Panny 50" buzzing/humming

rscott4563

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My new 50" panny buzz's, now I know all plasmas buzz/hum to some extent, but I'm taking about a low level buzzing sound that I can hear constantly even when I have my amp on at normal daytime tv viewing volume, at normal 9ft viewing distance, its not a loud noise but it is audiable constantly, what would your opinion be, is this normal or is this faulty??

Cheers

Ryan
 
If I was to try and describe the type of noise I'd say it was more of a high(ish) pitched whinning sound, rather than a low pitched buzzing, its definitely not the fans as if I put my ear to the back where the fans are I can hear them but they are very quiet and low pitched.

Also there is no decernable increase or decrease in sound level depending on the brightness of the screen, even with no signal (so totally black) the noise is the same...
 
Ryan,

Now you have described the noise better, I too have noticed this with my 42PWD6 (as you know this doesn't have fans so it is defintely an electronic noise)

I do notice the noise from about 8-10ft away, but I dont find it too intrusive and have got reasonably used to it now. I am quite sensitive to high pitch noises though and I imagine some people may not even notice it at all...

I noticed it mostly when I went through the DVE video test patterns as they vary the brightness quite a bit from pattern to pattern and do not include any sound.

I am pretty sure this is a 'normal' noise level and used to notice a very simialr type of noise on my old Panny 32" CRT, although the plasma is slightly quieter.

Hopefully some other members will post if they listen really carefully to their Panny's.

JJ
 
When you say you notice it from 8-10ft, is that in a silent room or do you hear it over your normal listening volume?

I've definitely not experienced this level of noise from any AV equipment before, definitely not from my previous 32" Panasonic CRT

Maybe I'm very sensitive to this particular hum, I think if it wasn't so whiney I might not notice so much.
 
Well I called Panasonic earlier on and suprisingly they were very straight forward, they said that if I could hear buzzing at that distance, over normal television volume, then it was too loud and to contact my retailer as it was only a few days old, they said they would normally deal with it themselves if it was a month or more old but as it was so new I'd be best going back to my retailer..

I'm amazed, this does not correspond with my previous experiences of Panasonic customer support with my CRT television, so I'll just have to see what happens now?

Cheers

Ryan
 
Well I emailed Ken (Ivojo) last night and had a reply this morning and a replacement is getting organised, very impressed by the level of service from Ken and up to now from Panasonic, however I'll withhold judgment on Panasonic until I know for sure that they'll accept it as faulty, afterall what one person tells me on the phone isn't exactly a guarantee that they'll do it. My previous experience with Panasonic has been anything but good, but I suppose this is their chance to redeem themselves..

But I have to say I'm soo glad I bought from a reputable dealer and not some dodgy boxshifter, my advice to anyone looking at buying something as expensive as a plasma is go for quality of service over price any day...
 
John r1's wifey here :) :)

Good luck with your new screen.

We are on our fourth plasma now 1 pw5 37 and third pw6...hehehe... i am very fussy.

The first pw6 had a very audible noise like you describe. The retailer took it back after 1 day and replaced it, although they say they tested it and said it was acceptable! Funny that, because the next pw6 silent as a mouse, as is our fourth one (installed it last night).

We have also added the Olsen sounds fantastic mains power filter..i have to say....WOW what a great improvement, it really is a noticeable difference and well worth the outlay.

With the noise factor, i think some people are more susceptible that others and i personally couldnt stand it.

Fingers crossed this one stays quiet.

TTFN

Wifey....:) :) ;) ;)
 
Thanks for your reply, I was hoping for someone to chime in with some agreement about the noise and that they had been sucessfull with getting it sorted, I was starting to think I was the only one with a loud buzzing plasma or that I have some sort of super human hearing, which I don't, infact I think my hearing is a little on the poor side if anything.

I really think with something like a 5k display I have the right to be a bit fussy, afterall would you buy a Porsche and accept it if the windows rattled constantly, no I don't think you would, but if I bought a Ford Ka and the windows rattled I might let it go.

A 50" plasma is a luxury item and one that costs a fortune, and as such I think that perfection isn't too much to ask for.

