Job 225

[soundArgument]

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.

JOB/Goldmund said they'd send a replacement. I sent my amp back yesterday.

It took a lot to persuade JOB/Goldmund to replace the amp. I expect to receive the replacement this week. As soon as I get it, I'll report back on whether the new amp has any buzz.

 

[bhakti]

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.

This describes my issue as well. I suspect there is a bad batch of these and not a design issue. At least, that is my hope, as this amp is excellent sounding and a real bargain as long as it is not humming.

 

[soundArgument]

This describes my issue as well. I suspect there is a bad batch of these and not a design issue. At least, that is my hope, as this amp is excellent sounding and a real bargain as long as it is not humming.

Okay, so there's a fifth person with this issue. I'm beginning to wonder if something in the design of this amp makes it sensitive to ground conditions.

 

[mep]

Wow! I lost count at three and didn't realize we are up to five now.

 

[soundArgument]

Wow! I lost count at three and didn't realize we are up to five now.

I've been in contact with (what I believe to be) another user on a different forum.

 

[Elberoth]

It is a grounding issue then.

 

[devilboy]

I just contacted Goldmund and told my situation, also telling them I am not alone.

I also just emailed Srajan at 6moons and did the same.

SoundArgument, I'm glad Goldmund is sending a replacement to you. I'm NOT glad that it took "a lot to persuade" them...

As I told Srajan, I have a feeling this is going to turn into a battle with Goldmund regarding the return policy/exchange/full refund scenarios I'm about to face.

 

[devilboy]

One more thing, when I flipped the amp over to send Goldmund the serial number, I hear something "rattle" or something that sounds loose in there.

 

[soundArgument]

One more thing, when I flipped the amp over to send Goldmund the serial number, I hear something "rattle" or something that sounds loose in there.

I noticed the rattle, and others have reported the same.

 

[Elberoth]

Open it up and see what it is. It may be just a loom of cables rattling against the box.

 

[mep]

Well boys and girls, what started off sounding too good to be true seemingly has turned out to be too good to be true. The thought of paying $1500 for a 210 watt per channel amp that has pretensions of greatness is highly enticing to say the least. After all, the amp supposedly has some Goldmund DNA in it which we all know is hyper-expensive. And then you start looking at some details like the power output is only rated for 8 ohms and the amp actually loses output power as the impedance drops. Then you look at the weight of the amp which is a whopping 15 lbs and you know there isn't much happening in the way of a power supply which is why you also understand why the amp is only rated for 8 ohms. And then you start reading reports of people who have hum issues with the amp and other people reporting that something is rattling around inside their amp.

I guess there really is no 'almost' free lunch. Real power supplies cost real money and the power supply is the heart and soul of any piece of electronic gear.

 

[soundArgument]

Well boys and girls, what started off sounding too good to be true seemingly has turned out to be too good to be true. The thought of paying $1500 for a 210 watt per channel amp that has pretensions of greatness is highly enticing to say the least. After all, the amp supposedly has some Goldmund DNA in it which we all know is hyper-expensive. And then you start looking at some details like the power output is only rated for 8 ohms and the amp actually loses output power as the impedance drops. Then you look at the weight of the amp which is a whopping 15 lbs and you know there isn't much happening in the way of a power supply which is why you also understand why the amp is only rated for 8 ohms. And then you start reading reports of people who have hum issues with the amp and other people reporting that something is rattling around inside their amp.

I guess there really is no 'almost' free lunch. Real power supplies cost real money and the power supply is the heart and soul of any piece of electronic gear.

It's not just Goldmund DNA: the thing is actually made by Goldmund.

I just wish someone else experiencing the 60 Hz buzz had brought it up before I shipped the amp back to Switzerland.

 

[agisthos]

Well boys and girls, what started off sounding too good to be true seemingly has turned out to be too good to be true. The thought of paying $1500 for a 210 watt per channel amp that has pretensions of greatness is highly enticing to say the least. After all, the amp supposedly has some Goldmund DNA in it which we all know is hyper-expensive. And then you start looking at some details like the power output is only rated for 8 ohms and the amp actually loses output power as the impedance drops. Then you look at the weight of the amp which is a whopping 15 lbs and you know there isn't much happening in the way of a power supply which is why you also understand why the amp is only rated for 8 ohms. And then you start reading reports of people who have hum issues with the amp and other people reporting that something is rattling around inside their amp.

