I just installed my Empeg a week ago, and i't great so far. Everything I dreamed about .. even before installation, I was noticing some static on the rear left channel (4 channel Kicker ZX460 amp, 4 boston acoustics 6 1/2s on 2 channels, 2 JL subs on the other) the static comes and goes, and is only noticable during ambient parts of the music (so i guess if i listened to death metal i wouldn't be able to notice). Thinking i'd get crafty, I swapped the RCAs from front to back hoping it was just that one channel, but I can tell now that it's both left channels. I've been so damn busy i haven't had a chance to get in the car and swap right/left to see if it persists, but I figured I'd ask if it's possible for wiring to cause the static, because it's really bothering me. I hope it's the wiring that's a cheaper replacement.
The amp's supposed to have a 3 year warranty, but if i'm not mistaken, it's been right around 3 years since I purchased it. *sigh* I wonder if Stillwater will repair it... if so, I don't really feel like replacing it considering the stereo in my car is about to surpass the blue book of the vehicle itself. (ghetto fabulous! :P)

oh, and the EQ has breathed new life into the sound. I love it.

Ok, before you go ripping out wiring or amps in search of the cause you should eliminate the empeg as a possible cause.

An eq bug recently came to light whereby if you have the L and R channels 'locked', the player gets it wrong, and the channels end up with different frequency and q values. It is apparantly fixed in the next release. So, if you created your eq with the channel lock on then your settings could be inconsistent between L and R. If you had channel lock off, then L and R will be correct to whatever you set them to.

So, try selecting one of the flat unmodified eqs, and see if you still hear the 'static'. If you don't, try to recreate your chosen eq with the channel-lock turned off. Swapping left/right is also a good diagnostic idea (as you have already realised.)

I noticed this problem before installing my Empeg, but at the time I thought it was just one channel. So i permenantly swapped front/back RCAs so it wouldn't come out my mid/highs any more but to my subs (out of sight, out of mind? heh) It seemed to go away, and then now I noticed it this morning pulling into the parking lot. I will however, check that out, It could be both things for all I know.

I already e-mailed Stillwater on seeing as to getting the amp serviced if it is in fact the amp (I think so..) but damnit, now I'm starting to consider just buying a new amp to replace it, which i was trying to avoid in the first place If so, I'd need to find a solid 4 channel amp that can handle the load like I'm running now:

4 >60hz mid/highs on 2 channels
2 <60hz JL 12"s bridged on the other 2 channels

this amp is 35 watts RMS x 4 normally, I've never learned how the whole resistance with bridging and running speakers in parallel effects the wattage. Wish I knew about that stuff, this will be important in finding a replacement amp if this is the case.

Thanks for the help!

The EQ bug you're describing, Genixia, only happens when you hand-modify the Q parameter for a single band in L/R locked mode.

And Shadow45, make sure you narrow down whether it's the head/wiring or the amp by swapping left for right (RCAs at the amp) and seeing if the static moves to the other side. If the static does not move to the other side, then it's the amp needing to be replaced.

Ok, I wasn't sure as to the exact condition for causing that bug, only that I'd seen it whilst playing with the tone control code. That explains how it went un-noticed for so long. So Shadow45, unless you hand tweaked any Q parameters in your eq whilst the channels were locked, the eq section is not to blame!

Well, of course it's easy enough to swap cables at the amp and find out if it moves with the cables or stays off the left channel.

My next step would be to swap the speaker leads coming out of the amp. If it follows the amp leads, it's the amp. If it stays on the left side, it could be the speaker itself.

Obvious stuff I guess, just make sure you eliminate all other possible causes. However, I can easily believe it's the amp. I have had two of these in the past. One was fixed by Phoenix Gold - it was actually out of warranty but they didn't ask - I mailed it to them... The other I paid to fix (Rockford Fosgate, also out of warranty) at a local electronics shop (Not sure what RF would have done but I didn't try).

Good luck, may it only be a loose connection!