My only worry is that I get a new plasma and its worse than the first one or it has other problems the first one didn't have such as dead pixels! I don't want to get into a cycle of replacing plasmas everytime, but I'll be an optimist and assume that the replacement will be perfect! :)

Funny thing you should mention the Sounds Fantastic mains extension, as I'm currently trying to price up a mains upgrade along the lines of new mains cable for my DVD, Amp, Plasma (thining of a RA Yello or Powercord) and a new extension block (and a couple of RA silencers) first and then upgrade the NTL, Tivo, JS Conveter and Lumagen cables later, but I'm not too sure of what to get: Russ Andrews, Olson, Mark Grant, Gordon, etc..
 
Johns Wifey here again.......hehehehe :) :D :D

LOL...had to reply about that one and the Ford Ka.

Remember me saying i am very fussy...the story...I ordered 3 years ago a brand new MINI....had it 5 months and had nothing but trouble...BMW built me a REPLACEMENT.....LOL....5 months down the line i had had enough.....sold it back to em and guess what...bought a FORD KA.LOL....love it to bits..no probs..no rattles...just goes to show its not always about what you spend...its about what you agree to accept.


I am glad we sent all the other screens back....we are now happy with our fourth screen..and price matched JL for 5yr warranty..so even better.

As for the mains filter, i would really recommend the OLSEN...top notch product and i think you will find the prices are excellent for such good stuff.

Its the second olsen adapter we have had and both considerable improvements (our other one was for NAIM Hi-fi recommended by our local specialist)

Again thats down to personal choice and how much u want to spend.

Hope al is well, and i am sure your second screen will be perfect.....if not do as i do....and send it back...it is your right.

Regards,

Wifey...;)
 
Originally posted by rscott4563
When you say you notice it from 8-10ft, is that in a silent room or do you hear it over your normal listening volume?

I've definitely not experienced this level of noise from any AV equipment before, definitely not from my previous 32" Panasonic CRT

Maybe I'm very sensitive to this particular hum, I think if it wasn't so whiney I might not notice so much.

Pretty sure I only notice it in a silent room (i.e. when DVE was on but no sound). I need to have a bit of a play now....

Hmmm...you have got me thinking this is not normal now :suicide:

P.S. I also have the olson sound fantastic mains block - very nice and great value...
 
Oh no, I hope I haven't planted the seed of doubt, you just know it gonna bug you now! :devil:

Have you had a play, can you hear it at all over normal television volume at all?
 
Ryan,

Spent a bit of time looking at it yesterday, and I cannot hear the noise in all but a completely silent room. Even then, I have to 'tune' into the noise to make it out.

I also checked with the wife who normally notices every little sound and she said she hadn't noticed anything at all...

Whilst testing, I also noticed that my pronto emits a very high pitched wine noise when the backlit display is on, and to be honest, this is maybe part of what I have been hearing...

Hope you get things sorted, let us know how you get on...

JJ
 
Well I'm glad your not having the same problem as me, but if anything it makes me even more sure I've got a definite problem when compared to what you've reported on yours.

Cheers

Ryan
 
Ryan,

Hmmm...not your fault, but ever since reading this thread I am now paranoid and whilst watching Minority Report this evening whenever there was a quiet point in the film I could notice the high pitch wine/hum.

Maybe I was trying to kid myself when I tested before....also now I have mentioned it, the wife now claims she can hear it pretty much all the time...doh!!!! :( :(

I am in a real dilema now and it is really hard to know how bad is bad...I absolutetly love the screen and I am not sure I want to got to all the hassle of swapping it out only to get another with exactly the same, if not worse, noise.

I always knew the Pw6's could hum a little, but until you live with it in your own home you don't really know. I haven't noticed it on the ones I demoed but didnt know what sort of noise to 'tune' into...

What is happening with your swap out??? are you getting a complete new screen?? Is this coming before you send the old one back or are you screenless for a while???

Cheers

JJ
 
FWIW I have never notcied any hum at all except when putting my head right next to it in a quet room.
 
Hi Jason, sorry to hear that you've now got the same sort of problem, same thing happened with me, it was annoying me but the missus hadn't mentioned it, then when I said something about it, she said that she'd noticed it since I first turned it on! :( She just didn't realise that it wasn't meant to?

