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Troubleshooting 8
Troubleshooting
©2006 PS Audio International Inc. All rights reserved.
®
Owner’s Reference
Quintessence Power Center
If you experience a hum through the speakers once the Quintessence Power Center is powering
your equipment this can be caused by several things. The fi rst is the source. If there is an excessive
amount of buzz or noise from the loudspeaker, it may be caused by a ground loop, a light dimmer in
the home, poor AC power, or any number of causes. The quickest way to determine where to start
your search is to simply turn
the preamplifi
er, integrated,
receiver or Control Amplifi er
off, disconnect the audio
cables between it and the
sources, and see if the hum
goes away when you turn
the preamplifi
er, integrated,
receiver or Control Amplifi er
back on. If it does, it’s most
likely a ground loop or buzz
from a dimmer.
If this doesn’t solve the
problem, follow these easy
humbusting tips.
The easiest way to fi gure out
where ground loop problems lie is by the process of elimination. You need to determine where the
hum or buzz is coming from within your system.
If the hum/buzz goes away when you remove the inputs to the power amp, your next step will be
to reconnect the amp and move further down the chain. If you were working with a receiver or an
integrated amplifi er, you will need to jump to step 4. If you have a preamp, or processor that is feeding
the power amp, your next step would be to disconnect all inputs to the preamplifi er or processor. Once
these are disconnected, and the preamp or processor is connected only to the power amplifi er, turn
the system on and again, listen for hum. Should the hum now appear, it is a problem with your preamp
or processor or their interaction with the power amp. Before returning the preamp or processor to
the manufacturer, try a cheater plug to break a ground loop. Cheater plugs are simple devices that
convert a three prong AC plug into a two prong AC plug and in the act of converting three prongs, to
two prongs, they disconnect the ground from the wall socket. Try one of these on the preamp, or the
power amp, or both.
If you determine that there is still no hum present when the preamp, processor or receiver is
connected with no inputs, then selectively begin plugging in your various inputs one at a time. After
each connection, check for hum until you discover the humming culprit.
VCR’s, surround processors, and any device that is connected to a television cable or satellite dish
can cause a loud buzz and should always be suspect. If, by the process of elimination described
above, you determine it is a component like a VCR that is causing the hum/buzz to occur, and using
a cheater plug or removing the ground pin on a PS xStream Power Cable doesn’t help matters, it may
be necessary to isolate the cable connection (CATV) with an isolation transformer.
If you have hum
It could be the
cable TV
