Help tracking down noise

I've recently put my new system together and have noticed a hiss on the speakers. Everything looks ok from what I can tell. Here's my setup:

Outlaw 970 pre/pro, 7500 amp
All Outlaw interconnects, both optical and RCA.
All Klipsch speakers, RF7, RC7, RS62.
Monster cable speaker cables.
No sub.
Westinghouse LCD monitor

When only the amp is on, there's utter silence. No noise at all. As soon as I turn on the 970, I get the hiss - regardless of any other input devices being on or not and it doesn't change when switching from one input to another.

The entire system is on a single circuit, so that may be part of the problem. (only 1 major circuit for the living room) I have a couple of incandescent lamps on the circuit, as well as a UPS and my Computer. I made sure to turn off the lamps, PC, and UPS - no difference. The amp plugs directly into the wall, and the 970, DVD player and monitor are connected to a surge protector.

Suggestions?
Having a dedicated circuit run is possible, but would be low on the list of desirable options. I'd want to be pretty positive that's the fix before bringing in a contractor.

Well, now I have bigger problems.
I've been enjoying the system tremendously for the last couple of months, but last night I started getting a screeching and scratching sound from all of my speakers. As far as I can tell so far, it's definitely the 970. I'm going to swap in another pre-amp later to make sure.

It sounds like the same type of issue mentioned in other threads. I think it turned out to be a capacitor? I know working in IT, we've had a rash of certain model PCs die because the manufacturer got a bad batch of capacitors. It was a service nightmare.

I had capacitor issues with my 970, but it wasn't causing noise in the speakers. Mine was more of a freeze up issue. I'd call Outlaw and they will take care of you.

I had the screech. I called Outlaw and they sent me another 970...

The new one is good (for the forseeable future hopefully)

I'm going to call Outlaw, but I first want to swap some components around so I can narrow down the source. Pre/pro, amp, power center, and all cabling are new, so there are a few places it could be. I'm going to test stuff with my old system to try and narrow it down. I'm pretty sure it's the 970, but I don't want to waste their time until I'm more confident that's the culprit.

I'm not concerned. I've heard nothing but good reviews of the Outlaw's customer support. It was a pleasure dealing with them when I bought my 970 and 7500.

I just hope the amp is ok, 'cuz I don't want to have to pick up that heavy sonofagun.

They'll take good care of you, Saturn5. Let us know what you find out...

I submitted an online Support ticket. Of course, it would be a holiday weekend.

It's definitely the 970. I swapped in my old Pioneer AVR and the problem went away. I'm using the Pioneer's pre-outs to my 7500, so I know the amp and related wiring is ok.

Man, before upgrading to the Outlaw, I was pretty happy with my Pioneer. I was wondering if it was really worth the $$$ for the upgrade. Now that I've had to go back, I realize how BAD it sounds by comparison. I can't get the 970 fixed too soon. (unless the 997 magically comes out in the next few days, that is )

I got RMA info today. They want me to send it in for repair. According to the RMA info, it's a 3-5 week turnaround after they receive my 970.

I think mine got turned around so fast because it was only 15 days old

Could be. That was a seriously fast turnaround.

Well, I'm testing out my 970 with Saving Private Ryan tonight. The Outlaws received my 970 for repair on last Monday, and on Thursday, they notified me it was shipping back to me. I got it back today. That's pretty impressive for sending it in, repair, and return.

So far so good. The light hiss on the noise floor is still there, but that may be my source or something else. As soon as music or movies start playing, you don't notice it. It's only noticeable with the source paused.

Anyway, more testing tomorrow, but so far it sounds good. There was no mention of what the problem was. It doesn't really matter, but I was curious.

Overall, a big thumbs up for Outlaw support!

Hey Saturn5,

Was the hiss you mentioned coming from all speakers? I discovered the same problem 2 days ago, but only on my center speaker. Tried changing out the speaker, the speaker wires, the interconnects, the amp, but the noise remains and it's got me thinking about replacing the 970. I've had it for two years now and it's been a great performer, but getting it back from repair with any kind of hiss is no good for me.

When did you notice the hiss? I didn't use the machine for a 5-week period, and when I turned it on there it was.

Mine does it on all speakers, regardless of the source.

I'm going to have to go back through my troubleshooting to see if I can narrow it down. I recently added an APC power center thinking it might be noise from the power line, but that made not difference. It's not a ground hum.

