Thanks...the good thing is 95% of the time, i listen to the most amazing system i have ever had the pleasure to hear (all second hand and it took me a solid 7 years to get it to where it is today.) And for the price i paid, if i have to put up with this nonsense a little longer (before hopefully SOME AUDIO TECH figures it out)... so be it. I feel extraordinarily fortunate to be able to listen to this system every day and call it my own.
I am confident a very, very detailed oriented Audio Tech can root out the bad capacitor and replace it...just takes time. i have found another one who did a nice job on the cables i had reterminated to Xhadow XLR. He said he was happy to look at it. fingers crossed...again, may aim to do in a couple of months unless the buzzing gets really bad.
yes, and more importantly. i disconnected the Gryphon from the system overnight...let it rest...turned it on...and it came back. Again for maybe 5 seconds in about 5 hours of playback...but its still there.
The only good news is that this is good feedback for Gryphon, and makes it very difficult for them to ignore the problem is with the power amp now.
Let us know how the chat with the dealer-Gryphon goes, TBH I would contact Gryphon directly now to discuss this and to engage the dealer if needed.
Many top audio manufacturers are fine for contact in situations like this I find.
The unit was sent to Gryphon before i bought it and they gave it a clean bill of health...after the problem arose, i sent it back and they could not solve the problem. in fact, they said they could not replicate it. i got into a bit of a tussle with them, but they said they could not help since they could not replicate the buzz. In the end decided to go with a non-Gryphon distributor here in the UK who very kindly took it in as a favor. They said they actually had managed to hear and replicate the buzz problem and they replaced the capactiors...it worked for 5 months perfectly. then the buzz came back. The distributor took it back again but this time, they could not replicate the buzz. so i will probably take it back to them again or to another audio tech. strange.
To me it almost seems like there's a form of instability somewhere that is triggered by the precise electrical environment it's functioning in. Which is why some people can make it misbehave, and others can't. And why it's almost a random behaviour. This may be a bit extreme, but you could try and find whether something electrical in your house is helping to trigger the fault, by disconnecting things from the mains.
Wait till the problem is particularly bad and try and switch off everything electrical in the house, and even cell phones and such: a long shot, but it may give you some clues ...
That is a good thought, and i have tried to do this...the lights off....the only thing that comes to mind is the wireless wifi? but then i cannot surf on WBF while listening to music! and where's the fun in that? i will keep experimenting. it is fortunately sporatic...just happened for 3 seconds while i am typing this (morning...all lights off...just sunlight). and now it is not happening...so tough to chase.
To Frank's point about extraneous (non-Gryphon) factors, does anyone think it might be the combination of my Zanden DAC which does have a minimal drip of DC coming thru apparently? The Gryphon is DC coupled, whatever that means.
Try a different DAC and see if the problem goes away. You have far more patience than I do. I would have thrown that amp out the window a long time ago.
Try a different DAC and see if the problem goes away. You have far more patience than I do. I would have thrown that amp out the window a long time ago.
That's a good idea. Does the problem continue with all your sources? Also I have only followed this thread in starts and stops. IIRC you have some adapters(?) in connecting the amp ,if so I think that could very well be the problem. You will eventually get it resolved but I doubt it is the amp, It sounds like a cabling issue to me. Sorry if this has been addressed already and good luck!
Thanks!!! I have gotten rid of the xlr adaptors this weekend...had my Transparent REf SE cables reterminated. Here's the latest new bit of info...i switched out the Transparent Reference (reterminated) cables...and stuck a friend's reference SE cable in...with the xlr adaptors back in.
The weird thing is that i always used to hear a bit of transformer hum thru BOTH speakers when i had my ear next to the tweeter (using the Transp Ref ICs...even with new the xlr terminations). When i used my friend's new SE cable with the xlr adaptors...it went SILENT...it was like my system was actually OFF! i was stunned. no transformer buzz thru the tweeter at all...i swear i could not tell if my system was on or off, standing next to my speakers with my ear touching the foam of the tweeter.
does that mean anything to anyone? is it possible there is some impedence mismatch that could be part of what is going on that would cause amp to buzz loudly in one channel from time to time?
he is the manufacturer! And i told him i might just want to buy one! My Transp Ref are 10+ years old and have been a trusted friend for years..a long time in the world of audio...But these new SE cables simply are a generation or two ahead.
Thanks!!! I have gotten rid of the xlr adaptors this weekend...had my Transparent REf SE cables reterminated. Here's the latest new bit of info...i switched out the Transparent Reference (reterminated) cables...and stuck a friend's reference SE cable in...with the xlr adaptors back in.
