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#1
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speaker hiss
When I don't have anything playing and just a bit of volume I can hear
a hiss from my speakers. But thats only if i put my ear up to it(2 inches away). But its more evident if I have the volume up to max. Then I can hear it. Its not extrememly loud but its there. Is that normal on all speakers? Or do I need to get better connectors for the speaker wire? Now to reiterate I don't have anything playing. just turining the volume knob. What do you think? Is there a problem? thanks for your time. |
#2
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DOA wrote:
When I don't have anything playing and just a bit of volume I can hear a hiss from my speakers. But thats only if i put my ear up to it(2 inches away). But its more evident if I have the volume up to max. Then I can hear it. Its not extrememly loud but its there. Is that normal on all speakers? Or do I need to get better connectors for the speaker wire? Now to reiterate I don't have anything playing. just turining the volume knob. What do you think? Is there a problem? thanks for your time. It is normal to hear some hiss or even hum from speakers, when you go very close. As long as you don't hear anything at the listening position. When you move so close to the dome tweeter, the Sound Pressure is 64 times as high (+36dB). If the gain control is set to the loudest position where you hear music, and the loudest levels at your listening position is 90dB SPL, then the noise of the amplifier is usually just noticable in silence. It will be masked anyway with music playing, so this is the maximal allowable hiss. -- ciao Ban Bordighera, Italy |
#3
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DOA wrote:
When I don't have anything playing and just a bit of volume I can hear a hiss from my speakers. But thats only if i put my ear up to it(2 inches away). But its more evident if I have the volume up to max. Then I can hear it. Its not extrememly loud but its there. Is that normal on all speakers? It's not the speakers, it's the amplifier that is the source of the hiss. Speakers are not capable of producing sound on their own. Obviously, I realise that the hiss is *emanating* from the speakers, but they are just reproducing the signal from the amplifier. Yes, it is normal. All electronic equipment has some level of noise inherent in it - passing a "clean" current through a resistor adds noise. Well-designed equipment has less noise than average, but it's still there. Your amplifier has some electronics "upstream" from the volume control, and if you have e.g. an idle CD player connected and selected, that will also be contributing. The noise from that circuitry will be amplified as you turn the knob up - that is what you are hearing. If you were actually playing music at full volume, you wouldn't hear the hiss... Or do I need to get better connectors for the speaker wire? Ho ho. Please don't ask that question in most shops, or you'll come away much poorer, to no benefit. Let me re-iterate - the noise is coming from the amplifier. Now to reiterate I don't have anything playing. just turining the volume knob. What do you think? Is there a problem? thanks for your time. No problem. Different equipment (I'm talking boxes with knobs, not speakers or cables) may give you more or less hiss, but unless it's obstrusive and noticeable in normal listening, I wouldn't worry about it. -- Mark. http://tranchant.plus.com/ |
#4
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Relax. All electronic devices make some noise and, as long as it
cannot be heard at the listening position, it is probably normal. It ain't the speakers, btw. Kal On 20 Jan 2005 04:22:08 GMT, "DOA" wrote: When I don't have anything playing and just a bit of volume I can hear a hiss from my speakers. But thats only if i put my ear up to it(2 inches away). But its more evident if I have the volume up to max. Then I can hear it. Its not extrememly loud but its there. Is that normal on all speakers? Or do I need to get better connectors for the speaker wire? Now to reiterate I don't have anything playing. just turining the volume knob. What do you think? Is there a problem? thanks for your time. |
#5
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No problems. Most amplifiers will have some residual noise. Connectors
won't help. -Bill www.uptownaudio.com Roanoke VA (540) 343-1250 "DOA" wrote in message ... When I don't have anything playing and just a bit of volume I can hear a hiss from my speakers. But thats only if i put my ear up to it(2 inches away). But its more evident if I have the volume up to max. Then I can hear it. Its not extrememly loud but its there. Is that normal on all speakers? Or do I need to get better connectors for the speaker wire? Now to reiterate I don't have anything playing. just turining the volume knob. What do you think? Is there a problem? thanks for your time. |
#6
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It originates in the electronics used, not in the speakers. It might be
the sum of all this type of noise in all the equipment. It is being generated regardless of amp level and is the background noise level for the system. One other source of such noise is a fm tuner where the noise is in the signal as it comes to it, if it is not there on fm it is gear noise. When I don't have anything playing and just a bit of volume I can hear a hiss from my speakers. But thats only if i put my ear up to it(2 inches away). But its more evident if I have the volume up to max. Then I can hear it. Its not extrememly loud but its there. Is that normal on all speakers? Or do I need to get better connectors for the speaker wire? Now to reiterate I don't have anything playing. just turining the volume knob. What do you think? Is there a problem? thanks for your time. |
