Rotel RMB-1095: Noisy internal transformers

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • nvdeynde
    Junior Member
    • Jun 2004
    • 24

    Rotel RMB-1095: Noisy internal transformers

    Hi,

    I'm experiencing intermittend humming/bromming from the internal transformers, quite loud sometimes ( I can hear it about 4 meters away from the amp when volume turned down )

    I'm not speaking of ground hum or buzz through the speakers but purely the bromming of the transformer inside the amplifier.

    I have red other topics on this forum on transformer noices and they can have many different causes.

    Do other owners of the 1095 observe the same ?

    I have taken measurements of my power supply voltage for 24 hours and it's always between 225 and 231 volts which is exactly as where it should be as we are on 230 volts here in Europe.

    My Hifi installation has a dedicated power cable to the main fuse box.

    Ground loop breakers of Yenssen transformers are in place between the cable connection of my tuner and TV.

    I'm curious about the transformer noice if other owners also hear it.
    I don't mean with your ear against the amp but I can hear it at 10 feet away from it on occasion.

    Mostly it's a silent brom you only hear at about 1 feet or less from the amp with the volume closed of course but sometimes it's quite loud.


    Thanks,

    Nico
  • Kevin D
    Ultra Senior Member
    • Oct 2002
    • 4601

    #2
    Hearing it 4m away is far from normal. In most the threads the transformer is noisy when close to the unit.

    How often will it do it? Only under a load? I'm curious if it would be possible to take it to a friends house across town and see if you get the same results.

    Kevin D.

    Comment

    • Nick Danger
      Junior Member
      • Aug 2004
      • 27

      #3
      Sounds like you have an excellent set-up that hi-lights a defective amp IMHO. Dedicated power, ground loop breakers and it manifests at low volume. I've got a 2 year old 1095 and equipment plugged in to an Equitech (not a dedicated line like yours) and I don't get any audible hum.

      Jim

      Comment

      • JAWILSON1969
        Junior Member
        • Feb 2008
        • 4

        #4
        buzzing 1095

        Yes I too have a mechanical buzz from my 1095 that seems to phase in and out. I've checked all the obvious things. Rotel tech support ignores me for some reason and my local dealer has never heard of the problem. Too bad because I like this amp but unless I can resolve the buzzing I'll move on to something else. Anybody have any ideas at all what it might be from? Bad winding in the toroid?

        Jason

        Comment

        • Mig17
          Senior Member
          • Jan 2008
          • 169

          #5
          That why I bought 3 stereo amp :2 X 1070 and 1X 1080
          Both 3 units give me no problems
          Rotel is inexpensive but the rate of failure is quite high

          Comment

          • ninja12
            Senior Member
            • Mar 2007
            • 181

            #6
            I had the same problem; but, I fixed my problem by switching form Monster HTS-2600 to the Rotel RLC-1040. It's been about a year now, and I have not heard the buzzing since.

            Comment

            • soundhound
              Senior Member
              • Mar 2004
              • 815

              #7
              Kevin may have been eluding to line voltage.
              If you have a vom check the line when you hear the humm and see if its low.
              Low voltage is quite hard on inductive loads.

              Comment

              • Kevin D
                Ultra Senior Member
                • Oct 2002
                • 4601

                #8
                Originally posted by Mig17
                That why I bought 3 stereo amp :2 X 1070 and 1X 1080
                Both 3 units give me no problems
                Rotel is inexpensive but the rate of failure is quite high
                Actually, Rotel had a high rate of failure but have pretty much fixed that in the last two years or so. There's several QA steps in place now and we rarely see an issue.

                In addition, every time this problem with the 1095 has come up, it has always been a power issue at the customers house.

                Jason, the fact that is comes and goes really points to a power issue. It could be anything in your house or even down the street. When 'it' kicks on your transformer buzzes. Not sure why tech support is ignoring you, but if you sent the amp in (or even to your dealer), it would probably work fine. See if you can borrow an RLC-1040. It should fix the problem and go nuts in the same pattern the buzz is happening.

                Kevin D.

                Comment

                • JAWILSON1969
                  Junior Member
                  • Feb 2008
                  • 4

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Kevin D
                  Actually, Rotel had a high rate of failure but have pretty much fixed that in the last two years or so. There's several QA steps in place now and we rarely see an issue.

                  In addition, every time this problem with the 1095 has come up, it has always been a power issue at the customers house.

