Palmer ORBIT 11 Cardioid Coaxial 3-way studio monitor (MSRP 799€/899$)

[JoeDiMEG]

I bought Neumann speakers – problem solved.

Thanks to the capacitors there is a chance for real dead silence. Maybe some smoke too.

KR

 

[DanielT]

With all the modern measurement technology and instant communications of the internet and multiple first person accounts and the pooled wisdom and experience of ASR we still end up with answers ranging from "unuseable" and "defective" and "fatal flaw" to "inaudible" for what seems like a rather simple question of self noise level. I guess the old adage "The more things change the more they stay the same" is alive and well.

Sure, but it can still be interesting to hear user experiences. The hiss/noise level for active speakers varies of course between manufacturers/models.
It is equally obvious that it is subjective whether this hiss level at X listening distance can be perceived as annoying, ..or not. However, I think it is good to get users' own experiences when they say, @JoeDiMEG #1825:
I don't hear self-noise in 1 m coming from the ORBIT 11.

If you then - because of principle - still don't want the ORBIT 11 at, for example, 2.5 meters listening distance, even if you don't hear any hiss, so be it. That's your choice. Or you don't care, nothing you hear, nothing to get annoyed about.

I plug in a vintage power amp from time to time. Sometimes I get annoyed that I can hear a little humming from the transformer, sometimes not. So not only is it subjective from person to person. The level of irritation can vary within the same person depending on...what do I know....

 

[Mnyb]

I hope @amirm measures the actual self noise with a known distance then anybody can compare to what they have now with an SPL meter

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

In a small room ( 5 x 3.8 x 2.8 meters) dedicated room, would these Orbit 11 be a worthy upgrade to my current JBL LSR308 for LCR... ? I always use subs (plural).

 

[amirm]

I hope @amirm measures the actual self noise with a known distance then anybody can compare to what they have now with an SPL meter

SPL measurements are not very useful since audibility of noise is not constant with respect to spectrum. As a result, I use my ears for noise measurements.

 

[Mnyb]

SPL measurements are not very useful since audibility of noise is not constant with respect to spectrum. As a result, I use my ears for noise measurements.

Ok anyhow if you get a number with an spl meter its possible to compare using the same weighting etc . Not at all super exact and does not tell how audible it is .

But if you get 20dB and someone else 45dB somethings up with the speaker.

If you get 5dB and i say i can hear it 3 rooms away, you know i should see my doctor

 

[goat76]

Why not use a microphone and REW for the self-noise measurements?

 

[TimVG]

SPL measurements are not very useful since audibility of noise is not constant with respect to spectrum. As a result, I use my ears for noise measurements.

We've seen two objective reviews by now, showing more or less the same data. One review called it a "fatal flaw" while the other called it "not an issue". Curiously awaiting NFS results and your overall impression.

 

[Nuyes]

I was just able to obtain three additional Palmer Orbit11 units for measurement.

For an accurate comparison, I kept the microphone position fixed and simply swapped the speaker samples one by one during the measurements.

To clarify any questions regarding the self-noise measurement conditions and equipment, I am sharing a photo of my measurement environment.
I use a Larson Davis CAL250 SPL calibrator together with an Earthworks M30 microphone. On the measurement day (today, Friday, March 13, 2026), the lowest ambient noise floor at the measurement site was 22.1 dB(A).

Here I overlaid the graph of the sample I previously reviewed (measured on March 6, shown in gray) with the measurements of the three samples tested today.

Red – Sample #1
Blue – Sample #2
Green – Sample #3

I also recorded the environmental noise floor before and after the measurements, and can confirm that the measurement environment noise floor did not change in any meaningful way during the tests.

Interestingly, even among the three samples measured today, the self-noise differences are quite noticeable.

I also compared the measurements with the −20 dB PAD engaged.
(The speaker position was kept fixed, and the adjustment was made using the top control.)

This figure shows only the −20 dB PAD measurements.
Interestingly, the sample measured on March 6 shows a level similar to Sample #1.

Since these differences might potentially be related to sensitivity variations between units, I also compared far-field measurements.

If this were simply a sensitivity issue, the green sample (#3), which showed the lowest self-noise, should also have measured the lowest output level. However, that was not the case.

As a result, contrary to the initial impression based on a single unit, there appears to be a meaningful variation in self-noise between individual units.
Considering that the three samples I obtained at the same time showed up to about a 5 dB difference, it seems difficult to rule out the possibility that there may be a noticeable unit-to-unit variation in the self-noise of Palmer Orbit11 speakers distributed worldwide.

