HI there, I have added a second PS555DR to my CD555 about a month ago the improvement in sound has been wonderful. After a few weeks just noticed a type of interference type sound from my speakers, tweeter and midrange when I move up close to each drive and no music is playing but everything including amp is switched on, I can’t hear when playing music or amp is in standby. I have disconnected everything and reconnected trying to ensure no overlapping of cables, this is a challenge as not a huge amount of room. despite this, I can still hear this noise. I wonder if it is simply the sheer amount of current now being pulled to power my amp and the x2 PS555’s? I do also have a sub and super tweeters connected but sound definitely from main speakers drives. Loudspeakers are functioning as per normal. Appreciate any ideas of thoughts on this.
IIUC you’re saying this nouse is evident when music is not playing, but not when playing? Can you try to clarify what the sound is like? (Hiss? Hum? Buzz? Crackles?) How loud is it? E.g. Annoyingly very loud down to just perceptible but odd/curious. (If the last, does it matter?) it would be an exceptional system to have absolutely no noise audible with ear to speaker when all powered up. As for “sheer amount of current”, unless amp is class A then with no music paying current will be pretty low when no music playing.
Disconnect all sources from preamp - still there?
If yes, disconnect preamp from power amp (power latter off first!) - still there? This will tell you if pre or power.
If no then connect sources one at a time to find which is causing, or which combinations.
Hi there, thank for your advice, I would describe sound as white noise like, I can only hear when up close to speaker drivers. My amp is class A up to first 12 watts so can get hot, just never noticed this sound before and only most recent changes were the additional PS555. My Allegri + pre-amp is an autotransformer so passive, almost silent, I wondered if it was just now projecting a much stronger signal from the CD555! As I say, I have lots of cables and unfortunately it is really difficult to avoid any crossover. I will give your suggestions a go. Many Thanks
I guess I must have an exceptional system then! It’s absolutely silent with my ear next to my high sensitivity Klipsch speakers, even with the volume control turned way up!
That’s unusual though in my experience. The white noise you describe has been present in every other system I’ve ever owned. It’s well known to be slightly more prominent with Naim amps, but that doesn’t apply here.
The odd thing is that you say it only started recently. Your Allegri+ preamp is well known to be exceptionally revealing and transparent, so it does suggset that perhaps the second PSU has raised the system noisefloor. Try disconnecting the second PSU and see if it goes away.
Things like this can be frustrating and very difficult to pin down. Cable dressing could certainly be an issue as pointed out.
Are you certain that it wasn’t there before, and that you have perhaps just become more aware of it for some reason?
Hiss/white noise is most commonly thermionic, arising in the amplifier electronics. Why it should start when not present before if the only thing that has changed is a power supply on the CD player I don’t know, but if you can only hear when up close to speaker drivers are you sure it wasn’t present before? More particularly it is not affecting your enjoyment of the system except through your worry - there is nothing to be concerned about.
Thank you both, the perils of an audiophile!
Are you using internet over mains anywhere in the house?
Not entirely sure what you mean, I don’t stream music but I do have a sky router with sky Q and 2 boxes connecting via wifi fi upstairs, router is opposite end of the room to my hi fi.
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.