Hi!
Just finished recapping and cleaning (pots included) a marantz 1050 but I have some crackling on both channels, independent of any tone controls. I've been poking around with an oscilloscope and I can pick up this noise everywhere I touch, first I thought a noisy transistor in the power supply ( There are 2 2sc2390, 1 2sa1627 and 1 2sa817).
But then I decided to unplug some of the devices in the room and it came from a internet connection on the same power line as the one the amp was using.
This has always been there and I never had any problems with other amps. Is there anything obvious that could cause this particular amp to translate this into noise ?
Just finished recapping and cleaning (pots included) a marantz 1050 but I have some crackling on both channels, independent of any tone controls. I've been poking around with an oscilloscope and I can pick up this noise everywhere I touch, first I thought a noisy transistor in the power supply ( There are 2 2sc2390, 1 2sa1627 and 1 2sa817).
But then I decided to unplug some of the devices in the room and it came from a internet connection on the same power line as the one the amp was using.
This has always been there and I never had any problems with other amps. Is there anything obvious that could cause this particular amp to translate this into noise ?
Do you have a cordless tool charging anywhere in the house?. Those chargers, when in use make a lot of noise (R.F.) or thru the AC.
It's some kind of internet plug that uses the AC network of the whole house, this is definitely what is causing the noise but how come only this amp picks it up ? I have used and still have quite a lot of amps and not one of them has this.
I've had this problem with a handful of vintage amps. Actually mostly Marantz units. One Sansui. As far as I know, there is no way to solve it. Have to use a dedicated wall socket. Grounding can help.
Most of this behavior comes from
1) noisy transistors (most common )
2) Ground issues ( these machines are made with all around ground topology rather than a star ground and loose contacts can do this and many more )
3) AC mains switch ( monitor between contacts to see if there is voltage drop at the time the problem is presented ) rare but very possible ....
Kind regards
Sakis ...
@Welcome .... I cannot agree with that ..I understand that there is far more high pitch noises in mains today and in the area we have amplifiers but i expect that this can should could would be traced and fixed ....
usually YES one of our devices might produce more noise than expected but the amplifier should reject that ...
Imagine the most common mistake that people do ....Mains noise in one amplifier they try to solve it by removing the ground adding filters and so on and on ..Reality is that either the amplifier /circuit is at fault or a bad designed ground scheme ...Its not our Laptop producing Its our amplifier that has the problem and picking up noises ....Think ....
1) noisy transistors (most common )
2) Ground issues ( these machines are made with all around ground topology rather than a star ground and loose contacts can do this and many more )
3) AC mains switch ( monitor between contacts to see if there is voltage drop at the time the problem is presented ) rare but very possible ....
Kind regards
Sakis ...
@Welcome .... I cannot agree with that ..I understand that there is far more high pitch noises in mains today and in the area we have amplifiers but i expect that this can should could would be traced and fixed ....
usually YES one of our devices might produce more noise than expected but the amplifier should reject that ...
Imagine the most common mistake that people do ....Mains noise in one amplifier they try to solve it by removing the ground adding filters and so on and on ..Reality is that either the amplifier /circuit is at fault or a bad designed ground scheme ...Its not our Laptop producing Its our amplifier that has the problem and picking up noises ....Think ....
Hi Sakis,
It's definitely not a noisy transistor as the sole fact of unplugging that internet adapter stops the noise, also I checked all the different grounding wires across the amp and get good contact there. The power cord has a grounding wire that goes to the chassis so nothing to improve there either.
Anyway it works fine when that internet thing is plugged in somewhere else so.
It's definitely not a noisy transistor as the sole fact of unplugging that internet adapter stops the noise, also I checked all the different grounding wires across the amp and get good contact there. The power cord has a grounding wire that goes to the chassis so nothing to improve there either.
Anyway it works fine when that internet thing is plugged in somewhere else so.
DepaJ you get many advice from me most of the time free😀
But please spent some time on my writing .... I have been there one million times before you did we repair more than 1000 audio devices per year we have seen it all ....
---It's definitely not a noisy transistor as the sole fact of unplugging that internet adapter stops the noise,
That doesn't make the adapter faulty but it could be as well faulty Point is that in both cases amplifier should not pick it up
---I checked all the different grounding wires across the amp and get good contact there
All around ground is based and many mechanical parts screw and terminals in a logic that we don't know but probably the Japanese do ...check again
---The power cord has a grounding wire that goes to the chassis so nothing to improve there either This is a safety ground expect one with and one without to behave more or less the same in the specific problem
In general ground issues will pop up with a noise problem not with crackling ...
Check the mains switch isolate pre and main to understand which part of your amp is at fault /sensitive the specific behavior \
Regards
Sakis
But please spent some time on my writing .... I have been there one million times before you did we repair more than 1000 audio devices per year we have seen it all ....
