Hiss List (S&R)

[AnalogSteph]

I'm being driven mad by my new KRK RP7 G4s, which surely must be worse than the numbers in this list suggest. I can hear the hiss >3m away without a source connected in a house near a road.

That sounds a bit extreme. I would check what the volume is set at and try reducing it. Maybe they come cranked all the way up and the ADC isn't the last word in dynamic range.
EDIT: Ah, this has already been answered elsewhere:

Both of my RP7s have identical, loud hiss, completely unaffected by the selected gain. Perhaps the factory is throwing together amp batches from whatever components they can source. Classic COVID era electronics manufacture.

Bummer, then. Would be interesting to know why that is. Did they have to downgrade the DAC / codec or power amp to some antique?

View attachment 244951heres mine haha, just snapped this yesterday

At 16-18", I would be worried about proper driver integration. This close, you may be getting a substantial dip in the crossover region. Minimum recommended listening distance for these is 0.5 m (20"). Their driver spacing is just too big to be ideal in the extreme nearfield - that's not what the Kali guys are all about (you will have noticed that they pride themselves on achievable levels and such). Typical listening distance for a 6" class monitor would be about 0.75 to 1.5 m (30" / 2' 6" to 5').

Plus, no desk pads or stands (comb filtering is not something the EQ presets can get rid of), and plenty of hard surfaces all around - some acoustic treatment definitely wouldn't go amiss here. Where's the opposing wall (behind you)? I take it your space is quite small, e.g. student accommodation?

 

[Querkle]

That sounds a bit extreme. I would check what the volume is set at and try reducing it. Maybe they come cranked all the way up and the ADC isn't the last word in dynamic range.


At 16-18", I would be worried about proper driver integration. This close, you may be getting a substantial dip in the crossover region. Minimum recommended listening distance for these is 0.5 m (20"). Their driver spacing is just too big to be ideal in the extreme nearfield - that's not what the Kali guys are all about (you will have noticed that they pride themselves on achievable levels and such). Typical listening distance for a 6" class monitor would be about 0.75 to 1.5 m (30" / 2' 6" to 5').

Plus, no desk pads or stands (comb filtering is not something the EQ presets can get rid of), and plenty of hard surfaces all around - some acoustic treatment definitely wouldn't go amiss here. Where's the opposing wall (behind you)? I take it your space is quite small, e.g. student accommodation?

hi, turns out my estimation was a bit off, at the closest im sitting about 22-23 inches from mine, and generaly between 25-40 depending on how im sitting.

 

[192kbps]

JBL M2
30.0 dBA SPL
Which amplifier？

 

[aevai]

Really appreciate this list. I have a pair of old Yamaha HS80M's and the hiss has always bothered me. This list confirms it's not just me or something I'm doing wrong!

 

[UwU]

Recently got a pair of Adam A4V. I'm not sure how I can get accurate measurements. But my noise floor is 30-32 dba (says my cheap measuring device). And I do hear hiss, so I assume it's roughly equal to my noise floor. But if anyone can give me tips on how to do a proper measurement I would love to hear it. Either way I'm most likely returning the monitors. They sound pretty good IMO but I cannot stand the hiss knowing these cost 1k USD a pair.

 

[usern]

Cheap measuring devices range start from 30 dBA, you likely have lower noise floor. Anything that can measure below 30 dBA costs thousands or tens of thousands $.

 

[UwU]

Cheap measuring devices range start from 30 dBA, you likely have lower noise floor. Anything that can measure below 30 dBA costs thousands or tens of thousands $.

Yea that's what I feared, I live in a fairly rural area. And when the farms nearby go into the night... It's dead silent. That's when I noticed the hiss. I would love for someone else to measure it though. Because if my room is just so quiet that most active monitors would have noticeable hiss @1 meter... I should just go passive again.

 

[Alchemist_]

Recently got a pair of Adam A4V. I'm not sure how I can get accurate measurements. But my noise floor is 30-32 dba (says my cheap measuring device). And I do hear hiss, so I assume it's roughly equal to my noise floor. But if anyone can give me tips on how to do a proper measurement I would love to hear it. Either way I'm most likely returning the monitors. They sound pretty good IMO but I cannot stand the hiss knowing these cost 1k USD a pair.

Why do you need to measure it, if this hiss bothers you, then they must be returned.

If the monitor power plug is 3-pin. Try taping the grounding pins between the power outlet and the minitor plug. Sometimes it helps.

 

[usern]

I should just go passive again.

That's a sure way to bypass the hiss problem.

There's also neat small amplifiers now like this all-in-one
https://www.topping.audio/productinfo/750747.html

 

[UwU]

Why do you need to measure it, if this hiss bothers you, then they must be returned.

If the monitor power plug is 3-pin. Try taping the grounding pins between the power outlet and the minitor plug. Sometimes it helps.