Given this situation, it actually seems quite natural that different ASR members report mixed impressions such as “the hiss is quite noticeable” versus “the hiss is audible but not really bothersome.”

 

[goat76]

@Nuyes

Did you measure the self-noise of a well-known low-noise reference speaker, like the Neumann, under the same measurement conditions today?

 

[Nuyes]

@Nuyes

Did you measure the self-noise of a well-known low-noise reference speaker, like the Neumann, under the same measurement conditions today?

I used to own and really liked the Neumann KH120A, but unfortunately I no longer have it.
I switched my system to passive speakers, so I no longer keep active monitors like that.

 

[olieb]

Given this situation, it actually seems quite natural that different ASR members report mixed impressions such as “the hiss is quite noticeable” versus “the hiss is audible but not really bothersome.”

Yes, the differences in hiss perception were striking, even taking into account different room situations and personal sensitivities for noise.
And a 5dB difference (This is a lot!) will explain about a factor 2 in the distance difference of hiss audibility in room.
So much about the usefulness of measuring more than one unit.

Another observation about (IIRC a single) mentioning of fuzzy phantom center images.
This could result from (on axis) FR deviations between units. And again one needs several units to investigate this.
And these deviations do exist as your measurement shows. Thank you!

 

[Sokel]

Someone needs to tight the QC a little

 

[goat76]

Someone needs to tight the QC a little

Not just that. I think they need to swap for less noisy amps if these speakers are gonna cut it as nearfield monitors.

 

[RoA]

Wait for v2

 

[Sokel]

Not just that. I think they need to swap for less noisy amps if these speakers are gonna cut it as nearfield monitors.

I'm talking just as me, but a 10-15% price raise for example would be worthwhile if they addressed that to a meaningful manner.

 

[Mnyb]

View attachment 517317
I was just able to obtain three additional Palmer Orbit11 units for measurement.





View attachment 517318
For an accurate comparison, I kept the microphone position fixed and simply swapped the speaker samples one by one during the measurements.





View attachment 517319
View attachment 517320

To clarify any questions regarding the self-noise measurement conditions and equipment, I am sharing a photo of my measurement environment.
I use a Larson Davis CAL250 SPL calibrator together with an Earthworks M30 microphone. On the measurement day (today, Friday, March 13, 2026), the lowest ambient noise floor at the measurement site was 22.1 dB(A).





View attachment 517321
Here I overlaid the graph of the sample I previously reviewed (measured on March 6, shown in gray) with the measurements of the three samples tested today.

Red – Sample #1
Blue – Sample #2
Green – Sample #3

I also recorded the environmental noise floor before and after the measurements, and can confirm that the measurement environment noise floor did not change in any meaningful way during the tests.

Interestingly, even among the three samples measured today, the self-noise differences are quite noticeable.






View attachment 517322
View attachment 517323
View attachment 517324
I also compared the measurements with the −20 dB PAD engaged.
(The speaker position was kept fixed, and the adjustment was made using the top control.)





View attachment 517325
This figure shows only the −20 dB PAD measurements.
Interestingly, the sample measured on March 6 shows a level similar to Sample #1.







View attachment 517326
View attachment 517327
View attachment 517328
Since these differences might potentially be related to sensitivity variations between units, I also compared far-field measurements.

If this were simply a sensitivity issue, the green sample (#3), which showed the lowest self-noise, should also have measured the lowest output level. However, that was not the case.

As a result, contrary to the initial impression based on a single unit, there appears to be a meaningful variation in self-noise between individual units.
Considering that the three samples I obtained at the same time showed up to about a 5 dB difference, it seems difficult to rule out the possibility that there may be a noticeable unit-to-unit variation in the self-noise of Palmer Orbit11 speakers distributed worldwide.

Given this situation, it actually seems quite natural that different ASR members report mixed impressions such as “the hiss is quite noticeable” versus “the hiss is audible but not really bothersome.”

What is the actual distance to the speaker ? Is it as shown in the pictures how close in mm ? What is the noise at 1 meter then ?

 

[Karmacoma]

Someone needs to tight the QC a little

The first owners subjective reviews should've made us suspicious about that. The kind of stuff that might degrade the stereo performance. Good luck with the PR.

 

[Nuyes]

What is the actual distance to the speaker ? Is it as shown in the pictures how close in mm ? What is the noise at 1 meter then ?

at 0.1 m from the tweeter

 

[Paul7777x]

I'm talking just as me, but a 10-15% price raise for example would be worthwhile if they addressed that to a meaningful manner.

Why?

Just have them do the job properly in the first place.