REL Strata III - faint crackle/pop sounds

My unit has always made a pop/hum sound when first powering on, but the issue I'm having is after the unit has been switched on. There's a faint crackle sound, kind of like what an old, dusty record sounds like.

Frankly, I haven't tried to play much through it since I've started hearing the crackling sound - I don't want to aggravate any issue the unit might already be having. And plus, since I've heard the crackling, I know that's the only thing I would hear anyway.

My Strata switch light burned out a long time ago. =)

I had a similar problem with my Stentor 111. Not sure if it what you have but there were crackles on turn on and during play at times as well and I used to keep my unit on all the time. It turned out the be the protection circuit and the problem was with the traces in the board itself and a whole new board was needed. This was available via the REL distributor for around $200. No problem since it was replaced. It was very frustrating so I hope this helps.

To follow up on this thread... I finally ended up calling Sumiko Audio because I happen to live nearby in Northern California. I worked with Kendra in customer service and she was very helpful in arranging for diagnosis and eventual refurbished replacement of the amplifier board ($100).

Found this thread on a Google search. Am experiencing the exact same problem with the same Sub (Strata III).

Was your problem fixed with the $100 amp board replacement?

My issue appears to be isolated to the Hi-level input. Also unsure if it is related to the amp it's plugged into. Still debugging.

Any assistance appreciated.

Thank you.

My Strata III did the same thing about a year and a half ago.I removed the control/ amp assembly, sprayed contact cleaner in the on/off rocker switch, and worked the switch back and forth a few times. It hasn't made the crackling noise since.