Tempest Extreme Hum?

TjMV3 · « **on:** 13 Aug 2005, 06:34 pm »

Hi guys.

I'm getting a hum from my Tempest Extreme.

It's coming from the right side, back part of the Pre Amp. Right on the inside portion of where the Phone inputs/outputs are. And then directly above the part of the chasis (the left side of the Tempest) where the power source sits. Granted, I haven't opened it up yet, to take a look inside. Both hums are the loudest from the points I mentioned. The hum is not being conveyed through the speakers, but is audible when standing a foot or two away from the Tempest or when walking by it, from that distance.

Anyone else have this hum? Is this normal? I don't want to bother Klaus if it's normal.

bunky · « **Reply #1 on:** 13 Aug 2005, 11:45 pm »

my tempest has done the same thing from time to time and i believe it is either from the ac in the wall or from some type of RF interference.the fact that it does not enter the loudspeakers and is infrequent then i dont think its a big deal.the tempest still sounds like a million bucks! sincerly william c waldecker 3rd

KarlDL · « **Reply #2 on:** 14 Aug 2005, 12:40 am »

Definitely not normal. Talk to Klaus. If I'm interpreting what you're describing correctly, this could be a partial failure in the power supply section that drives the switching relays. And it could be a precursor of something worse down the road.

TjMV3 · « **Reply #3 on:** 14 Aug 2005, 01:06 am »

It's not infrequent, it's all the time.

Thanks guys.

TjMV3 · « **Reply #4 on:** 28 Aug 2005, 05:34 pm »

Update:

My Tempest Extreme was shipped off to Klaus. As per reputation, Klaus was more than helpful and eager to correct the problem.

Klaus is the Man!!

JasonL · « **Reply #5 on:** 1 Sep 2005, 08:13 pm »

It's coming from the right side because that's where the transformer is.

My Tempest has had hum/buz from day one that I got it. It's the transformer.
It doesn't get in the music or speakers. It does get annoying hearing it.
I've just lived with mine all this time. I have two friends that got the
Tempest and their's has the same hum/buz. It's the type of transformer used
in it. Klaus said he would change mine, but I didn't want to pay the extra $$$
to the other kind of transformer. Now I just ignor the hum/buz and all is well.

Sonny · « **Reply #6 on:** 1 Sep 2005, 08:27 pm »

Well, I can tell you that I have the Tempest Extreme with the upgraded transformer and it still hums....
Just have to live wi'd it!
Sonny

rosconey · « **Reply #7 on:** 1 Sep 2005, 09:47 pm »

i know klaus is super pissed about this- i have confidence he will figure out a fix-

Sonny · « **Reply #8 on:** 1 Sep 2005, 09:51 pm »

Evem of he does, will he fix it for everyone, charge free? That's the question.

rosconey · « **Reply #9 on:** 1 Sep 2005, 09:54 pm »

cant speak for him on that-

i cant see him asking too much-its not like him

Boozerocket · « **Reply #10 on:** 2 Sep 2005, 03:19 am »

The transformer hum from the Tempest can be rectified with a PS Audio Hum Buster. I use one and my would be humming transformer is now dead quiet. It sucks when you drop a lot of coin on a component and then have to purchase another component to get it to work right!

Eduardo AAVM · « **Reply #11 on:** 2 Sep 2005, 03:49 pm »

Boozerocket thanks for the tip...

I think it can be a ground loop or a bad IC, Odyssey gear is very sensitive to that kind of issues.

Here is more info on the humbuster: http://www.psaudio.com/products/humbustermoreinfo.asp

TjMV3 · « **Reply #12 on:** 4 Sep 2005, 03:32 pm »

Klaus wasn't able to duplicate the problem with my Tempest Extreme, in his system. But he went above and beyond the call of duty.....as always.

He's basically sending me a new Tempest and I'm going to purchase two of those humbusters.

I feel bad about this because it seems as the problem may not have been the Tempest at all. But I tried several things to try and track down the the hum. Even unplugging everything from the outlet and pulling interconnects on everything but the Tempest, and the loud hum in both the Power supply area and the Phono section continued to exist (even with no interconnects at all). So I'm a bit baffled by this whole thing. Now I'm moved into the new house, and I'm anxious to see if there will be any of these hum problems.

Trying to get everything in the house properly grounded seems like an extensive and expensive venture. But if I have to go that route, I will. Of course I will try to find someone (an electrician) who won't charge me my first child and a gallon of blood.

My father's an electrician (lives in New Jersey) and I'm sure he would track any problems down and would do things the right way; but at his age I really don't want to bother him with this. I don't even want to mention this to him, because the man loves to have a project to do; and he would probably obssess over it. Knowing him, he'd probably start re-wiring the whole house.

klaus@odyssey · « **Reply #13 on:** 9 Sep 2005, 10:06 pm »

Aaaaargh, this drove me nuts for a while.

At this point, we have over 700 regular Tempests, and over 160 Extreme models (stage 1 or 2) out there, and about 15 - 20 of them started creating this damn mechanical buzz. There are a few things here to address:

1. There are lots of houses / apptmts that have faulty ground wiring. If in doubt, go to Ratshack and spend $ 5 or so on a ground checker.

2. We did change our chassis grounding now, actually ground it on several places.

3. One of the batches of transformers actually had a problem. The torroids are heavy on the secondary. Between the layers of the copper strands, there should be a mylar insulation that should cover 110 %, so a 10 % overlay. Well, the one batch did not. For whatever reason, it's just a bit over 100 %. This can create magnetic interferences, which result in hum. We had to cut one open and check and measure, which is a pain in he ass, let me tell you.
Anyway, we now are going through the different transformers and check them out piece by piece. The real pain, ? the throw-aways we are stuck with financially, and we're talking about at least 50 units. AAaaaargh.

4. This transformer problem, however, doesn't compute to the mymetal units, so, next to the ground issues there is also something else going on. It concerned me most, when I couldn't recreate the problems either here on the bench or in my own systems. The most reasonable explanations are indeed enviroinmental, meaning your usual suspects such as 75 Ohm / TV , halogen lights, etc. Also, extremely high AC (in NYC, for example, we measured customer voltages as high as 134 Volts !!!!!!!!!!), etc. This makes sense, because I have several different pres from ARC/ CJ,/ Electrocompaniet, etc. that I use as loaners, and problems weren't just visible with the Tempest units alone but with the other pieces as well.

All in all, there are some times where honestly I have to give up because we just can't get it. That happens, and after all, anybody telling you that they have an answer for everything is pretty much full of crap. Important thing is to make it right, no matter what. That's what we do,

Klaus