[TDinCali]

I have 2 sets of each but no matter which set I swap out I still have the noise. It’s in both channels and the left side is usually noticeably louder.

I might be losing my mind but playing with my hp cable position and/or my head position I can make the cracking stop temporarily or get louder.

 

[nwavesailor]

Odd, good you had all the tubes to check. Hopefully Justin will read this and reply. Is it with various hp cables?

 

[TDinCali]

I haven’t tried different hp cables. Let me try stock. I’m using wywires.

 

[WillieB]

Anyone have a Bigger Ben and using highly sensitive hp’s without any crackling?

I don’t have a big tube collection so I’d like to try different combinations to get rid of the noise I’m hearing. It’s not a hum, but a crackling noise that’s there when music is playing or not. When I turn up the volume I eventually drown it out but on quiet passages I can still hear it. It taking away from my enjoyment and I’m hoping there’s some solution.

I have Bigger Ben and several sensitive HPs. Where did you get your headphone cable? I have some pure copper cables that I bought on AliExpress that pickup noise sometimes. I found that the noise was coming from the UPS that my PC is hooked up to. The inverters in those things give off a lot of noise apparently and it's right under my desk, where I sit all the time when I listen. The noise was being inducted into the cables, not coming in through the amp. I know it sounds odd, but if it changes when you move your head or person around, it's likely inductive. I just have to be careful which cables I use with my ZMF dynamic headphones for the most part.

If it's not that, I see where others have asked if it was in both channels, I wonder that as well. Is it coming from your source? Do you have an alternate source or an alternate amp that you can test through using your current source? It's just elimination really. In general, though, I really enjoy 12AT7 in this amp. It is probably the most linear of the family and has a little lower gain, which seems to tame certain higher-gain power tubes and does seem to help with noise floor sometimes if power is a little noisier, but I don't think that is going to help in your specific case.

 

[TDinCali]

Appreciate the responses gents. Thank you!

I just tried the stock hp cable for the Utopia and it didn’t make a difference. Still hear it.

I hear the crackling on my Utopia, Senn 800s and Meze Elite. I don’t hear it on my Diana, 1266 or Susvara.

I spoke to Justin about it and at the time he sent me another set of tubes and told me to switch to a lower impedance jack. At the time I thought we licked the problem but I hear it again now.

The hp’s are quiet on other amps using same source but they are in a slightly different position relative to the source so I’ll try and play with that tomorrow.

Thanks again! Have a good night.

 

[ampsandsound]

Anyone have a Bigger Ben and using highly sensitive hp’s without any crackling?

I don’t have a big tube collection so I’d like to try different combinations to get rid of the noise I’m hearing. It’s not a hum, but a crackling noise that’s there when music is playing or not. When I turn up the volume I eventually drown it out but on quiet passages I can still hear it. It taking away from my enjoyment and I’m hoping there’s some solution.

Cracking can be rfi as well. Give me a call. Happy to debug with you.

 

[TDinCali]

Hi Justin!

Enjoy your weekend, I may call you on Tuesday if I still need help. For now, I’ve narrowed things down even further.

I took the BB out of my stand and placed it separately in the same room and tried a completely new source and dac. The noise was still there. Then I unplugged the source and dac completely and the noise was still there.

I decided that if it’s RFI maybe I try a different room. So I took the amp to a different room in the house and used a generic power plug. All of the sudden a big difference. Almost no crackling. I could just barely make out some tiny bit. I switched to a audioquest power cable and then I didn’t hear anything. Satisfaction.

I brought the amp right back into my listening room with the audioquest cable but into an unused outlet and immediately the crackling is back just like before.

So it’s something in the room. Wi-Fi a ton of other equipment… anyway, I’ll try removing/turning off each component in the room to see if that makes a difference at some point. For now I’m going to enjoy my weekend.

Cheers everyone!

 

[nwavesailor]

Always nice to see that Justin will ask you to call and spend the time to figure out a problem.
Good followup on your part to narrow it down to gremlins in the room!

 

[TDinCali]

I just came home and had a few free minutes. My plan was to unplug each device in the room and see if the noise goes away. The first thing I decided to unplug was the wireless router.

Immediately the crackling went away. I plugged the wireless router back in and by the time it was fully up and running the crackling was back. I repeated this 3 times with the same results.

So a wireless router can create crackling noises in tube amps. Mystery solved.

 

[DenverW]

I just came home and had a few free minutes. My plan was to unplug each device in the room and see if the noise goes away. The first thing I decided to unplug was the wireless router.

Immediately the crackling went away. I plugged the wireless router back in and by the time it was fully up and running the crackling was back. I repeated this 3 times with the same results.

So a wireless router can create crackling noises in tube amps. Mystery solved.

My old bottlehead amps would pick up wifi issues and make a tapping noise if it was too close. A few months ago I was having a high pitched whining sound that I couldn't solve...tried different tubes, ect. Turned out that moving the position of my dac in relation to the Bigger Ben solved it. Dead silent now and lovely. Sometimes it's something so small, right? Oh, audio...

 

[ampsandsound]

There are shields you can get. Give me a call as time allows. They are super cheap on eBay. That said… RFI sucks but we are in a wireless world now.

 

[WillieB]

I just came home and had a few free minutes. My plan was to unplug each device in the room and see if the noise goes away. The first thing I decided to unplug was the wireless router.

Immediately the crackling went away. I plugged the wireless router back in and by the time it was fully up and running the crackling was back. I repeated this 3 times with the same results.

So a wireless router can create crackling noises in tube amps. Mystery solved.

Happy to hear that you found the culprit! Sounds like it took some time and effort, but a good outcome. Hopefully many unimpeded listening sessions to come!

 

[ShaolinGrump]

I’m interested in using 2018 Mogwai SE speaker taps for AKG K1000 and Hifiman HE6se v2. Hifiman makes an adapter. I have a custom one from Pine Tree. Some people make speaker post to headphone direct wires.

Any issues with load?

If I leave speaker wires connected, are there any performance or durability concerns with the normal headphone amp side?

I’ve only used Mogwai for ZMF and lesser impedance on the front of amp. It’s fantastic for that.

 

[ampsandsound]

Should be no issue. If using the apps, it's an 8ohm winding and stable to about 3ohms.

 

[ShaolinGrump]

I will test it out soon. Are the speaker taps active when headphones are plugged in to the normal 1/4" jacks?