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Do the Genelec 8030c hiss?

bungle

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Just adjust speaker sensitivity and the hiss is gone. That is what I did to my 8050s.
 

Fenix84

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They do hiss. I sit fairly close to mine, arms length. I really notice it when my room is quiet and they go into standby mode and then the room is dead quiet.
 

AnalogSteph

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Just adjust speaker sensitivity and the hiss is gone. That is what I did to my 8050s.
The problem is, the sensitivity range in the 8030C is the same as for the 8050B, while typical listening distance is substantially closer, potentially halved. That makes noise levels up to 6 dB more critical. This trend continues with the 8020D, and the minimum sensitivity available in the 8010A even is 2 dB higher. Having the same sensitivity across a range of sizes makes sense in a surround setup, not so much in nearfield.

FWIW, I recently came across a user review that mentioned the noise level in Genelecs (I think it was 8030Cs) going down after switching the audio interface from a Focusrite Scarlett to an Arturia Minifuse. I guess it would be a good idea to measure residual noise level in audio interface outputs then.
 

ZolaIII

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Genelac's averaged to 24.6 dB SPL self noise, Neumann to 18.7 dBA SPL, Dynaudio to 19.0 dBA SPL...
 

Sokel

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Genelac's averaged to 24.6 dB SPL self noise, Neumann to 18.7 dBA SPL, Dynaudio to 19.0 dBA SPL...
What the hell do they do in ATC to have a non-existent one?
Has to do with their famous insensitivity?
 

ZolaIII

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@Sokel I don't know, think you will have to ask them yourself.
Had a same moment regarding Yamaha active speakers as their amplifiers and on unbalanced inputs with pretty much same power amplifier stages don't exhibit any hiss. Somehow 25 dBA is average if really not bad or broken which is 0 dBA @ 1.8 m. On the other hand we all have environmental noise (including those living in very quiet environment) even at night above 25 dB but people aren't stopping complaining about hiss noise. Not really easy to keep your sanity that much I can tell you fur sure.
 
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Atanasi

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Genelac's averaged to 24.6 dB SPL self noise, Neumann to 18.7 dBA SPL, Dynaudio to 19.0 dBA SPL...
The sheet includes discontinued models, and the choice of models is arbitrary. Taking statistics from these is not good practice. On the other hand, Genelec's average in this case corresponds to the expected value of most modern models, less than 5 dB at 1 m.
 

ZolaIII

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Read what I wrote "average" and see the other table beneath. As there isn't much variation between their measured models feel free to drove conclusion and if that doesn't satisfy you measure them yourself.
 

YSC

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All active hiss to some degree, and ppl have different sensitivity to hiss, I suspect power voltage maybe contributing to the hiss somehow (just guessing as in my place, 230v ac don’t have noticeable hiss to me for most active speakers at arm’s length, or coz I am in a city where background noise will drown any hiss anyway)

So the only way to tell is to audition at a quieter place, maybe not exact model but at least same brand, as usually they have same amp and tweeter to some extend
 

ZolaIII

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@YSC mains would be a buzzing sound at fundamental network frequency (50/60 Hz in most parts of the world) and you can't hear it very far away because frequently it's at. I live in nature, with decent isolation everything turned off at night and environment noise is still above 25 dB. I suppose our "sensitivity" rises sharply on unnatural sound (as possible threat) but even that's temporary (until brain classifies it as not important and discards it sort of speaking).
 

