My Leema may have a problem

[plastic penguin]

idc:

Bummer. Electronics are a mystery when they should not be. One of my headphone amps went 'pop' a while back. I suspected it was one of the valves, so today I opened it up and checked the valves and they looked fine. So I put them back in, closed the amp back up, plugged it in and after some crackling it settled down and works fine.

I hope your repaire is as simple as that, not that you can call it a repair exactly.

Cheers, I hope it's simple job. It probably is but under warranty (and I'm useless with electronics) negates any tampering.

 

[scene]

Just one quick question: have you tried using the headphones with nothing else plugged into the amp apart from a single source (e.g. CD)?
Just to rule out any obscure shorting, cable touching case, etc.
(I had a problem once with a phono earthing cable that cause horrendous hum on my speakers...)

 

[idc]

My amp was well out of warranty and I had an internet guide with photos to show me what to do. I would love to know what it was I did to make it work again. Maybe I am an electronics genius

 

[plastic penguin]

scene:Just one quick question: have you tried using the headphones with nothing else plugged into the amp apart from a single source (e.g. CD)? Just to rule out any obscure shorting, cable touching case, etc. (I had a problem once with a phono earthing cable that cause horrendous hum on my speakers...)

No, I haven't. But surely if it was shorting or bridging you would hear it thru the speakers. The speakers themselves are perfect. And, oddly, the buzz does not increase when you turn the volume up. I reckon the headphone socket thingy is faulty.

 

[Anonymous]

try not plugging the headphones in all the way or pushing on the plug gently, we are talking small amount like 1mm as sometime these are very sensative to noise pick up caused by the plug as it a)goes in to far, b) not far enough!

 

[plastic penguin]

vikingphone:try not plugging the headphones in all the way or pushing on the plug gently, we are talking small amount like 1mm as sometime these are very sensative to noise pick up caused by the plug as it a)goes in to far, b) not far enough!

Just this second tried your suggestion: I pushed the Jack in very slowly and it starts buzzing when the first black ring on the Jack enters the socket. Push it in a fraction more and it buzzes only out of the left hand channel, then pushed flush against the body of the amp both channels start to buzz again...

 

[scene]

plastic penguin:
vikingphone:try not plugging the headphones in all the way or pushing on the plug gently, we are talking small amount like 1mm as sometime these are very sensative to noise pick up caused by the plug as it a)goes in to far, b) not far enough!

Just this second tried your suggestion: I pushed the Jack in very slowly and it starts buzzing when the first black ring on the Jack enters the socket. Push it in a fraction more and it buzzes only out of the left hand channel, then pushed flush against the body of the amp both channels start to buzz again...

Yes, it does sound like the headphone socket is at fault, almost like it is shorting against the casing, or a cable from it is shorting.
Either way, that's definitely a case-opening, not to be done without invalidating warranty fix... You'll have to wait for leema

 

[Anonymous]

are you using an adaptor to make a little plug big or vice versa - those adaptors are sometimes also out of spec so don't connect properly so if you have a spare would also try?

i have come across this sort of fault a few times and normally plug/adaptor related which is cheap so fingures crossed for you - if not as above open case job by manufacturer, the headphone connector may have just moved away from case - worse case they can prob just swap it as prob unbolt the board.connector prob no biggy! just the hassle

 

[plastic penguin]

plastic penguin:

vikingphone:try not plugging the headphones in all the way or pushing on the plug gently, we are talking small amount like 1mm as sometime these are very sensative to noise pick up caused by the plug as it a)goes in to far, b) not far enough!

Just this second tried your suggestion: I pushed the Jack in very slowly and it starts buzzing when the first black ring on the Jack enters the socket. Push it in a fraction more and it buzzes only out of the left hand channel, then pushed flush against the body of the amp both channels start to buzz again...

Just had a conversation with Leema and told him about my little experiment by pushing the headphone jack in very slowly. He said he had a conversation with a colleague earlier today and they think it's the socket earth wire that's faulty.

We could be getting somewhere...

.

Thanks vikingphone.

 

[idc]

On a headphone plug the tip is one channel, then the next ring is the second channel and the third is ground. Each is isolated from the other by the small black rings. If you get buzzing on either channel and the ground then a fault in the wiring to the socket in the amp is most likely to be the problem.

