THE CD PLAYER PLUS - Ultra High Fidelity Magazine
THE CD PLAYER PLUS - Ultra High Fidelity Magazine
THE CD PLAYER PLUS - Ultra High Fidelity Magazine
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Free Free Feedback Advice Advice<br />
up, a low-level hum came from both left<br />
and right speakers, audible from within<br />
the room when no music is playing.<br />
The speakers are connected with<br />
custom Silver Spirit speaker cables<br />
made by Bogdan Audio, which I also<br />
14 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
purchased from the same gentleman.<br />
Prior to inserting the LV speakers and<br />
cables my system was dead silent. There<br />
was absolutely no hiss or hum of any kind<br />
from the speakers (Totem Forest) or any<br />
system component. I tried other speaker<br />
cables. However, the low level hum was<br />
still present.<br />
My system consists of a Hovland<br />
HP100 preamp, Wyetech Onyx mono<br />
amps, VPI TNT V turntable, Magnum<br />
Dynalab MD108 tuner, Bel Canto <strong>CD</strong><br />
player and Isotek Sigma power conditioner.<br />
All power cords and interconnects<br />
are by Gutwire, except the phono,<br />
which is a Hovland. The crossovers are<br />
placed on the floor just 4 to 6 inches<br />
from the back of each speaker. I would<br />
appreciate your thoughts on what might<br />
be causing this.<br />
I am struggling with whether it is a<br />
simple placement issue (e.g., interference<br />
from a power cord or something),<br />
an issue with the speakers or associated<br />
crossovers, or simply a normal condition<br />
inherent in the speaker design. I look<br />
forward to hearing from you as I weigh<br />
whether or not I should return the speakers<br />
(which I am reluctant to do as they<br />
sound fabulous).<br />
Ian Mackay<br />
KEMPTVILLE, ON<br />
Cables and speaker placement are<br />
not a solution, Ian. The fault is in your<br />
power amplifiers, which have too high<br />
a residual hum level. Contact Wyetech<br />
about this.<br />
Why didn’t you hear the hum with<br />
your previous speakers? The more<br />
sensitive the speakers, the louder an<br />
amplifier’s residual hum or hiss will<br />
seem. Totem speakers have relatively<br />
low sensitivity, at 87 dB, whereas Living<br />
Voice speakers have a sensitivity of 94<br />
dB, well above average. The background<br />
hum will be more than four times as<br />
loud. This is a common problem with<br />
horn speakers, which can have sensitivity<br />
of 103 dB or more.<br />
However hum should be inaudible<br />
at listening position, and it seems likely<br />
your amplifiers need service.<br />
I would like to buy a stereo digital-toanalog<br />
converter with a volume control<br />
to connect between my <strong>CD</strong> player and<br />
my integrated amplifier. The idea is to<br />
improve the audio fidelity (the external<br />
DAC being higher fi than the internal<br />
one) and allow me to adjust the volume<br />
of various <strong>CD</strong>s’ output without using<br />
the volume control on my integrated<br />
amplifier (for recording purposes).<br />
My components are not hi-fi (<strong>CD</strong><br />
player $250, integrated amplifier $500),<br />
thus I’m looking for a low budget DAC<br />
and would be very grateful if you could<br />
suggest one or two models.<br />
Roy Chant<br />
WHITBY, ON<br />
Participate in Free Advice!<br />
The Free Advice section was actually in our very first issue, and it is<br />
one element that makes UHF different from other magazines. It’s not<br />
that our ears are any better than yours, but we have, collectively, many<br />
years of experience. Perhaps we’ve learned something that can help you.<br />
You can submit your own question on line at uhfmail@uhfmag.com,<br />
but note a couple of conditions.<br />
Your question (and of course our answer) may be used in the on-line<br />
version on our site, and it may also be used in the print version. For those<br />
reasons, you need to supply your name and your home city.<br />
(Can you submit a question and specify that it not be used? Yes…but<br />
that’s a paid consultation service, currently costing $50/hour. Contact us<br />
for details.)<br />
Roy, if “low-budget” means prices<br />
like those of your player and amplifier,<br />
there’s nothing we can really recommend.<br />
Such products do exist, no doubt,<br />
but the odds of one being better than the<br />
DAC inside your <strong>CD</strong> player are rather<br />
long. Chances are it would use the same<br />
chips as the player, and you’ll have to add<br />
a digital cable besides.<br />
You don’t mention how you will be<br />
recording. If you’ll be doing it digitally,<br />
using a computer, you can choose<br />
software that lets you adjust volume<br />
digitally. This is not ideal, and you may<br />
prefer to use a digital recording box (the<br />
Edirol UA-25 is the one we use), which<br />
you can connect to the tape out jacks<br />
on your amplifier. Of course that means<br />
the sound makes an unnecessary trip
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