YSC

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@YSC mains would be a buzzing sound at fundamental network frequency (50/60 Hz in most parts of the world) and you can't hear it very far away because frequently it's at. I live in nature, with decent isolation everything turned off at night and environment noise is still above 25 dB. I suppose our "sensitivity" rises sharply on unnatural sound (as possible threat) but even that's temporary (until brain classifies it as not important and discards it sort of speaking).
I actually was suspecting higher voltage mains usually have the transformer working more in a high efficiency range, just guessing from pc PSUs where 220v is always more efficient than 110v. So not efficient means less noise or loss to some degree or so, but really just wild guess and more likely it’s brain sensitivity or so
 

restorer-john

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@YSC mains would be a buzzing sound at fundamental network frequency (50/60 Hz in most parts of the world) and you can't hear it very far away because frequently it's at. I live in nature, with decent isolation everything turned off at night and environment noise is still above 25 dB. I suppose our "sensitivity" rises sharply on unnatural sound (as possible threat) but even that's temporary (until brain classifies it as not important and discards it sort of speaking).

Normally, in gear, it is 100/120Hz from rectification which makes a 'buzz'. 50/60Hz is a 'hum'.

Hiss, obviously is broadband noise (including hum and buzz) but mostly, it is a white/pink sounding noise.
 

ZolaIII

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Normally, in gear, it is 100/120Hz from rectification which makes a 'buzz'. 50/60Hz is a 'hum'.
Yes and usually you can't do much (you can galvanic isolation, autended line's with thick cages and TPE graphite blocks but let's stay at average bloke and regular equipment levels) blocking EMI that's in such low frequency range but then again you can't hear it on any even close to normal listening position (under even arm length). Or at least I think so.
 
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restorer-john

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It's pouring with rain here right now, a huge summer storm lashing the house, and I couldn't hear hiss if I tried.

In summer, I have my air conditioners on, and the noise floor is such that I am kidding myself to hear residual noise.

During the day, there's environmental noise which is far and away above the level of residual hiss and hum.

It's only during those late night, cool months, where everyone is asleep (and the refrigerator has gone quiet) where I can really hear (not measure) the residual noise of gear, be it preamps, power amps or sources.

It's a totally first world (audiophile nervosa) problem in real terms. :)
 

Sokel

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I suppose our "sensitivity" rises sharply on unnatural sound (as possible threat)
Makes sense,snakes are a pretty significant threat,must be on top of the threat list.
 

Galliardist

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It's pouring with rain here right now, a huge summer storm lashing the house, and I couldn't hear hiss if I tried.

In summer, I have my air conditioners on, and the noise floor is such that I am kidding myself to hear residual noise.

During the day, there's environmental noise which is far and away above the level of residual hiss and hum.

It's only during those late night, cool months, where everyone is asleep (and the refrigerator has gone quiet) where I can really hear (not measure) the residual noise of gear, be it preamps, power amps or sources.

It's a totally first world (audiophile nervosa) problem in real terms. :)
Except perhaps in a near field professional mixing environment or an anechoic chamber. I think the one time I've heard hiss (other than from old recordings) was my only time stood at a studio mixing desk!
 

syzygetic

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They do hiss at a 1m distance (see pic, that’s my desk setup) for me, when on and no source material is playing. The solution is to play some music or turn them off, and I prefer to play some music.

I’m sensitive to noises like hiss and I don’t see this as a problem, many, many perfectly good speakers hiss when on but not playing source material.
 

restorer-john

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They do hiss at a 1m distance (see pic, that’s my desk setup) for me, when on and no source material is playing.

At 1m, you will hear any amplifier in a quiet environment, or any active speaker.
 
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The problem is, the sensitivity range in the 8030C is the same as for the 8050B, while typical listening distance is substantially closer, potentially halved. That makes noise levels up to 6 dB more critical. This trend continues with the 8020D, and the minimum sensitivity available in the 8010A even is 2 dB higher. Having the same sensitivity across a range of sizes makes sense in a surround setup, not so much in nearfield.

FWIW, I recently came across a user review that mentioned the noise level in Genelecs (I think it was 8030Cs) going down after switching the audio interface from a Focusrite Scarlett to an Arturia Minifuse. I guess it would be a good idea to measure residual noise level in audio interface outputs then.
You summed it up nicely here, and I had stumbled across your post on this thread https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...-genelec-8020d-volume-level.21272/post-706214, which also does a nice job explicating my frustration.
 
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