Alone with my Solo/610

[martini]

I have a UA SOLO 610 that two months ago, began to hum (50Hz & 150Hz) with LO-Z, low impedance switch. Only with LO-Z not with HI-Z.  It's a intrinsic noise and loud audible into the signal, terrible with my SM7 or any dynamic.  Deadly quieter in HI-Z.

It's the unique element of my gear that has this problem and came just two months. It is behind power conditioner, not ground loops outside de Solo, and all cables have been checked, it's definitely an intrinsic noise.

It's a REV-D near 2008, but recently purchased. It's an ex-demo version refurbished, which I bought with a warranty. I could register it with the guarantee in UA online product registration. Here is all right and I thought it was covered, so I spend my savings on it.

I bought like a big deal in the UK, and the cost of shipping with UPS was "only" 40€, secured and insured, to my country.
Talking to UA, they recognize the guarantee, ok,  and  indicate me that I must send to replace/repair ONLY to UK. The UK seller said the same "warranty OK, covered by us or UA"

Perfect !! nice !! But then began my little drama. UPS, DHL, and any courier, they tell me to send it to UK has a cost between  180€-250€ ($252-$350, yes!! ) depending of the courier. Yihaaa!! After asking both about this courier abuse,  both said that will be only a little and insignificant component that will be replaced and agree with me that is couriser abuse, a blockade courier abuse. I has requested to UA, will please even paying, to send me the cost, or specs, or information or ANY about transformer used or anything suspicious component to do with a local repair shop (generical electronic repair shop: microwaves, tv's, etc) but cheapest and unnecessary specialized skills for a cheapest work, replace any faulty component.

In my country there is no official UA repair service and any specialized audio repair service, get prices of real fright, only for the brand name , whatever the problem.

And UA has categorically denied any support and has indicated that I would never send (I will pay) a piece to me, a simple costumer. I have asked again, please please have mercy on a situation that is not to blame anyone,  but UA again, negate any support to me for any local repair. Thanks for the blockade UA, really.

I'm just an amateur, and of course I am very disappointed with UA actitude (I am willing to pay even though the warranty) UA SOLO was in my saving wish-list far ago, I bought it, ever relying on the alleged high standards of customer service they believed with prestigious USA company.  They could learn a lot of costumer care from humble companies, because, I am a customer? or not ? with UA do not feel well, I know what it means to be a second class customer. Beware with this, pure marketing, I refer to the facts.

"Alone with the Solo" is a pun, with my despair.

I made a complete census of every piece in my ALONE 610 and the total replacement cost to myself,  even with good components, will be cost near  150€ to me. The only doubt  I had was the famous CineMag Transformer, that is at least inferred in various UA and Cinemag infomercials.  and Oh Surprise !! I found that my REV-D, they really has cheapest woodward transformer and one Altran, impossible to buy in my country and very very hard to find replacement or equivalent without detailed information.

"the SOLO/ 610 was carefully created to maintain all of the character of its vintage predecessor, and has the same solid build and audiophile components professionals expect from its more expensive UA siblings like the 2-610 and M610." Sure ?

Another UA SOLO 610 REV-D:

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=13038.msg371953#msg371953

Last month I was reading a lot of schemas, mods, builds here, and download dozens of schemas from the gmail account (since last week I can't access to docs, any temporary issue?). My attitude to learn is good and motivated by prodigy I will going to start my first DIY's, but now my skills are low to repair this without little guide.

I'm just very disappointed and desperate. I do not know where to start, I have no electronic skills and only soldering and desoldering,.

Someone can help me giving me suggestions for the source of the problem or diagnose it, I have only one multimeter and a lot of capacitors and resistors.

I know it's difficult and in the distance, but I ask you to please and very sorry for you. I can check anything you should show me
Thanks a lot.

 

[mitsos]

Sorry to hear about that.. It might help to let people know where you are. Who knows, you might get lucky and have a tube savvy member near you.

I don't think there is a verified schemo of that unit anywhere, but the one attached should be sort of close (if you want to verify/correct it to match yours that would be cool). It only shows mic and line in, no HiZ, This is supposed to be the one that John Hinson (worked for UA) drew up from vintage 610 preamps, and what yours is "based on."  He used to post here and made it clear that he felt they did not follow the design and made changes to "cut corners." He allegedly designed the input transformer or spec'ed it for Cinemag and UA now has them made by Altran which is probably a bit more economical. 

That's enough for a history lesson. I've only ever used the one with the compressor. Anyway, the old way to change input impedance was with taps on the trafo primary. I know that input transformer (and the Cinemag) both have a center tap, but I heard UA was changing impedance with resistors, so I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you can trace this thing out and see how well, if at all, it matches the JHinson schemo?

Just be careful, these are lethal voltages

 

[martini]

Oh! THANKS

sorry, I am in Spain.