I got my screen from Ivojo and they have been really good so far, I emailed Ken on Saturday and he replied saying that he would arrange for a replacement today, I'm assuming that a replacement will be sent out and my screen will be collected at the same time, at least thats what I'll be wanting, I don't want to be without a screen for any period of time.

I too am slightly worried by the fact that a replacement could be worse or have other faults, but I'm of the opinion that if it is then that too will be going back and I'll continue to do so until I get something I'm happy with, i.e 100% fault free.

I'll keep you informed as things progress.

Cheers

Ryan
 
I have had a good listen to my screen after reading this thread!

Mine makes a very distinctive 'metallic' buzzing noise when I put my ear behind the screen.

This is still audible (but much quieter) from about 12-18 inches in front of the screen, but I cannot notice it any further away than that.

I totally agree with you on the swap out thing. I have some PQ problems with mine as detailed on another thread (White dots in the corner on 'No Signal' screens, and moving background noise on the DVD and Freeview pictures, but I am worried about asking for a replacement, in case the new one is worse!

Ryan - Hope the new screen goes well.
 
Well the wheels are in motion, great support so far from Ken at Ivojo. I'll be back with an update when there's more to tell.

Cheers

Ryan

ps Good luck with yours as well Jason
 
Dave- your noise is typical, I take it it's not an issue. Ryan, I hope you can resolve this, panny 50's are a bit noisy. My experience is, and this holds for 42's as well, that the noise develops as the screen runs in, and is probably a 'mechanical' noise. As the bits loosen up a bit the noise starts. My VHA30 at home now makes a noise much as described by Dave, where it was silent 'out of the box'. It has about 200 hours on the clock now, I doubt it'll get any worse now. I used to work in a showroom with 7-8 plasmas in it, the total whistle/buzz was something you just had to get used to. But the loudest was the panny 50", sorry to say.
 
Hi Martin, I'd have to agree that the noise is definitely more apparent now than it was when I first turned it on, but whether that is due to the noise worsening or just that I now know what it sounds like and I'm now tuned in to the frequency, I couldn't say. But if my screen made the same sort of noise as Dave's then I'd be a happy man, I don't care what noises I can hear 12" from the screen as long as I can't hear it over the tv at 9ft! :thumbsdow

I'm pretty sure everything will be sorted out by next week, fingers crossed... ;)

Cheers

Ryan
 
Hi,

In the end, I contacted AV-Sales to get them to investigate the high-pitched noise. They were very understanding, but rather than ship endless new screens they agreed to collect the screen for testing and collected it within a few days. They tested the screen against their demo model and a new screen and felt that my screen noise was no different to the normal Panasonic.

Not 100% happy with this outcome, I asked AV-Sales to ship a replacement plasma anyhow, which they did, as they wanted me to be 100% happy. I received the plasma and after most of a day testing, the noise is no better at all and the picture is actually slightly worse than my previous model - go figure!!!

So, over the next week I decided to go and look at some local demo Panny 6's and see if mine was comparable on the noise front. After seeing two other demo Panny 6's I have realised that the noise made by my screen is actually pretty normal. Maybe I am just unlucky and tune into the noise more than others...Maybe I have been a little over critical...:suicide:

IMHO from what I have seen, no Panny 6 is completely silent and once run in for a while, they all emit a very similar high-piched noise which varies with screen brightness. Whether other people can hear this from their normal seating postiiton is the key and also whether they are able to tune into the noise...so for people out there looking to get the Panny 6, just make sure you are happy with the noise level whilst demo'ing BEFORE you buy.

Anyhow, AV-Sales have now agreed to ship my back my original plasma...who knows, maybe in a few years when they say Panny plasma's are silent, they will be!!!!

AV-Sales have been incredibly helpful throughout the entire process and have been above and beyond the normal call of good customer service, especially the out of hours time they spent on testing, let alone my endless chasing phone calls!!! :) So a big thanks to AV-Sales for all their help, especially Andrew Collie - AV-SALES - A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED DEALER :smashin:

JJ
 

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