Static, Static, Static......!!

smglbrth · 06-04-2002, 06:11 PM

Could any of you give me a heads-up on some type of audio filter for static noise? My amplifiers have gain control on them and when I leave them all the way up static can be heard, at most, about 4 feet away. I sent the preamp back to the manufacturer and they stated I have to turn down the gain since I am running them in mono, nothing wrong with the preamp (good thing I have amps with separate gain controls huh). Problem is when I turn the gain down to where there is no static I loose that nice low volume shake in the floor bass and clarity I am used to. I blame this on the preamp since I had the Cd player hooked up directly to the amps when the preamp was gone and heard no static whatsoever. A friend of mine said he had heard of RCA cables with built in filters but could not remember any brand name.
Does anyone know of any filters out there on the market without breaking my budget? A new preamp is out of the picture right now.
I'd really appreciate some info, Thanks!!

Aaron · 06-04-2002, 07:07 PM

Sounds to me like an impedence mismatching problem between your preamp and amp. Your preamp might be overdriving the amp.

Aaron

smglbrth · 06-05-2002, 05:48 PM

I would hope this would not be the case since the amps and preamp are from the same manufacturer and you would think they would make them to work together!

mantis · 06-06-2002, 11:42 PM

I think the preamp is overdriving as well.Thats what the gain controls are for.
I would call them back and find out if the voltage matches the amps input.Are the amps and the preamp made different years??

smglbrth · 06-08-2002, 10:32 PM

From what I've been able to find on the web for gain controls in amplifiers I know better now where you guys are coming from. (Strange though, I can only find gain info on car amplifiers)
I bought both amps and preamps this year, my first time into separates so I thought I'd get two amps and see exactly how good it sounds. I'm definitely not dissappointed with the sound but I'd have to admit the static deal does bother me. I have both amps now set 3/4 of the way up, each, and the static is noticeable only when you are right up to the speaker now. A HUGE improvement over hearing it 4 feet away, not to mention having my wife ask me what that noise is after I bought all this stuff! There is a friend of mine who has two separate amps, double the power mine have, each, with a cheapo preamp and has no static problems at all. On top of that both of his amps don't have gain controls. Soooo......, guess I'll have to save up for a different preamp, or maybe buy the cheapo from that friend of mine!!
In case you're wondering what I have, now don't cringe too much, I have two Audiosource Amp One/A's, each running mono, and an Audiosource Pre One/A. To me, the sound quality is great and it's powerful to boot! Each amp runs 200watts/8ohms when bridged, suppose that would account for all the different instruments I can hear now! Like I said before, I have grown fond of the amps, just not the preamp. Suppose I don't understand why gains are on the amplifier, since these are some of the only ones I can find with gains, or why the preamp doesn't match up right. I mean, really, the two amps that friend of mine has are Carver M400a's and a cheapo Sansui preamp. No gain controls on those amps. I did hook another one of his Carver amps up to the preamp I have now, in mono, and the static was still there, just louder since it has more power in mono. Since there are no gains on the Carver amps, or many others for that matter, I still blame the preamp. Audiosource says that it's "line-level", whatever that means, but the guy at Audiosource kept stressing that point.
Anyways, thanks guys for your help in this matter. I'll keep this for a while longer and buy a better preamp down the road. For now I'll continue to enjoy all this open staging spacedness, not to mention raw guts!!

06-04-2002, 06:11 PM	#1
smglbrth Polkateer Member Sales Rating: (3) Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 357	Static, Static, Static......!! Could any of you give me a heads-up on some type of audio filter for static noise? My amplifiers have gain control on them and when I leave them all the way up static can be heard, at most, about 4 feet away. I sent the preamp back to the manufacturer and they stated I have to turn down the gain since I am running them in mono, nothing wrong with the preamp (good thing I have amps with separate gain controls huh). Problem is when I turn the gain down to where there is no static I loose that nice low volume shake in the floor bass and clarity I am used to. I blame this on the preamp since I had the Cd player hooked up directly to the amps when the preamp was gone and heard no static whatsoever. A friend of mine said he had heard of RCA cables with built in filters but could not remember any brand name. Does anyone know of any filters out there on the market without breaking my budget? A new preamp is out of the picture right now. I'd really appreciate some info, Thanks!!

06-06-2002, 11:42 PM	#4
mantis Polk Guru Member Sales Rating: (10) Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Pa Posts: 9,552	I think the preamp is overdriving as well.Thats what the gain controls are for. I would call them back and find out if the voltage matches the amps input.Are the amps and the preamp made different years?? __________________ Dan My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.

06-04-2002, 07:07 PM	#2
Aaron Polkhead Member Sales Rating: (0) Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Harrisburg, PA Posts: 1,847	Sounds to me like an impedence mismatching problem between your preamp and amp. Your preamp might be overdriving the amp. Aaron

06-05-2002, 05:48 PM	#3
smglbrth Polkateer Member Sales Rating: (3) Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 357	I would hope this would not be the case since the amps and preamp are from the same manufacturer and you would think they would make them to work together!

06-08-2002, 10:32 PM	#5
smglbrth Polkateer Member Sales Rating: (3) Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 357	From what I've been able to find on the web for gain controls in amplifiers I know better now where you guys are coming from. (Strange though, I can only find gain info on car amplifiers) I bought both amps and preamps this year, my first time into separates so I thought I'd get two amps and see exactly how good it sounds. I'm definitely not dissappointed with the sound but I'd have to admit the static deal does bother me. I have both amps now set 3/4 of the way up, each, and the static is noticeable only when you are right up to the speaker now. A HUGE improvement over hearing it 4 feet away, not to mention having my wife ask me what that noise is after I bought all this stuff! There is a friend of mine who has two separate amps, double the power mine have, each, with a cheapo preamp and has no static problems at all. On top of that both of his amps don't have gain controls. Soooo......, guess I'll have to save up for a different preamp, or maybe buy the cheapo from that friend of mine!! In case you're wondering what I have, now don't cringe too much, I have two Audiosource Amp One/A's, each running mono, and an Audiosource Pre One/A. To me, the sound quality is great and it's powerful to boot! Each amp runs 200watts/8ohms when bridged, suppose that would account for all the different instruments I can hear now! Like I said before, I have grown fond of the amps, just not the preamp. Suppose I don't understand why gains are on the amplifier, since these are some of the only ones I can find with gains, or why the preamp doesn't match up right. I mean, really, the two amps that friend of mine has are Carver M400a's and a cheapo Sansui preamp. No gain controls on those amps. I did hook another one of his Carver amps up to the preamp I have now, in mono, and the static was still there, just louder since it has more power in mono. Since there are no gains on the Carver amps, or many others for that matter, I still blame the preamp. Audiosource says that it's "line-level", whatever that means, but the guy at Audiosource kept stressing that point. Anyways, thanks guys for your help in this matter. I'll keep this for a while longer and buy a better preamp down the road. For now I'll continue to enjoy all this open staging spacedness, not to mention raw guts!!

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