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Mechanical Hum from Class A Amplifier Clayton

Hi All,

Need some advise,

I have a paid of Clayton M300 Monos,

Speakers Tested on were Danley SH50 Horn 100db and Legacy Audio Whisper XD 94db

I noticed one of the mono block has a louder Mechanical Hum and tends to get hotter. The amps are giving off a Hiss sound with some mechanical buzz noise in the midrange drivers.

The other mono block has hiss and slight hum with a much lower Mechnical buzz from the amplifier. What concerns me is the Hiss noise. Its not only a hiss but some buzz mixed into it.

I tried connecting the amps directly to the wall socket and to a AC Regenerator and nothing seems to sort the issue out. Is this normal noise for a Class A amplifier to make a loud hissing noise? My Tube amps have a lower noise floor specially the Bob Carver which are dead silent, The ATI amplifier is Also Dead Silent.
dragon_vibe
dragon_vibe OP
430 posts
 
No matter what I did, the noise and distortion is always present. The fact that the midrange and upper frequency was very distorted during higher spl levels drove me to think something is seriously not right. Both Monos had noise which I find it way above normal use. Yes my Speakers are all sensitive but this is no excuse. a Very well built amp should not make too much noise. This sort of noise was not your average hiss. It was a multiple frequency buzzing noise with background hiss. Something I have never heard. It is a shame as the amps have potential but a loss of just under 3000 dollars in all shipping and agents, Tax, Duty and clearance at 2 ports just really too it too far. I was hoping the second time round they were shipped back to me it will be fixed yet it felt like nothing was changed. Wilson is a nice person, its a shame that my units turned out to be like this. Guess it was not for me and I cant run the risk of taking another chance.
rtilden
156 posts
 
Dragon:
Don't overlook the CODA 15.0 amp. I can't say enough good about it. Tons of juice and NO hum or vibration. You can always get 2 of them and bridge into a dual-mono configuration. That is the amp I use with my Purity Audio Design preamp, and it is superb.
dragon_vibe OP
430 posts
 
Yes but the coda is only 100 watts into Class A
rtilden
156 posts
 
Yep, and it will knock your socks off. But only if you listen to it. If you are really concerned about wattage, either bridge it in mono (as I had suggested) or try the Model 33.0. Legacy has told you how good they are, I am sure.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Rtilden, re-read Dragon_vibe's post, the Coda 15.0 only runs in Class A bias up to 100 wpc. The 33.0 that you recommend next only runs in Class A bias up to 15 wpc. He was using the Clayton Audio M-300's, which were 300 wpc of pure Class A power. Coda doesn't have a model that does that. I don't know of any other amp that provides this much Class A power, but I do understand his desire to stay with a pure Class A amplifier. Pass Labs XA200.5 puts out 200 wpc in pure Class A, that is the most that I know of.

FWIW, I do enjoy Coda as well, I am using a Model 11 amp, 100 wpc of pure Class A power is plenty for my application.
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