Thanks everybody for the responses, except for the pope one? I have tried turning the volume down to zero and turning it on, same thing. I have also turned it on with the selector button set to no component at all, same thing. I had called Mcintosh and spoke to Joe there and he said that it could make a noise on start up. But that it is not the way it should be. He said that the filter caps could be of uneven capacitance and as they even out, the pop could result from that. Although he never said that it needed repair, and that I should listen to others and see if they make the same noise. I also asked could it be another of my set-up, Joe said no. What?, I had hoped for a firm answer, either yes it is broken or no it is not. My retailer said he never really paid attention to the one on the floor. He said he would listen to one he has on display and call me back, he has not. To say the least $4600.00 later, I am less than happy! Is this the legendary Mcintosh service, is this typical of other retailers around the world?