Nord User Forum

I thought you might be interested to see the response when I contacted Nord technical support about the issue. I think I was speaking with someone at their UK distributor, Headline Audio. Here's my questions and the responses:

Thanks, is there any way you can inform me what amount of humm is expected from the instrument?

It shouldn't be intrusive, however there may be some hum when very close to the power supply.

I've spoken to other users and it seems a certain amount of power supply humm is normal with all Nord keyboards (link to this thread)

Some comments here are inaccurate, a prime example is the OLED inverter. There is no such thing, inverters were used for older LCD fluorescent flat panels. The NS4 uses a conventional transformer but excessive noise is extremely rare as they are “potted” in a resin that virtually eliminates mechanical noise. It may be that the power board PCB is slightly loose but without checking can’t be certain.

How do I know if my keyboard is experiencing the expected amount of power supply noise, or if it's worse than it should be?

By comparing side by side with another keyboard. Also consider some people may be more sensitive to unexpected noise or the environment is far quieter, their stand/desk they are using is absorbing or amplifying this type of noise.

(I told him in a further response that I had tried comparing with a Novation Summit, and heard no noise whatsoever)

It would be annoying to go through the hassle of a return with the supplier, only to receive another keyboard with the indentical amount of noise.

I understand, but you have to judge if the hum is significant enough to be a problem. The fact we are having the conversation suggests it needs to be checked given the grade of the product.

Based on his responses and the fact that the noise is still annoying me, I've asked Gear4Music for a replacement. If the replacement doesn't have the noise issue, then happy days! If it does, then at least I'll know it's to be expected. I like the NS4 so much that I'm prepared to deal with the annoyance once I've exhausted the possibility that a replacement might be better!

(Since I last posted, I tried picking up/pressing on certain parts of the board. I noticed that the noise is alleviated if I lift the keyboard up off the stand with my arms supporting the board near the center. Hopefully it's a power supply module that's not quite screwed down as suggested by the rep, and by another user in this thread).

Hi OP

Did you get a replacement? If so, how is the new unit? Still buzzing? I just bought a Stage 4 with the same problem, so I too am thinking about asking for a replacement.