PSW-202 (New Guy Question)

[banjocrow]

Alright, I am completely new to ALL of this...any help would be most appriciated.

Purchased a new system this past week. I am using a Polk PSW-202 subwoofer with a Yamaha HTR-5640 receiver. I ran my front speakers (JBL N28II) through the subwoofer, as directed in the Polk manual. Last night, while my system was turned-off (the subwoofer is set in the stand-by mode) I went to remove my grills from the speakers. When I removed the grill from the left front speaker, a hum started and grew EXTREMELY loud in a matter of seconds. I immediately unplugged my surge protector, as I was horrified that I might destroy my new system. I couldn't tell exactly where the loud humming was coming from, as I unplugged the system so quickly. My guess is that it was from the sub, as it was the only piece with any electricity running to it (other than my digital cable box). Any ideas on what might have caused this?

I unplugged the sub, and plugged the system back in and there was no loud hum. I plugged the sub back in, and there was no loud hum. My concern, is that if it was the sub, it might happen again when I'm not home...thus destroying my system. Help and Comments?


Thanks,
Greg

[GuitarheadCA]

Well almost all growing hums are the result of feedback. Usually with a guitar amp or a pro audio system, the mic will feed some signal into the system, and the speakers will amplify it sending it right back out to be picked up by the mic, then the mic will take THAT and amplify it, and it will go in a chain untill it gets so loud that something blows. You did the right thing to unplug it, most the time you need to cut if off QUICK.

However, I doubt there are any mics in your HT setup, so I'm scratching my head a little. nonetheless, I have heard loud hums in my system, and in my experience it was entering through the signal cables in between the source and the reciever. Make sure all your cable have some kind of shielding and as much space between power cables and signal cables as possible.

hope that helps, I wouldn't loose sleep over it. Besides - most powered subs and receivers have fuses.