Job 225

[soundArgument]

soundArgument - If I were you, I would bring this amp to some audiophile friend to see if the problems goes away or not.

I have once sold a Burmester 911mk3, and the buyer initally had similar problem to yours. I was surprised, as in my system, the amp was dead quiet. As it turned out, it was all related to some issue the new owner had with his AC line (AFAIR it was excessive DC content). He descovered that after taking the amp to a friend.

He was also surprised, as no other amp he had made him aware of the issue. After fixing the issue, that amp works perfect.

My Job 225 is dead quiet when nothing is on the other end of the interconnects running to the amp. If I connect a device (and I've tried a lot of devices) to both interconnects, the amp starts making the noise. It doesn't matter whether the device on the other end of the interconnects is powered up or plugged into anything else. I've tried connecting a lot of devices to this amp, and it makes the same noise when connected to all of them.

My AC outlets seem fine: correct polarity, correct grounding, only a vanishingly small amount of DC (0.4 millivolts). I tried cutting the breakers to everything in my home except the audio gear. Noise was still there.

 

[soundArgument]

I can confirm that my Job 225 is defective. Experimenting with different RCA configurations, I pinpointed the source of the problem. When a cable is plugged into the left RCA jack, the speakers are connected, and the amplifier is turned on, there's a lot of 60 Hz hum with harmonics from both speakers. Unplug a cable from the left RCA jack, and the problem goes away. That's it. :-(

I'll report how the manufacturer responds to the defect.

A technician at Goldmund told me that the company both would have my amp shipped back to Switzerland and would send me a replacement Job 225, also shipped at their expense. I'm waiting to receive the details, but this is promising.

On the downside, it's been over a week since I reported the noise problem with my amp. Perhaps relatively slow responses to such problems are to be expected from low-volume manufacturers. If anyone else has had problems with their Job 225s, I'd be curious to hear about their experiences.

 

[NorthStar]

May get one too .. May hook it up to the LS50

Now you're talkin'!

 

[mep]

A technician at Goldmund told me that the company both would have my amp shipped back to Switzerland and would send me a replacement Job 225, also shipped at their expense. I'm waiting to receive the details, but this is promising.

On the downside, it's been over a week since I reported the noise problem with my amp. Perhaps relatively slow responses to such problems are to be expected from low-volume manufacturers. If anyone else has had problems with their Job 225s, I'd be curious to hear about their experiences.

But the good news is that JOB is paying to have your amp sent back and sending you a replacement amp at their expense. Hopefully the replacement amp will be noise free in your system. If it's not, that would indicate a system/electrical issue that is not JOB's fault. No one else here has reported the problem you experienced so hopefully it was just a defective unit and your replacement amp will put a big smile on your face.

 

[soundArgument]

But the good news is that JOB is paying to have your amp sent back and sending you a replacement amp at their expense. Hopefully the replacement amp will be noise free in your system. If it's not, that would indicate a system/electrical issue that is not JOB's fault. No one else here has reported the problem you experienced so hopefully it was just a defective unit and your replacement amp will put a big smile on your face.

Since Job/Goldmund said on Monday that they would have my amp sent back and send a replacement unit to me, I've heard nothing.

I've tried my apparently defective Job 225 both with different front end equipment and in different locations. No matter where it's used or what it's connected to, it produces a sharp 60 Hz buzz. The amp also rattles when moved (at least one other user of the Job 225 has reported a rattle in his amp), and when I first took the amp out of the box, I noticed a badly stripped hex screw on top of the amp, which will needlessly make repair more difficult.

My experience suggests that there are both quality control and customer service problems at Job/Goldmund. I can't recommend this amplifier to others until Job/Goldmund resolves the situation with my defective amp.

 

[soundArgument]

Since Job/Goldmund said on Monday that they would have my amp sent back and send a replacement unit to me, I've heard nothing.

I've tried my apparently defective Job 225 both with different front end equipment and in different locations. No matter where it's used or what it's connected to, it produces a sharp 60 Hz buzz. The amp also rattles when moved (at least one other user of the Job 225 has reported a rattle in his amp), and when I first took the amp out of the box, I noticed a badly stripped hex screw on top of the amp, which will needlessly make repair more difficult.

My experience suggests that there are both quality control and customer service problems at Job/Goldmund. I can't recommend this amplifier to others until Job/Goldmund resolves the situation with my defective amp.

I received an apologetic response from Goldmund/JOB this evening:

Sir

To our knowledge replacement amplifier has already been prepared. The factory in Switzerland was supposed to send you the details for shipping back the amp that you currently have

sorry if the communication did not work properly
regards
JOB

Will give a final update when I get the new amp. Perhaps someone at Goldmund/JOB saw my posts on WBF.

 

[Ric Schultz]

Someone should contact Job/Goldmund and see if two of the amps could be made into mono balanced bridged amps. If so, the sound would be way better (usually balanced sounds better and balanced bridged sounds even mo better....not to mention the sonic benefits of running them mono). The mono bridged amps would have at least three times the power. So possibly way better sound and three times+ the power.....for $3000 total.

