Abrahamsen amplifiers

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Blacksabbath25

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My abrahamsen 2up does not click or hum it's quite even at 50 vol the reason I asked you about how old your abrahamsen is and how long you have run it for is the manual say that should have it serviced after so meany hours of use the manual also says that you have to be careful about placement of the this amp not next door to routers , main cables anything that could make interference with this amp plus this does not help having a sub station next door to your house . Have you tried taking your amp to a friends house where there are no issues with sub stations next door to rule this clicking sound and humming out .
 

Vladimir

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I still can't stop laughing!

7wtGLR9.gif
 

gasolin

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Vladimir said:
No idea if balanced line would make a difference. In theory it shouldn't. But it's something I personally would use for my own gear loving hedonism.

Balanced is better for reducing noise and interference and is use alot for live conerst where som cables easily can 20-30 meters or 100meter
 

Vladimir

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gasolin said:
Vladimir said:
No idea if balanced line would make a difference. In theory it shouldn't. But it's something I personally would use for my own gear loving hedonism.

Balanced is better for reducing noise and interference and is use alot for live conerst where som cables easily can 20-30 meters or 100meter

How about if you lived 30m away from a power plant???????
 

gasolin

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Vladimir said:
gasolin said:
Vladimir said:
No idea if balanced line would make a difference. In theory it shouldn't. But it's something I personally would use for my own gear loving hedonism.

Balanced is better for reducing noise and interference and is use alot for live conerst where som cables easily can 20-30 meters or 100meter

How about if you lived 30m away from a power plant???????

you can wireless charge your phone for free *ROFL*
 

DocG

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In his email to Colin said:
Also, I live 100-120 feet from a miniature hydroelectric power plant (no joke) and nearly all audio stuff hums here - I mean through the speakers or headphones, except some Class D stuff (even a cheap Topping amp).

That is a very good observation. Class D amps are far less susceptible to this issue. Now, if the OP would connect his source to a class D amp with differential input, maybe using a shielded RCA-to-XLR cable, the result might be very satisfying. IIRC Colin has just what you need, Kostku!

edit: Having slept over it, swapping amps is OTT, I admit. But changing your interconnect would be very sensible. Depending on your source go for XLR - XLR or RCA - XLR, but use a cable with a proper, braided shield. If your source has RCA out only, ask Colin how to do it (or have it done).
 

mocenigo

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Vladimir said:
gasolin said:
Vladimir said:
No idea if balanced line would make a difference. In theory it shouldn't. But it's something I personally would use for my own gear loving hedonism.

Balanced is better for reducing noise and interference and is use alot for live conerst where som cables easily can 20-30 meters or 100meter

How about if you lived 30m away from a power plant???????

Well, I do. There's a little hydroelectric power plant next door. In my apartment everythumg hums and buzzes, also through speakers and headphones. How cool is that?

Roberto
 

mocenigo

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Vladimir said:
Also, I live 100-120 feet from a miniature hydroelectric power plant (no joke)...

FFS! *ROFL*

What does "FFS" mean? However, it is true. There is a little river crossing this residential area, and sombody got permission to build a small power plant with turbines. Part of it passes even UNDER the next building. They hear a lot of mechanical hum and apparently, they could not do anything.

Roberto
 

iQ Speakers

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chebby said:
Poor old Kostku has been complaining here in this thread about his humming Abrahamsen for 3 weeks now.

Can't Colin/Bogit/IQ Speakers help or support or advise this chap?

Kostku, here is the UK contact details for Abrahamsen support and queries ...

http://www.iqspeakers.co.uk/#!contact-us/c17l5

Good luck.

Chebby I realise what your motive is here, but uknown to you I have! Even though he is in Germany and I did not sell him the amp! And I'm not the manufacture! Would you expect Audio Destination to do the same for Electrocompaniet etc?

