Denon AVR-A1H

[Unplugged]

Same HDMI cable as with the new Denon?

Yes. However, I unplugged everything but the speaker cables and still saw the issue.

 

[ban25]

I guess this is a possibility. But is this expected? That the brand new, flagship receiver would have a hiss.

All amplifiers have some amount of noise. Your speakers are very high sensitivity, which is going to mean you'll hear some hiss, especially when close to the tweeter. Best option would be to replace your speakers with something a bit less sensitive. You could shell out for a very clean amplifier like the Benchmark AHB2 (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-and-measurements-of-benchmark-ahb2-amp.7628/), but all this will do is reduce the amount of hiss slightly.

Honestly, if you can't hear it when content is playing, I wouldn't worry.

 

[bo_knows]

That’s what I expected. Which is why I found that peculiar and out it in my comment.

It does get louder once I pass volume 85 or so. At which point I can hear it from my listening position.

But pretty much constant before then. At least to my ears.

Plug the headphones and without any input connected, turn the volume up.
How bad is this hiss/noise?
After that, do the same test with the older AVR and compare.
If the nose of A1H is way louder, I would assume something inside got loose during the shipping.

 

[Unplugged]

Plug the headphones and without any input connected, turn the volume up.
How bad is this hiss/noise?
After that, do the same test with the older AVR and compare.

Headphones ? I’ll give it a go.
Just curious what would this tell me. Say I do or don’t get a noise through the headphones ?

 

[bo_knows]

Headphones ? I’ll give it a go.
Just curious what would this tell me. Say I do or don’t get a noise through the headphones ?

I will make an assumption, that there is no dedicated headphone amp in these AVRs.
The output you will hear on the headphones will be coming from the output transistors (minus the resistors and another electronic component in the headphone circuit).
All you doing is trying to swap your high-sensitive speakers for some headphones and compare this with the other AVR. Depending on the sensitivity of your headphones, if the noise is much higher, then again, I would assume that some signal cable or wiring got loose inside and it's probably crossing or now close to the power supply.
If this is not the case, then this new reference AVR from Denon is POS (measurements and numbers contradict this), and if I were you, I would send it back and ask for a refund.

 

[peng]

That’s what I expected. Which is why I found that peculiar and out it in my comment.

It does get louder once I pass volume 85 or so. At which point I can hear it from my listening position.

But pretty much constant before then. At least to my ears.

Volume 85 is volume above 0 on the relative scale, so if you have very sensitive speakers, and ears, then I can understand why you can hear hiss from your seats.

Which Klipsh speakers do you have, what's the sensitivity?

 

[Unplugged]

Volume 85 is volume above 0 on the relative scale, so if you have very sensitive speakers, and ears, then I can understand why you can hear hiss from your seats.

Which Klipsh speakers do you have, what's the sensitivity?

R-625FA Dolby Atmos Floorstanding Speaker | Klipsch

Do more than watch a movie - be a part of it. Klipsch Dolby Atmos Reference R-625FA floorstanding speakers deliver immersive surround sound. Shop Now.

www.klipsch.com

 

[peng]

R-625FA Dolby Atmos Floorstanding Speaker | Klipsch

Do more than watch a movie - be a part of it. Klipsch Dolby Atmos Reference R-625FA floorstanding speakers deliver immersive surround sound. Shop Now.

www.klipsch.com

Wow, so the specifications show 96 dB/2.83V/m sensitivity. The A1H preamp/dac section is likely very quiet, comparable to the AV10, AVM90 etc., but the same cannot be said about the power amp section.

That, combined with the 96 dB sensitivity of your speakers, compared to those with sensitivity 86 dB/2.83V/m, the hiss will sound like 10 times louder. Based on all the information shared so far, the hiss you are getting may actually be normal. Is it possible for you to do what Ban25 suggested in post#224? Not suggesting you buy another pair of speakers but do you have (or borrow) something less sensitive that you can try, something that has sensitivity around 87 to 90 dB/2.83V/m?

 

[Unplugged]

If this hiss phenomenon should be a Klipsch specific issue, then it should be a well discussed »feature« within the Klipsch owners’ community.

I am planning to upgrade these sooner than later. But, for now, I have these to contend with.

 

[peng]

If this hiss phenomenon should be a Klipsch specific issue, then it should be a well discussed »feature« within the Klipsch owners’ community.

I don't know about that, let's read again what he said:

If I raise the volume past 85 or so the hiss increases and becomes audible in the room.

How often would people with 96 dB/2.83V/m 8 ohm nominal Klipsch speakers set their AVR's volume anywhere near 85? I guess likely never. Most people probably won't go pass 65.