In fairness to Outlaw, I didn't even mention the hiss for the repair. That was a different issue - a loud screeching noise. I thought they might be related, but they apparently weren't.

Mine is not a ground problem either. At one time i was using a ground-loop isolator on my plasma's coax connector and that stopped the humming, but I was lucky to have more than one circuit in my listening room and I discovered that just re-arranging the power cords on separate surge protectors removed the humm, so I didn't need the isolator.

What I have now is exactly the same issue you're having, but I can only detect it in my center speaker, and to some extent, the sub. Just like in your case, when I turn on my amp the speaker is dead silent, but as soon as I power on the 970, the hiss is audible, and it sounds like it can damage the speaker.


I will call Outlaw tomorrow and see what they can do, but I'm not looking forward to a long wait and turnaround. Maybe this a good excuse for me to upgrade to HDMI-equpped unit?

I had a light hiss/hum when I first set up my 970, but once I re-did my cables and kept everything seperate it almost completly went away. I have also had issues in the past because there was a tranformer plugged into the same circuit from something such as a phone charger, printer, etc....

That could be it. I do need to separate my cables better, and I do have a couple of transformers on the same circuit. Thanks for the tips.

Definitely check your cabling. I've had hiss/hum in the system several times in the past that were the result of power cables near interconnects.

I noticed last night that my hum was still there very faintly and pin pointed it to the tv cable going to the hd box. When I unscrewed it from the was it went away. I am not sure if my tv cable is bad but I really have no way of re routing it. Maybe I will try to find a cable with better shielding on it.

Your cable TV service is not properly grounded. It's very common. Changing the cable won't help. You should call your provider and tell them that they need to check the ground where the cable service enters your house. Failing that, a device like the Jensen VRD-1FF can be inserted immediately in front of the cable box to help isolate it. The VRD-1FF sells for about $50.

Thanks Gonk. I checked the ground on the cable system and everything look good the ground wire is connected to the main power ground outside the house. I looked at the jensen VRD-1FF on the website, but is there a good website to buy this product from. One more question where do you connect it right out of the wall or just before the cable box, because I have a long run of cable to the box.

The VRD-1FF can be had several places online (was searching for it recently for another forum member), but I haven't bought one so don't have any specific recommendations.

It needs to be in line with the connection to your cable box. I don't think it matters if that is ten feet away or right at the input.

After unplugging my sub and its interconnect, the hum went away completely from my center speaker (WTF!), so I pulled the 20 foot interconnect away from the 20 ft. power cable that run together and powered the sub back on, and PRESTO...no more hum!!! I had the cabling bundled the same way since forever, but this is the first time I had to separate them due to hum. Anyway, I'm relieved it was just the cables and not the 970.

excellent news (I run Klipsch and the 1070)...glad it got sorted out...
Bill

That is great news when a problem is solved so easily. I used to be a ziptye freak, but once I realized all of the potential for extra noise I cut back significantly. I have only had my 970/755 combo for about two weeks and have only had one noise problem due to my cable tv. I found the solution thanks to gonk, but still need to order the Jensen VDR-FF. So far with my new combo I would have to say movies are a huge step up from the 1050 and music is better in many ways also, such as better imaging and a little more detail. Outlaw Rocks.

PS: Does anyone still think there is a market for a used 1050 in good condition or should I just hold on to it?

Glad to hear that the hum is gone!

Gunslinger, I know that there was a thriving interest in 1050's for a long time. You might check Audiogon or eBay to see if others are listed and what they are going for. If you had asked last November, I probably would have had a buyer for you, buthe did something else.

I will check the saloon from time to time in the days ahead, but it will be very intermittent. We have lost power Friday due to a severe storm and expect to be out for some time to come. An iPhone is my sole method of Internet access and it makes forum browsing tedious.

I thought the 1050 was the receiver version of the 950, but looking at the archived spec's it appears that the 1050 predates the 950 with older technology (6.1 vs 7.1, no component video). It also has only three digital audio inputs (two optical, one coax). Still would make a nice setup for a small HT though.

The Model 1050 was released almost two years prior to the Model 950 and used a completely different architecture - the 1050 was based on a Zoran processor, while the 950 used the Cirrus 49300. Both were made by the same company (Eastech) but that's about it for direct similarities. One reason for the long-running popularity of the 1050 was the 1050's amp section. It was rated for 65Wx6, but it was a deceptively potent receiver.

...and still is...
Bill