#7
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DOA wrote:
When I don't have anything playing and just a bit of volume I can hear a hiss from my speakers. But thats only if i put my ear up to it(2 inches away). But its more evident if I have the volume up to max. Then I can hear it. Its not extrememly loud but its there. Is that normal on all speakers? Or do I need to get better connectors for the speaker wire? Now to reiterate I don't have anything playing. just turining the volume knob. What do you think? Is there a problem? thanks for your time. It's not the speakers that are causing that, it's the amplifier. You're hearing the switiching distortion associated with Class A-B amplifiers. The switiching distortion is usually very small when compared to the audio signal. If you had a Class A amplifier connected to your speakers you would here nothing at all, even at full volume. Class A design virtually eliminates switching distortion. The drawback to class A is that amps of that design consume alot of power and generate alot of heat. Nothing to worry about. It's normal. CD |
#8
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Codifus wrote:
DOA wrote: When I don't have anything playing and just a bit of volume I can hear a hiss from my speakers. But thats only if i put my ear up to it(2 inches away). But its more evident if I have the volume up to max. Then I can hear it. Its not extrememly loud but its there. Is that normal on all speakers? Or do I need to get better connectors for the speaker wire? Now to reiterate I don't have anything playing. just turining the volume knob. What do you think? Is there a problem? thanks for your time. It's not the speakers that are causing that, it's the amplifier. You're hearing the switiching distortion associated with Class A-B amplifiers. The switiching distortion is usually very small when compared to the audio signal. If you had a Class A amplifier connected to your speakers you would here nothing at all, even at full volume. Class A design virtually eliminates switching distortion. The drawback to class A is that amps of that design consume alot of power and generate alot of heat. Nothing to worry about. It's normal. CD No, it is not switching distortion that you are hearing! It is definitely not an issue of whether it is a class A or class AB amp. If the hiss level changes with the volume control, then the majority of the noise is coming from electronics prior to the volume control: the preamp buffers, and sources such as CD players, phono preamps, etc. If the hiss goes away when the volume control is at low settings, then the noise is most likely not coming from the power amp. The OP can find out more about the noise origin by selecting different sources, or by shorting inputs to ground. Or by disconnecting the preamp from the power amp. If he can provide information on the power amp and the preamp, it might help. By the way, the hiss is louder if the speakers have higher sensitivity. But if the noise cannot be heard at the listening position, at normal listening levels, then it should not be a problem. |
#9
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i didn't see what kind of equipment you have for your system. being a
poor boy i've had to try to satisfy my champagne appetite with my beer budget. what i did is buy pre-owned klipschorns which most here will tell you are very efficient loudspeakers and will pretty much show up any flaws you have in a system. the problem i encountered immediately was the amount of hiss i got from the lesser quality reciever i was trying to use. i hate background hiss and noise. after shopping around i found some integrated components that filled my need. bought at crutchfield they are proton integrated amplifier and tuner. unfortunately the amplifier developed an annoying habit of dropping out the right channel after a couple hours continuous use. i bought another of the same model and after about a year's use it developed the same problem, finally getting to the point where it would drop out after only an hour or so. the only thing i could say for the unit is it was nice and quiet compared to what i had before. i knew it was time to look for another amp, however. after asking around and doing some research i settled on an NAD c320bee. the klipschorns dont need much power to drive them. the amplifier is rated at 50 w.p.c. and i rarely get to crank the volume control past the 1st or 2nd notch. best of all i dont hear any hiss from them unless the volume is all the way up and i'm putting my ear to the tweeter. so now i'm still using the proton tuner, no pre-amp, a sony tape deck and a pioneer cd player. audiophile quality? hardly but i've been told the system sounds better than any that my friends have. and it does the trick for me. |
#10
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On 21 Jan 2005 01:06:15 GMT, Codifus wrote:
DOA wrote: When I don't have anything playing and just a bit of volume I can hear a hiss from my speakers. But thats only if i put my ear up to it(2 inches away). But its more evident if I have the volume up to max. Then I can hear it. Its not extrememly loud but its there. Is that normal on all speakers? Or do I need to get better connectors for the speaker wire? Now to reiterate I don't have anything playing. just turining the volume knob. What do you think? Is there a problem? thanks for your time. It's not the speakers that are causing that, it's the amplifier. You're hearing the switiching distortion associated with Class A-B amplifiers. No. Class AB output transistors remain on with low amplitude signals. Switching only occurs with loud signals (How loud depend on the biasing of the output stage) Also, this is noise, not distortion. The noise that is heard is the sum of all noise sources in the signal chain. The reason it becomes louder when the volume goes