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Levinson 33H buzzing on standby

Hi All,
I just noticed that my pair of Levinson 33H emits a buzzing sound from the tweeter when it is on Standby (blinking red).

When the amps are turned on, the buzzing sound goes away and is replaced with a slight hissing sound.

When I connect the speakers to my Levinson 433, there is no buzzing...so I'm guessing its not my power/equipment that is causing the problem.

I took the amps into my local service shop and they are telling me that its "normal" behaviour.

Does anyone (perhaps someone with 33Hs) confirm this is normal?

Thanks, Ray
raysam
brf
1,715 posts
 
Believe me, it is not normal for a ss amp on standby to "leak" out some current or something which causes a buzzing noise, especially on a mega buck statement amplifier. People move from tubes to SS for that dead quiet operation.

I would take it to another technician
usblues
1,217 posts
 
Did this just start?Any moving or different hookups since this condition?Thanks,Bob
ellyjr
97 posts
 
Probably a Leaking capacitors. I had a Levinson no.336. Had the same problem, The capasitors went bad. Replacing the caps fixed the problem.
Levinson 33 series amps have this problem, they have to be replaced every 5-8 yrs.
dollysowner
47 posts
 
I owned a pair of 33H's for 9 years. There was never an issue with buzzing and hiss. Are you sure there haven't been any component or wiring changes in your system, which might be causing ground loops or picking up RF?

However, I believe Ellyjr's observation is incorrect when it comes to the 33H's. The problem to which he was referring applies to the 330 series amplifiers (331-336), where the capacitors definitely go bad after a period of time and have to be replaced.
dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
Call Levinson and ask them to trouble shoot your system. Make sure everything is the same as with your 433 setup...same outlets, cords, IC's, preamp etc..
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