I am very very angry with the courier abuse, I do not blame UA or the seller, unlike the seller tries to help, but the back from Spain-UK is an abuse to any individual, no matter the company. My only chance is to send it by mail, like a letter without insurance or trust. I buy things all over Europe regularly and I've never seen anything like this, by example, the acoustic material brought from Germany, as big as two closets in transport cost me only 100€.

But with these circumstances, explained very well to UA, the attitude is contrary to I was expected from a company of its prestige. What secret want to keep ?  There is no mysterious components, or mysterious black boxes, angry and losing only manage future waste purchases, adding what ? I can overcome any obscure position putting a multimeter.

Well, goobye UA. Thanks to this, in my new professional career (starting) I don't want never more relationship with UA sales, except for those who can build me myself (goodbye costumer), thanks to this incident and this costumer neglect, I discovered prodigy-pro comunity and every night, after an exhausted day I read with passion, that if I have to thank him.

Two months ago I don't know nothing about rectifiers, diodes, filter caps, now I am learning and enjoy with this.

I feel that my first post is a bit sad, but I must fix, because this investing, full of enthusiasm and excitement, now are full of disappointment and a lot of money waste.

Google will take care of properly compensate the supposed prestige and excellence of the manufacturer. We can see how google helps David against Goliaht.

Closing this and begin to be practical, with this schema I I will begin tracing, learning and analyzing. Again THANKS !!I will give my feedback on progress for help other similar cases, when these devices begin to cause problems for avoid huge repair costs only replacing few faulty components, because the equipment have the label pro-audio.

little disclaimer: In justice, I LOVE the sound of my UA SOLO (when was not faulty).

 

[solderspongebob]

Hi there,

I did a quick Google search of couriers and came up with this site:

http://www.wedelivertheworld.co.uk/quote/index.php

I don't know your whereabouts in Spain, but I put an English postcode in and got these results (in GBP):

May be of some help?

Under UK consumer law, the seller is responsible for the cost of returning a unit to them under warranty. May be worth checking the EU consumer law that covers Spain, as it may be the same.

 

[zebra50]

Those all look like next day international services - no wonder they are so expensive!

 

[abbey road d enfer]

It looks like yout input transformer and/or related circuitry is suddenly picking hum. It would be interesting to know if hum is still present with a condenser mic.
It may be due to one of the following reasons:
Strong magnetic field: maybe you moved or installed another piece of gear close to your preamp or the input cables. You mention a power conditioner; very often these are generating lots of EMI.
Electrostatic screen defect: this may happen if the connection of the transformer case or screen to the ground has failed. I would check the transformer mountings and related connections.
I reckon fixing the hum is within the competence of a good audio tech; I have no doubt you can find one in Spain.

 

[miquel]

You are not alone...

Miquel

 

[martini]

...Under UK consumer law, the seller is responsible for the cost of returning a unit to them under warranty....

Oh ! Oh !... Thanks It's a very very important subtle, but the seller it's a nice people, really. I don't like to force an
absurd, abusive overcost for any manufacturer rigid and uncompromising position for avoid provide little information: trafo supply (paying), ground tests, checkpoints, etc.

About the "one day shipping" its little strange, the one week shiping is only 15€ less and its' not an available option with insurance (see attach).

Years ago I use DHL to send some items to Russia, deep Russia not Moscow (very hard to find a reliable courier years ago, and was fast and trust service) and do not cost even a tenth of what it costs me now send the 610, maybe the size of the package, maybe combination of insurance & size, I don't know.

With standard, one week, and without insurance, them said: "Actual weight 2kgs, volumetric weight is applied" and add between 1Kgs-2Kgs more, Why?.

TNT, helpful information, I will search & ask to TNT.

I found and I ask rates: UPS, DHL, SEUR and few local couriers with EU partners: Chronoexpress, Tourline, etc.

#Miquel, pm sent   "qué pequeño es el mundo" (The world is a little thing)

In any case, this is a waste of time and money for everyone. UA also tells me that if I send it for repair will take a long time. The last straw! is as simple as clicking a multimeter in some places to look for voltages, trafo, dirty DC,  incorrect values ​​on components, etc etc. There are 10 electrolytic, 12 WIMA (1 euro the more expensive) 20 resistors. My $5 FM radio is more complex to trace - and impossible to repair  -.

From this experience and also have known overprices on repair quotes, also asked on several sites, just to have a pro-audio look "yihaaa!! this has tubes", 100€ only for open", I prefer to take the DIY way for my gear.

 

[martini]

It looks like yout input transformer and/or related circuitry is suddenly picking hum. It would be interesting to know if hum is still present with a condenser mic.
It may be due to one of the following reasons:
Strong magnetic field: maybe you moved or installed another piece of gear close to your preamp or the input cables. You mention a power conditioner; very often these are generating lots of EMI.

