Audioengine A5 buzzing - Page 2

Damn, I wish I'd read this thread before lugging those brutes home through the snow. They're driving me mad!! Even stripped down to just the active speaker, no cables, everything else turned off in the house (lights, heater, wireless router, cable TV, as soon as you input a signal, a very loud buzz starts and only stops if you power off. I've tried every socket in the house, including different power cables and it's always the same result. I feel like I've just wasted a grand buying all this gear and it's impossible to listen to without becoming a home handiman spending weeks looking for the ground loop problem.

Any quick fixes, line conditioner or filters work?

It's likely to be a hum from the built in amp, or a mains power ground loop if the speakers hum without anything plugged into them, power conditions won't solve the problem since the problem isn't hiss, belkin do a inexpensive power isolator http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-Isolator-Cinema-Protector-Sockets/dp/B0002AGFRK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1290003987&sr=1-2 , you could try that.

Not often for me to show emotion, but I'm sitting here with the dumbest grin on my face!! Despite the hiss (maybe i'm getting used to it and sitting off axis helps a little), I'm blown away by how good these things sound - instrument separation and deail especially! Listening to Dave Mathews "So Damn Lucky" and "Oh" I'm picking up all sorts of other detail even my portable Ipod Classic>Graham Slee>iBasso LOD>Phonak PFEs don't quite reveal.

Thanks for responding! I'll check out the Belkin isolator. Ground loop seems like quite a bugbear for audiophiles with many causes. I'm just learning and getting into this hobby so thanks again for your help.....appreciate it.

hum / buzz is normally a ground loop or amp noise, hiss is normally due to inference RF/EMI, I solved my speaker hiss with a heavily sheilded power cable, a cheaper solution would be to buy a feritte clamp and put it on the end of the power cable going into the amp, ferrite clamps are £2-4 from a radioshack, don't put them on av cables though just power cables.

I have the A5's. Mine do not hum or buzz.

Did you try the troubleshooting steps on pages 11-12 of the manual? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRG1990 

hum / buzz is normally a ground loop or amp noise, hiss is normally due to inference RF/EMI, I solved my speaker hiss with a heavily sheilded power cable, a cheaper solution would be to buy a feritte clamp and put it on the end of the power cable going into the amp, ferrite clamps are £2-4 from a radioshack, don't put them on av cables though just power cables.

It sounds a bit like high voltage power lines, definately oscillating and it's characteristics change depending on where the active speaker is pointing (it doesn't like being near my PC), being held, or if I put my hand towards the power input area (volume increase), or touch both line outs (70% reduction in volume). I wonder if it's more an RF/EMI thing? I get nasty interference through my portable rig sometimes when walking through the house (we live top floor, the ugly sat dish and terrestrial signal is just outside the window).

I guess I'd better be willing to try anything, I'll check out the ferrite clamp option too. Thanks again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilyodysseus 

I have the A5's. Mine do not hum or buzz.

 

Did you try the troubleshooting steps on pages 11-12 of the manual? 

Want to swap houses :-) Yeah, I unplugged, swapped, turn everthing off in the house, different sockets, cables, no cables, unplugged sattellite, still the same.

Hey guys let me just update you on this situation because I am positive I have it all figured out.

I thought that the problem with the speakers was my power, or that the speakers have a natural hum from the amp. 

THIS IS NOT THE CASE

Let me repeat, this is not the case. I got home one night and turned on my speakers, and I was, like, immediately bowled over by the absence of a hum. No matter what volume I set them to, or what I plugged into them, there was absolutely no hum. I mean, there was a very serious, like loud-sounding hum before. It sounded like a narrow river. I'm serious. This sound is SO ANNOYING.

So the hum was gone. Amazing! The complete absence of hum lasted for about a day, and then it returned. The hum fades in and out now. This loud hum is very very very very clearly a manufacturer defect. I received two different pairs of A5s from Audioengine. Each had the hum. My guess is that they are making so many now that they're popular that the quality has decreased. If you are going to buy these, be sure not to settle for this insane humming (more like a HISS, really). Try to get a pair that doesn't do that. (I'm not sure how you do that.)

At the end of the day, I would advise everyone to not buy these speakers. Again, do not buy these speakers. This sound is insanely loud, and there's no reason for it other than manufacturer's error.