Here is an email between us, he even know my name!*biggrin* (edited)He lives on top of a Hydro Electric Power station for Christ's sake!
Hi Colin well, I had some interesting contacts with other people that know them and one even lives in the same town (he gave me Thomas’s cell number, but that one is often off).Hi Colin […] I was amazed straight away when I heard their V30+V40 combo. I guess my story is typical: I could not listen to them in advance, but I remembered the favourable impression that some Electrocompaniet stuff made years ago. So, looking at the prices, I decided to try them. This is not the way they can achieve a decent sales volume. I would like to discuss something with you, if you do not mind. Re: the little issue of volume control clicking, and hum/hiss. The amp picks some airborne and/or mains noise. I have a small IKEA lamp, and I hear a “pop” through the speakers when I turn it on. (Edit: using a balanced connection between the pre and the amp, the “pop” does no longer occurs”) [...] Also, I live 100-120 feet from a miniature hydroelectric power plant (no joke) and nearly all audio stuff hums here - I mean through the speakers or headphones, except some Class D stuff (even a cheap Topping amp). The hum is VERY low, but it is there. There is also some hiss. I can hear it only placing my ears close to the tweeters, but it is there. It becomes too loud if I bridge the amp (I tried to use it for only one channel to test it). I guess that where I live is not ideal, but it is also temporary. The long mains connections probably act as an antenna here and pick all the emissions from the power plant. Some neighbours use ethernet over powerline. Power is stable (I measure 229-235 V BUT with a 45-110mV DC component), though. I ordered a DC blocker and a EM filter for my mains. My speakers have a sensitivity of 91Db/W/M over 6 ohm, [...] You can see them in my pics on instagram tagged #abrahamsenaudio The point here is that comparing a 88 Db speaker over 8 Ohm (the V40 delivers up to 70W) to a 91 Db speaker over 6 Ohm (the V40 should deliver ~40% more power) means a 4-5 Db difference. The hum should disappear completely, and the hiss would also be difficult to hear even with ears close to the tweeter. The little clicks from the volume change circuitry would turn from very soft to inaudible. I have seen that your speakers range from 86 to 89 Db, all over 8 Ohm, with just one 91 Db model. [...] There is noise from the pre as well - turning the volume beyond 50 gets noisy (of course with my speakers this would be totally insane) - and bridging gives another 6Db (maybe a bit less) of gain in the power amp also making the noise audible. I guess this should be ok. Bridging makes sense if one needs more power for larger rooms, with possibly less sensitive speakers. So I put away my plans to buy a second V40 (It would have been nice to have a bridged V40 placed very close to each speaker). For all purposes, the system is very quiet in my room, and I have to listen from 2 meters from the speakers. The Abrahamsens are indeed excellent stuff
 

Vladimir

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mocenigo said:
Vladimir said:
Also, I live 100-120 feet from a miniature hydroelectric power plant (no joke)...

FFS! *ROFL*

What does "FFS" mean? However, it is true. There is a little river crossing this residential area, and sombody got permission to build a small power plant with turbines. Part of it passes even UNDER the next building. They hear a lot of mechanical hum and apparently, they could not do anything.

Roberto

It's an expression "For Fu*k Sake". I was really having a laugh at the situation, not at anyone in particular. :)
 

mocenigo

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Blacksabbath25 said:
is that normal then for abrahamsen amps to hum or make a sound when you put the vol up ?

All amplifiers have some noise from the circuit, some more and some less.

My Abrahamsen V30UP+V40UP combo is actually a decently silent in my listening room, but some hum and hiss can be heard by placing one ear within a few inches to the woofer or tweeter. I have very sensitive speakers (91 Db/W/m over 6 Ohm, where the V40 should deliver 100W) and I could hear some noise even with a Teddy Pardo amp - and I live in a quiet residential area - but in the immediate vicinity of a little power plant, which inject noise into everything.

I want to stress that once I am a couple of feet from the speakers with the ear pointed at the woofer or the tweeter I get a very black background.

Transformer hum, OTOH, is a different matter. All transformers hum. In fact, the Noratel 1000VA transformer in the V40 (same as in the V20 integrated amp) buzzes a bit less than the smaller transformer in the Teddy Pardo i80a where I live! The level is completely acceptable.

Roberto
 

mocenigo

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Blacksabbath25 said:
is that normal then for abrahamsen amps to hum or make a sound when you put the vol up ?

I see now you have Dali Opticon 6. 89 Db over 4 Ohm. You should be fine as long as you are not using the Dali Opticon as headphones.

Roberto
 

mocenigo

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iQ Speakers said:
For all purposes, the system is very quiet in my room, and I have to listen from 2 meters from the speakers. The Abrahamsens are indeed excellent stuff

Just to avoid misunderstand. What I meant here is that I listen most of the time just 2 meters from the speakers, because my listening room is small, and despite this I cannot hear background noise or hum from the amp or the speakers. In fact, i can get much closer while hearing no noise.

Roberto
 

mocenigo

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Vladimir said:
mocenigo said:
Vladimir said:
Also, I live 100-120 feet from a miniature hydroelectric power plant (no joke)...

FFS! *ROFL*

What does "FFS" mean? However, it is true. There is a little river crossing this residential area, and sombody got permission to build a small power plant with turbines. Part of it passes even UNDER the next building. They hear a lot of mechanical hum and apparently, they could not do anything.

Roberto

It's an expression "For Fu*k Sake". I was really having a laugh at the situation, not at anyone in particular. :)

Oh right. I should have guessed it. Yep, as I told Colin on the phone, I just have to laugh at this because it is just insane: If I take a voltmeter, and keep the two probes straight in front of me, the numbers just spin like crazy.

