volume motor noise feedback in speaker

[slipperybidness]

Well, a quick look at the spec sheet for the P5 turns up this

*Premium motor-driven Alps potentiometer volume control

So, I might be the first person in quite a while to prove TLS was wrong Just some friendly joshing on TLS because I am certain that he is not wrong very often
My $ says that the volume pot is dirty and needs a good cleaning. Should be a quick-fix and have the P5 back shortly.

Remind us, you did buy this as a used or demo or something right?

 

[ematthews]

Yep. All my Marantz gear is made in Japan. I like USA myself.

 

[ematthews]

Well, a quick look at the spec sheet for the P5 turns up this

*Premium motor-driven Alps potentiometer volume control

So, I might be the first person in quite a while to prove TLS was wrong Just some friendly joshing on TLS because I am certain that he is not wrong very often
My $ says that the volume pot is dirty and needs a good cleaning. Should be a quick-fix and have the P5 back shortly.

Remind us, you did buy this as a used or demo or something right?

No... Brand new in sealed box.

 

[slipperybidness]

No... Brand new in sealed box.

Ouch! Well, let's see what your dealer says. I was already wondering how a Pre amp as new to the market as the P5 could have a dirty pot, this is usually seen on vintage gear or gear in the home of smokers.

Perhaps a faulty pot?

For the record, I think this is the first Parasound issue I have seen reported. Congratulations

 

[ematthews]

Yep. If it's going to go bad, I will end up being on the receiving end. I think it's part of my learning patience practice in life.
One reason I bought Parasound was reputation too. There is always the chance however.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Perhaps a faulty pot?

For the record, I think this is the first Parasound issue I have seen reported. Congratulations

Let's hope it's not a proclivity.

 

[RichB]

I got scared at first and thought it was my new RBH speaker. The P5 is a lot easier to ship for repairs. Oh well. At least my Marantz gear will fill the void for a while. Good thing I held on to these.
I am beginning to think Made in Japan components might have a leg up.

I have had two triggers fail on the Marantz AV8801 which was made in Japan.
I suspect the thermal design could be better because it got hot, 129F in the center back.
If you do not get the design right, I don't care where you make it.

- Rich

 

[TLS Guy]

Well, a quick look at the spec sheet for the P5 turns up this

*Premium motor-driven Alps potentiometer volume control

So, I might be the first person in quite a while to prove TLS was wrong Just some friendly joshing on TLS because I am certain that he is not wrong very often
My $ says that the volume pot is dirty and needs a good cleaning. Should be a quick-fix and have the P5 back shortly.

Remind us, you did buy this as a used or demo or something right?

I did say I doubt it had a pot, especially as this is a high priced unit. Ganged pots are only made to special order now. That is a very old fashioned and a poor way to make volume adjustment. Pots are trouble, as the OP is finding out. Channel balance is inferior with them and gets worse over time. They are a sources of noise not only when the cursor moves as in this case, but end up degrading signal to noise over time, because of changes in the carbon resistor. It wears over time. Peter Walker was one of the individuals leading the way in getting rid of these devices, and stopped using them after the 33 preamp. So only his first transistor preamp of 1969 used a pots. All the rest do not.

A spec like you describe with a very old fashioned motorized pot, would be an absolute do NOT purchase flag for me. In my view this is huge black mark against Parasound. In view of what you have informed me, I would not only expect, but guarantee the problems the OP is having. Frankly I'm astonished about your very informative post which explains the OP's issue.

 

[Adam]

Well, a quick look at the spec sheet for the P5 turns up this

*Premium motor-driven Alps potentiometer volume control

I took an easier route and just assumed the OP knew what he was talking about.

 

[ematthews]

I did say I doubt it had a pot, especially as this is a high priced unit. Ganged pots are only made to special order now. That is a very old fashioned and a poor way to make volume adjustment. Pots are trouble, as the OP is finding out. Channel balance is inferior with them and gets worse over time. They are a sources of noise not only when the cursor moves as in this case, but end up degrading signal to noise over time, because of changes in the carbon resistor. It wears over time. Peter Walker was one of the individuals leading the way in getting rid of these devices, and stopped using them after the 33 preamp. So only his first transistor preamp of 1969 used a pots. All the rest do not.