up is that by doing that the noise before the volume control stage dominates. The noise when the volume is fully off is primarily from the power amp, but also some from the pre-amp output stage. The source of the noise likely mostly thermal and shot noise. Obviously as long as you must be within 5 cm from the speakers to hear it it is not a problem. Wires are definetly a red herring. The switiching distortion is usually very small when compared to the audio signal. If you had a Class A amplifier connected to your speakers you would here nothing at all, even at full volume. Class A design virtually eliminates switching distortion. The drawback to class A is that amps of that design consume alot of power and generate alot of heat. Actually if the noise is primarily thermal noise it will increase if the device is hotter. Not that a class A design is neccecarily hotter than a comparable AB design, it just generates more heat as you say. (Those that are confused by this need to review their thermodynamics :-) Nothing to worry about. It's normal. Agreed. CD -- They both savoured the strange warm glow of being much more ignorant than ordinary people, who were only ignorant of ordinary things. -- Discworld scientists at work (Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites) |
#11
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Well to answer some of previous questions about what I own. I don't
have a high end reciever. I have your run of the mill under 300 dollar Sony Reciever STRDE695. My Speakers on the other hand are from Gallo Acoustics. I own 2 Nucleus micros that I'm going to use as surround speakers. I been running them in two channel mode just to see how they sound with the MPS150 subwoofer that I purchased as well. And they sound well matched with that combination. I own some old bose Speakers which I am in the process of getting rid of and I thinking of buying more Gallo Acoustic speakers. Thats when I began hearing the speaker hiss I didn't notice it on my old Bose speakers and with my parnoia of buying these Gallo speakers off of ebay set in and I thought something was wrong. But after futher investigation in last couple of days I noticed the bose speakers make a simular sound as well. But do agree with everything that has been discussed on this topic. I plan on buying more Gallo Acoustic speakers. I don't know about buying more Gallo satellite speakers but I do like there product they call the Due and I really like there Reference 3 speakers. I'll have to think about all of it still I guess after all of this I would probably need a new Reciever as well. Thank you for all the responses. |
#12
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DOA wrote:
I own some old bose Speakers which I am in the process of getting rid of and I thinking of buying more Gallo Acoustic speakers. Thats when I began hearing the speaker hiss I didn't notice it on my old Bose speakers and with my parnoia of buying these Gallo speakers off of ebay set in and I thought something was wrong. Well, hiss is mostly high frequency energy, and you know the old saying, "No highs, no lows, must be BOSE=AE!" G |
#13
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Chung wrote:
Codifus wrote: DOA wrote: When I don't have anything playing and just a bit of volume I can hear a hiss from my speakers. But thats only if i put my ear up to it(2 inches away). But its more evident if I have the volume up to max. Then I can hear it. Its not extrememly loud but its there. Is that normal on all speakers? Or do I need to get better connectors for the speaker wire? Now to reiterate I don't have anything playing. just turining the volume knob. What do you think? Is there a problem? thanks for your time. It's not the speakers that are causing that, it's the amplifier. You're hearing the switiching distortion associated with Class A-B amplifiers. The switiching distortion is usually very small when compared to the audio signal. If you had a Class A amplifier connected to your speakers you would here nothing at all, even at full volume. Class A design virtually eliminates switching distortion. The drawback to class A is that amps of that design consume alot of power and generate alot of heat. Nothing to worry about. It's normal. CD No, it is not switching distortion that you are hearing! It is definitely not an issue of whether it is a class A or class AB amp. If the hiss level changes with the volume control, then the majority of the noise is coming from electronics prior to the volume control: the preamp buffers, and sources such as CD players, phono preamps, etc. If the hiss goes away when the volume control is at low settings, then the noise is most likely not coming from the power amp. The OP can find out more about the noise origin by selecting different sources, or by shorting inputs to ground. Or by disconnecting the preamp from the power amp. If he can provide information on the power amp and the preamp, it might help. By the way, the hiss is louder if the speakers have higher sensitivity. But if the noise cannot be heard at the listening position, at normal listening levels, then it should not be a problem. I'm not an engineer but my experiecnce has been that Class A amps are *dead* silent no matter what the volume. Class AB amps have a bit of noise, noise that is still much much lower than any muscial signal, but there nonetheless. And it's most noticeable by hearing it in the tweeters when very close to them, as the OP was. CD |
#14
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Codifus wrote:
