I Just Can't Win With These Amps!

metal83

If you decide to read this, grab a cup of coffee or something so you can stay awake!
Also, i've been drinking, so i hope this is somewhat comprehendible...lol




So a couple weeks ago i bought an XPA-3. Well i had humming/vibration coming directly from my XPA-3 and a hiss coming from my speakers tweeters (no humming in the drivers), so i returned it and got an XPA-5 (XPA-3's were out of stock). Great customer service by Emotiva by the way!

Well i received my XPA-5 today, hooked it up, and now i have an added problem, the drivers in my speakers are now humming along with the hiss in my tweeters. The amp itself is humming as well, but has no vibration like i had with the XPA-3 (so that's a plus).

I just tried pluggin it in by itself to every other outlet in my house. I used a heavy duty construction extension cord to do this so i could reach every outlet without moving the amp. But every outlet produced the same issues.

Now the strange thing is, my left speaker is hissing louder than any other speaker. The other speakers i can barely hear hiss, but my left speaker is much more audible.

Ok, well in regards to the hiss being louder in one speaker, i figured i'd switch channels on the amp to see if that made a difference. So i took my left speaker off of channel 1, and replaced it with my center channel speaker which i had in channel 2 (as well as switching RCA's). When i did this, my center speaker, now in channel 1, is now the one hissing much louder than the rest. I then completey switched around RCA's (on both ends) just to see if it may be a cable, that didn't make a difference though. I tried this with all speakers, and no matter what speaker i hooked up, as long as it's in channel 1 of the XPA-5, the hiss is much louder than all the rest.

And something else i find strange, regarding the speakers drivers humming. When i have nothing else on besides the amp, i can only hear the hiss of my tweeters, and an extremely slight hum in the drivers. But once i power on my AVR (Pioneer Elite 92), the hum in the drivers becomes very audible but the hiss in my tweeters decreases to the point of barely hearing it. Then once i turn off the AVR, the hum goes away within a minute or so, (and/or by restarting the amp), and the hiss starts up again. I can hear this hum all the way from my couch, granted it's not to often i sit here with my AVR muted, but still.


I'm sure part of the problem is my house, like my flourescent lights and electrical work and such, which i haven't messed with yet. But i don't think that i should have more problems with the XPA-5 vs the XPA-3 because of any of that, if anything you'd think it would of just been the same. Could i be that lucky to have 2 faulty amps in a row? haha probably..:eek: I Emailed Emotiva before work today, haven't heard back yet so i guess i have to call them. I wonder if i'll get cut off now. lol :eek:

I love the way these Amps sound, i mean to me it made a big difference, i just want one that freakin works correctly for christ sake! As in no weird loud hissing from one single channel, and no speaker humming. Maybe i outta just keep the XPA-3, save money, and send the XPA-5 back. I could probably deal with the amp humming, at least the speakers were fine, and all channels worked the same. lol

Ahhhh fun fun fun...I guess i just can't win lately, or maybe i'm too damn picky. lol

comfortablycurt

It seems like Emo definitely has a lot of QC issues. I keep hearing about more and more of their products developing problems...

Sorry about your bad luck man. I hope you get it sorted out.

metal83

comfortablycurt wrote: »

It seems like Emo definitely has a lot of QC issues. I keep hearing about more and more of their products developing problems...

Sorry about your bad luck man. I hope you get it sorted out.

Thanks man.

Yeah it actually really sucks, because as far as i'm concerned, these two amps i've tried blow my Pioneer Elite 92 out of the water. But i doubt this company is going to want to send me yet another replacement, i already have two of their amps sitting in my living room..lol

I've heard that they have told people to try different cables, i hope they do not try to tell me this. I laid down as much money as i'm willing too for my 3 MIT AVt-2 speaker cables and my 5 MIT AVt-2 IC's. I'm not about to go buy anymore cables, to hell with that!

Retro152

metal83 wrote: »

If you decide to read this, grab a cup of coffee or something so you can stay awake! lol





So a couple weeks ago i bought an XPA-3. Well i had humming/vibration coming directly from my XPA-3 and a hiss coming from my speakers tweeters (no humming in the drivers), so i returned it and got an XPA-5 (XPA-3's were out of stock). Great customer service by Emotiva by the way!

Well i received my XPA-5 today, hooked it up, and now i have an added problem, the drivers in my speakers are now humming along with the hiss in my tweeters. The amp itself is humming as well, but has no vibration like i had with the XPA-3 (so that's a plus).

I just tried pluggin it in by itself to every other outlet in my house. I used a heavy duty construction extension cord to do this so i could reach every outlet without moving the amp. But every outlet produced the same issues.

Now the strange thing is, my left speaker is hissing louder than any other speaker. The other speakers i can barely hear hiss, but my left speaker is much more audible.

