Help Supernait3 croaks!

I do hope you get this sorted out. It must be incredibly frustrating. It’s so weird that it does it only when you change the volume. That normally indicates either a faulty or dirty potentiometer, but why doesn’t it happen at your dealer’s place?

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I am lucky to have the importer and the official Naim assistance service in my city, I disassembled the system en bloc and left it for a week, no problem from them, once I got home after a few days it started croaking again.
I probably have a poltergeist in the house. :exploding_head:

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It’s been asked twice above but I don’t think you have answered the question: does it happen when you use the remote? Does it happen when you turn the control with your hand? I have an idea what it might be, but need the answer first.

Really sorry to hear this I’ve got an SN3 and enjoy it very much.
Have you tried disconnecting all the sources and try it.
Then go through each source one at a time.
Can’t help feeling it’s something in the left channel interconnect side that’s doing it.
It had all the symptoms of a dusty pot. :thinking:

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Is the crackling from the unit itself? Or coming from the speaker?
I think more than 1 of us are thinking the same thing: either something inside the volume control is scratching as you turn. Or even the volume control knob is pressed in too far and it is physically scraping on the casework. If yes, pull outwards very gently so it moves by 1mm.

Do you by any chance have friend or others which you can borrow another amp ?
I know its risky but maybe your dealer have an old knackered amp out backroom ?

I think the poor guy may have gone to ground under the forum’s line of forensic questioning.

So @Fabius if you are still reading, I hope you can get the issue with your SN3 sorted out because these things are not cheap.

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As stated previously a couple of times - if it’s only on one channel, the problem is with the amp. Try a different SN3 and I’ll bet the “problem with the electrical system in your house” goes away!

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How old is the house and the wiring?

Naim signal ground is coupled to safety ground so any noise on the mains ground would manifest as pops and cracks. Though I would normally expect this to be present at all times and not just when adjusting the volume.

Either way, it’s very important with Naim. Is the earth:

  • Actually working (mains earth pin actually terminates correctly to earth)?
  • Dedicated to your house and not shared with other houses?
  • En-route to the earthing system, not sharing the same earth line as noisier components such as heating system, aircon, etc?

These might be all good questions to pose to an electrician.

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Robert, if it is a mechanical issue, why does it not do it at his dealers place?

I’m clutching at straws. Maybe it’s the servo rotating the volume via the remote. And the dealers didn’t operate it via remote.

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Understood…Good point.

I’m taking it to a friend’s house next week, if everything works out and the amp doesn’t crackle, then I’ll call the electrician, and focus on the ground connections, will keep you posted.
Thank you all.

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I’m having this same issue with my Supernait 3: crackling sound in left channel when volume is adjusted while playing. This happens whether adjusting the volume with the knob or with the remote control. It’s limited to the left channel - I swapped speaker cables and the issue occurred in the right speaker. The SN3 is less than one year old. My home is less than 6 years old so the electrical is modern. The issue is intermittent but persistent. NACA5 speaker cable and Kef Reference 3 speakers.

I’ve already tried to reverse the cables but the noise always remains on the left channel, even with headphones, always on the left.

My issue is consistently in the left channel. I connected the left channel to the right speaker (and vice-versa) and the crackling was in the left channel/right speaker.

I blasted some compressed air behind the volume knob and I’m getting some temporary relief. I’ll let you know how long that lasts.

Sorry, now I understand correctly!
I’ll try blowing compressed air too, hope it works.

Are you running your speaker cables together in trunking causing capacitative coupling?

No trunking. The issue is agnostic of the speaker cable as well. I swapped the NACA5 for some Tributaries cable and the issue persisted. For what it’s worth, I haven’t noticed the crackling since I blasted air behind the volume knob. Time will tell if that’s a temporary solution…

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