                  Jason, the fact that is comes and goes really points to a power issue. It could be anything in your house or even down the street. When 'it' kicks on your transformer buzzes. Not sure why tech support is ignoring you, but if you sent the amp in (or even to your dealer), it would probably work fine. See if you can borrow an RLC-1040. It should fix the problem and go nuts in the same pattern the buzz is happening.

                  Kevin D.
                  Kevin,

                  Couple points I should add, I have the amp plugged directly into wall, with all my source components and display plugged into a Richard Gray 400 on the same circuit. I also have a sub on the same circuit.

                  I've been able to pinpoint the transformer buzz being at it's worst when my televsion is on, so it seems to be feeding something back into the line. The buzz is not constant however....it's slowly builds and then goes away just as slowly.

                  I've been in this house six years and electrically everything has been rock solid...just seems the Rotel is the first component I've had issues with so I was sort of placing blame on the amp, but I'm not ruling out power issues either.

                  By the way, this forum is great! I'm glad I found it.

                  Jason

                  Comment

                  • Kevin D
                    Ultra Senior Member
                    • Oct 2002
                    • 4601

                    #10
                    I thought my power was good until I added my RLC-1080! These conditioners (or the cheaper APC units they are under the Rotel face) actually stabilize the voltage when it's over or under 120v. If it goes past your threshold long enough to drain the capacitors the 1040 will shut down and the 1080 will switch to battery.

                    Anyway, I never noticed any power issues here, but something every Sunday drives my 1080 crazy. I watched it go as low as 90v and as high as 140v throughout the day. Would have never known if I didn't have my 1080.

                    I believe Lowes sells a small device that can monitor voltage levels by just plugging it in. Might be a good idea to get one and just watch the levels as the hum happens.

                    Have you tested with the 1095 plugged into the Richard piece as well?

                    Kevin D.

                    Comment

                    • JAWILSON1969
                      Junior Member
                      • Feb 2008
                      • 4

                      #11
                      Originally posted by Kevin D
                      I thought my power was good until I added my RLC-1080! These conditioners (or the cheaper APC units they are under the Rotel face) actually stabilize the voltage when it's over or under 120v. If it goes past your threshold long enough to drain the capacitors the 1040 will shut down and the 1080 will switch to battery.

                      Anyway, I never noticed any power issues here, but something every Sunday drives my 1080 crazy. I watched it go as low as 90v and as high as 140v throughout the day. Would have never known if I didn't have my 1080.

                      I believe Lowes sells a small device that can monitor voltage levels by just plugging it in. Might be a good idea to get one and just watch the levels as the hum happens.

                      Have you tested with the 1095 plugged into the Richard piece as well?

                      Kevin D.
                      Yes in fact I have tried the amp plugged into the RG 400...no change in buzz. I was under the impression the amp was best plugged directly into the wall??? I do have a Monster 5100 in another room, it may not offer the same capabilities as the 1080 but it shows system draw and available voltage so maybe I should bring that back to theater room and plug that 1095 into that.

                      I have a plasma television and I know those can be a real draw too.

                      I've got some more experimentation to do and I'll report back what I find! Thanks again Kevin for your input. Jason

                      Comment

                      • JAWILSON1969
                        Junior Member
                        • Feb 2008
                        • 4

                        #12
                        Originally posted by JAWILSON1969
                        Yes in fact I have tried the amp plugged into the RG 400...no change in buzz. I was under the impression the amp was best plugged directly into the wall??? I do have a Monster 5100 in another room, it may not offer the same capabilities as the 1080 but it shows system draw and available voltage so maybe I should bring that back to theater room and plug that 1095 into that.

                        I have a plasma television and I know those can be a real draw too.

                        I've got some more experimentation to do and I'll report back what I find! Thanks again Kevin for your input. Jason
                        Okay I finally took my Monster 5100 back there. Voltage ranged anywhere from 115 to 119V with everything up and running. But I noticed nothing else unusal and could not seem to correlate the Rotel's buzz with fluctuations in voltage. I'm really starting to think this amp needs to go back to the dealer. Maybe they can get more response from Rotel than I have been able to.
                        Jason

                        Comment

                        Working...
                        😀
                        😂
                        🥰
                        😘
                        🤢
                        😎
                        😞
                        😡
                        👍
                        👎
                        Searching...Please wait.
                        An unexpected error was returned: 'Your submission could not be processed because you have logged in since the previous page was loaded.

                        Please push the back button and reload the previous window.'
                        An unexpected error was returned: 'Your submission could not be processed because the token has expired.

                        Please push the back button and reload the previous window.'
                        An internal error has occurred and the module cannot be displayed.
                        There are no results that meet this criteria.
                        Search Result for "|||"