The reason is so I can compare it to other monitors. If the hiss is already really low, but my noise floor is just even lower. Then Returning the monitors and getting different ones will not solve anything. Unless I go with a passive system again which I know I can get dead silent.

Taping the ground doesn't sound like a great idea, I'll do some reading on that. If I do decide to try I'll let you know

 

[Alchemist_]

The reason is so I can compare it to other monitors. If the hiss is already really low, but my noise floor is just even lower. Then Returning the monitors and getting different ones will not solve anything. Unless I go with a passive system again which I know I can get dead silent.

Taping the ground doesn't sound like a great idea, I'll do some reading on that. If I do decide to try I'll let you know

I don't care if you stick or not. You can not tell me about it))

I had a similar selection problem as you.
I do not have a ground connection, so unsealed contacts give additional noise. I glued them.
Class D amplifiers also produce noise.
Some class AB amps (mostly cheap ones) also produce hiss.

The decision to seal the ground and buy monitors only with AB amplifiers, I decided this way.

Passive speakers + amplifier is also a solution, but I have not tried this solution.

 

[UwU]

I don't care if you stick or not. You can not tell me about it))

I had a similar selection problem as you.
I do not have a ground connection, so unsealed contacts give additional noise. I glued them.
Class D amplifiers also produce noise.
Some class AB amps (mostly cheap ones) also produce hiss.

The decision to seal the ground and buy monitors only with AB amplifiers, I decided this way.

Passive speakers + amplifier is also a solution, but I have not tried this solution.

I do have a ground connection, I'll see if it works. I hope it does! I did also contact Adam Audio to see what they say.

 

[UwU]

I don't care if you stick or not. You can not tell me about it))

I had a similar selection problem as you.
I do not have a ground connection, so unsealed contacts give additional noise. I glued them.
Class D amplifiers also produce noise.
Some class AB amps (mostly cheap ones) also produce hiss.

The decision to seal the ground and buy monitors only with AB amplifiers, I decided this way.

Passive speakers + amplifier is also a solution, but I have not tried this solution.

Well, sadly it had zero effect. I'll see what Adam has to say. But Neumann kh80 dsp will probably be replacing these.

 

[Alchemist_]

Well, sadly it had zero effect. I'll see what Adam has to say. But Neumann kh80 dsp will probably be replacing these.

He will say some nonsense, like all manufacturers who have monitors with hiss)

 

[usern]

Yeah most likely they will say higher end model has lower self noise which technically can be true, but reduction might be so small that you still hear the hiss. It's how my support ticket with Genelec went. I was bothered by hiss too, but settled on KH80 DSP which has some, but not as much as other models I've tried.

 

[UwU]

Must say I am surprised with Adam Audio's response. They said it is most likely the expected amount of noise. And that it's a shame I'm not convinced on the monitors. They aren't trying to sell me on other products either. Honest support team! They do claim it's not noticeable in most environments @60cm distance. And that the room correction settings at the high frequencies may help it slightly. So perhaps my room is exceptionally quiet. But either way I'll return them if the room correction doesn't lower it enough (without changing the sound too much).

After that it's Neumann KH80 or back to passive.

 

[UwU]

A little update: Adam supplies software "A Control" it gives you to option to lower the internal amps beyond -12db (which is the limit using the knob on the back). Turning that to -20db using their software overrides the knob on the back and makes the hiss inaudible at my listening distance. This ofc lowers their maximum output but it's still way beyond what I listen at.

So I'm pretty happy!

 

[usern]

A little update: Adam supplies software "A Control" it gives you to option to lower the internal amps beyond -12db (which is the limit using the knob on the back). Turning that to -20db using their software overrides the knob on the back and makes the hiss inaudible at my listening distance. This ofc lowers their maximum output but it's still way beyond what I listen at.

So I'm pretty happy!

That's pretty cool. I should look if I can do same thing with Neumann.Control

 

[AnalogSteph]

little update: Adam supplies software "A Control" it gives you to option to lower the internal amps beyond -12db (which is the limit using the knob on the back). Turning that to -20db using their software overrides the knob on the back and makes the hiss inaudible at my listening distance. This ofc lowers their maximum output but it's still way beyond what I listen at.

And that was definitely internal noise, not from your source output, correct? (If input sensitivity resembles the princess on a pea, it can be rather tricky to keep the noise floor down even if the speaker's electronics on their own would be good enough. I am not convinced that all interfaces have a sufficient low noise floor.)

 

[UwU]

And that was definitely internal noise, not from your source output, correct? (If input sensitivity resembles the princess on a pea, it can be rather tricky to keep the noise floor down even if the speaker's electronics on their own would be good enough. I am not convinced that all interfaces have a sufficient low noise floor.)

Yes the noise is equal with or without input source. So the noise floor of the interface is sufficiently low at the output level I use. Perhaps if the interface is maxxed out it would matter more.

Just in case you want to know: the interface is a Focusrite Scarlett 4i4