My sub emits a hum, is it worth fixing?

[synmag]

Hi all! This is my first post.

I have an Energy AS-90 sub which is emitting a low level hum when I turn it on and it stays until I turn it off. The controls don't have an effect on it except for some crackling when I turn the volume control but that was there before. It is about ten years old and and I always leave it on as I'm too lazy to turn it on/off when I use my system.

I have been pretty happy with it but I'm wondering if it's worth fixing and how much I should expect to lay out for it. The dealer wants $45 for diagnosis that would go toward the bill if I do have them fix it. Before i spend the $45 I'd like to have an idea how much it could be.

Also, I could pick up a used Paradigm PDR-12 for a good price. It's a 120W 12" sub as opposed to my 90W 12". Are these in the same league?

Thanks in advance

 

[mtrycrafts]

Hi all! This is my first post.

I have an Energy AS-90 sub which is emitting a low level hum when I turn it on and it stays until I turn it off. The controls don't have an effect on it except for some crackling when I turn the volume control but that was there before. It is about ten years old and and I always leave it on as I'm too lazy to turn it on/off when I use my system.

I have been pretty happy with it but I'm wondering if it's worth fixing and how much I should expect to lay out for it. The dealer wants $45 for diagnosis that would go toward the bill if I do have them fix it. Before i spend the $45 I'd like to have an idea how much it could be.

Also, I could pick up a used Paradigm PDR-12 for a good price. It's a 120W 12" sub as opposed to my 90W 12". Are these in the same league?

Thanks in advance

Sounds like this is a new issue with this sub?

If so, have you changed anything to your setup just before this hum? Like hooking up the cable TV to the system?

Do a little troubleshooting. Unplug the RCA cables to the sub and see if the hum is still there. With nothing hooked up to the sub, if that hum is still there, try to unplug the power cable and reverse the plug, if you can, and see if that is a solution.

If the hum goes away when your RCA is unplugged, you have something else in the system that is introducing that hum. My suspicion is a ground loop issue. There is an article about it on the site here.

 

[Sheep]

My E:XL-s8 does that same thing sometimes. Usually its the cord. Try taking it out and moving it around. If its not the cord, try warrenty (if available). I would upgrade if you can. Subs have taken a great leap in performance from your subs time (mine was made in 97).


SheepStar

 

[shokhead]

Hi all! This is my first post.

I have an Energy AS-90 sub which is emitting a low level hum when I turn it on and it stays until I turn it off. The controls don't have an effect on it except for some crackling when I turn the volume control but that was there before. It is about ten years old and and I always leave it on as I'm too lazy to turn it on/off when I use my system.

I have been pretty happy with it but I'm wondering if it's worth fixing and how much I should expect to lay out for it. The dealer wants $45 for diagnosis that would go toward the bill if I do have them fix it. Before i spend the $45 I'd like to have an idea how much it could be.

Also, I could pick up a used Paradigm PDR-12 for a good price. It's a 120W 12" sub as opposed to my 90W 12". Are these in the same league?

Thanks in advance

Get the new one and then play with the old one and if you fix it,dual subs,cool.

 

[Nick250]

My HSU had the same problem when I got it. Hus told me to get a three into two cheater plug. End of hum.

 

[synmag]

The hum is there with nothing connected

I'm in the process of moving and I had the sub turned off since the issue started. Now that I moved it to my new place I plugged it in by itself and the hum is there.

It started after my satellite receiver broke down and the the service guy replaced it for me. The receiver sat on top of the sub at the time. Would proximity of the receiver's rf cable and its movement have something to do with it? If so, could it cause permanent damage as it hasn't gone away since I removed it from the receiver?

I can't really reverse the plug in a wall jack but I can try that with a soft extension cord although extension cords are not recommended either.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Now that I moved it to my new place I plugged it in by itself and the hum is there.

It started after my satellite receiver broke down and the the service guy replaced it for me. The receiver sat on top of the sub at the time. Would proximity of the receiver's rf cable and its movement have something to do with it? If so, could it cause permanent damage as it hasn't gone away since I removed it from the receiver?