A spec like you describe with a very old fashioned motorized pot, would be an absolute do NOT purchase flag for me. In my view this is huge black mark against Parasound. In view of what you have informed me, I would not only expect, but guarantee the problems the OP is having. Frankly I'm astonished about your very informative post which explains the OP's issue.

With this said, is there anything you can suggest in a preamp under 2000?

 

[RichB]

With this said, is there anything you can suggest in a preamp under 2000?

I am using the Oppo HA-1 as DAC and 2 channel preamp. When compared to the BDP-105D the HA-1 is more revealing, tighter bass, and incredibly detailed.
The BDP-105D has a warmer sound that some may prefer, but the HA-1 is my choice.

I brought the HA-1 to a friends house to do a quick listening session. He has a Denon AVP and Focal 1038Be's.
We level matched with an OmniMic2 and used an XLR switch to go between them.
They sounded really similar; We had a hard time telling when they were switched.

Warning: the HA-1 uses an Alps pot for volume control.

Here is a French review of the HA-1 with a great deal of detailing information and internal shots:

https://translate.google.com/translate?act=url&depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http://www.hdfever.fr/2014/07/10/test-oppo-ha-1/#postTabs_ul_51675

- Rich

 

[ematthews]

EXCUSE MY IGNORANCE. Would the HA-1 would pair with my ATI-2000 AMP OK?

 

[RichB]

EXCUSE MY IGNORANCE. Would the HA-1 would pair with my ATI-2000 AMP OK?

No problem. The ATI2000 is has similar gain to the A51 (29 db gain) and the HA-1 drives my system to full volume and sounds great too.

- Rich

 

[ematthews]

It's even higher if you use standard RCA. 34DB which I think is too high. I use the XLR

 

[slipperybidness]

I did say I doubt it had a pot, especially as this is a high priced unit. Ganged pots are only made to special order now. That is a very old fashioned and a poor way to make volume adjustment. Pots are trouble, as the OP is finding out. Channel balance is inferior with them and gets worse over time. They are a sources of noise not only when the cursor moves as in this case, but end up degrading signal to noise over time, because of changes in the carbon resistor. It wears over time. Peter Walker was one of the individuals leading the way in getting rid of these devices, and stopped using them after the 33 preamp. So only his first transistor preamp of 1969 used a pots. All the rest do not.

A spec like you describe with a very old fashioned motorized pot, would be an absolute do NOT purchase flag for me. In my view this is huge black mark against Parasound. In view of what you have informed me, I would not only expect, but guarantee the problems the OP is having. Frankly I'm astonished about your very informative post which explains the OP's issue.

Thanks for the education TLS.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like a pot like the one on the Parasound is often sought after by audiophiles? Seems to be more audiofoolery?

My Dynaco ST70 Clone does have a double-gang pot on the input, that was an option for the kit and it looked like a good idea to me, added flexibility and makes it possible to run without a pre-amp. Do you think that's a bad idea? Is it fairly difficult to move up to a SS control like you were talking about? Do I need a different/separate power supply for a project like that?

Just curious, not at the top of my priority list by any means.

 

[slipperybidness]

It's even higher if you use standard RCA. 34DB which I think is too high. I use the XLR

I believe it is more gain only because the input signal is smaller voltage.

 

[ematthews]

So there shouldn't be any difference then with either input. Right? I thought I would get a little more sensitivity switching to the RCA. Meaning I could get to a louder volume earlier on the volume knob.

 

[slipperybidness]

So there shouldn't be any difference then with either input. Right? I thought I would get a little more sensitivity switching to the RCA. Meaning I could get to a louder volume earlier on the volume knob.

I don't think that is quite right. That is not an advantage of RCA vs XLR. The output of voltage of the amp should be the same, independent of which input you use. The RCA input amplitude will be smaller than the XLR, so it will show up as higher gain in the calculations.

However, the noise on the RCA input will also be amplified by the same gain factor as the input signal, so really high gain is not always an advantage.

XLR is more immune to noise due to this, and it also has the advantage of common mode noise rejection (assuming it is a true balanced design and not just XLR slapped on and wired single ended).

 

[ematthews]

I was not really referring it to an advantage, just to the fact that ATI has a 28db gain on XLR and 34 on RCA.. I assumed..

 

[RichB]

I was not really referring it to an advantage, just to the fact that ATI has a 28db gain on XLR and 34 on RCA.. I assumed..

XLR outs are 6DB hotter, these will likely be no difference in volume level between the two.

- Rich