My home was built in 1954. However it has been extensively remodeled and the main panel upgraded to 200 amp service.
The issue was the main feeds from the power pole in the street. The neutral was heavily corroded so the PG&G guy redid all three.

 

[pjug]

Good result (so far): I purchased one of the above-recommended gizmos, the iFi DC Blocker. I was only able to find one US-based seller, but it arrived today after ordering over the weekend. I tried it on both the Matrix Audio device and the Creek amp and it worked. I tried it very briefly, and I recall that the Emotive device seemed to work the first time I plugged it in. But I tested for buzzing with and without the gizmo, and did so a few times for the Matrix device. For both devices, I hear the buzzing sound when I powered them up, but within a second or two the buzzing stopped. For the Matrix device, I put my ear right near the chassis, and perhaps I could hear it, but I am not sure. I will try again later when the house is quieter.

Interesting that the iFi DC Blocker is working and not the Emotiva CMX-2, which is also supposed to block DC. Would you mind sending an email to Emotiva with the story? I'd like to hear what they say.

I tried the Emotive CMX-2 with an amp with the same problem and it didn't help either. So I figured just the transformer. I still think it is not DC because the hum was there powering it in a few different buildings. I even tried potting the transformer with low viscosity silicone under pressure but that didn't help either.

 

[catalogguy]

Another update... I tried the other gizmo, the Van Alstine HumDinger. In short, the HumDinger made a noticeable reduction in the buzzing level of the Creek amp, but not as much reduction as the iFi device. To an extent, the HumDinger really works and reduces the buzzing to a pretty low level. I may have been satisfied with it had I not been able to compare to the other one. With the iFi device, I do not hear a buzz. Van Alstine has a return policy, so I plan to contact them to start the process.

 

[catalogguy]

I made a sound file to compare the buzzing levels. It is very amateurish. I made it on my iPhone using the QuickVoice app. I started the recording, clicked the amp power button to the on position, waited a few seconds, turned off the amp power, and paused the recording. Then I changed the gizmo, resumed recording and went through the same steps. Here is a list of the sounds and the seconds count at which they are audible.

0:00 Start Recording
0:01 Power On - Amp plugged directly into wall outlet
0:05 Relay Clicks
0:08 Power Off
0:11 Power On - Amp plugged into Emotiva CMX-2
0:15 Relay Clicks
0:18 Power Off
0:22 Power On - Amp plugged into Van Alstine HumDinger
0:26 Relay Clicks
0:31 Power Off
0:36 Power On - Amp plugged into iFi DC Blocker & wall outlet
0:40 Relay Clicks
0:44 End Recording

Note: the web site would not allow me to upload the sound file, so I zipped it (surprisingly, that was ok to upload).

 

[AudioKnob]

Catalogguy,

Wow! That is impressive work. Thank you for sharing! I have an Odyssey Tempest pre that developed a buzz when we moved. Was thinking of picking up the Emotiva device. But definately going iFi ... you're the best!!

 

[eriksson]

Have you tried to set this thing to VDC and measure at the outlet? Perhaps it will pick up consistent DC component in the mains. Wouldn't hurt to try.

I have the tester in the photo below. What can I test with it?

There might be something wrong with your electric supply and it would be worth it to get to the root of the problem.

 

[egellings]

If you have access to an isolation transformer, you could try plugging your device with the buzzing toroid into that. The isolation transformer will block any DC. If the toroid shuts up when you do that, then likely there is DC in you juice. If not, then you just have a buzzing toroid. One thing that could make it buzz is if there is excessive reservoir capacitance in the power supply the toroid energizes. The current spikes that occur when the diodes go into conduction will slug that baby really hard and might make it, or any other transformer get noisy.