Internet Noise: A Pest in the Machine


I have already posted a glowing review of my new Synthesis A100 Titan integrated amplifier, which is my favorite of the many amplifiers I have owned over the years. I hope to keep it as the centerpiece of my system for many years to come.

With that said, I am having an issue that is not only perplexing to me, but to the importer and dealer as well. The gist of it is that I am getting intermittent noise (sort of a gauzy static sound) that seems clearly associated with my internet set-up, which consists of a basic ethernet switch and a couple of smaller switches, with an audiophile-grade ethernet cable running from the switch to my Aurender N20. Except for the ethernet cable, everything else is basic stuff our internet service provider brought for the install.

The importer suggested moving the router (it is actually an access point) into another room, suggesting that sometimes the tubes in the Synthesis will pick up noise from nearby routers, and also suggested moving the streamer as far from the amp as possible. Moving the router did seem to help some, and at times the system is blissfully quiet. But the noise always comes back, with varying degrees of volume.

I have pretty much ruled out the streamer as a potential cause by disconnecting the sources (streamer and phono stage) to see if the noise continued. And it did. But every time I disconnect or turn off the internet by unplugging it, the noise immediately goes away. I can listen to my analog rig with no noise with the internet disconnected, but not for long when my spouse or children complain about not having internet. When I turn the internet back on, the noise will usually come back within a few minutes.

It may be that the answer is investing some money in an audiophile switch—or even something better than the cheapo plastic TP-link switch I have now—but before I go down this road, I need to be relatively confident that this is the issue. I don't want to invest a lot of money and be back at square one.

Another possibility is moving the switches and cables into the next room, far away from the system, and just running a single, lengthy ethernet cable into the room to connect to the Aurender. Maybe the amp is picking up noise from the cables or switches, though that seems unlikely. On the other hand, one day when the noise was particularly bad, I went over and just tried jiggling the cable coming in from outside where it enters the house, and for some reason, that really helped. I have no idea why, or what is going on here. It is just bewildering.

If anyone has a theory or suggestion for troubleshooting this problem, I would appreciate your thoughts. The dealer has been no help at all (he also didn’t know that amp is manual bias) and the importer has offered suggestions but seems as baffled as I am as to what might be happening to cause this.

It is the strangest problem I’ve encountered in twenty-plus years in high end. I would be more than relieved to get to the bottom of it.

 

 

128x128waltersalas

You need to rule out what it isn't first. Try playing stuff with no internet, just a CDP and see if it recurs.

I agree. That has been my approach. I have used my phono stage and have been able to play records with no issue. I do not have a CD player but could borrow one as an experiment. It seems pretty clear that the noise is related to the internet, since I do not have any when it is disconnected. Other than that, I am in the weeds.

I had a power line adapter interfere like that.  The digital was riding on the phono pre out as seen on an o-scope.  Any in the house?

So it's worth investigating the power output of your wifi router.  Since moving it helped some.  Most routers have this setting buried in the user interface (UI). If your home is small, and you don't need very wide coverage this may help.  It's also more secure as it is less likely a hacker will drive by and see it. 

Try turning off the wireless 2.4 and 5GHz if it is enabled in your router.  If that solves the interference, you could manually select different wireless channels in the wireless settings of your router and see if that helps.

TP-Link is pretty cheap stuff.  You could try a better quality router from a store with a good return policy.  The router could be giving off