---It's definitely not a noisy transistor as the sole fact of unplugging that internet adapter stops the noise,
That doesn't make the adapter faulty but it could be as well faulty Point is that in both cases amplifier should not pick it up
---I checked all the different grounding wires across the amp and get good contact there
All around ground is based and many mechanical parts screw and terminals in a logic that we don't know but probably the Japanese do ...check again
---The power cord has a grounding wire that goes to the chassis so nothing to improve there either This is a safety ground expect one with and one without to behave more or less the same in the specific problem
In general ground issues will pop up with a noise problem not with crackling ...
Check the mains switch isolate pre and main to understand which part of your amp is at fault /sensitive the specific behavior \
Regards
Sakis
I'm always very happy with advice and was just stating what had been done so far.
I checked all the different ground wires, the screws are tight and I resoldered all the boards because the joints were cracked and dry all over it. I used the diode mode to check the different groundings to the chassis and they all seem ok.
I seperated the preamp and power amp but I pick up the noise on both and even directly on the inputs.
What exatcly do You mean by "check the mains switch" ?
I checked all the different ground wires, the screws are tight and I resoldered all the boards because the joints were cracked and dry all over it. I used the diode mode to check the different groundings to the chassis and they all seem ok.
I seperated the preamp and power amp but I pick up the noise on both and even directly on the inputs.
What exatcly do You mean by "check the mains switch" ?
( monitor between contacts to see if there is AC voltage drop at the time the problem is presented )
Those wifi adapters turn your house wiring into an rf nightmare. I would try adding a 220nF 450V X7 film capacitor across the the mains leads inside the Marantz's case. Take example from IEC style plugs used in pc and other switching type supplies.
There are some 220nf 470v X3 panasonic film capacitors on both sides of the main switch, they haven't been replaced though, could they be tired and not do their work properly any more ?
could be especially if those are ERO as a brand and yellowish as a color Try removing them totally If switch is at fault this will make the crackling far worst then you know ....
Can you record the noise ? i d'like to hear it
Can you record the noise ? i d'like to hear it
Check the transistorleads.... Do you see any tin Whiskers? They may be a cause for the crackling sound.
Transistors with tin whiskers ought to be replaced.
Transistors with tin whiskers ought to be replaced.
The Caps are red/orange panasonic suppression caps, still worth replacing ? Removing them doesn't change anything to the noise. How can I send you the video file (you have to turn the sound all the way up to here it on the video) ?
I don't think the transistors are at fault here Esgigt as the noise disappears when I unplug the internet adapter.
I don't think the transistors are at fault here Esgigt as the noise disappears when I unplug the internet adapter.
Last edited:
The ones across the switch are to prevent contact arcing and should be left alone. Place directly across the hot and neutral mains wires before they enter the switch/transformer.
Jerluwoo
there is something in your post that is not clear enough Ark preventing caps should be only placed as close is possible to the source of the problem IE : the switch
There is other capacitors to prevent other issues that are placed where the mains comes in or close to a transformer
Kind regards
Sakis
there is something in your post that is not clear enough Ark preventing caps should be only placed as close is possible to the source of the problem IE : the switch
There is other capacitors to prevent other issues that are placed where the mains comes in or close to a transformer
Kind regards
Sakis
I think I understand what Jerluwoo means, the two caps I was talking about (the red panasonic caps) are on the switch so only to prevent arcing, for the noise problem I need to install one across the mains just before entering the transformer as I did on a previous restoration on a Luxman L31.
Οκ
Let me clear out things
There has been a few amplifiers presented random crackling noises that was related to poor contacts on the mains switch
That very often can and will be tricky to trace since the mains is related to psu circuits that have some capacitance as a back up and when AC is at any fault capacitors are already charged ...When caps are empty the AC demands are higher then the switch fails
That on its own makes the crackling noises random or periodic ...
So in case that this is the fault removing the ARK preventing capacitors will make the problem worst and point you out the problem just in case problem lays there
Akai AM series 2450 and other models suffer from this some Teac models 2 Onkyos and ALL Sanyo Plus 55 that we have repaired in the past ...
Kind regards
Sakis
Let me clear out things
There has been a few amplifiers presented random crackling noises that was related to poor contacts on the mains switch
That very often can and will be tricky to trace since the mains is related to psu circuits that have some capacitance as a back up and when AC is at any fault capacitors are already charged ...When caps are empty the AC demands are higher then the switch fails
That on its own makes the crackling noises random or periodic ...
So in case that this is the fault removing the ARK preventing capacitors will make the problem worst and point you out the problem just in case problem lays there
Akai AM series 2450 and other models suffer from this some Teac models 2 Onkyos and ALL Sanyo Plus 55 that we have repaired in the past ...
Kind regards
Sakis
Last edited:
This is good to know if I encounter this problem later on but on this particular amp the switch doesn't seem to be the problem as removing the ark preventing caps doesn't change anything, also when I don't use the internet adapter the noise disappears instantly. I will order a suppression cap to install across the mains and report back.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
- Home
- Amplifiers
- Solid State
- noisy marantz 1050