Mains hum with Squeezebox / Naim, any ideas?

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I recently bought a Squeezebox duet to go with a Nait5 amp and Epos M5 speakers. I plugged it in today and instantly got a distinct mains hum. If I disconnect the power from the squeeze box, or both RCA cables then it stops. Previously I had tried an ipod dock connected and had the same problem so ended up just plugging the ipod in directly.

I changed the power so that both units feeds from the same plug, made no difference.

Given that the setup is so straightforward, (amp, duet, speakers), I'm guessing that it is mains hum so was looking at the Xitel mains loop isolator from Amazon -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00023XDYA/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=A34Z13D5CGT2YO

But before I spend the cash wondered if there was something I might be missing, or if there is an alternative power supply for the duet that might cure the problem?

Cheers......Dave

 

[True Blue]

I remember reading something similar regarding a subwoofer recently. The cause was the RCA plugs not actually being 100% fully engaged. Worth a punt before you start spending money

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks TrueBlue, reseated the RCA plugs, still get the hum.

 

[Anonymous]

u sorted the hum problem as i think i know why?

 

[Anonymous]

Not fixed yet, running out of ideas and don't want to spend a fortune on mains gear if it's not going to solve it. So any help appreciated!

 

[Anonymous]

Ive had problems like this before. If your source and amp are plugged into the same power supply socket thats the first thing.

The second thing you could do is check your mains cables, I put 13amp chord powercords on some of my kit so had an expensive upgrade, but check that the powercords used for the two bits of kit are the right ones ( right size fuse in plug top, no loose wire connections in plug top if their not sealed). Also puting a slightly bigger fuse in the powercords plug top may help.

I dont know anything about the squeezebox!, could your replace the sqbox with a cd player for a minute, and connect that into your amp to see if you have any humming with that???

My problem was my pc to amp connection (3.5 jack/ rca to rca ) which i had on a long cheap 10 m wire, but solved by buying a dac to connect digital ( no metal connections, no mains humm.) Before the dac i was going to buy a ground loop isolator from maplins for tenner or so...

or look at this thread a few pages into hifi section on here...
Tacima Ground Loop Isolator To Prevent Speaker Hum

 

[Anonymous]

Have you got the original power supply for the squeezebox or a different one...
Power
Squeezebox Receiver Power input

• 9.0V DC, regulated
• Center positive, sleeve ground
• Connector: 1.05mm ID, 3.5mm OD, 7mm long
• Min supply rating: 550mA

 

[Anonymous]

It's the original Power supply. A year or so ago I put a Kensington iPod dock there too and I remember that had a hum as well, although not as loud. The Nait has a Merlin cable connected to it, the duet just a cheap mains cable that is built in.

I might try tre Tacima guy to see if there are any left.

Thanks again

 

[Anonymous]

This is a realllllly old thread but I thought I'd post an answer seeing as Google puts this link at the top of its search results for "sqeezebox mains hum". Anyway, way back when Slim Devices owned the company, they had a wiki with this article

http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/Balanced_Power_Amps

I joined a mains cable and a spare RCA cable. I soldered the mains earth to the screen wire (the outer bit of an RCA connector), clipping and insulating the live and neutral wires (could have disconnected at the plug but it was moulded, so didn't bother, its safe enough) then plugged the RCA into the COAX SPDIF input (as the article above suggests) which I wasn't using anyway. Bingo. No more hum.

Usual disclaimers apply - please don't go messing with mains cables and soldering etc. if you don't know what you are doing.

 

[Anonymous]

This is a realllllly old thread but I thought I'd post an answer seeing as Google puts this link at the top of its search results for "sqeezebox mains hum". Anyway, way back when Slim Devices owned the company, they had a wiki with this article

http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/Balanced_Power_Amps

I joined a mains cable and a spare RCA cable. I soldered the mains earth to the screen wire (the outer bit of an RCA connector), clipping and insulating the live and neutral wires (could have disconnected at the plug but it was moulded, so didn't bother, its safe enough) then plugged the RCA into the COAX SPDIF input (as the article above suggests) which I wasn't using anyway. Bingo. No more hum.

Usual disclaimers apply - please don't go messing with mains cables and soldering etc. if you don't know what you are doing.