The weird thing is that i always used to hear a bit of transformer hum thru BOTH speakers when i had my ear next to the tweeter (using the Transp Ref ICs...even with new the xlr terminations). When i used my friend's new SE cable with the xlr adaptors...it went SILENT...it was like my system was actually OFF! i was stunned. no transformer buzz thru the tweeter at all...i swear i could not tell if my system was on or off, standing next to my speakers with my ear touching the foam of the tweeter.
does that mean anything to anyone? is it possible there is some impedence mismatch that could be part of what is going on that would cause amp to buzz loudly in one channel from time to time?
I'm no expert but that could be a mismatch or there could have been a defect in the shielding were the cable was connected,yielding a grounding problem. The fact that the new cables are "dead quiet", I think points in that direction. Keep up on this,as hopefully this is the "fix".
Thank you...yes, at minimum, i get rid of any remnants of transformer hum (completely). And if there is something wrong with the cable, well, perhaps replacing it would solve this bloody problem once and for all. Wouldn't that be nice!
Try a different DAC and see if the problem goes away. You have far more patience than I do. I would have thrown that amp out the window a long time ago.
!!!!! thanks for your help...as for tossing the Gryphon: 1. if it turned out to be a capacitor fix or a bad cable or something, then i'd feel pretty silly having thrown it out; 2) i have never found an amp i like better. in fact, if i ever upgrade, i get this strong feeling it will be to Gryphon Colosseum or the new Mephisto (when it becomes s/hand!). i cannot tell you how many old seasoned hands in the business (reviewers, dealers, distributors) always say they remember how good/special the Antileon was. what can i say? i feel the same way and am putting up with it, because i get amazingly effortless, natural sound 98% of the time (and buzz 2%)...and prefer that to listening to a perfectly good working amp (that i find inferior 100% of the time!)
Going from balanced to unbalanced is always tricky and can easily lead to all sorts of hum issues. After everything you have been through, if these new cables are making the system behave and your system is now super-silent, I wouldn't let those cables out of my sight.
Uh, I don't think I would ask him to change a single thing from what you are using right now. That works. Maybe your Xhadow XLRs will introduce some new problem because maybe they have some issues. You need to stick with what works. Why don't you just keep the pair you have now and pay him for those?
Your post is reviving my memories ... Many years ago I had the some problem with the old Transparent Reference XL SE tube cables using conrad johnson equipment. more precisely the ART preamplifier and a cj premier 350. The ART was a dual mono preamplifier (two complete separate units) and the premier 350 a stereo unit. When we connected a stereo source to ART it would always close a ring making a ground loop. Using either van den Hul carbon cables and some Transparent cables could result in some hum.
This should not be confused with an intrinsic ground problem of the first batch of premier 350's, that was solved by cj by grounding the unit through a 47 ohm resistor.
I hope that you have found a fix. For myself, I get a little hum coming through my OMA New Yorker horn speakers from my First Watt M2 regardless of the RCA cables that I use. But, even Nelson Pass has indicated that speakers of my efficiency (104 - 105 dB/1w/1m) will allow a little noise through from the First Watt M2 (which uses and auto-former) because that is quieter than the amp itself. It is something that I have learned to live with due to the performance/sound of the amp itself. It is possible that a First Watt J2 may have been quiet enough to not have been heard at all through my speakers, but the J2 (according to Mark from Reno HiFi) would not have mated as well for the overall performance/sound. So, it is just a slight inconvenience that I am willing to live with in order to get the performance/sound.
Uh, I don't think I would ask him to change a single thing from what you are using right now. That works. Maybe your Xhadow XLRs will introduce some new problem because maybe they have some issues. You need to stick with what works. Why don't you just keep the pair you have now and pay him for those?
if i use the SE cable...then i have to keep the XLR adaptors, which Gryphon Manufacturer specifically said NOT to do long-term. Given the ability for me to just barely touch the Neutrik adaptor...and cause the signal to go out in the speaker...i think it is time those get taken out of my system permanently.
I had the transformer hum with the Transp Ref & Neutrik adaptor...and it is if anything a little quieter now that they've been reterminated with the Xhadows.
i think i am going to take a chance and reterminate the new SE cable.
i will keep experimenting. it is fortunately sporatic...just happened for 3 seconds while i am typing this (morning...all lights off...just sunlight). and now it is not happening...so tough to chase.
