[Thaddy]

I just got my T-Amp in today from PartsExpress, and when using my Millet as a preamp, this setup hums like a $5...well, something that costs $5 and hums like crazy

I don't have a long enough mini > mini cable to use my PC as a source, so until then my troubleshooting is limited. My current speaker cables are just some 14awg bulk cable from Home Depot, and my interconnects are all Signalcable.

Also, I forgot to add that the hissing doesn't decrease/increase when switching sources on my Millet. The volume of the Millet doesn't change anything as well, same with changing sources on my DAC. I'm thinking the T-Amp could be to blame, but I'm not positive.

Anyone have an idea?

 

[Jbucla2005]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thaddy I just got my T-Amp in today from PartsExpress, and when using my Millet as a preamp, this setup hums like a $5...well, something that costs $5 and hums like crazy I don't have a long enough mini > mini cable to use my PC as a source, so until then my troubleshooting is limited. My current speaker cables are just some 14awg bulk cable from Home Depot, and my interconnects are all Signalcable. Also, I forgot to add that the hissing doesn't decrease/increase when switching sources on my Millet. The volume of the Millet doesn't change anything as well, same with changing sources on my DAC. I'm thinking the T-Amp could be to blame, but I'm not positive. Anyone have an idea?

When I use my MG Head in OTL mode as a pre-amp with my t-amp there is lots of background hiss. The noise level is too high to be acceptable. However, in transformer mode, it is nearly dead quiet. One thing you can try doing is reducing the t-amps volume pot to midway to reduce some of the background noise, then boost the pre-amp level.

 

[Thaddy]

I experimented with different preamp and T-Amp volume levels, and the hissing only slightly goes away with the T-Amps volume at about 40%. However, the hissing is still very detectable with music playing.

 

[ilikemonkeys]

Did you try and connect it straight to the source?

Get a CDP and hook it up.

I've got no hiss whatsoever. Mine's dead silent.

 

[Thaddy]

The hiss is still prevelant even using my X5L as the source. I'm going to get some new speaker cables and look into relocating the power supply. At the moment it's plugged into my power conditioner.

 

[ilikemonkeys]

Strange. The T-Amp is known to be real quiet. Have you tried Batteries? I"m not sure the speaker cable would be the cause. Is your cell phone sitting on top of your source? I"ve hooked my amp into at least ten different sources with nothing but stellar performance.

How's the volume level? Are you getting enough power?

 

[Thaddy]

Using my Millet as a preamp, the power levels are not a concern. However, I had to turn my X5L up to about 25/40 to acheive a good listening volume, but I don't think this is a problem either.

I'll try batteries and relocate the power supply a bit later.

Could the problem be my speakers? They are the older model Atoms, and are 8 ohms.

 

[ilikemonkeys]

My T-amp powers the Titans to incredible levels. There is no way I can turn them up farther than 5 before I can't stand it anymore. It's a loud amp for the Titans. I've never used them with the Atoms, but they are a bit smaller than the Titans.

 

[Thaddy]

It can easily acheive very loud levels with the Millet, but I'm afraid the X5L isn't giving out enough juice. However, I did crank the volume up to 35/40 and it's plenty loud. This is probably near actual line-out levels though, so I'd expect it to be loud.

edit: Also, this is the power supply I'm using, it's also from PartsExpress. Moving it to a different outlet away from my setup didn't change a thing

 

[marvin]

Try using it on battery power. If it's still buzzing then, then the T-Amp is probably toasted.

I have heard that the T-Amp is noiser when using a switching power supply. This PS probably would have been a better choice.

 

[Thaddy]

Yup, it's still hissing through my speakers even with batteries. Time to email PartsExpress

 

[MD1032]

My T-amp is hissing loudly lately, too, even without a source connected and regardless of the volume position, and it's not like I can just return it to Target seeing as how I'm stuck in college in Virginia. Do these things have a manufacturer's warranty? Also, mine goes away after I run it for a while and it "warms up". Sometimes it will make a loud "pop" sound if I fiddle with the volume control, and then if I turn it off and turn it back on, the hissing will disappear. QC on these things must be terrible!

 

[terrymx]

what powersupply are you using for your t-amp, voltage/ampage/model? alot of hum problems come from here.

i very much doubt the homedepot copper cables can make that hum sound. a higher chance would be the amp itself.

 

[Thaddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by terrymx what powersupply are you using for your t-amp, voltage/ampage/model? alot of hum problems come from here. and is there a small chance the homedepot speaker cables can be crap, but i very much doubt that. a higher chance would be the amp itself.

I linked to the power supply above, but here it is again: Link

As for the speaker cables, I've never had problem in the past with the speaker wire from Home Depot, it's your standard copper 14awg.

 

[terrymx]

i have heard two past story from headfi here that they used more than 12v adaptor on their t-amp, and the amp died. so you might be hurting the amp's DC unit. feel the amp and see if its hot.

the amp is probably very sensitive to power, you might want to try battery, and if you get no hum, try a 12v psu.