Ok, well in regards to the hiss being louder in one speaker, i figured i'd switch channels on the amp to see if that made a difference. So i took my left speaker off of channel 1, and replaced it with my center channel speaker which i had in channel 2 (as well as switching RCA's). When i did this, my center speaker, now in channel 1, is now the one hissing much louder than the rest. I then completey switched around RCA's (on both ends) just to see if it may be a cable, that didn't make a difference though. I tried this with all speakers, and no matter what speaker i hooked up, as long as it's in channel 1 of the XPA-5, the hiss is much louder than all the rest.

And something else i find strange, regarding the speakers drivers humming. When i have nothing else on besides the amp, i can only hear the hiss of my tweeters, and an extremely slight hum in the drivers. But once i power on my AVR (Pioneer Elite 92), the hum in the drivers becomes very audible but the hiss in my tweeters decreases to the point of barely hearing it. Then once i turn off the AVR, the hum goes away within a minute or so, (and/or by restarting the amp), and the hiss starts up again. I can hear this hum all the way from my couch, granted it's not to often i sit here with my AVR muted, but still.


I'm sure part of the problem is my house, like my flourescent lights and electrical work and such, which i haven't messed with yet. But i don't think that i should have more problems with the XPA-5 vs the XPA-3 because of any of that, if anything you'd think it would of just been the same. Could i be that lucky to have 2 faulty amps in a row? haha probably..:eek: I Emailed Emotiva before work today, haven't heard back yet so i guess i have to call them. I wonder if i'll get cut off now. lol :eek:

I love the way these Amps sound, i mean to me it made a big difference, i just want one that freakin works correctly for christ sake! As in no weird loud hissing from one single channel, and no speaker humming. Maybe i outta just keep the XPA-3, save money, and send the XPA-5 back. I could probably deal with the amp humming, at least the speakers were fine, and all channels worked the same. lol

Ahhhh fun fun fun...I guess i just can't win lately, or maybe i'm too damn picky. lol

Strange! Think you mentioned in your prior thread on getting the Xpa-5, that Emotiva would also do a factory test and breakin, right? Like you said could be your house wiring? Be nice to run a dedicated 20amp circuit for the amp. Havent had any issues with the Xpa-3, (knock on wood).

megasat16

1. The power line Filters available from as PS Audio may solve your problem. It might not be the problem with EMO.

2. Try isolating the ground loop problem.

3. Plugs all the components such as AVR, amps, CD players and the TV to a good power strips. While trying to fault finding, do not use the surge protector such as Monster Surge Protectors. Just plug everything into a good power strip and see if it solves any problem.

4. Borrow a good known amp from a friend to try and see if the problem exists with that amp connected to your speakers. If there is no hum or buzz with the loaner amp, the EMO amp you got might be a culprit.

5. IF you have buzz and hums coming from your speakers no matter what you do, you may need to call electrician to check your home wiring.

GOOD LUCK!

comfortablycurt

metal83 wrote: »

Thanks man.

Yeah it actually really sucks, because as far as i'm concerned, these two amps i've tried blow my Pioneer Elite 92 out of the water. But i doubt this company is going to want to send me yet another replacement, i already have two of their amps sitting in my living room..lol

I've heard that they have told people to try different cables, i hope they do not try to tell me this. I laid down as much money as i'm willing too for my 3 MIT AVt-2 speaker cables and my 5 MIT AVt-2 IC's. I'm not about to go buy anymore cables, to hell with that!

It doesn't sound to me like the cables are the issue. If you've tried different cables and different speakers, and you're still getting the louder noise out of the same channel, the problem is probably within the amp. That would be my guess anyway.

metal83

retro152 wrote: »

Strange! Think you mentioned in your prior thread on getting the Xpa-5, that Emotiva would also do a factory test and breakin, right? Like you said could be your house wiring? Be nice to run a dedicated 20amp circuit for the amp. Havent had any issues with the Xpa-3, (knock on wood).

That's what they said, whether they did or not i have no clue. I got the box in pretty shady condition though. The outer box was beat to hell and ripped and not taped on one side, and also had a huge chunk of the corner missing like it was dropped and scrapped on the ground or something. And the the white box inside of the other box was also only taped on one side.

I have a hard time believing all these problems are my house, sure some of them might be. But what would my house have to do with 1 channel on the amp making whatever speakers hooked into it hiss like crazy? Sounds like more of an problem with the internals of the amp to me.

And i had no speaker hum, none what so ever with the XPA-3, just the slight hiss which i accepted as normal, or at least could maybe blame on my flourescent lights. And now i do with the XPA-5, and to the point where i can hear it humming from my couch if i mute the tv, seems odd to me.

