I hope very much it gets sorted out. Nothing worse than issues with our cherished systems. What is sound like on Ear amp vs 250NC outside of issues? Also 250NC is easier to rack.
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Sorry to keep hearing your problems with your system, wish i could help.
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They are on a similar level. The NC has a bit more grip and clarity, maybe a bit more prat , the Ear is fuller, gives more nuances and textures, more realistic instruments and voices rendition. You can’t have both, or be prepared to pay 10 times more 
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Which do you prefer out of the two?
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Both 
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You can sort of roughly test for it with a multimeter in DC mode but not accurately. As you correctly stated, it’s not DC on the AC mains. It’s an asymmetric sine wave. The sampling frequency of a multimeter will make the true measuement difficult.
An oscillascope with a high voltage isolating probe is the best and safest way.
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I tried today another speakers. Same noise.
So next will be another pre.
And if it’s still the same, then electrician.
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@frenchrooster … I have an idea that these little pop pops are some kind of very small electrical Arcing. When googling I found this:
What Is Electrical Arcing? Expert Electrician Explains The Dangers I hope Richard doesn’t delete this link . Anyway one thing I read was OLD wiring can cause this , dust, brittle wiring. Anyway try googling Electrical Arcing.
Oh and I just bought an AudioQuest 707. I’m very happy with it. Added an AQ Monsoon powercord to it.
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I have heard the same grain and little pops before when an amp was incorrectly grounded. In this case, someone had connected the signal ground pin on the rear of an amp to a mains earth pin thinking they all end up in the same place (they don’t). Removing that lead and leaving signal grounded to chassis only cured that instantly.
Mains earth is fairly noise laden from domestic appliances so you never want signal ground going there directly withouth a low impedance shunt.
Also worth getting a plugin mains tester to make sure no sockets in the house have earth and neutral reversed and that there is no current flowing over earth. That will cost you less than 20 euros on Amazon.
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FR had mentioned that his Chateau has old wiring and outlets. I think they might be his problem
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The mains in the house have more than 30 years old.
With the Ifi dc blocker, it is less. I can only hear if my ear is touching the speaker.
I will call next an electrician, but the problem is very minor.
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I get strange noises from my phonostage if I put ear to speaker. I wouldn’t worry about it.
You may need an updated consumer unit. Wiring may need some attention but cables last many years. It may not make any difference to sounds.
My house is 1999 and wiring is okay.
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I stopped giving attention to that. My system has never sounded so good, the burning effect is big with the Ear amp. And I could never imagine that even the bass would be better vs the NC 250. It’s more differentiated and has more meat on the bones.
The timing now is spot on.
I however called an electrician. He should come and see next.
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@Isaac I’ve been using Shunyata for years. Currently and probably endgame is a Denali S6000v.2 with a Shunyata Alpha XC V.2 to the wall. I may upgrade the Alpha to a Sigma but everything sounds great!
The Shunyata range has certainly expanded over the last 20 years. I have not look at their current models due to a change in circumstances. I will need to win a lottery to consider them again. At the moment, I am quite happy with a locally made power strip.
Hi FR,
Hunting down the source of small pops can be a frustrating business.
Rather than spend £3,000 on branded mains conditioners (we tried a few), we spent £600 (at today’s cost) on a balanced power supply in the UK and preferred the sound from our Naim system with the BPS in place.
Do you hear the pops with all sources? I ask because we heard occasional vinyl-like pops but only when streaming! No pops when playing vinyl. In the end, Chord took our DAVE, gave him a good telling off and replaced some components in him. That stopped the issue for us.
Hope this helps, if only a little.
Best regards, BF
Thanks Bluesfan for your help. But for me it’s not anymore an issue as I have now an Ifi dc blocker on the amp.
I can hear these pop pops only when there’s no music and my ear is touching the woofer. At even 1cm I hear nothing.
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