He also reported that:

when it is on, I can hear the 2 front speakers + center hissing if I put my ear within 12 inches from the tweeter.

Again, how often do people listen to music or movie tracks that close to the tweeter, especially tweeters for 96 dB/2.83V/m sensitivity speakers?

 

[Unplugged]

Wow, so the specifications show 96 dB/2.83V/m sensitivity. The A1H preamp/dac section is likely very quiet, comparable to the AV10, AVM90 etc., but the same cannot be said about the power amp section.

That, combined with the 96 dB sensitivity of your speakers, compared to those with sensitivity 86 dB/2.83V/m, the hiss will sound like 10 times louder. Based on all the information shared so far, the hiss you are getting may actually be normal. Is it possible for you to do what Ban25 suggested in post#224? Not suggesting you buy another pair of speakers but do you have (or borrow) something less sensitive that you can try, something that has sensitivity around 87 to 90 dB/2.83V/m?



View attachment 347618

Thanks.

Unfortunately I do not have other set right now. I will see what I can find.

 

[Unplugged]

I don't know about that, let's read again what he said:



How often would people with 96 dB/2.83V/m 8 ohm nominal Klipsch speakers set their AVR's volume anywhere near 85? I guess likely never. Most people probably won't go pass 65.

He also reported that:



Again, how often do people listen to music or movie tracks that close to the tweeter, especially tweeters for 96 dB/2.83V/m sensitivity speakers?

Yeah. That scenario will never happen. I agree 100%. But again, is this what’s expected? From my end, I thought that the top of the line Denon receiver would be dead silent. As in no music playing = speaker is off completely.

Hope that makes sense. Also, I can adjust expectations if my expectations were off.

 

[peng]

Yeah. That scenario will never happen. I agree 100%. But again, is this what’s expected? From my end, I thought that the top of the line Denon receiver would be dead silent. As in no music playing = speaker is off completely.

Hope that makes sense. Also, I can adjust expectations if my expectations were off.

I expect the preamp/dac section would be near silent, so if you connect to pre out to power amps such as those based on Purify modules, or the Benchmark AHB2 it would be near silent too. That's based on speakers with sensitivity no higher than 90 dB, for 96 dB such as yours, if you are very sensitive to the hiss frequencies, I think hearing it from 12 inches in a deal silent room is probably expected.

 

[Unplugged]

If I’d purchased a 6 or 7k Euros AVR, I may not only be over-sensitive towards hisses from that device but of those from my wife, too.

OK – quite honest: In this case, I can understand any bat ear sensibility completely

my point exactly.

 

[peng]

my point exactly.

I don't think it is totally a matter of how much you paid. For argument sake, if you have speakers with sensitivity around 102 dB/2.83V/m and your room is near silent, then you will hear hiss unless your preamp and power amp are really silent. I don't think any AVRs, and/or AVPs plus the popular amps such as Monolith, Emotiva, even NADs are in the near silent class under such conditions (that is, using highly sensitive speakers in a very quiet room of people with ears sensitive to hiss frequencies). So the bottom line is, it depends, even with flag ship class AVRs you may still hear hiss, just lower probability and any potential noise issues would be less severe than that with lower end AVRs.

 

[ban25]

I am planning to upgrade these sooner than later. But, for now, I have these to contend with.

Yeah the other thing is they are combo speakers with built-in Atmos speakers on top -- so if you are standing close listening for hiss, you're actually going to hear it from both tweeters at once!

 

[peng]

Isn’t it OK to demand of an up-to-date audio amplifier to put out nothing when it receives nothing to amplify? All the most if that up-to-date audio amplifier costs about a sum equal to the average yearly income of people in South Africa, for instance?

I am sure some will say yes, but others may say no if they think the price is too high.

 

[peng]

I guess it’d be ok if this were my previous $500 receiver. But Is this expected at this price range?

Did the $500 receive do better, worse, or much worse? And aside from the hiss, do you like the overall sound quality, or you have plan to use external amps eventually?

 

[Unplugged]

Yeah the other thing is they are combo speakers with built-in Atmos speakers on top -- so if you are standing close listening for hiss, you're actually going to hear it from both tweeters at once!

I don’t have the top atmos speaker plugged in. Only the main speaker is wired to the receiver.

 

[Unplugged]

Did the $500 receive do better, worse, or much worse? And aside from the hiss, do you like the overall sound quality, or you have plan to use external amps eventually?

Sound quality is a drastic step up from the old cheap Denon receiver. I will probably end up getting a 2ch amp. However, my next step is upgrading the speakers.

However, I have to figure out the hiss first.