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Naim Transformer Hum or Buzz, how loud should it be?

Does Your Naim Buzz


  • Total voters
    45
Haha that is from 1 inch away from the top of the case.
If that is so then in theory that noise will be around 44dB at 1m according to the inverse square law. In practice I'd expect it to be higher than this in a boxed in room so maybe around 50dB at 1m. Thats not a lot but around about the sound of rain and if continuous may be annoying You should measure the noise at 1m and let us know,

Cheers,

DV
 
My power amps throw out over 300 watts and weigh over 30kg each, when on they are silent with your ear pressed against the case, and no hiss through the speakers, if your amps/transformers humm, its because v- poor quality, and v-poor implementation, but don't worry naim fan-boys will buy anything, and naim know it,

No hiss at all through the speakers? Have you tried turning it on?
 
That's because it's from China and broken!
Not bad!
2 systems, neither broken. A Chinese pre and quad (Huntingdon) power in the conservatory, a Rotel pre (Japan) and Amcron power (USA) in the lounge. All working. No hum from any of them. If you're looking for broken stuff there's a Chinese valve amp that belongs to a mate and needs a replacement resistor, and a half built JLH 1969 that was built in Leeds. By me. That's why it doesn't work yet.
However the stuff that was built by competent technicians both works and doesn't hum.
 
I don't get any hum or hiss from either of my systems, not even from the 20-year-old Exposure pre/power combo. The Exposure power amp started making an odd buzzing sort of noise about ten years ago, but I gave it a good talking to, and the buzzing stopped.

Amusingly, I bought a Balanced Mains Unit a few years back that everyone was raving about. It hummed like buggery, so I got a refund.
 
My 555DR used to hum but a couple of weeks ago I replaced a failing Amazon TV stick with a new version now the 555 is completely silent.
 
I voted no. My CB Hicap and 110 monos do not hum or buzz. Now, before I went crazy and before I serviced the gear and built NCC220 monos etc, I had just a bog standard 32.5+ Nap110. Sometimes the 110 did buzz/hum, not always, some nights it did, some nights it didnt. Always seemed worse in winter. My 25A 13.8v Ham Radio psu will buzz/rattle on transmit, especially on full power, 100W of rf out. My Hammant and Morgan model railway controllers also hum very very gently..........
 
I voted yes as none of my Naim gear hums to an extent where I can hear it let alone be bothered to actually measure it, but obviously no one on here is going to believe that so I just voted yes anyway. HTH with the poll :D
 
I really don't see why people are getting upset about this. There are many things Naim do differently as they believe it helps sound quality. The lack of relays on the output which causes a switch on thump for instance. These things are taken as part of the Naim ownership experience. Either you feel they are right and their kit sounds better than the competition or you don't.

If you prefer the Naim sound you have to accept the quirks that also come in the box are part of the price of it. If you don't buy into it then don't buy Naim. Personally, I found the hum a mild amusement but not something to get upset about.
 
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As mentioned because of the transformers they use, they can buzz. Sometimes some are a bit louder then others (in my case my previous 200 amp was louder then my current 250DR, which you can only hear a slight buzz if you put your head near the case), but a lot of the time DC offset can increase the amount of buzz you get. In my case, at a previous location a hairdryer running somewhere else in the home would cause the 200 to buzz loud enough that it was easily audible throughout the room. My current Supercap DR is also quiet. When previously measured my ambient room noise at my listening position was ~25db, in a quiet room neither my 250DR or SCDR can be heard at all from the listening position.
 
My integrated (non Naim) has a slight tendency to hum (not buzz) in one channel, measuring at about 38-40dB at 1m in room. You don't hear it at the listening position unless the room it utterly silent (ambient measures around 32-34dB at its quietest). My Nait-2 measures about 35dB at 1m through both channels. No buzzes in either amp. 93dB/w efficient speakers btw.
 
As mentioned because of the transformers they use, they can buzz. Sometimes some are a bit louder then others (in my case my previous 200 amp was louder then my current 250DR, which you can only hear a slight buzz if you put your head near the case), but a lot of the time DC offset can increase the amount of buzz you get. In my case, at a previous location a hairdryer running somewhere else in the home would cause the 200 to buzz loud enough that it was easily audible throughout the room. My current Supercap DR is also quiet. When previously measured my ambient room noise at my listening position was ~25db, in a quiet room neither my 250DR or SCDR can be heard at all from the listening position.
I am not convinced -25dB makes sense here.
 
It should be absent, as should all correctly designed electrical gear. Nothing in my house this side of a welder hums. If your gear does and you don't like this, change.
 
I have a Naim 5i-2 that's always had a bit of a hum if you get up close and personal. But you can't hear it a distance nor is it any way noticeable when playing music. Sounds lovely too. While my Primare is away getting fixed (it was lovely and quiet for all the wrong reasons) I've been playing with my stock of shouldve-gotten-around-to-selling-them-by-now amplifiers. The Rotel 932 (no discernible hum) amp was a pleasant surprise as it sounds pretty good for a 'budget' (depending on your budget) amp, but the naim is in another league, so... Naim must be doing something right? I'm happy to live with a little bit of hum if it makes the music sound good.
Music? Did I say music? Oh yes - the stuff we use to listen to our hifi ;)
 
My set up hums occasionally. It’s noticeable if I’m working on my office without music. Once music is playing I don’t hear it.
It does really annoy me!
I have a NAC202, NAP200 & Stageline powered by a Teddy Pardo Dual Teddy Cap.
 
It was one of the big turn-offs of Naim kit for me.

Some of the modern classical/improvisational music I listen to has very quiet passages, and long passages of silence, so transformer buzz/hum is an absolute no-no.

I don't care how good the kit sounds if it's noisy and spoils my listening pleasure.
 


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