Like i said i love the way the Amps sound, i wish i didn't have these issues.

comfortablycurt wrote: »

It doesn't sound to me like the cables are the issue. If you've tried different cables and different speakers, and you're still getting the louder noise out of the same channel, the problem is probably within the amp. That would be my guess anyway.

That's what i'm thinking. Which is even more irritating, considering who knows how Emotiva will react when i tell them this. I guess i'll find out just how good there customer service is i suppose.

leroyjr1

The odds of you getting two bad amps in a row is very slim. I think its something with your setup or house wiring.

LessisNevermore

metal, I'm curious why you didn't mention the damage to the box, like you did on the other board. Dropping a heavy amp like that won't do it any favors.

Also, try a cheap set of IC's on it, there might be something with the MIT's.(doubtful, but worth a try)

Eliminate your wiring as the culprit, before you send it back.

Retro152

metal83 wrote: »

That's what they said, whether they did or not i have no clue. I got the box in pretty shady condition though. The outer box was beat to hell and ripped and not taped on one side, and also had a huge chunk of the corner missing like it was dropped and scrapped on the ground or something. And the the white box inside of the other box was also only taped on one side.

I have a hard time believing all these problems are my house, sure some of them might be. But what would my house have to do with 1 channel on the amp making whatever speakers hooked into it hiss like crazy? Sounds like more of an problem with the internals of the amp to me.

And i had no speaker hum, none what so ever with the XPA-3, just the slight hiss which i accepted as normal, or at least could maybe blame on my flourescent lights. And now i do with the XPA-5, and to the point where i can hear it humming from my couch if i mute the tv, seems odd to me.

Like i said i love the way the Amps sound, i wish i didn't have these issues.

Yeah, does sound like an internal problem. narrowed down to that one channel. Hopefully they will come through again on this issue. Seems like someones not keeping a good eye on the "sweat shop". WTF. Good luck with this.

metal83

leroyjr1 wrote: »

The odds of you getting two bad amps in a row is very slim. I think its something with your setup or house wiring.

As i've said, my first Amp (the XPA-3) just had a humming/vibration coming directly from the amp. The speakers hissed a tiny bit, which yeah was probably my house. I had no humming in drivers though, and no variance in the volume of hiss by using a certain channel.

With the XPA-5, channel 1 is producing a very loud hiss. This can't be anything to do with my house if it's isolated to 1 channel on the amp. And this amp is making my drivers hum, the other didn't, which is why i don't think all of these issues are my house.

Maybe i should of just kept, or should keep, the XPA-3 since apparently it has far less issues the XPA-5, and the issues it did have, well yeah were probably my house. An extra $300 i paid for this XPA-5, not quite sure it's worth it now just to run all 5 channels.

metal83

LessisNevermore wrote: »

metal, I'm curious why you didn't mention the damage to the box, like you did on the other board. Dropping a heavy amp like that won't do it any favors.

Also, try a cheap set of IC's on it, there might be something with the MIT's.(doubtful, but worth a try)

Eliminate your wiring as the culprit, before you send it back.

I mentioned it in post #7 (oh i did leave out the part about the FedEx guy dropping it on my porch, he definitely didn't put it down carefully). And i agree, dropping something like this is definitely not a good thing. I was a little nervous when i saw the box to begin with, but was excited at the same time so didn't think much of it at first.

I wonder if Emotiva has some sort of insurance in regards to something happening during shipping, i'd think so, but who knows.

I was hoping that dude Lonnie would read my post over there. I copied and pasted that post to an email and sent it to him as well. I was hoping not to have to explain myself all over again over the phone, but i haven't heard back yet so it looks like i'll have to do that, which is going to be a pain in the ****.

leroyjr1

Metal play around with the IC's and see if that eliminates the hum. I had a hum with my system and found out it was because I had my IC's at a angle and not straight.

Erik Tracy

I'm sorry if this was mentioned by you before - I've skimmed thru the thread and might have missed it...but...did you try connecting your speakers to JUST the AVR (with the EMO disconnected and not plugged in)?

Do the speakers still hiss in this scenario?

leroyjr1

How loud is the hiss and hum. Every speaker will have some kind of hiss especially when using and external amp.

LessisNevermore

metal83 wrote: »

I mentioned it in post #7 (oh i did leave out the part about the FedEx guy dropping it on my porch, he definitely didn't put it down carefully. And i agree, dropping something like this is definitely not a good thing. I was a little nervous when i saw the box to begin with, but was excited at the same time so didn't think much of it at first.

I am still more suspicious of your wiring, but it's possible a solder joint may have cracked from the rough handling. That's pretty thick cardboard on the outer box. Too late to file a claim?

metal83

Erik Tracy wrote: »

I'm sorry if this was mentioned by you before - I've skimmed thru the thread and might have missed it...but...did you try connecting your speakers to JUST the AVR (with the EMO disconnected and not plugged in)?

Do the speakers still hiss in this scenario?

