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
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.
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.
What am I missing here? 300watt amps to drive 100db efficient speakers. If you listen at levels requiring that kind of power, your hearing is in trouble.
Do as you wish but be warned.
Timrhu shares my thoughts exactly. My room is 30'x31'x12'h, and my speakers are 4 Ohms, about 87db efficiency. Plays difficult classical louder than any sane person can take it and sounds great while doing it. Playing Pink Floyd even louder calls the cops. The CODA 15.0 punches well above its specifications. Gents, I do not make this claim lightly. I live in Winter Park, FL in case anyone wants to hear it himself.
My theatre speakers are 100db, The ATI Amplifiers run them.

My 2 channel are 94 db.

I like to keep head room on the amp rather then driving them to certain aspect of there limits.