500 euro stereo amplifier for q3020is - Lowest possible noise floor as I have sensitive ears.

[Alexander Seto]

Hi Everyone,

I bought the Q3020is and they sound amazing but they hiss so loudly with my cheap amps. I can hear it clearly 2m away. Even at Lowest gain.

I'm looking towards buying an amplifier that wouldnt cause any hiss or to the point where it's imperceptible. I heard emotiva bas x makes really great amplifiers with noise-floor around 110 but I'm unsure how I'd connect them to my computer.

Can someone recommend me an amplifier that I could connect to my Q3020i speakers and it wouldn't hiss? I have tinnitus and it drives me nuts. The speakers are on my desk so I'd be sitting to them quite closely.

Please help me out guys. And thanks for any help that you could give!.

The budget is half a thousand euros.

 

[abdo123]

hey!

What DAC are you using? because usually it's the combination of the two (with the DAC being more influential).

 

[FeddyLost]

Can someone recommend me an amplifier that I could connect to my Q3020i speakers and it wouldn't hiss?

It depends on your source.
Most probably you have some ground loop issues if you connect your amp directly to your PC analog out. It's very common problem.
I'd look at decent integrated amp with dac and toslink input. Galvanic isolation often helps.
Check out NAD C328/338 for example.

But I'd connect some battery powered source to your amp for experiment first. Like just phone. If it will not hiss, then PC as source is problem.
Otherwise more investigation will be required...

 

[tomtoo]

Very strange. This are realy no efficient speakers. Hiss should not be a problem.
Would be interesting if you could descripe your system more?

 

[Alexander Seto]

I own a gaming computer that I'm trying to connect these to, I use a Optical cable to connect them to the pc. The problem seems to be in the amplifiers tho as they speakers hiss without any sources connected to them

 

[Weeb Labs]

I would suggest something along the lines of the Hypex NC122MP in conjunction with any active or passive (potentiometer in a box) preamp. If you want something a little bit fancy for the latter, have a look at one of these NJW1194 units for a total of cost of €463.

 

[nemanja_t]

I am using Q Acoustics with TEAC AL301DA-X, nearfield. No hiss, fiss or something like that.

 

[Koeitje]

Like the others said I would also check the DAC. My IOTA surround processor has a noise floor that is much higher than my NC400 mono blocks. If I turn off my processor I can hear a clear decrease in his from my M106 loudspeakers. I can't hear either at my listening position, because I listen far field. But I can imagine that if they were on my desk I might pick it up.

 

[Jim Matthews]

(It might not be the gear, producing high frequency noise.)


Not for nothing, but some of us hear a high "hash" sound in relative silence.

For me, it's tinnitus. For many, it's the sound of your own nervous system.

https://www.wired.com/2015/05/big-question-can-silence-make-hear-things-arent/

 

[Trouble Maker]

Check out NAD C328/338 for example.

I have the 338 and really like it for the fact that it has CCA (ChromeCast Audio) and other streaming services built in. I don't think this is as much help here. It's also probably not a great form factor for desktop application; typical audio device width and depth (wide and deepish) with quite short height. Probably the opposite will work better for most desktop situations. I think it was a little over $500 refurbished, so probably easy for 500 euros on the side of the pond it's designed? Is the 328 same as the 338 without the WiFi/streaming? If going this route the save the $ and go 328 since it'll be connected to a PC. But honestly for me without the streaming built into 1 cohesive integrated (amp) package the value proposition seems lacking here. At least on the C338 the sub out frequency is fixed @ 100hz and from my memory it's almost impossible to determine if it even high passes the mains by any specs or documentation. I wasn't planning to us a sub here so no harm no foul, but it seems like a miss.

For NAD products the Dxxxx series seem more interesting for this application if they are good.

I imagine the NC122MP or 252 if in budget w/passive pre-amp would work better all of the way around here. It's a shame someone at the price points and what seems like high build quality of Buckeye Amps isn't building Hypex based amps in the EU somewhere.

 

[Alexander Seto]

Yeah, I have tinnitus so I stopped using headphones as everyone told me they are damaging even at lower volumes due to the fact the speakers are so close to the ears.

I switched to the passive speaker system but trying really hard to find a good amplifier that will not make the speakers hiss. I ordered a quad vena 2 amplifier as I heard it was good and it has a noise to signal ratio of 110.

 

[tomtoo]

Something has to be wrong. Disconnect the source from the amp. Go full gain. Do you hear hiss?

 

[abdo123]

(It might not be the gear, producing high frequency noise.)


Not for nothing, but some of us hear a high "hash" sound in relative silence.

For me, it's tinnitus. For many, it's the sound of your own nervous system.

https://www.wired.com/2015/05/big-question-can-silence-make-hear-things-arent/

it would be really easy to tell if that's the case, just turn off the amplifier.

 

[abdo123]

@Alexander Seto

why not buy a Hypex NC252 from Audiophonics.fr ?

 

[abdo123]

@Alexander Seto

For RCA inputs https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/powe...reo-amplifier-ncore-2x250w-4-ohm-p-14185.html

For XLR inputs https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/powe...reo-amplifier-ncore-2x250w-4-ohm-p-14185.html

 

[skunkybiker]

I agree, there is something wrong with the current setup, or the ears/brain. I have a few amps around the house, all class AB except for a NAD c338 Class D. Even the 45-year old Superscope A-260 amp I am listening to now on a pair of MA Silver 100 speakers has no audible hiss at normal volumes unless the source brings it to the party. The c338 is particularly quiet at louder volumes, but none of the others pose a hiss problem. And I have what I consider mild tinnitus but turning on my amps does not make it worse.

 

[anphex]

It might not do much but also doesn't do any arm: check your cable paths and keep the + and - cables very close together up to the terminals. Maybe even twist them if it's possible if you pass close to other devices and cables.

Then again if the hiss is evenly distributed at both speakers and has about the same sound it's probably a bad ground on your amp. May you have a ground lift switch somewhere on the case of the amp?

 

[abdo123]

I agree, there is something wrong with the current setup, or the ears/brain. I have a few amps around the house, all class AB except for a NAD c338 Class D. Even the 45-year old Superscope A-260 amp I am listening to now on a pair of MA Silver 100 speakers has no audible hiss at normal volumes unless the source brings it to the party. The c338 is particularly quiet at louder volumes, but none of the others pose a hiss problem. And I have what I consider mild tinnitus but turning on my amps does not make it worse.

things are more dramatic when the tweeter is less than a meter away from your ear. some people are sensitive.

 

[JayGilb]

I own a gaming computer that I'm trying to connect these to, I use a Optical cable to connect them to the pc. The problem seems to be in the amplifiers tho as they speakers hiss without any sources connected to them

It might be easier to help debug your problem if we knew the brand/model of the amplifiers you are using ?

 

[skunkybiker]

things are more dramatic when the tweeter is less than a meter away from your ear. some people are sensitive.

I guess so. I have tried multiple amps and speakers and DACs on my near-field home office setup. Hiss has never been the problem I was trying to solve. Currently the NAD and Wharfedale Diamond 225 combo sound pretty good.