Chung wrote: Codifus wrote: DOA wrote: When I don't have anything playing and just a bit of volume I can hear a hiss from my speakers. But thats only if i put my ear up to it(2 inches away). But its more evident if I have the volume up to max. Then I can hear it. Its not extrememly loud but its there. Is that normal on all speakers? Or do I need to get better connectors for the speaker wire? Now to reiterate I don't have anything playing. just turining the volume knob. What do you think? Is there a problem? thanks for your time. It's not the speakers that are causing that, it's the amplifier. You're hearing the switiching distortion associated with Class A-B amplifiers. The switiching distortion is usually very small when compared to the audio signal. If you had a Class A amplifier connected to your speakers you would here nothing at all, even at full volume. Class A design virtually eliminates switching distortion. The drawback to class A is that amps of that design consume alot of power and generate alot of heat. Nothing to worry about. It's normal. CD No, it is not switching distortion that you are hearing! It is definitely not an issue of whether it is a class A or class AB amp. If the hiss level changes with the volume control, then the majority of the noise is coming from electronics prior to the volume control: the preamp buffers, and sources such as CD players, phono preamps, etc. If the hiss goes away when the volume control is at low settings, then the noise is most likely not coming from the power amp. The OP can find out more about the noise origin by selecting different sources, or by shorting inputs to ground. Or by disconnecting the preamp from the power amp. If he can provide information on the power amp and the preamp, it might help. By the way, the hiss is louder if the speakers have higher sensitivity. But if the noise cannot be heard at the listening position, at normal listening levels, then it should not be a problem. I'm not an engineer but my experiecnce has been that Class A amps are *dead* silent no matter what the volume. Class AB amps have a bit of noise, noise that is still much much lower than any muscial signal, but there nonetheless. And it's most noticeable by hearing it in the tweeters when very close to them, as the OP was. CD No, there are Class A amps with noticeable hum and hiss, and there are Class A-B amps that are close to dead quiet. It depends on things like how much gain there is, how efficient the speakers are, and most importantly, how well designed the amplifier is. This is something that is easily measurable on the bench, and there is simply no evidence, or reason, why Class-A amps are quieter. Of course, a particular amplifer, whether Class-A or AB, may be noisier than another, but that is not due to the class of operation, but implementation. The hiss is mostly coming from electronic stages *prior* to the power amp anyway, if the volume control setting affects the amount of hiss. |
#15
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Codifus wrote:
I'm not an engineer but my experiecnce has been that Class A amps are *dead* silent no matter what the volume. Class AB amps have a bit of noise, noise that is still much much lower than any muscial signal, but there nonetheless. And it's most noticeable by hearing it in the tweeters when very close to them, as the OP was. Class of operation has nothing in itself to do with the noise level. Class A has to do with the quescient current in the active devices set high enough that they are conducting with said current throughout the entire signal waveform. For example, I had a class AB amp that had adjustments for the output stage quescient current, and when one moved it into class A, the noise actually increased, because the extra current draw caused increased ripple in the power supply that leaked through into the stages that had low power supply rejection. That was due to design oversight elsewhere, not because of class A operation. The 120 Hz hum was still there when it was operating in class AB, just lower in level. |
#16
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"chung" wrote in message
... snipped No, there are Class A amps with noticeable hum and hiss, and there are Class A-B amps that are close to dead quiet. It depends on things like how much gain there is, how efficient the speakers are, and most importantly, how well designed the amplifier is. snipped The hiss is mostly coming from electronic stages *prior* to the power amp anyway, if the volume control setting affects the amount of hiss. Chung, my experience would agree with you on this. One amp I have is dead quiet while the other, hooked to the same equipment and speakers, hums. The second one which hums is designed by a well known engineer who uses high gain as part of his magic in making his amps "musical". Once the music starts, the hum disappears. John |
#17
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Gene Poon wrote:
DOA wrote: I own some old bose Speakers which I am in the process of getting rid of and I thinking of buying more Gallo Acoustic speakers. Thats when I began hearing the speaker hiss I didn't notice it on my old Bose speakers and with my parnoia of buying these Gallo speakers off of ebay set in and I thought something was wrong. Well, hiss is mostly high frequency energy No, it's not. Most of the generators of noise in this context have a distribution akin to "white", which has a frequency distribution that is the same per net constant bandwidth, independent of center frequency. That is, the amount of energy in a 1 kHz band at lower frequencies (e.g. 0 to 1 kHz) is the same as a 1 kHz band at higher frequencies (e.g. 10kHz to 11 kHz). You might counter with the correct statement that an OCTAVE of noise at high frequencies has more energy than on OCTAVE of noise at low frequencies, but that's simply because the octave itself has more total bandwidth at high frequencies than at low. For example, an octave centered around 10 kHz extends from about 7100 Hz to over 14 kHz, a bandwidth of 7100 Hz, while an octave at 100 Hz extends from only 71 to about 141 Hz, only 70 Hz wide. |
#18
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