Stereo acting up

BlueFox

A few weeks ago I had some popping from the right speaker. Tonight it happened again. Tomorrow I will switch the preamp outputs and see if the left speaker has this issue. If so then I need to change the Lumin outputs and see if the popping changes with it. Personally, I am beginning to get tired of component failures. I went through this exercise about three years ago for a preamp issue, and really don’t feel like doing it again. If something is failing then I wish it would fail hard. Having a pop or two every few weeks will never get fixed by a vendor.

Clipdat

Probably the amp.

treitz3

Sorry to hear of this Bud. Chasing ghosts in a system can be challenging and is definitely not fun, especially when it's so intermittent.

How loud is the pop when it happens and is it more of a "thump" or a pop?

Tom

mhardy6647

Reflecting on years of typos seen in subject lines for issues like this, I am just glad you're not reporting
either "p o o ping" or "Poping".

Occam's Razor: The simplest explanation is the most likely one, a priori.

Troubleshooting 101. (admittedly, harder with intermittents)
Reduce/minimize & isolate.
Start with the simplest possible system and add back.
Amp plus speakers, no source at all wouldn't be a bad place to start.
Failing that, a line level source (ideally, an analog one) that can be attenuated (i.e., bypass everything else)
Add back components until pops reappear.

That said, random popping to me suggests line (AC mains) noise, athough, obviously, it could be something innate to the hifi "system" -- but I wouldnt start there (FWIW).

Plug the system into another circuit (use an extension cord if necessary) -- if you use any power conditioning, bypass all of it.

Is there anything different on the line (AC circuit) or in the house (or maybe, maybe, even the neighborhood -- i.e., the feed transformer)?
Things with high start up current and operating cycles (heatpumps, A/C, refrigerators, well pumps, hot water heaters - those sorts of things) can put random pulses on the mains, and might even induce noise into electrically isolated circuits.
Digital cr@p is even worse. Are there any digital (i.e., microprocessor controlled) gizmos anywhere near the system? More to the point: are there any changes in the physical location of any of them relative to the system. Everything "smart" today creates mammoth amounts of RFI "hash".

Are you in a single family house or a condo? If the latter... well, a noise issue could be difficult to impossible to suss out.

Maybe youre lucky and it's just an active component (e.g., your amplifier) thats bjorked.
Just pitch it and get a new one

VR3

I'd start with the pass labs gear 😝

I find with tidal, I get a pop every now and again on track changes. It doesn't really bother me so I don't worry about it

mhardy6647

Oh, I forgot "plan B" -- just listen to it. The popping will either remain random & intermittent, or it will get worse. In the latter case, eventually something will fail catastrophically. In that event, repair or replace.

In the old days of vacuum tube circuits (which were both simpler and much more robust), a popular troubleshooting technique was called "smoking the problem out". If a piece of equipment was popping fuses, replace the fuse with a stout piece of wire, energize equipment, and see what smokes inside of it. Replace that part (also check the condition of parts upstream from the smoke site). This works great except when the smoke comes from a transformer.

I am not being - totally - facetious.

tonyb

If you haven't changed anything in the system recently, I might be inclined to focus on the line, outlet, or grounding.

F1nut

Your solar panels are beginning to fail.

mhardy6647

F1nut wrote: »

Your solar panels are beginning to fail.

Interesting hypothesis.
Testable, to the extent that there is (should be) a shut-off.
They can be taken offline and a day or two of listening should reveal if there's a change in popping behavior.

Chances are, only one panel - or maybe one microinverter - is at fault.

SIHAB

Can you take these off line?
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps

BlueFox

Decided to troubleshot from the bottom up. Each amp is on a dedicated 20 amp line, and each line has a Shunyata Denali 2000 on it. So I swapped the Denalis. If that doesn't change anything then the preamp output cables will get swapped.

Clipdat

It's probably the amp.

BlueFox

Tonight I swapped the preamp outputs to each amp. Now if the right amp acts up then it is the amp’s issue. If the left amp pops then it is either the preamp or Lumin, but after seven hours the system has worked fine.

One issue was between my hearing, the setup, and getting the balance correct. My left speaker is about three feet from the wall, while the right is adjacent to the open kitchen and dining room area. So I had to adjust the preamp output on each channel to balance the sound. Between being naturally clumsy, and having a beer, I kept getting the L/R mixed up. But it’s fine now, sounds good, and hopefully there won’t be any pops.

F1nut

Good news!

treitz3

He found out his solar panels **** the bed?

Tom

BlueFox

After playing the stereo for 6-7 hours last Friday night, and another 6-7 hours Tuesday night with no issues, I put the cables back in the correct sockets. So, now to hear if anything happens tonight. While unlikely, maybe it was a dirty or poor cable connection even though they are XLR connectors.

boston1450

Good news grasshoppah

Clipdat

Updates?

BlueFox

So far, so good.

BlueFox

Whatever was the problem appears to have fixed itself (knock on wood). I haven’t had this issue for a while now, and hopefully never again. Life is too short to spend time fracking with audio issues.