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Speakers making static popping sound even when volume off.

Figarim

Figarim

New Member
Hi there,

I’m a total novice when it comes to old speaker equipment. My current setup is a sansui7000 with two sp3500 plugged into along with a record player. Intermittently over the years occasional static comes through, but usually rearranging power cords, wifi routers, Alexa’s, or replacing the speaker wire has fixed my issue. Lately the static popping coming from the right speaker only is unbearable. If the music is loud enough it goes away but it snaps and pops like a dusty record that has ended, but much louder and even when the volume is 0. I know nothing about maintenance or repairs, but open to learning I just don’t know where to start with diagnosing the issue.
 
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If your amp has Pre-out/Main-in jumpers, you could start removing the jumpers. If the noise is still present , the problem is at the power amp. If the noise goes away, the problem is at the preamp.
 
If it’s the transistor what’s my course of action? Repair, replace, clean? If I need new parts where is somewhere I could find this for an old system?
 
Replacement of the noisy transistors is the course of action. You usually replace all the transistors of the same kind to avoid problems in the near future. New transistors can be sourced from electronic components distributors. Avoid eBay AliExpress and such. Buy semiconductors from a trusted seller.
 
I took it to a local repair shop and I’ve been going back and forth. Cleaning didn’t fix it, but now the transistor has been replaced. Got it back today and don’t hear the horrible noise, but it’s so quiet I’m not sure if it’s fixed or just muted. The 10/10 volume now sounds like 1/10 maybe from what it was doing previously. I’m not sure the repair I’m getting fully inspecting issues. Any ideas? I’m also interested in a repair in the seattle area. For anyone familiar with the area Hawthorne audio no longer employs the person who used to fix vintage equipment.

EDIT: After playing with the switches I was able to get the volume back to normal with the FM muting switch causes the issue I think or being sticky still. However now that the volume is back to full I'm still hearing interference, static, popping, clicking after the transistor has been replaced.
 
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Figarim said:
I took it to a local repair shop and I’ve been going back and forth. Cleaning didn’t fix it, but now the transistor has been replaced. Got it back today and don’t hear the horrible noise, but it’s so quiet I’m not sure if it’s fixed or just muted. The 10/10 volume now sounds like 1/10 maybe from what it was doing previously. I’m not sure the repair I’m getting fully inspecting issues. Any ideas? I’m also interested in a repair in the seattle area. For anyone familiar with the area Hawthorne audio no longer employs the person who used to fix vintage equipment.

EDIT: After playing with the switches I was able to get the volume back to normal with the FM muting switch causes the issue I think or being sticky still. However now that the volume is back to full I'm still hearing interference, static, popping, clicking after the transistor has been replaced.
Click to expand...
It seems you need to take it back to the shop. It's possible they have changed some transistor but not the noisy one. It's also possible the unit have several noisy transistors. That's why I suggested to replace all the transistors of the same kind.

Can you ask exactly which transistors were replaced?
 
elnaldo said:
It seems you need to take it back to the shop. It's possible they have changed some transistor but not the noisy one. It's also possible the unit have several noisy transistors. That's why I suggested to replace all the transistors of the same kind.

Can you ask exactly which transistors were replaced?
Click to expand...

I can ask they are not open until Monday, but he always gives me the bad parts he removes and the two pieces he pulled out including transistor is sitting in a baggie I have. I can ask him to take a look at it again because another shop I called after recommended I refurbish the whole thing and were quoting me about $1k+. For the price I might look at a modern amp.
 
Have a look at the interference thing again, I have a powerline adaptor behind my setup that feeds into the TV, and I get the same issue out of the left speaker when I use a Trio KA-4002, turn the TV off at the wall, just about gone, turn the powerline adaptor off and nothing.

Just a thought, could be that simple again
 
Figarim said:
I can ask they are not open until Monday, but he always gives me the bad parts he removes and the two pieces he pulled out including transistor is sitting in a baggie I have. I can ask him to take a look at it again because another shop I called after recommended I refurbish the whole thing and were quoting me about $1k+. For the price I might look at a modern amp.
Click to expand...
If he removed just one transistor I bet there are more noisy parts in the unit. I' d ask him to replace all the transistors of the same kind (same part number) on that part of the circuit, in both channels.

External interference is also possible, wifi routers and wireless devices also can introduce noises, but they sound different.
 
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Figarim said:
I can ask they are not open until Monday, but he always gives me the bad parts he removes and the two pieces he pulled out including transistor is sitting in a baggie I have. I can ask him to take a look at it again because another shop I called after recommended I refurbish the whole thing and were quoting me about $1k+. For the price I might look at a modern amp.
Click to expand...

Having a Sansui 7000 restored is a big job. Do you really want to spend the kind of money needed to do the job right, and are you confident that the tech will do the job right?

The following link shows what AK member @MIJ_Pioneer did to restore his Sansui 7000: https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/sansui-7000-restore.963684/
 
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