[tomek]

hey gang,

i got a oneac power conditioner from a fellow head-fi member in order to try to drop my noise floor, blacken my blacks, and protect my gear from surges. however, i took the thing home and noticed it has an annoying hum. it's not terribly loud, but it's something that you can't help but notice in a quiet room.

and really, what's the point of getting my noisefloor down at the cost of having to use a noisemaker?

now that i've got my speaker rig, i'd like to get a cheap power conditioner for it. i have heard of good results from some of oneac's larger offerings. however, are they all going to be noisy? is something about them inherently noisy?

is there another (cheap) option that is completely quiet? i don't want to buy an 'audiophile' one, because once the audiophile label is on something, its cost skyrockets. (ie, cd mats)

toodles!

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Tomek,

Do you mean that the OneAC is putting out enough hum to be heard with the music playing, or just when you're right next to it? Can you hear the hum from more than a few feet away? If you put on headphones of any kind, can you hear the hum? Do you sleep in or near the room with the unit, and thus can't sleep because of it? Are the benefits from the OneAC outweighed by the hum it produces? Have you tried sticking the unit onto a slab of wood or something to see if it is some form of vibration in the metal that can be eliminated easily?

I'm not trying to be a wiseguy, just ask some questions to help come up with an easy and cheap solution.

 

[tomek]

oh yeah, that much noise.

i can hear it during quiet passages and it's several feet away from me, with some books under and on top of it.

it's a hum, that you can hear when it's quiet. i suppose if i'm listening to music, i don't notice it during most of the music, but have you ever tried listening with a hum or fan on somewhere.

you don't notice it, until you turn it off and realize what you were missing.

with my stax, i didn't like listening with the tv on mute, or with the computer on. if you're spending money on cables to squeeze the last little bit out of a system, having quiet surroundings goes farther in my opinion.

 

[eyeteeth]

Blue Circle Music Ring: Low hum from 6 inchs away,ear facing unit, music off, during high activity times 7:00pm in a 32 story building with 4 elevators. 4:00am-Music ring is dead quiet.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Tomek,

I guess it's too loud for you, just like my computer. It produces enough noise to where I will spend another $250 to buy a case that will silence it enough to where it no longer interferes with headphone listening near it.

I would suggest starting with a quick look over at Audiogon for some items in the cheap price range. Power conditioners that work well aren't cheap, but can be found. Finding a cheap one without a hum could be even more difficult. I'll see if I can find anything worth mentioning over at Audiogon.

 

[DarkAngel]

Although expensive the reason I use Audio Magic Stealth series besides the great sound:

noise = 0
heat generated = 0
power consumed = 0

Stealth

 

[Orpheus]

the transformers used in high-end power "conditioners" can make physical humming. i have a Furman AR-1220 voltage regulator (costs about $1000 i believe) that is so loud, you can hear it in another room. i called Furman, and they said it's normal, and recommended that i put it in a machine room. yeah, right, i told them. heh he..... so, right now i'm not using it... i'm just using the IT-1220 (costs about $1500), which is a balancing transformer... seems to work fine. though i dunno how much of the noise floor it's really fixing. not as apparent as i thought it would be.

 

[Edwood]

I have a PS Audio P300. (stock, no multiwave)

I can hear slight buzzing if I put my ear right up to the chassis.

I can't hear it from more than 12" away.

-Ed

 

[dhwilkin]

BPT BP-Jr : Silent from 1' away
Shunyata Hydra Model 2 : Silent from 1' away

 

[Stoney]

BPT-3.5 Signature puts out no hum at all. On turn on there is a slight, brief, low hum that dies down quickly... you have to be 1 foot from it to hear it.