Samsung PN59D8000 plasma tv buzzing noise

Nearly all plasmas buzz (although I don't heard it on either of my current ones) some are just louder than others. It can also depend on where you sit, how far the TV is from the wall, and whether it is wall mounted or not. If it is annoying to you return it for another one and maybe it will be quieter.

Usually it is so quiet you don't notice, especially with the volume at normal levels and at a normal viewing distance. I had an old plasma that it had a faint buzz but like I said before my two current ones do not or at least I can't hear them even when I try and get close. Both have been wall mounted from day one though so that could make a difference. If you search around this forum you will see plenty of threads about buzzing so it is rather common on plasmas, most are not audible.

I just got one of these yesterday, haven't noticed buzzing or anything.

my only problem is no audio when using the breakout cable with yellow, white and red. did you run into this problem?

To those of you that own this TV, What is the wall mounting bracket distance on this TV (meaning the distance from the left to the right on the back of the TV where you would put the brackets for mounting)? I'm looking at purchasing and need to know if i can re-use my current mount

Thanks

Just purchased and received Samsung PN59D550 Plasma from bestbuy.ca with an August 2011 build date and the buzzing is horrible. I hope to get a few exchanged hoping to reduce/eliminate the buzzing.

All plasmas do buzz, regardless of brand. My Samsung is almost 3 years old, and the noise is only noticeable if I stand close to it. It has been that way since day one.
I do have mine mounted on a stand, not on the wall. Having it mounted to a wall, close to corner, in an alcove, etc. might make the noise worse.

Abnormally loud buzzing is a defect that only affects a small percentage of units so those people obviously did not receive a defective TV. While it's true that all Plasma TVs buzz, it should not be audible beyond 3-4 feet from the TV in a quiet room. If it can be heard from a normal viewing distance (like 6 feet or more) then the TV is defective.


Of course it does. There are more than a few threads here about Samsung buzzing. Last year people were returning these TVs a lot because of excessively loud buzzing and most of the replacement TVs were much quieter. Some people had to exchange it 3-4 times before they got a good one. There seems to be a lot less complaints on Samsung's current models though. Just google Samsung Plasma Buzz.


The most common Samsung buzz comes from the plasma panel itself where the panel is defective and acts as a sort of "speaker", and the buzz is loudest when you're sitting dead center in front of the screen but gets quieter if you move off to one side. The other cause of buzzing is usually a bad electronic board in the rear of the TV - like a power supply or video board. This buzz is different than the panel buzz and can be heard everywhere in the room.

The bottom line is that if you get a Plasma TV that buzzes so loudly that it's bothersome at a normal viewing distance, then the TV is defective and should be exchanged if possible. Samsung usually claims that it's normal to be able to hear it even at 15 feet (which is bullcrap) and they usually won't warranty it.

I think their rule of thumb is actually something like 6-8ft back with the TV at a volume level of 15. If you can hear it over that, then it is covered. I could be wrong though, it's been a few months since I had to deal with that particular issue.

In the buzzing threads (and i've read them all) several owners who called to complain about the loud buzzing reported that they were told it's normal to hear it at 15 feet, and were denied warranty repair for it. It astounded me that they'd claim this and stick these poor folks with a buzzer. Amazon even stopped selling the affected Samsungs for a while because they were getting so many returns.

If they've changed it to 6-8 feet back then that's a recent change.

holy smokes, i sit 12ft back, and watch tv at a volume of 7 (PN59d6500, yes, i can hear the buzz), i couldn't imagine watching at a volume of 15 from the tv speakers, thats deafening.

sorry for bringing back this thread from the dead, first result that came up on my google search.

If you have flawless hearing I suspect all panasonic GT/VTs and Samsung plasmas D7/D8 buzzes audible from a distance of 3 metres during low volume passages in movies. That is the impression I got from listening in stores. When you get home and calibrate it for best picture rather then best economics it will become more significant.

It annoys a lot of people and a lot rma several times and either cave on the third replacement or get a LCD. I don´t know if the issue is due to slimming down the tvs to much. I haven´t noticed the buzzing on my brothers Kuro. You would think due to their power rating they should buzz more. There is a clear linkage to how hard I drive my D7005 and how much buzz it emitts.

I have 2 panny plasmas and no buzzing whatsoever. Just got the samsung pn64d70000 and the buzzing is driving me nuts from 7ft. I'm returning this thing on Tuesday.

I have a Zenith Plasma (LG) and there is no buzz. Appears to be a Samsung and occasionally Panasonic specialty. I have also heard that all plasmas may buzz at high altitude i.e. Denver etc.

My wife has experienced a buzzing sound periodically when turning on...Our problem is the sound goes off on all stations this has happened twice in the last 2 days...It appears to come back on after a period of time when it has been shut off...
TV is a Samsung 50" plasma model 8
Help please!

My 64D8000 buzzes but I can't hear it unless I am looking at the back of the TV.

