TA-22 Crackling after it warms up

Equipment / Electronics / Gear / Accessories DACs
1

When I turn on my PC and my TA-22 starts to warm up, the audio starts to get really crackly and poppy. As it continues to warm up it gets worse and worse until it’s basically unusable. I switched out my tubes for brand new ones; same issue. It just continues to get worse and worse.

I replaced the plugs, tried my headphones on other audio sources to make sure it wasn’t my Aryas, tried it on a different PC… it’s the TA-22. But I don’t know what to do. I’ve never dealt with this before.

It only sounds bad after it’s warmed up and has been going for 5-10 minutes. It’s not the wires, it’s not the tubes, it’s not the headphones and it’s not the PC, as I’ve switched them all and it’s still an issue.

What can I do? I’m at a loss here. Is there something wrong with the unit itself?

2

I presume you’re connecting with USB? Have you swapped the USB cable?

Massively dropped packets over USB can sound like crackling. As the components warm up the drops could increase.

Process of elimination is your friend. One change at a time!

I don’t know the TA-22 but see that it’s an inexpensive tube amp. The magic smoke may have exited stage left…