Horrible Popping From Speakers

[JonFountain]

A while ago I was lucky enough to pick up a Myriad Mi and pair of BX2s for a price even my wife couldn't complain about.

For the first few months the sound was quite lovely and reinvigorated my interest in classical music however then a problem suddenly developed. Periodically and randomly there is a loud and very sharp pop or click from the speakers. I sent the unit to Myriad who returned it telling me that after two weeks testing they could find no problem. Indeed when I first put it on and threw in a new CD it was perfect. Happy I departed to spend Christmas with the family but on returning so had the problem.

Frankly I'm a little baffled but wonder whether the culprit might be some interference on the mains. Interestingly, to me at least, when I plugged in some headphones the wife kindly bought me the pops though still audible were barely so. Wheher this supports or rebuts my hypothesis I have no idea.

Any ideas or suggestions gratefully received; even more so if they are both effective and inexpensive

 

[Anonymous]

Does this happen with every source? Or just CD's?

Did you try wiring it in another room, where no other electronic devices/mains/wires would be close? Should not be so hard to move...

Are you using some kind of powerbar, surge-protector? Did you test your wall power outlet?

Are you using any source/device close to the unit that could interfere?

 

[Anonymous]

I was getting inteference (clicking, popping) from my speakers, which turned out to be when my phone was either receiving a call, or hunting a signal.

A very cheap fix was to clip a ferrite ring to the mains cords. The inteference has gone now.

They are around £2 each. Search for clip on ferrite rings on Amazon.

By the way, this is a fuly scientifically proven method. Look on a few cables you have, maybe a laptop power cord or a USB cord. The cylindrical lump you find on some of them is a ferrite ring.

If it turns out not to be the solution, you've not spent much

 

[JonFountain]

Thanks for the suggestions Phil.

The two sources I use are CD and DAB. As the DAB pops occassionally anyway it's difficult to be sure if the problem is present on both but I'm generally inclined to think it is.

Where the system is currently located is on a socket thats probably the furthest in the house from significant sources of interference. Sadly moving it elsewhere is a no go so I need to resolve the problem with its current position. In any event I'm sure its not a problem with the socket as I had my last hi-fi on the same one with no issues at all.

Its not on a surge protector at the moment but will be as soon as I can isolate the problem and choose a suitable solution. It seems to me more likely that given the loud popping its more likely to be a voltage spike rather than RF. Looking at the reasonably priced conditioners such as the Tacima I see that they all protect against lighnting strikes etc but what I cant seem to work out is whether they smooth out spikes produced by thermostats, fridges etc.

As for the ferrite core snivilization I'd forgotten completely about those and will for the princely sum of £2 throw one on and see what happens albeit I think they filter RF.

 

[Dougal1331]

Hi,

I used to get the same problem with my system. The fridge was the culprit, so I got a Tacima CS929 doodah and the problem was solved... So to answer your question, yes, they do smooth out the spikes!

Jon.

 

[JonFountain]

Thanks for the information Dougal. The very helpful Jeff at Richer Sounds in Nottingham has kindly let me have one on trial to see if it works; if not a full refund with no handling charge

So far so good but the real test will be when the heating kicks in and the wife throws another load in the machine...fingers crossed.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello all,

Just surfing and found your thread. I have encountered this issue on my own hi-fi, on the chap next doors mixing desk and on my friends fathers hifi where the speakers almost blew the cones off when it happened.

My theory is that the problem seems to happen more through the power amp and speakers rather than the headphones because the headphones power supply is regulated and the power amp is more likely transformer->rectifier->capacitor but then no further regulation. The pop on the mains comes in at the power rail and is fast enough to go straight through the amps output stage and not get ironed out by the amps feedback loop as normal power rail ripple is. That is my best guess anyway.

In all three of the cases I've fixed the fault was a fridge or a central heating pump. A fridge has a nice big inductive motor for the compressor and most heating systems have likewise for a central heating pump. By far the best way to attack the problem seems to be to put a nice big MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor) 250Vac or 275Vac perhaps (I've always used 275Vac 75J) and a X1 class interference suppression capacitor, perhaps 470nF again 275Vac, both in parallel and as close to the offending item as possible.

Many motors also have a "motor start capacitor" typically a few microfarads polyprop. If this is not fitted and should be giant splats on the mains may happen...

For my friends dad I made him a box with filtering common mode choke plus XY capacitors across the mains as well as the MOV. When fitted to the hi-fi it made no difference. When fitted to the offending fridge problem solved.

The total component cost for these solutions was about £30 but that did include the diecast metal box. Try Rapid Electronics to get the bits.

This does not replace fitting your hi-fi with spike protection and RF mains filtering to get rid of mobile location updates etc.

Warning: this involves working with mains electricity and should only be done if you know exactly what you are doing. I accept no responsibility for any damage to you or your property if you try this.