I can't really reverse the plug in a wall jack but I can try that with a soft extension cord although extension cords are not recommended either.

I seriously doubt that the Satellite receiver had anything to do with it.

Does the sub amp has a 3 prong power cord? If so, try that cheater plug that converts it to 2 prongs. It seems like an internal amp issue with the grounding.

 

[synmag]

It's a two prong plug. I will try to jam it into the plastic extension cord I mentioned back wards to see if it makes a difference.

When you say grounding issue do you mean it's not grounded properly? If so, can I just open it up and ground it myself? What would be the best way to do this?

It doesn't sound too expensive to fix either if it is a ground issue and I can't resolve it myself.

 

[mtrycrafts]

It's a two prong plug. I will try to jam it into the plastic extension cord I mentioned back wards to see if it makes a difference.

When you say grounding issue do you mean it's not grounded properly? If so, can I just open it up and ground it myself? What would be the best way to do this?

It doesn't sound too expensive to fix either if it is a ground issue and I can't resolve it myself.

No, I cannot recommend getting inside the component. If this is a 2 prong cable, maybe that cheater plug doesn't have a polarized plug on it and will be easy to swap positions. If that doesn't help, there might be an internal issue, not sure what else it could be then.

 

[mulester7]

No, I cannot recommend getting inside the component. If this is a 2 prong cable, maybe that cheater plug doesn't have a polarized plug on it and will be easy to swap positions. If that doesn't help, there might be an internal issue, not sure what else it could be then.

....Synmag, the Bizarro-World Sailor, as a last resort after trying different end plugs, back out a screw on the sub's amp, and take a single strand of smaller speaker-wire, from the backed out screw, to the screw holding on the face-plate of the nearest wall socket....and welcome to Audioholics.com, where we ALL loved action-comics as kids.....

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

That's a pretty beefy sub. 12" driver, 56lbs, and a 90watt rms class a/b amp rated at .08 thd.

http://www.energy-speakers.com/source/AS-series_OM.pdf

It sounds to me like it's the amp itself. I had a similar problem with a Cadence, and after troubleshooting for a week, finally convinced Cadence to send me a new amp. It solved the problem. You can pick up a new amp for under $150, but retrofitting the amp may require some carpentry skills.

http://www.partexpress.com/webpage.cfm?webpage_id=3&SO=2&&DID=7&CATID=43&ObjectGroup_ID=505

You should also take into cosideration the age of the unit. After 10 years, the driver could experience some dryrot depending on where it's been.

It may not be worth the hassle as you can purchase 12" entry level subs that hit 25Hz (same as yours) with a 150 watt amp for $121 shipped.

http://www.partexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-635

 

[3db]

has it always hummed?

Hi all! This is my first post.

I have an Energy AS-90 sub which is emitting a low level hum when I turn it on and it stays until I turn it off. The controls don't have an effect on it except for some crackling when I turn the volume control but that was there before. It is about ten years old and and I always leave it on as I'm too lazy to turn it on/off when I use my system.

I have been pretty happy with it but I'm wondering if it's worth fixing and how much I should expect to lay out for it. The dealer wants $45 for diagnosis that would go toward the bill if I do have them fix it. Before i spend the $45 I'd like to have an idea how much it could be.

Also, I could pick up a used Paradigm PDR-12 for a good price. It's a 120W 12" sub as opposed to my 90W 12". Are these in the same league?

Thanks in advance

When I moved into my new home, I noticed that I started tp hear a slight hum from my PSB sub. Not only that bu tI was getting a hum from the TV as well. Then I noticed that I had my system plugged into three different wall outlets and I thought to myself ground loop. So I plugged the 2nd power bar into the same wall outlet as the rest of my equipment is plugged into and noticed that the hum of the TV has now disappeared as well as the hum on my sub. Before blaming the sub, take a good look at how you have things plugged into the wall.