Synergy synergy synergy! Help. I need help!...

[BenLaw]

Craig M.:

Inter_Voice:Pleased to know that more and more manufactures are providing 5 years warranty services. It will certainly influence others to do the same and eventually 5 years warranty service will become a norm and standard. This provides peace of mind for the customers .

atc provide a 6 year one. that's one more.

 

[ID.]

Craig M.:
Inter_Voice:Pleased to know that more and more manufactures are providing 5 years warranty services. It will certainly influence others to do the same and eventually 5 years warranty service will become a norm and standard. This provides peace of mind for the customers .

atc provide a 6 year one. that's one more.

Then there's Bryston's well known

"Bryston analog audio products are warranted to be free from manufacturing defects for twenty (20) years from the original date of manufacture. The warranty includes parts and labour."

 

[Anonymous]

Not to mention Densen's hard-to-beat lifetime warranty.

 

[Inter_Voice]

It seems nowadays more and more manufacturers are willing to provide very long warranty period to their products. As a matter of fact most electronic equipment built today are quite reliable. It can last for 3 to 5 years without any problems. If you are unfortunate enough encountering a fault of your equipment (e.g.a hifi) after say 5 years, for me I will not send my hifi for service and will use this opportunity to look for an upgrade. Therefore manufacturers providing long warranty service is only a gesture as there would not be too many customers returning their products for service after such a long period of time.

 

[Inter_Voice]

Back to the topic. Today I received a phone call from Leema Acoustics who told me that my Pulse II has no problem at all !!!

They confirmed to me that the earthing mod is there and was done in Aug 10 (they did open up the case and checked the circuit). They used very sensitive headphones for testing and could not find any hum. They also used different interconnects and same condition found, i.e. no hum in headphone and speakers. Strange !!!

I told them the problem and they suspected the noise was picked up somewhere from the source and was not a Pulse II problem. I will have the amplifier back in 2 days time.

Well after my Pulse II is back I need to spend some time to trace the cause of the hum (though not serious in the speakers, it is a concern to me in phones).

In the past few days I reconnected my NAD C355BEE for music playback and found the SQ is at least a grade lower than the Pulse II.

 

[Inter_Voice]

The following is a response from Leema regarding humming noise in my Pulse II:

" If you had any humming I would check your sources, ensure that you do not have a suspect earth in any of your interconnects.

We are currently listening to your unit, Beethoven at the moment and it is perfect.

As regards to the earth mods you have heard about they had already been incorporated into your unit as part of the latest specification".

I am not very sure about the meaning of "... ensure that you do not have a suspect earth in any of your interconnects".

Hope someone can shed some light on it.

 

[Anonymous]

do Arcam still provide 5 year warranty on their FMJ range ? I know these used to - but not sure either way now ?

 

[matthewpiano]

Buckshar:do Arcam still provide 5 year warranty on their FMJ range ? I know these used to - but not sure either way now ?

Yes, by registration. You get a sheet in with the manual instructing you to register for the 5 year warranty on the website.

 

[plastic penguin]

Inter_Voice:

Back to the topic. Today I received a phone call from Leema Acoustics who told me that my Pulse II has no problem at all !!!

They confirmed to me that the earthing mod is there and was done in Aug 10 (they did open up the case and checked the circuit). They used very sensitive headphones for testing and could not find any hum. They also used different interconnects and same condition found, i.e. no hum in headphone and speakers. Strange !!!

I told them the problem and they suspected the noise was picked up somewhere from the source and was not a Pulse II problem. I will have the amplifier back in 2 days time.

Well after my Pulse II is back I need to spend some time to trace the cause of the hum (though not serious in the speakers, it is a concern to me in phones).

In the past few days I reconnected my NAD C355BEE for music playback and found the SQ is at least a grade lower than the Pulse II.

They told me the humming could only be detected with hi-quality headphones. When I told them it could be heard on a cheapo pair from Curries they kept it a few days more and rectified the problem.

 

[Inter_Voice]

Thanks pp. I have requested Leema to carry out some additional test using a cheapo headphone and I got a reply from them as following: "I have listened to your Pulse with our high end Sony headphones and a pair of £3.99 headphones. Neither pair have any hum.

I have tried repeated insertions of the plug, moving the plug around and I can not generate any hum at all.​

Could your headphones have a break in their earth shielding?"​

Since Leema could not identify any abnormality in my Pulse II I have requested them to return it to me. Hopefully I can have it back in one to two days and then I will carry out my trouble shooting to find out where the hum comes from.​

 

[Inter_Voice]

I got my Pulse II back yesterday and immediately plugged up the cables for testing. Unfortunately the hum is still there !!

