How deadly is transformer hummm...


Hello Folks,

I recently collected a lightly used (less than 50 hours) Dennis Had - Inspire - "Fire-Bottle." Within some few days, I noticed a humm emerging from somewhere within the chassis of the unit. As the unit was sold in "perfect" condition, I found the humm startling. Mind you, I've discovered absolutely no evidence confirming the sound is compromised; I mostly hear the sound within a couple feet of the amp, when the surrounding environment is silent.

This amp truly is a work of art. Nevertheless, I am now dealing with this 'humm' sound. I bought an Emotiva CMX-2 as a way to deal with DC offset, and this has not impacted the situation to any detectable improvement. Perhaps there is a slight improvement, but negligible. What to do?? Should I just relax, shake it off, and assume the amp will live well, or a down-the-road transformer replacement will simply become part of my experience with this amp? Should I put pressure on the seller to "right" the situation? He claimed, as I asked him, that it was the quietest amp he's ever owned. His add boasted that the fire-bottle exceeded amps from Pass Labs, a Cherry Amp, and one other that escapes memory. The seller has presented all of his communication in the manner of friendly professional etiquette. 

Your thoughts are appreciated. 
listening99
You know crazy simple things can cause DC offset, digital light power supplies are among them.

Turn off everything else in the house and see if your hum goes away.
I had the same hum in my transformers. And as suggested to me at the time, I added some rubber bushings, tightened the screws and 'hum-b-gone'

Make sure to drain the amp before you open it.

Run the amp normally and listen to music. Turn off just the amp, and let the amp "bleed out". (It should get gradually quieter as the caps drain)

After that, you should fine. I would avoid licking anything however...


Turn off just the amp, and let the amp "bleed out".

Then sautee, and serve with fava beans and a nice Chianti.

If you are hearing the hum only when you are physically close to the amp and not thru the speakers, it is the mechanical vibration of the transformer and it is normal but needs "damping".  It is also likely that the chassis is resonating and mechanically amplifying it. 
You should consider tightening its bolts to the chassis and maybe also adding a rubber bushing to damp the vibration. It is like the engine mounts in a car.....