[Bugsy]

 I hear a "tick" like sound  coming from both of my speakers when I turn on my 14sst2 amp. I hear this tick like sound when all my equipment is turned on or or just the amp, during the soft start up period, between the red and green light coming on and then goes.

The amp is plugged in to a RM 20 but I get this sound no matter if it is plugged in to the RM 20 or a wall outlet. Does any one else experence this and if so did you solve your problem and how? Bad ground possibity?

I am not talking about the hum coming from the amp during soft start up but a tick sound coming from my speakers during soft start up.

Thanks  Larry

[James Tanner]

I hear a "tick" like sound  coming from both of my speakers when I turn on my 14sst2 amp. I hear this tick like sound when all my equipment is turned on or or just the amp, during the soft start up period, between the red and green light coming on and then goes.

The amp is plugged in to a RM 20 but I get this sound no matter if it is plugged in to the RM 20 or a wall outlet. Does any one else experence this and if so did you solve your problem and how? Bad ground possibity?

I am not talking about the hum coming from the amp during soft start up but a tick sound coming from my speakers during soft start up.

Thanks  Larry

Hi Larry,

Yes it is just the relays opening up.

james

[Bugsy]

So James you are saying this is normal and nothing to worry about.

Thanks for the quick reply

Larry

[James Tanner]

So James you are saying this is normal and nothing to worry about.

Thanks for the quick reply

Larry

Hi Larry - yes normal - sometimes you may hear the relays on turnoff as well.  A lot depends on the gain and efficency of your setup.

[Ki Choi]

Hi James:

I also have similar situation with 7BSST2s where I would get a big POP noise when I first turn on the amps.  I have narrowed the situation to where when I have my Manley Reference Tube Preamp turn on first and then if I were to turn on the 7BSST2s within 5 to 10 seconds, I am sure to get the POP that is loud enough for me to worry that I may damage the Maggie 20.1s.  However, when I turn on the preamp first and wait about >30 seconds and then turn on the 7BSST2s, I get almost no turn on noise. 

Thus the source of the problem points to the Manley preamp.  On the other hand, I understood the 7BSST2s to have soft-start circuit (or is it a delay on output circuit?) to prevent such a POP at power up...

Are the 7BSSTs working properly if I am having issues at power up?

Thanks,
ki

[James Tanner]

Hi James:

I also have similar situation with 7BSST2s where I would get a big POP noise when I first turn on the amps.  I have narrowed the situation to where when I have my Manley Reference Tube Preamp turn on first and then if I were to turn on the 7BSST2s within 5 to 10 seconds, I am sure to get the POP that is loud enough for me to worry that I may damage the Maggie 20.1s.  However, when I turn on the preamp first and wait about >30 seconds and then turn on the 7BSST2s, I get almost no turn on noise. 

Thus the source of the problem points to the Manley preamp.  On the other hand, I understood the 7BSST2s to have soft-start circuit (or is it a delay on output circuit?) to prevent such a POP at power up...

Are the 7BSSTs working properly if I am having issues at power up?

Thanks,
ki

Hi ki,

I think there may be some DC on the cables feeding the 7B SST2's from the preamp - especially if the amp does not pop when there is no input. The amp does have a soft start circuit but it appears the DC is still there up to about 30 seconds.

It is always a wise idea to wait a while when turning on a preamp before you flip on the power amp.  Tube preamps seem more prone to this issue than most solid state preamps.

james

[Ki Choi]

Hi James:

Your explanation makes sense to me.

I will just be more cautious at the power up of my system.

Thanks,

Ki

[Diamond Dog]

Hi James:

Your explanation makes sense to me.

I will just be more cautious at the power up of my system.

Thanks,
Ki

Hi:  I also have 7BSST2s and a Manley preamp ( Jumbo Shrimp ). The preamp has a 30 second warm-up mute delay ( not sure if your preamp has this or not ) but if after this delay runs its course, I still get the POP you describe if I power up the amps as soon as the delay cycle is completed. However, if I wait for a minute or two after the preamp stabilizes before powering up the amps, no POP.

D.

[Ki Choi]

Hi D,

glad to hear I am not the only person with Manley tube preamp that "pop"s...

After trying out many different tube preamps, I had a chance to buy one of the 32 custom manufacturing run of Reference Preamp without the phono stage.  Its signal path is very simple with no protection delays.  Thus, I do need to wait before turning on the 7BSST2s.

But it's all worth it listening to music the combo makes.

Ki