Roberto
 

Vladimir

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mocenigo said:
Vladimir said:
mocenigo said:
Vladimir said:
Also, I live 100-120 feet from a miniature hydroelectric power plant (no joke)...

FFS! *ROFL*

What does "FFS" mean? However, it is true. There is a little river crossing this residential area, and sombody got permission to build a small power plant with turbines. Part of it passes even UNDER the next building. They hear a lot of mechanical hum and apparently, they could not do anything.

Roberto

It's an expression "For Fu*k Sake". I was really having a laugh at the situation, not at anyone in particular. :)

Oh right. I should have guessed it. Yep, as I told Colin on the phone, I just have to laugh at this because it is just insane: If I take a voltmeter, and keep the two probes straight in front of me, the numbers just spin like crazy.

Roberto

And here I am complaining about my neighbor's tiny electric motor lawnmower. :)
 

Kostku

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I live in Poland and I bought my Abrahamsen V2.0 directly from the manufacturer about two months ago (November 2015). I have sent several emails to them, but they never replied.

Moreover, I am not Roberto and I haven't sent any emails to IQ Speakers.

Have a nice day. Bye.
 

hybridauth_Facebook_664715932

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Kostku said:
I live in Poland and I bought my Abrahamsen V2.0 directly from the manufacturer about two months ago (November 2015). I have sent several emails to them, but they never replied.

Moreover, I am not Roberto and I haven't sent any emails to IQ Speakers.

Have a nice day. Bye.

So chebby was right to say that no1 got in touch with kostku?
 

mocenigo

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Kostku said:
I have sent several emails to Thomas but he never replied. The transformer is just irritating, sometimes I can hear it between tracks, when there is silence for a few seconds...

I had a chance to listen to V2.0 UP (but not in my house) and there were no clicks while changing volume. Moreover, the transformer was completely silent. :(

I forgot to comment on this. The volume control uses relays and resistors. It is actually sonically better than a potentiometer, in my opinion, but it is normal that you can hear faint clicks when the relays are operated. The loudness of the clicks depends on the sensitivity of the speakers. I would not worry about this - it could get too loud if you have speakers with a sensitivity of 97-100 Db, but in that case you would never drive them with an Abrahamsen: a 3-5W directly heated triode would be ok :)

Roberto
 

mocenigo

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Yup it seems that we have been "conflated" by mistake. I have some tips to give re: buzzing transformers, but maybe we should talk offline (disclaimer: I have nothing to sell). Hm. I am on twitter (DogeMocenigo).

Roberto

Kostku said:
I live in Poland and I bought my Abrahamsen V2.0 directly from the manufacturer about two months ago (November 2015). I have sent several emails to them, but they never replied.

Moreover, I am not Roberto and I haven't sent any emails to IQ Speakers.

Have a nice day. Bye.
 

iQ Speakers

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Apart from me! And I had nothing to do with it. Comunication with Abrahamsen is not there strong point to say least! Anybody contacting me get an email in a couple of hours usually sooner, I check every time I come in from the "factory" (cabin) for a coffee or toilet! And indeed I must appologise for posting your mail it was late and Chebby insenced me with his petty mealy mouthed comment! Hopefully I edited it OK?
 

mocenigo

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Remark: I am not Kostku, and the email quoted below is from me. Also, i did not give permission to publish it in its entirety - but you have edited it according to my siggestions, which have now my approval, and all is ok :)

(It is not difficult to realise who "iQ speakers" is and find the name, it is on his site...)

Roberto

iQ Speakers said:
chebby said:
Poor old Kostku has been complaining here in this thread about his humming Abrahamsen for 3 weeks now.

Can't Colin/Bogit/IQ Speakers help or support or advise this chap?

Kostku, here is the UK contact details for Abrahamsen support and queries ...

http://www.iqspeakers.co.uk/#!contact-us/c17l5

Good luck.

Chebby I realise what your motive is here, but uknown to you I have! Even though he is in Germany and I did not sell him the amp! And I'm not the manufacture! Would you expect Audio Destination to do the same for Electrocompaniet etc?

Here is an email between us, he even know my name!*biggrin* (edited)He lives on top of a Hydro Electric Power station for Christ's sake!

[SNIP SNIP SNIP]
 

mocenigo

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iQ Speakers said:
Apart from me! And I had nothing to do with it. Comunication with Abrahamsen is not there strong point to say least! Anybody contacting me get an email in a couple of hours usually sooner, I check every time I come in from the "factory" (cabin) for a coffee or toilet! And indeed I must appologise for posting your mail it was late and Chebby insenced me with his petty mealy mouthed comment! Hopefully I edited it OK?

All is ok now :) (I think you copied and pasted "Hi Colin" at the beginning twice, but this is ok with me)
 

33RPM

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I don't know if this is the most recent thread about Abrahamsen amps but I'll give it a shot, having one on loan right now.
 

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