After quite a number of tests to isolate the hum I discovered that the problem is due to my Chord Cobra Plus interconnects. The cable seems to be Ok when test with a meter but when I opened up the RCA plugs I found that the wire mesh shields were not connected to the earth !! Only 2 internal wires run through the cable. I then soldered the wire mesh to the outer case and the hum noise has a great reduction !!! When I disconnect the source and leave only the cable in the RCA input socket my Pulse is completely silent even at full volume setting.

Though I can still observe minor humming noise from the speakers at high volume setting I think it is mainly come from the CD and other input sources. I believe they are caused by earth loops. My task now is to hunt them down.

I am now running in my Pulse and enjoy my music at the same time.

 

[Anonymous]

Finally, I recieved my Pulse today. I have had my concerns following this thread... However, while only listening for a couple of hours, I must say that so far it is amazing! Bright? No, definitely not rather the opposite I would say. Compared to the Maratz it is replacing it is extremely punchy and I would even say bass heavy. At the same time bringing out all details I could wish for in the top end.

Perhaps the midrange could be a little more forward and open up a tiny bit more but all in all I couldn't be happier with it. Will be interesting to hear if its characteristics change during the next month or so when running it in. Btw, I experience no problems with earth hum neither through the speakers nor headphones.

 

[plastic penguin]

mullansson1:

Finally, I recieved my Pulse today. I have had my concerns following this thread... However, while only listening for a couple of hours, I must say that so far it is amazing! Bright? No, definitely not rather the opposite I would say. Compared to the Maratz it is replacing it is extremely punchy and I would even say bass heavy. At the same time bringing out all details I could wish for in the top end.

Perhaps the midrange could be a little more forward and open up a tiny bit more but all in all I couldn't be happier with it. Will be interesting to hear if its characteristics change during the next month or so when running it in. Btw, I experience no problems with earth hum neither through the speakers nor headphones.

Well done - your initial findings about the presentation echoes mine. You will hear the difference over the coming weeks - whether it's the amp running in or the ears adapting to the different sounds.

Either way, enjoy.

NB: Keep us updated...

 

[Inter_Voice]

mullansson1:
Finally, I recieved my Pulse today. I have had my concerns following this thread... However, while only listening for a couple of hours, I must say that so far it is amazing! Bright? No, definitely not rather the opposite I would say. Compared to the Maratz it is replacing it is extremely punchy and I would even say bass heavy. At the same time bringing out all details I could wish for in the top end.

Perhaps the midrange could be a little more forward and open up a tiny bit more but all in all I couldn't be happier with it. Will be interesting to hear if its characteristics change during the next month or so when running it in. Btw, I experience no problems with earth hum neither through the speakers nor headphones.

I also found that the Pulse is not bright at all as mentioned by a number of reviews. Bass heavy, well not at all when compare with my NAD C355BEE and I found the sound from Pulse is more neutral and ear friendly. I can listen to my music for long hours without any feeling of fatigue.

As to the small amount of humming noise, it is not a big concern to me but I wanted to get rid of it entirely. A Leema Acoustic engineer is now helping me out to hunt down the hum due to earth loops by interactive telephone and e-mail exchanges. Leema Acoustics is really providing an excellent after sales service !!!

 

[Inter_Voice]

Just an update on the issue of humming at my Pulse II. I am glad that with the assistance of an engineer from Leema I have now completely eliminated the humming noise caused by the earth loops. The headphone and the speakers are now dead silent without the annoying humming. A BIG thank you to the Leema engineer.

 

[MikeToll]

Inter_Voice:Just an update on the issue of humming at my Pulse II. I am glad that with the assistance of an engineer from Leema I have now completely eliminated the humming noise caused by the earth loops. The headphone and the speakers are now dead silent without the annoying humming. A BIG thank you to the Leema engineer.

Having read your posts I have checked my Leema Pulse II (also from Brighton Sevenoaks) and there is a definite slight hum through headphones and a much less discernible one through the speakers if a none active source is selected. This is not volume dependant and as far as the speakers are concerned my ear has to be practically touching the speaker to hear it. Is this the same as you had or was yours much louder? Is mine within the bounds of "normal" or should it be completely silent? If music is playing then the slight hum is completely masked. Trying my headphones with a 30 year old amp there is no hum whatsoever.

 

[plastic penguin]

MikeToll:

Inter_Voice:Just an update on the issue of humming at my Pulse II. I am glad that with the assistance of an engineer from Leema I have now completely eliminated the humming noise caused by the earth loops. The headphone and the speakers are now dead silent without the annoying humming. A BIG thank you to the Leema engineer.