Electrostatic screen defect: this may happen if the connection of the transformer case or screen to the ground has failed. I would check the transformer mountings and related connections.
I reckon fixing the hum is within the competence of a good audio tech; I have no doubt you can find one in Spain.

Hi abbey, I explain with little detail

Dynamic or condenser have the same hum, and only with the LO-Z switch, with HI-Z it's deadly quieter.
Other tests:
- dozens of cables, cheapest and more quality cables.
- ground pin1 of XLR
- with/without power conditioner.
- Lead to other home studios, including another city.
- Test with only UA, Interface and computer (20 meters away) lights, monitors, screens, fridge, everything, everything, power off and unplugged.
- power conditioner its a standalone version, 2 rooms away with dedicated path cables from/to gear, not rack.  I do not like rack version, by intuition, just of that you say about EMI
- no other gear on
- no other gear plugged
- test & change all plugs and wall plugs (desperated)
- Change the fuse
- Change power cable
- Change grid resistors with other and other values.
- Change tubes (NOS, News, Cheapest, Old jewels).
- Bypass knobs (One pot has trace of refurbish).
- Add some ground points to chassis/ground
- Test some resistors
- Test some capacitors.

Ever ever deadly quieter until you put on LO-Z 

Electrostatic screen defect: this may happen if the connection of the transformer case or screen to the ground has failed. I would check the transformer mountings and related connections.

Very interesting..... I will check

I reckon fixing the hum is within the competence of a good audio tech; I have no doubt you can find one in Spain.

In Spain,  experienced repairing Radio&TV experts retired time ago. Tube TV&Radio and audio experts ? far far time ago.  Audio repair experts, now it's a niche service, very very expensive,  only to see UA logo, put hundred of euros.  The same UA has said that the repair will be loooooong, damn marketing.

#miquel  Are a well considerated pro-audio expert in Spain, expert on UA, vintage, pro-audio and studio support/setup, interested in this case. We are interchanging private information to meet (thanks prodigy!!!).

 

[mitsos]

Electrostatic screen defect: this may happen if the connection of the transformer case or screen to the ground has failed. I would check the transformer mountings and related connections.

Very interesting..... I will check

The shields and can on the trafo are tied to pins 6 and 7 respectively. Pin one is where the dot it on the sticker. Pin 6/7 are the middle pins on the other side, and pin 7 is the one with the wire soldered to the case. Both should be grounded like Abbey said.

While fiddling around, it might be good to trace the input circuitry to see what happens when you flip that Hi/Lo-Z switch.

 

[dirtyhanfri]

Si estás en Madrid o alrededores puedes contactar con Pablo Kahayan, en Barcelona hay alguien bastante conocido, pero no caigo en el nombre ahora mismo, algo así como Matt Audio.
Lo que no sé es cómo saldra de precio.

If you are in Madrid or around, you could ask Pablo Kahayan, there´ s somebody in Barcelona wich name I can´ t remember right now, something like Matt Audio.
I don´t know about the price...

 

[martini]

#dirtyhanfri  Gracias, me pilla lejos, estoy en Gerona. No conocía al Sr. Pablo kandayan, pero veo que es reputadísimo y supongo que no querra dedicarle mucho tiempo a algo de poco dinero y mucha molestia.

Thanks #dirtyhanfri I am little far away from Madrid, I am near France frontier (Girona), but no problems to local courier, no more than 20€. But Mr. Pablo Kandayan I have seen that is a very prestigious pro-audio professional repair and I suspect it would cost more to repair than buying a new one. But also keep this information you have offered me.

Thanks to everybody !!

I was talking, a very loooonggg conversation, with #miquel, a really pro-audio electronic (I don't know how to translate) strong skills and hard expertise on tube new & classic equipment, is only a few hundred miles from my.  Very nice person and very.... merciful and tender about my blockade situation.  Has a very deep knowledge of Universal Audio products and  he has their own branded products for pro-studios, I said and remark "nice person" because he offers his disinterested only for displeasure with a neglec situation.

The offered to help me when has some free time, half of the summer, to diagnose the problem accurately and identify the exact faulty component.

In gratitude to the help of prodigy, when the issue will be solved, I'll put the information for helping future prodigiers with similar problems.

I began my DIY passion learning first with more simple things and this repair will be left in the hands of a specialist.

 

[Stagefright13]

Well this may or not solve your problem but I had 2 of them. And found one of the tube sockets to be a problem. I had to resolder it twice. And reinsert the tube a few times to get it alive again. If I remember correctly it was humming also. Worth a shot at any rate. Try pushing on the tubes and wiggling them while it is on and see if something happens.
But for god's sake don't touch anything but the glass and keep 1 hand behind your back. And wear gloves..,...

John

 

[pucho812]

so are you looking to repair it? or just diy one and use the chassis of the original one you have?  IF this is the 610 with vacuum tubes/valves, then there is not much in there that could be causing hum. I would suggest checking the PSU filter capacitors and tubes. They may need to be replaced.