Naim Nait xs2 buzz

Hi,

I just got an xs2 and i get a buzz out the speakers when no sound. Also there when on mute?

What do I need to check?

I didn’t have it with arcam fmj a18 and same setup

Thanks

Is it a Buzz, or a sort of white noise. I believe white noise is quite usual on Naim kit. I get it on mine. If its an electronic Hum, then it tends to be an earth issue

Is there a way to share a recording of it here?

There is an upload button - try it with a recording from your phone

Sounds like earthing issue to me as you don’t seem to have a Naim source…

It’s fairly likely to be caused by something connected to the amp. I would suggest disconnecting everything from the amp (switch off anything at the mains not being used) then trying to connect one piece at a time and seeing what causes the buzz.

You have to have a naim source?

No, but that helps here as it is single earthing point to mains ground. It is possible your current sources are only 2 pin power and are not earthed ‘properly’ whilst this isn’t a safety issue at all, it can cause problems with some Naim amps. I have a nait XS2 with squeezebox touch in bedroom system and had an earthing issue. As we a potentially straying into areas that go against the forum rules I’m very careful here. Do you have a dealer to talk to? If not first do as Richard suggests and try one at a time removing each source and see what happens.

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There are ways to solve it, but first you have to find what is causing the issue.

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It is only when used as a power amp in av bypass mode connected to the marantz.

The interconnects between avr and naim are not very good I know that - could it be those?

When using aurelic altair as source it’s fine and plays miley Cyrus wrecking ball great on a saturday morning.

Is it causing any damage?

OK, that’s quite typical with consumer AV kit. The Marantz probably floats the mains and you have all the rest of the floating AV kit looking for nice path to earth - in this case via the signal ground to the Naim. Your best bet is to use an inline isolating transformer between the Marantz and the Naim to break the path. Look for “Hum Eliminator” or “Ground Loop Isolator” - should be quite inexpensive.

Thanks Richard! I’ll give that a try.

The Marantz is double insulated, so does not have an earth connection. This is almost certainly the cause of your problems.

Naim equipment is particularly sensitive to ground (not “earth”; these are not necessarily the same thing). This is why Naim kit tends to work best with other Naim kit, using a DIN connection, thus providing a common ground.

@simon how you know it’s double insulated? Just curious.

Like what’d you read to know that?

And what would you read to identify if the Altair G1 takes an earth that goes to ground?

This has a basic explanation and shows the symbols

Try not to conflate ‘ground’ with ‘earth’. Ground in an electrical circuit is the reference point from which voltages are measured. Could be the same as ‘earth’, but not necessarily. This can be confusing and the terms are often incorrectly used. Many think that if an appliance doesn’t have an earth then it is dangerous, which isn’t the case with an appliance designed that way (but only if designed as such and meets with the relevant regs)

If you’re interested in this then take a look at electronics and circuit design. There are some good introductory texts out there. A bit beyond the scope of a hifi forum though!

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