I received our PN59D8000 yesterday to replace the PN51D8000 we lost to a Wiimote. This set has a buzzing that was not present in the PN51 set we had. That PN51 set had an electric hum if you had your head up to the back of it but no other sound. This one has a distinct static like buzz that is very audible from the couch 13 ft away. I When viewing at low volume last night, the buzz was very obvious. The comments noted above from Samsung are ridiculous.

Curious if I should return this set (free shipping back to Amazon (prime) ) to get another set? Does this buzzing 'go away' after a while? Returning to swap for another set sounds like the best bet at this point.

somegeek

I've had 3 64D7000's though Amazon. My first one buzzed at a low level, but was only really noticeable watching 3D with CS on during quieter scenes. It was easily tolerable. However This set had screen uniformity issues so I exchanged it.

My second 64D7000 buzzed like a bug zapper from the moment I powered it on. Regardless of content. Darker content seems to buzz more oddly. I went through all troubleshooting from Samsung sight and more. Tried the ferrite cores, power conditioner, cables, unplugging all my A/V gear and plugging into it's own circuit. Nothing made the buzzing go down. SO I exchange for another.

Now I get my third set and buzzes as loud if not louder than the second. So I decided to stop putting this burden on Amazon due to lack of Samsung QC and send the set back for a refund.

So I know there are Sammy's that don't buzz loud as my first one didn't. It just had some uniformity issues that in hindsight I would have probably lived with as the buzzing had a much more negative impact to enjoying the set. The PQ was just beautiful and really hated having to send it back.

Currently just using my Backup Sammy LCD from the bedroom until the 2012's become available. I've more or less disregarded Sammy after this annoyance but am not 100% turned off. Leaning heavy towards the 65VT50 though now

It is related to the slimming down. During the Kuro days, plasmas were thick and weighed a lot. One reason was because the old plasmas used 2 sheets of glass in front of the PDP panel, that dramatically attenuated any noise from the panel.

The obsession with slimmer and slimmer has affected plasmas, but it's absolutely ruined LCD picture quality. After I exchanged 2 buzzing PN64D7000s, I broke down and bought a UN60D7000 which had the worst uniformity I had ever seen in a TV, and then a Sharp 70LE733U which had hilariously terrible lip-sync issues and poor uniformity in brightly lit scenes. The Sharp didn't support RGB Full Range over HDMI either, I hadn't seen a TV in years which failed to provide that basic feature until I tried the Sharp.

I've given up on trying to score a great deal on a 2011 TV, because they all sucked. I'm hoping 2012 will be better.

New PN59D8000 owner here as of about a week ago via Amazon Prime. I've got the same buzzing sound. The best I can describe it is, on-axis, it sounds like an electrostatic speaker where the volume's been cranked up really high but there's currently no input signal. It replaced a six year old Pioneer PDP-507CMX 50" plasma. Obviously the old set was a good four or five inches thick, but except less than a foot away from it where sound coming from the back radiated off the wall, it made no appreciable noise.

With this 59D8k, if I'm exactly in front of it, I can hear the noise at least back as far as 20 feet. Going off-axis it gets much quieter, whether to the sides or below vertical center. I find the noise incredibly annoying but I don't want go go sending it back without knowing if this is normal for current generation sets or not. Mine shows a manufactured date of Jan 2012 so I'd have hoped the bugs would have been worked out by now.

Is Best Buy going to have examples of this set I could go compare to or would the background noise of the store be too loud? I'd like to go listen, and if it's not noisy like mine, get it replaced.

Or should I just refund and get the Panasonic VT30? I really liked the 59" size of the Samsung but I could go up to 65" VT30 if I had to; 55" version would be smaller than I want.

I have the 64D8000 and mine buzzes as well. The weird thing is I only hear it if I turn my head to the side so that my right ear is facing the TV directly. If I look at the screen I don't hear the buzz. I guess my right ear is just really sensitive.

I don't hear the buzz as long as there is audio playing but any time I pause a video or there is no audio it is noticeable. My couch is about 13 feet back from the TV, which is wall mounted.

How did you find out the build date of yours?

Build date is on the back. Return the tv. Our 59d550 has the same static buzz from the center of the screen. It is also a Jan build had the same issue with a dec build.

I have a very similar issue to this with my 64D8080. I sit about 14 feet from the TV and the buzzing volume varies depending on both my position relative to the front of the screen and the direction in which I turn my head. If I turn my head so one ear is facing the screen the buzzing is distinctly louder. If I look at the screen the buzzing is quieter but still annoying.

To clarify, my buzzing problem is of the 'low quality sound system turned up really loud with no music playing' variety.

I'm very disappointed with this. I'm considering swapping for a Panasonic.

Yep, that's what mine sounds like. It sounds like very low level electricity, like something is being lightly electrocuted.

I had a Geek Squad guy out last week and he said he couldn't hear anything. I requested a different tech and he's supposed to come out next week. Hopefully this guy isn't deaf like the other one.

I would not expect much. Best Buy is awful.

Maybe this is the reason why I never hear buzzing on my old Sony KDE-50XS955. The thing weight 130lbs without the stand. When i got ST30 "60 I noticed the buzzing right away.