Sometimes you need to add a small cap across the output jacks when running balanced bridged to keep the amp stable.....and of course, these things are super wide band so there could be some possible problem. No matter what Goldmund says about balanced bridging.....someone should try it. Send me one and I will test it on the bench and speakers......heck, send me two and I will mod them for free....he he. Would love to hear a pair modded and balanced bridged....might be better than just about anything!

 

[joeinid]

I'd go for that. I love my Job 225 enough to consider that as an alternative.

Someone should contact Job/Goldmund and see if two of the amps could be made into mono balanced bridged amps. If so, the sound would be way better (usually balanced sounds better and balanced bridged sounds even mo better....not to mention the sonic benefits of running them mono). The mono bridged amps would have at least three times the power. So possibly way better sound and three times+ the power.....for $3000 total.

 

[Occam]

Someone should contact Job/Goldmund and see if two of the amps could be made into mono balanced bridged amps. If so, the sound would be way better (usually balanced sounds better and balanced bridged sounds even mo better....not to mention the sonic benefits of running them mono). The mono bridged amps would have at least three times the power. So possibly way better sound and three times+ the power.....for $3000 total.

Neat idea! Using the Job in a balanced bridged configuration is going to be constrained, current wise, by that pipsqueak transformer. On a continuous rms measure you're certainly not going to get that 3x the power [out of the theoretical 4x the power] but for playing actual music, it could well be just the ticket.

 

[devilboy]

Hello to all! I'm new here thanks to Joeinid's link. Thanks Joe.

I received the Job 225 a couple of days ago and decided to run it (fingers crossed), amp-direct from my Metrum dac. I also hear a buzz coming from my drivers, a bit much actually. I read someone else had a similar problem. I haven't tried disconnecting the left (or right) interconnect yet. The amp is currently burning in on a receiver. I wasn't blown away with it right out of the box. but after 6 hours it showed promise. Did the gentleman who had the buzzing problem try a cheater plug? Or grounding the chassis? I can't go back to the forum without this being erased so forgive me sir for forgetting your username. And thanks again, Joe.

 

[mep]

Uh-oh. Now we have two humming JOB amps.

 

[joeinid]

Welcome Devilboy!


sorry for your problem too. I think sound argument tried everything.

 

[bhakti]

Greetings All!

I'm new to this forum and posting because I too have the humming problem.

I just received the unit yesterday and really like it other than the hum. I really would like this amp to work properly, but with the hum it is a no go.

I have tried a cheater plug, multiple shielded ics, multiple devices (without being powered up), and a balanced power unit. All to no elimination of the hum. The only way to eliminate the hum is to disconnect either one of the interconnects. This tells me there may be a voltage difference between channels on the ground of the amplifier.

Hard to think that this circuit could be poorly designed, so maybe a solder joint broke during shipping. Also, apparently not a problem for most users.

Hope to see this solved as I love the amp so far!

 

[Ric Schultz]

Mono balanced bridged would also probably get rid of the hum....since each channel is in its own chassis.....only both phases are in the same chassis and they are out of phase with each other. Yes, stereo amps can be tricky to do without hum loops. When I make an amp it is always dual mono....separate tranny for each channel...so even the grounds are separate.

 

[mep]

And now there are three...

 

[Elberoth]

Do you guys get the hum when only ONE interconnect is connected ?

 

[FrantzM]

This is really unfortunate. i was all set to acquire one for the LS 50 ... Now it is a no-go. .. This is unacceptable in a $1500 item.

 

[devilboy]

OK. I just took the Job off of the receiver that was burning it in and put it on the speakers. With BOTH interconnects connected, the buzz is there. When I disconnect either the left or right, both times the buzz went away with only a FAINT, normal buzz. Actually, I wouldn't call it a buzz anymore, it's more of a very slight "hiss". Perfectly normal and acceptable. BOTH interconnects disconnected, same thing, hiss.

SoundArgument: You said you contacted Goldmund but they were slow in responding? When they did respond, what, again, was there response? Now that there are three of us with this problem, I'm not convinced a replacement unit won't have the same problem.

 

[soundArgument]

This is really unfortunate. i was all set to acquire one for the LS 50 ... Now it is a no-go. .. This is unacceptable in a $1500 item.

I tried every conceivable solution with my amp short of using it with a $9,000 power conditioner. I've now heard of three other users with the hum problem.

To verify that your problem is the same as the problem I was having, turn everything off, and unplug one IC from the amp. Then turn the amp back on. If the hum is gone with one disconnected IC, your problem is the same as mine.

Makes one wonder if there's a bad batch of these amps or if they exhibit an unusual sensitivity to grounding conditions. I've heard a lot of amps before, and have never heard one that produces a sharp buzz like the JOB 225 I received.

Good luck, all . . .

 

[devilboy]

While the Job was back in the system for these tests, I couldn't resist listening for a bit now that it has 40 hours on it. I must say, my previous opinion of being less than thrilled has now changed. I still have a way to go to reach my goal of 200 hours but after 40 hours I'm now pissed off. The amp is really sounding nice. Less harsh, warmer with even MORE articulate bass (and I liked the bass at the start). I'm pissed because I don't want to return this amp. In a way I kinda wish I didn't like it so I could just return a defective amp and get my money back. ****.