It's a complex thing to diagnose and fix judging by how much reading i've done over the net the last couple of days - not sure i'm quite yet ready to write these off and blame the manufacturing (but this product does seem to highlight weaknesses as evidence by how much internet chatter there is with the A5 and humm/buzz).

I'm not a tinkerer by nature, but forking out so much (relative) money for these, the Audio-GD Fun and Interface, I have to try before sending them back.

It's like the old days of TV holding the TV aerial and walking around the room to get the best signal :-) If I turn the active monitor 45 degrees off axis and hold the y-split mini to RCA, it reduces the buzz to only 30-40% of the full level, or slightly better if I get the wife to stand in front of the drivers when the active speaker is 45 degrees off axis - not an ideal solution there....

I've plugged a Tacima mains conditioner in - zero difference.

Tried a difference AC point (basement) - 10% interference, not too bad - can't live in the basement though :-) Might drag them off to work, try them there (brand new building running a data centre).

Have the Belkin isolator on the way, a C14 to C7 adaptor - not made my mind up on going crazy on a new AC cable, but have a decent one that shipped with my PC and has the ferrite clamp built in, so will try that.

Agree though, it's annoying - hurts my ears :-)

Oh yeah, I'd say the buzz is 110/112hz.

Just an update in case anybody out there in internet land stumbles across the thread. I've given up and so has my retailer; looks like I'm going for the full refund. Really dissapointed we couldn't lick this problem as the A5's sounded quite good for what they are.

I bought line conditioners and filters, Cardas RCA caps, ferrite clamps, new AC leads, RCA to mini-jack splitters, RCA cables but can't get rid of the interference/buzz. Even lugged them back in-store and we could not replicate the problem.

My old stand-by Denon AVR hooked up to Monitor Audio B6's exhibts nothing but crystal clear output via the Audio-GD FUN, so I don't know.

So, I'm back to the drawing board for active/passive monitors for my PC.....

Thanks for the input guys.....

Good luck. I'm thinking of just hooking these up to an AirPort or something and putting them in an out-of-the-way place where I won't notice nearfield buzzing. But they are really truly a sad product.

This is funny, because my first set of A5's got RUINED by a humm / buzz, one day it just got out of control and my A5's started seizuring, it all starting with an occasional pop throughout a year or so, then I got a replacement but they still do the same pop, if they seizure again (even though yeah i know 3 year warranty), but I will switch to a different brand. They are on a grounded line, connections are fine, but it still does it! I don't get it! must be a defect

Maybe these units accentuate the weakness of bad surroundings? There's enough troubleshooting threads on the net, and indeed with/from AudioEngine to suggest that's the case. What the hey, even my Graham Slee Voyager picks up really bad interference when I'm at home, so I don't use it at home......simple; rather than continue with the frustration and troubleshooting, I picked up a brand new pair of Monitor Audio BX2s, and a second hand Technics SU-A900Mk2, some Chord Carnival SilverScreen cables, hooked up to the AudioGD Fun and I'm in heaven.....It's unreal how different the old Denon sounds compared to the Technics, suddenly my old BX6 speakers are pushing really clear, crisp low frequencies...hooked up to the BX2s.....perfect.

I don't know... I never got interference using my (relatively all right) Logitech 2.1 computer speakers. I mean, if I have the A5s turned on, with nothing playing, I can hear this ridiculous hum/buzz rise and fall at an irregular rate. As if the ocean had gone all wonky, like. I think Audioengine is making a clearly defective product at the moment. I can't use them as nearfield speakers anymore. They're fine if I turn them up loud and go into another room, because the hum isn't loud enough to ruin that sound. But sitting close to them, unless I'm listening to a loud section of music at a relatively loud volume, the hum is always audible. It could be the power/wiring of my apartment, but I don't experience interference with any other speakers or audio equipment, including those Logitechs, the speakers on my display or computer, and several guitar amps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmichael 

Good luck. I'm thinking of just hooking these up to an AirPort or something and putting them in an out-of-the-way place where I won't notice nearfield buzzing. But they are really truly a sad product.

WOW, pretty harsh don't you think?  Look at reviews, many happy AudioEngine customers, myself included.  Have had A2's hooked to my MacBook Pro and A5's to my TV for over 4 years without a single problem.  Always leave powered on, no hiss, just a small pop when going into sleep mode, call customer service as mentioned it's second to none.