Sprout/Vinyl High Pitched tone

Audio Components Integrateds
1

I have a sprout100, the ELAC speaker package, a Rel TZero subwoofer, and a Fluance RT-81 turntable.

I’ve noticed after a LP stops playing there is a very high pitched tone coming out of the sprout.

Will the tone was playing, I powered off the subwoofer and there was no change. I powered off the turntable and there was no change.

I switched the sprout100 input one click from vinyl->analog and the tone stopped. I clicked it back and there was the tone again.

With the tone on, I adjusted the volume knob and the tone changed in volume with the volume knob.

What do you think?

2

Could be WiFi or bluetooth. Call support and ask for their opinions.

3

I’ll call. That’s a good idea.

The High-pitch sound disappears when I switch off of vinyl.

Though I guess BT/wifi could interfere with the analog signal and generate a high-pitched sound.

I do have a Google Chromecast Audio connected to it with an optical/toslink.

4

Is your Fluance grounded?

5

Now you are getting all technical. :smiley:

I think it is. There is a wire from the turntable ground, to the sprout100 ground.

Grounding is a mystery I’ve never quite figured out. (how can a car be grounded when it is on rubber tires?)

Is my plug grounded, is my housing circuit grounded, is there copper rod sunk into the soil around my house, is the chemistry/moisture content of my soil conducive to grounding ??

I don’t do electricity much.

I think it is grounded.

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6

In the wire bundle coming from the Fluance is there a 3rd wire other than the two RCA’s and is it attached to a known grounding point?

7

Yes, the cables from the Fluance are two RCAs and a ground. The three are attached appropriately on the turntable, and then again attached at the back of the Sprout100.

8

Are one of the TT cables touching or crossing to close to a power cord? Also check to make sure all of the leads from the tonearm to the cartridge are properly seated.

9

Thanks, I’ll check the TT cables proximity to power cords, and also check and reseat the tonearm-cartridge connections.

Also, I might call PS Audio and ask them for advise if that doesn’t resolve it.

10

The Sprout100 still has a pitched tone when the cables are separated from the power cord.

I then unplugged the turntable completely and the Sprout100 still emits the high-pitched tone when on the ‘vinyl’ option.

I’ll call them.

11

PS Audio wants to look at it for possible repair. It’s getting sent in.

PS Audio has been such a good company to work with.

I’ll write back after it’s repaired with a debrief.

4 Likes
12

I look forward to the report.

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13

I’m going to look forward to a follow-up as well. I’ve encountered a similar problem in a different category of component (and different manufacturer). A tone that sounds like it is pure, in my case in the upper midband. Long story short, it was traced to a switching power supply that I was informed has a history of occasionally becoming unstable. Even in linear power supplies, some linear regulators can resonate if not properly compensated or the components in the compensation loop have drifted too far due to aging.

Whether it actually corrupts the output can depend on the internal routing of the component. It was a fascinating lesson learned.

The fix was to replace the power supply.

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