Static? Help please!

[RNKC]

So recently (past week or so) my right channel tweeter (N802) has started to give me a fuzzy, static-like squelch at random intervals. It sounds like listening to FM radio in the car and you pass through a stretch where the reception isn't so good so you get a bit of fuzz in the sound.

I've tried leaving the system on for a while to see if it will work itself out - no go. I've tried turning on only the pre-amp (Proceed AVP2) and the amp (Mark Levinson 432) with no source - still get the occasional fuzz for a few seconds (like, less than 10). I've tried unplugging the interconnects - no change.

Then, when I wiggled the banana plug at the back of the speaker (cable from speaker to amp) I got some fuzz then it went away.

Then today it came back.

What do you guys think? Time to re-terminate my speaker cables? Get new ones? Any other ideas?

[chinets]

It sounds like it could be a grounding problem?

[RNKC]

An update on this old thread.

It turned out that there was a fault in the right channel of the amp (Mark Levinson 432). It took a while to get the replacement part from Harmon, but eventually the entire right channel was replaced and all was well. The amp sounded just as good as before. Life was good. That was about a year ago.

About 3 months ago, the static problem recurred but only slightly. It was very sporadic and it it occurred (rarely) it would only last a second or so. Not a big deal but I called it in anyway. We decided to monitor the situation.

Yesterday the right channel fell silent. No static, no hums, no crackles, no nothing. Just dead silent.

Sigh.

Levinson is fantastic equipment when it works. But the reliability (lack of) is astonishing for something that carries the price tag it does!

On an unrelated note, I notice that Levinson quietly introduced the 502 processor at the end of April. It looks like it should be on par with the Classe 800 processor, but my experience with Levinson is such that if I was in the market for a new processor, I'd probably go with Classe.

I still love my Levinson amp and I look forward to having it back once it's been repaired. It really does make my N802 sing like they never have before. But the lack of quality control is truly shocking and disappointing. Once again time has shown that the Harmon takeover of Madrigal / Mark Levinson was perhaps the worst thing that could have happened to the company!