Having read your posts I have checked my Leema Pulse II (also from Brighton Sevenoaks) and there is a definite slight hum through headphones and a much less discernible one through the speakers if a none active source is selected. This is not volume dependant and as far as the speakers are concerned my ear has to be practically touching the speaker to hear it. Is this the same as you had or was yours much louder? Is mine within the bounds of "normal" or should it be completely silent? If music is playing then the slight hum is completely masked. Trying my headphones with a 30 year old amp there is no hum whatsoever.

The hum I had was ONLY heard through the headphones, and the noise was constant regardless of volume or which input was on... best to check, before concerning yourself, all your sources and earthings.

 

[Inter_Voice]

In my case the humming noise only appears when I switch on my OPPO Player. If I switch off my OPPO Player the headphone and speakers are all dead silent even when the volume setting is at its Max. When the player is switched on, I can only hear very very low humming noise from the headphone and speakers (with my ear touching the speakers) when the volume knob is at 2 o'clock position, otherwise I cannot hear any noticeable humming. At 2 o'clock volume setting and with the selector turns from CD to other locations such as Tuner, Aux/MP3 etc I cannot hear any humming at all. I therefore conclude that the very small humming is actually from my OPPO as it is using switching mode to supply DC source to the OPPO electronics (Leema engineer also shared my view).

In your case I believe the humming in your Pulse is coming from the earth loops as this noise is not volume dependent. You need to spend some time to trace what causes the earth loop. I am lucky enough to have the assistance of an engineer from Leema.

 

[MikeToll]

Thanks for your replies. As you say the slight hum is not volume dependant. I get the hum even if all the sources are switched off at the units but still physically plugged in to both the mains (all via a surge protected multi socket extension lead) and the amp. The interconnects are old and nothing special, a future upgrade waiting to happen. The record deck also has an earth via the amp. What do I do, unplug everything and see what happens to the hum and if it goes put back one source at a time? Electricity is not my strong point! Mind you as I cannot hear any hum unless no music is playing it is presumably of no great consequence and I love the Pulse.

 

[MikeToll]

I sent an email to Leema and they have asked me to unplug all sources and see if the hum goes and also asking for the serial number. Unfortunately the hum does not go, if anything it seems louder so I have emailed back informing them and so we will see what happens. I suspect they will want the amp back to investigate.

 

[Inter_Voice]

Like me, I am sure Leema will help you to trace the source of the earth loops.

As a fist step I suggest you unplug everything (i.e. all interconnects to the inputs) and just have the Pulse with the speakers connected.

Turn the volume up and see if you hear any humming noise. I suspect there shouldn't be any otherwise there is something wrong with your amplifier and you need to send it back to Leema for service. It should be dead silent. If there is none then just plug in the CD Player and repeat the process (first with CD Player off and then turn on the Player). If you hear humming noise in either case it means the noise is either from the CD player or there is an earth loop between the two units.

 

[MikeToll]

Thanks, I did all that. With all inputs disconnected the hum is still there. If anything it is louder with nothing connected even with the volume off. I have received a reply from Leema who want the unit back to make adjustments to the grounding circuit and they are arranging a carrier. I am just glad I still have my ancient Pioneer in the meantime as looking at a little tranny is not enthralling! Typically, I am awaiting the arrival of new speakers too so I will only be able to imagine what they sound like with the Leema, still I will be able to run them in with the Pioneer in the meantime.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi all. Thanks for this discussion. I only got my new Leema Pulse II amp setup last night and it sounds great. I haven't tried it with headphones yet - but I will do so asap. Fingers crossed.

I also agree that the Leema sounds great with RX1s. Despite liking the combo in the store, I couldn't help but feel the RX1s were too humble a speaker for the Leema. But after an extended listen last night, I am thrilled with the combination.

The rDac also suits the Leema in my opinion.

 

[plastic penguin]

RJT:

Hi all. Thanks for this discussion. I only got my new Leema Pulse II amp setup last night and it sounds great. I haven't tried it with headphones yet - but I will do so asap. Fingers crossed.

I also agree that the Leema sounds great with RX1s. Despite liking the combo in the store, I couldn't help but feel the RX1s were too humble a speaker for the Leema. But after an extended listen last night, I am thrilled with the combination.

The rDac also suits the Leema in my opinion.

Sounds like you really smitten with it already

. Try some classical music or big band jazz - the dynamics are sensational.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree. Last night, pinot noir in hand, listening to the LSO & Andsnes recordings of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos was just fantastic. Mental note to self: buy some big band music