[redmaw]

Hi,
 
About four weeks ago I had a problem with my amp (Mjolnir 1st gen) where every 10-12 seconds there would be some static noise/crackling. At first I though it was the audio file but after severing the connection to DAC it persisted. This occurred the night before I was going on vacation so I just turned it off and put it aside to deal with later however the problem has not occurred again until now. The frequency is down to once every few minutes now but I have never had a problem with this setup in nearly four years so something must have changed. Anyone have any ideas as to what the problem might be?

 

[obobskivich]

Do you have cables still connected to the amp when it makes this noise? Are you using any wireless devices (e.g. wireless mouse/keyboard, cellphone, etc) near the amp? Basically I'm thinking it may be picking up interference from the outside world. Have you tried taking it somewhere in your house/wherever you are that's a lot less populated by electronics and plugging it in all by its lonesome and giving it a listen?

If that's a non-starter, it may be something wrong with it - I'd contact the manufacturer, they're pretty vocal about having long warranties, so maybe they'll help you out. [I don't mean this with any bias one way or another]

 

[redmaw]

The only cables I left plugged in are the power cable and headphone cable. Taking the amp to another location away from any potential new ambient interference is a good idea though. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[redmaw]

Moving the amp didn't help but when I moved it I experimented plugging it into a UPS and that appears to solve the problem. The most irritating part of this is less than a month ago I saw a nearly 50% off deal on UPS but convinced myself not to get one since I didn't really need it....

 

[obobskivich]

Moving the amp didn't help but when I moved it I experimented plugging it into a UPS and that appears to solve the problem. The most irritating part of this is less than a month ago I saw a nearly 50% off deal on UPS but convinced myself not to get one since I didn't really need it....

You may be able to get away with a "filter" device as opposed to a full-on UPS if its just noisy AC power. I know TrippLite makes a variety of higher-end power strips that offer pretty significant RF supression/noise filtering, and they aren't horribly expensive (we're talking <$50).

 

[redmaw]

Yeah that's what I need to look into next. I don't need the battery backup so there might be something cheaper that can get the job done that I am not aware of, like the power strips you mentioned.

 

[obobskivich]

Just a question: do you have dimmer switches or anything else on the circuit(s) here? It may be that you can find (and rectify) the source of the noise as well.

 

[redmaw]

There is nothing else on that outlet or wall other than my audio equipment, tv, and a computer (it was convenient to stuff it on unused shelf of my media center....). Based on the breakers it doesn't look like anything else is on that circuit (no appliances) but honestly I have no idea what the actual wiring is.

 

[obobskivich]

Yeah you could easily make yourself nuts tearing everything up - I just know dimmer switches can sometimes be an easily identified culprit, and they're not hard to replace with conventional switches.