 

[Anonymous]

i got my pulse from brighton the one that buzzed but that was through speakers aswell, leema will sort it out for you they are by far best company iv ever dealt with mainly because you are dealing with the owners of the company.

 

[plastic penguin]

pauladamss:i got my pulse from brighton the one that buzzed but that was through speakers aswell, leema will sort it out for you they are by far best company iv ever dealt with mainly because you are dealing with the owners of the company.

Thanks, paul, it's very reassuring. I've been very impressed the way Leema have responded...or how quickly.

Got the amp on at the moment (very low) and it's so wonderfully strung together, sonically.

 

[Anonymous]

my problems with the pulse certainly havent put me of leema as iv replaced my cdp with a stream II (managed to get a month old one for a good price) and have to say to my ear and with the rest of my kit this cdp adds something others i have tested didnt.

 

[plastic penguin]

I'm currently listening to Classic FM and the dynamic swings are rather impressive. Can't wait to get some decent speakers.

 

[Anonymous]

i see sevenoaks are doing the complete system pulse/stream/xones for just over £2000 now, unbelievable deal strongly advise anyone looking to buy a new system to give it a listen, with rock music it really sings and does a good job with everything else aswell.

 

[plastic penguin]

pauladamss:i see sevenoaks are doing the complete system pulse/stream/xones for just over £2000 now, unbelievable deal strongly advise anyone looking to buy a new system to give it a listen, with rock music it really sings and does a good job with everything else aswell.

I saw that before I bought my amp, and it seems like a really good deal.

What other CDPs did you test before deciding on the Stream? And I remember WHFI tested the Leemas (all in one system group test) earlier in the year and commented it was only good for short listening sessions, albeit with the Xeros. Although with the MA RS6s there is no hint of brightness either. I can't really associate with their findings. Maybe I'm missing something or don't understand the "bright" word.

 

[Anonymous]

owned a cd72 when i bought pulse sounded good others rega apollo/saturn. linn genki. arcam cd192 in order of preference least first

linn

apollo

cd72

cd192

saturn

stream

non were bad the linn was just to bright to my ear and i didnt feel it was a good match with the pulse.

cd192 masses of detail great with electro/jazz/ very stripped rock. didnt feel it could handle rock with alot going on

saturn nice with a bit of warmth which i feel the pulse benefits from but not worth the extra £500 over the cd192

stream it just works has abit of warmth and character it plays rock better than all the above and thrives on detail not as good as the 192 for pop/eletro but i listen to mostly rock, the first time i listened to jack johnson it blew me away. has a lovely deep bass and the treble now has a beautifull tone to it,.

 

[brendonw]

plastic penguin:
[quote user="pauladamss"Although with the MA RS6s there is no hint of brightness either. I can't really associate with their findings. Maybe I'm missing something or don't understand the "bright" word.

PP - I had a Cyrus 6XP, NAIM Nait 5i and the Leema. With the Cyrus the bright and harsh thing was very evident, less so with the NAIM but a touch muted. With the Leema all seemed perfect. I too read about brightness and MA RS6s but ultimately as you know its your own ears and eyes. I'm so glad I tried multiple amps though at home before settling on the Leema. Happy days. I'm working my way back through my CDs, its like having a new collection all over.

 

[plastic penguin]

brendonw:plastic penguin:

[quote user="pauladamss"Although with the MA RS6s there is no hint of brightness either. I can't really associate with their findings. Maybe I'm missing something or don't understand the "bright" word.

PP - I had a Cyrus 6XP, NAIM Nait 5i and the Leema. With the Cyrus the bright and harsh thing was very evident, less so with the NAIM but a touch muted. With the Leema all seemed perfect. I too read about brightness and MA RS6s but ultimately as you know its your own ears and eyes. I'm so glad I tried multiple amps though at home before settling on the Leema. Happy days. I'm working my way back through my CDs, its like having a new collection all over.

It is a strange one because I've tested Cyrus 8VS2, Naim Nait 5i, Primare and numerous other amps and not once has the RS6s ever felt close to bright. Not sure whether brightness is a point of view. I like to use the light bulb analogy: Stare at a 100 watt bulb and after minute or so your eyes start to feel like they're being gouged. Look at a 40 watt and you can happily sit (or stand) there for a while and have no residual effect.

Cheers for that.