Troubleshooting
4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301
15-070-01-1
PH: 720.406.8946 [email protected] www.psaudio.com
Rev A2
Troubleshooting
©2015 PS Audio Inc. All rights reserved.
®
Owner’s Reference
BHK Signature Amplifiers
Check to make sure power is going into the BHK and it is connected to a live source. Make sure the
rear panel master power switch is in the on position and the lights near the tubes are lit. Push the
front panel logo light and it should blink, then remain lit after 30 seconds. If it is lit, look to the rear of
the unit and see if the tubes are lit and glowing. If there still is no sound, check the preamplifier and its
connections to the BHK. Check the speaker cable connections to the speakers.
If the front panel logo light continues blinking after the first 30 seconds, there is a fault condition. Push
the button again to reset. Check the fault conditions listed earlier in this manual.
If there is hum coming from your loudspeakers it may be coming from your preamplifier, or it may
come from an interaction between components in your system and the BHK. This type of interaction
is known as a ground loop.
The first step to deteremine where the hum is coming from is to place the BHK in standby and remove
the input connection from the preamplifier. Turn the amp back on and see if there is hum. Chances
are good there will not be. If the hum is a low frequency soft sound, see if its level goes up and down
with the preamp volume control. If it does, the problem is in the preamplifier. If not, it may be in your
connecting cables. Try a different set. If the hum is a sharper buzz it is most likely a ground loop.
The easiest way to figure 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. It is important to do this in the correct order and
take the time to perform the test in a methodical step-by-step manner.
If you have a preamp, or processor that is feeding the power amp, your next step would be to
disconnect all inputs to the preamplifier or processor. Once these are disconnected, and the preamp
or processor is connected only to the power amplifier, 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. Use the same method described
above to remove the ground on the offending piece of kit.
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
BHK won’t play
music
Check the logo
If you have hum
Ground loops
9