I guess there really is no 'almost' free lunch. Real power supplies cost real money and the power supply is the heart and soul of any piece of electronic gear.

I doubt there was one person on this forum expecting an overbuilt power supply at this money. The whole point of this product is to get a Goldmund circuit at a cheap price. The first thing that crossed my mind was to take the board out and wire it dual mono with decent transformer in a decent case. This could end up being an excellent modders/upgradable product.

 

[mep]

I doubt there was one person on this forum expecting an overbuilt power supply at this money. The whole point of this product is to get a Goldmund circuit at a cheap price. The first thing that crossed my mind was to take the board out and wire it dual mono with decent transformer in a decent case. This could end up being an excellent modders/upgradable product.

That could be a good solution. And since the circuit board in the JOB amp appears to be the same CCA as found in a more expensive Goldmund amp minus some extra parts, maybe the more astute could add the additional parts that are missing from the JOB amp.

 

[soundArgument]

That could be a good solution. And since the circuit board in the JOB amp appears to be the same CCA as found in a more expensive Goldmund amp minus some extra parts, maybe the more astute could add the additional parts that are missing from the JOB amp.

Given the problem that users are experiencing (60 HZ buzz when (a) both ICs are connected to the amp AND (b) any preamp or source is connected to the other end of the ICs), I suspect that the positioning of the transformer or its proximity to signal cabling is to blame.

Or perhaps there's just a bad batch of transformers. I didn't open my JOB 225, but from all the photos I've seen, its single transformer looks identical to each of the two transformers in the more expensive Goldmund amp.

It's interesting that a number of users have not experienced this problem.

 

[mep]

It also seems that the number of JOB 225 owners that are experiencing hum problems is growing every day.

 

[agisthos]

Being a high bandwidth amplifier hum/buzz related problems will be more of an issue. I hope its a bad batch of product rather than an inherent design flaw.

Here in Australia in the 80's we has a semi famous amp called the Metaxas Solitaire, 1 MHz, 500 vus slew rate. You could move it around the house and pick up noise like it was a tuning fork. Sounded friggen great though.

 

[devilboy]

Srajan posted my email and responded. I understand his perspective. He said for me to "cool my jets" a company like Goldmund has been around for decades and has done so because, basically, they are a reputable company. He said it's only Sunday so wait for them to return my email. What you don't see is his INITIAL response which has him saying, "you have to use some common sense here". He then went on to delete that statement from his letters/feedback page. I emailed him back (personally, and in the 6moons site), saying that since I know of someone else who, and I quote, "took a lot to persuade" Goldmund for a replacement, I feel as though I may be in a battle with Goldmund in regards to that.

I hold his opinions in high regard, but honestly, he can be a you-know-what sometimes.

 

[soundArgument]

Srajan posted my email and responded. I understand his perspective. He said for me to "cool my jets" a company like Goldmund has been around for decades and has done so because, basically, they are a reputable company. He said it's only Sunday so wait for them to return my email. What you don't see is his INITIAL response which has him saying, "you have to use some common sense here". He then went on to delete that statement from his letters/feedback page. I emailed him back (personally, and in the 6moons site), saying that since I know of someone else who, and I quote, "took a lot to persuade" Goldmund for a replacement, I feel as though I may be in a battle with Goldmund in regards to that.

I hold his opinions in high regard, but honestly, he can be a you-know-what sometimes.

In my case, Goldmund/JOB is taking care to resolve the matter, though at one point four business days passed with no contact from them.

Additionally, I'm not pleased that someone else adduced my experience, as reported on a forum, in his consumer complaint letter to an online magazine. There are at least five of us having these problems. Let's give Goldmund/JOB a chance to respond.

 

[devilboy]

In my case, Goldmund/JOB is taking care to resolve the matter, though at one point four business days passed with no contact from them.

Additionally, I'm not pleased that someone else adduced my experience, as reported on a forum, in his consumer complaint letter to an online magazine. There are at least five of us having these problems. Let's give Goldmund/JOB a chance to respond.

Really soundArgument? Really? You say, "at one point four business days passed with no contact from them". Then you go on to say, "let's give Goldmund/Job a chance to respond". I'm confused. Which is it? First you bash Goldmund, then you defend them. Look, no one is writing a letter then sending it on a boat to Europe and waiting for a return letter to travel back across the Atlantic. This is 2013. Emails are fast. For a company to wait FOUR business days to reply to you is inexcusable.