I've done this, the speakers have always hissed very slightly through the tweeters, even when hooked up to my AVR. But they have never made a hum. The problem is not so much the hiss, but that 1 single channel on the amp is causing a massive hiss that can be heard from a distance of feet, not inches. And it doesn't matter what cables or what speakers i hooked to that channel, it will do it regardless while the rest of my speakers barely hiss. And the hum in the drivers is a concern because this is the first time i've heard it, no hum with just the AVR, and no hum with the XPA-3 (in regards to the drivers).

leroyjr1 wrote: »

How loud is the hiss and hum. Every speaker will have some kind of hiss especially when using and external amp.

The loud hiss coming out of that one channel can be heard from quite a few feet away. All the other speaker i have to be within inches to hear it, basically almost right up against them, so that doesn't concern me.

And the hum can be heard when i'm sitting on my couch about 7 or 8 feet away.

metal83

LessisNevermore wrote: »

I am still more suspicious of your wiring, but it's possible a solder joint may have cracked from the rough handling. That's pretty thick cardboard on the outer box. Too late to file a claim?

I don't know, i just received it this morning, well technically yesterday i suppose.

Erik Tracy

metal83 wrote: »

I've done this, the speakers have always hissed very slightly through the tweeters, even when hooked up to my AVR. But they have never made a hum. The problem is not so much the hiss, but that 1 single channel on the amp is causing a massive hiss that can be heard from a distance of feet, not inches. And it doesn't matter what cables or what speakers i hook to that channel, it will do it regardless while the rest of my speaker barely hiss. And the hum in the drivers is a concern because this is the first time i've heard it, no hum with just the AVR, and no hum with the XPA-3 (in regards to the drivers).



The loud hiss coming out of that one channel can be heard from quite a few feet away. All the other speaker i have to be within inches to hear it, basically almost right up against them, so that doesn't concern me.

And the hum can be heard when i'm sitting on my couch about 7 or 8 feet away.

So the speakers hum when connected to the Emo - even with nothing else connected to the Emo, or what outlet you plug the Emo into.....

and....

the speakers do NOT hum when just connected to the avr.

If so, sure sounds like your amp is the culprit - not the wiring in your house.

But - I'm applying "shotgun" logic here.

Sorry about your problems - hope you can get them sorted out.

Erik

leroyjr1

Give it time I'm sure you'll figure it out.

metal83

Erik Tracy wrote: »

So the speakers hum when connected to the Emo - even with nothing else connected to the Emo, or what outlet you plug the Emo into.....


and....

the speakers do NOT hum when just connected to the avr.

Exactly!
But the hum is always there regardless, but it increases in the drivers when i turn on my AVR, if that makes a difference. And i do not have this issue with the AVR by itself, or with the XPA-3, just the XPA-5.

Erik Tracy wrote: »

If so, sure sounds like your amp is the culprit - not the wiring in your house.

But - I'm applying "shotgun" logic here.

Sorry about your problems - hope you can get them sorted out.

Erik

Thanks, i hope so too!

metal83

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Give it time I'm sure you'll figure it out.

I suppose if anything it will be a learning experience, that's just me trying to look on the bright side.

metal83

By the way, thanks for all the super fast responses from you guys, i appreciate it.
I needed to vent a little bit, i tried venting to my fiancee, what a waste of time that was, "maybe it's a sign you shouldn't of spent the money" she says, ughh...lol

leroyjr1

metal83 wrote: »

By the way, thanks for all the super fast responses from you guys, i appreciate it.
I needed to vent a little bit, i tried venting to my fiancee, what a waste of time that was, "maybe it's a sign you shouldn't of spent the money" she says, ughh...lol

Did you check and make sure it wasn't your girlfriends vibrator running in the next room.:D

comfortablycurt

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Did you check and make sure it wasn't your girlfriends vibrater running in the next room.:D

That has got to be the problem. It's so obvious now...:p

metal83

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Did you check and make sure it wasn't your girlfriends vibrater running in the next room.:D

:eek:....LMAO....I never thought of that, maybe she dropped it behind my tv while taking a **** out of the PS3...:p

If that things running in the next room, my senses immediately pick up on that and i'm just about diving in the bed......Anyways..... haha lol.

F1nut

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Did you check and make sure it wasn't your girlfriends vibrator running in the next room.:D

Tickle my EMO!

metal83

F1nut wrote: »

Tickle my EMO!

If ever there was a perfect time for that, it was then! lol

leroyjr1

f1nut wrote: »

tickle my emo!

:):):)

Retro152

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Did you check and make sure it wasn't your girlfriends vibrator running in the next room.:D

The Xpa-5000? LMAO.

moe

I was just wondering what amp you had before these? Did they have any issues? Did you have an amp before these? There are many reasons for hiss or hum,good luck.